Developing Your School’s Student Support Teams: A Practical Guide for K-12 Leaders, Student Services Personnel, and Mental Health Staff

Developing Your School’s Student Support Teams is a practical manual for schools seeking to establish and sustain coordinated teams in support of students’ social, emotional and behavioral health. Every day, students struggle with a range of issues, including traumas, that complicate their learning, engagement, and overall well-being. School psychologists, counselors, social workers and nurses are employed in many school districts, but their schedules often make it difficult to collaborate effectively in developing and implementing comprehensive intervention plans. This book promotes teamwork throughout schools by exploring how interdependent practitioners can come together at the appropriate levels and times to help coordinate school and community resources. This "filtering" process will guide K-12 leaders and service professionals toward systems and decision-making that enable long-term student supports, accurate identification of systemic learning barriers, improved school culture and climate, attention to diverse populations, and more. With these proactive teamwork strategies, school staff will be better prepared to share workload and accountability and to identify and build upon the existing strengths and supports of every student.

Table of Contents:
1. School Based Student Support Teams and the Multi-level Identification and the Intervention Process 2. The School Coordinated Care Team (SCCT) 3. The Student Success Team (SST) Philosophy and Implementation 4. The School Attendance Review Team (SART) 5. Meeting Facilitation 6. The Benefits of Effective Teaming 7. Supporting and Serving Special Populations 8. The Importance of School Climate and Culture 9. Case Management: A Creative Philosophy and Form of Practice 10. Making the Home-School Connection a Positive One 11. Positive Behavior Support vs. the Punishment Paradigm Appendices

About the Author :
Steve Berta has taught the Organizational Change and Development courses in the Counselor Education Department at San Jose State University, USA. He previously served as Manager of Student Services in the San Jose Unified School District and was Director of Health Education and Safe and Drug Free Schools for the Santa Clara County Office of Education. Howard Blonsky is a consultant in school mental health and student support services. He previously served as a school social worker and program consultant in the San Francisco Unified School District. James Wogan is Assistant Director of Student Support Services in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. He previously served as Director of Wellness in the Acalanes Union High School District and as Manager of Student Services in the Berkeley Unified School District.

Review :
“In Developing Your School's Student Support Teams, seasoned educators Berta, Blonsky, and Wogan provide timely and thoughtful guidance to educational counselors and colleagues instrumental for fostering a culture of social and emotional support for student success. The text is ideal for both new and advanced professional educators interested in collaboratively organizing and deploying essential policies, programs, and services synergistically to ensure students’ retention, academic success, and personal development. The wisdom embedded within this accessible text is keenly needed in these turbulent times to animate school communities in service of students’ learning and flourishing.” —Jason A. Laker, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Counselor Education, San Jose State University, USA “This excellent guide provides a clear blueprint to develop effective support services for students. During my seventeen years of working with teams using the models illustrated in this book , we witnessed many improvements, sometimes even profound changes, in students’ academics, behavior, and even in their social lives. Not only did the teams build interventions based on students’ strengths, but in the process of problem-solving and brainstorming together, they produced more potent action plans, better than any of them could have alone. It does take some effort to set up these models and implement the strategies outlined in the book, but I believe this should be a required part of training for all teachers, administrators, school administrators, school social workers, counselors, and psychologists.” —Candice Gregory, MSW, LCSW, School Social Worker and District Coordinator of Dropout Prevention Programs (ret), Alisal Unified School District “Developing Your School's Student Support Teams is a practical guide that brings together essential elements of a holistic approach to children’s education. This marvelous publication lays out the power of organizing support from the home, the community, and the school to help support students’ success. ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ has never been truer. Having sample downloadable forms available online, as listed in the Appendix, is an added bonus.” —Marco Orlando, Consultant (ret), California State Department of Educatio “I used Developing Your School's Student Support Teams for a full-day training attended by school-site student support team coordinators and district administrators. We found the book to be a great reference guide to establishing systems that enable staff to work together toward student success. Having served as a school site principal and as a district administrator in charge of the dropout prevention program, I see the value of such a resource for student support teams helping to meet the diverse needs of students. This is a great book that I wish had been available when I was a principal.” —Lydia Carswell, Former Principal and Administrator, Duarte Unified School District, and Field Colleague with the California Department of Education