The second edition of Developing Your School’s Student Support Teams is a practical manual for current and future practitioners working with schools to establish, facilitate, and sustain coordinated teams in support of students’ social, emotional, and behavioral health. Students come to school each day with a range of issues that complicate their learning, engagement, and overall well-being. While school psychologists, counselors, social workers, and nurses are employed in many school districts, their schedules often make it difficult to collaborate effectively in developing and implementing comprehensive intervention plans. This book is filled with strategies designed to address these issues.
This revised edition includes new and updated approaches to:
- Collaboration, co-location of services, and memorandums of understanding
- Linking mental health and education
- Safe schools and violence prevention
- Care coordination/case management
- Attendance improvement
- School wellness centers that meet FERPA and HIPPA requirements
- And much more!
Readers will also have access to a wealth of supplementary online resources, including checklists, sample interventions, communication templates, staff input forms, and beyond. With these proactive, field-tested teamwork strategies and ancillary materials, school staff will be better prepared to share tasks and accountability and to identify and build upon the existing strengths and supports of every student.
Table of Contents:
1. School-Based Student Support Structures and the Multi-Level Identification and Intervention Process 2. The School Coordinated Care Team 3. The Student Success Team (SST) Philosophy and Implementation 4. School Attendance Improvement 5. The School Attendance Review Team (SART) 6. Meeting Facilitation 7. The Benefits of Effective Teaming 8. Supporting and Serving Specials Populations 9. School Climate and Culture in Relation to Student Mental Health and Well-Being 10. Partnership Agreements and MOU’s 11. Collaboration and Confidentiality 12. Joining Mental Health Professionals and Educators 13. Wellness Centers 14. School Violence Prevention and Early Intervention 15. Threat Assessment in Schools: The Threat Assessment Team 16. Establishing and Mobilizing the Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) 17. Care Coordination (aka Case Management) 18. Making the Home-School Connection a Positive One 19. Positive Behavioral Support vs. the Punishment Paradigm
About the Author :
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, and has consulted in a number of other districts. With a background in both mental health and education, he has worked to bring and bridge the best of these perspectives into the effective delivery of services in public education settings.
Steve Berta has taught the Organizational Change and Development, and Law and Ethics courses in the Counselor Education Department at San Jose State University. 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. He is a former teacher, counselor and school principal.
James Wogan is a school administrator and School Social Worker known for innovation and collaboration in support of youth mental health and equity. He previously served as the Assistant Director of Student Services in the Mt. Diablo USD, Director of Wellness in the Acalanes Union High School District and as Manager of Student Services in Berkeley Unified School District. He began his career in education in the San Francisco USD.
