The Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center School Mental Health Team presented in Spokane, WA, at the Washington State Association of School Psychologists (WSASP) 2021 Fall Conference on School Mental Health and MTSS Efforts in Washington: Implementation Examples, Resources and Recommendations
The conference will be hybrid - a step toward normalcy. Speakers and the audience will have the option of attending in-person or remotely. A glance at the schedule reveals some seven or eight extended workshops; twenty 90-minute talks; a keynote address by Jack Fletcher; food a plenty (three lunches and two breakfasts + a Davenport social hour) and overall 18.5 clock hours of professional development. While the schedule and WHOVA app are linked, speakers still have some work to do before their WHOVA speaker pages are completed. Required (for recertification), talks on Suicide Prevention (speaker will be remote, with an additional fee) and Ethics will be provided as well as Dyslexia.
The newly released US Department of Education resource, “Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health during COVID-19 Era”, address challenges and recommendations for school mental health, and emphasizes the need for an integrated framework. Highlighted in the new resource is an example of how, in the Northwest Region, several states, universities, education and behavioral health leaders, and regional training and TA entities and other organizations have been collaborating to build capacity to install school mental health within MTSS in several districts.
In this session, we will discuss the Interconnected Systems Framework efforts including the role of the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center's School Mental Health supplement at the University of Washington SMART Center, which provides training and TA to school mental health providers in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. A Washington school district will share an implementation example of what this has looked like in a rural eastside school district including partnerships with universities to increase the mental health workforce. Additional examples of service delivery models at the high school level and middle school levels will also be discussed.
Kelcey Schmitz, MSEd, is the Director of Training and TA at the University of Washington School Mental Health, Assessment, Research and Training (SMART) Center and the School Mental Health Director for the Northwest MHTTC. Kelcey has been involved in many Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) efforts providing training, coaching, and evaluation to schools, districts, families and community organizations to support the social, emotional, and behavioral strengths and needs of students within an MTSS framework. Kelcey has a master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Kansas.
Tawni Barlow, M.Ed, is the Student Services Director for the Medical Lake School District. She oversees nursing, 504, special education and mental health services for the district. Prior to working in the education field, she worked in behavioral science, corrections and social work for close to 20 years, specializing in crisis response, counseling and behavior management. Tawni’s experience as an administrator as well as line level staff has given her the perspective to effectively communicate with all levels of an organization. She holds an Educational Staff Associate (ESA) certification in both school counseling and school psychology, and prior to becoming an administrator she worked as a School Psychologist in the local community. She earned a Bachelor of Liberal Studies in Humanities and a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) in counseling, with an emphasis on research, from Whitworth University and an Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degree in School Psychology through Eastern Washington University. Tawni is currently an adjunct professor for Whitworth University and provides clinical supervision for the Marriage and Family therapist interns.
Dr. James J. Mazza is the co-author of the DBT STEPS-A social emotional learning curriculum for middle and high school students. He received his masters and Ph.D. in school psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He is a professor at the University of Washington – Seattle where he has been for over 20 years teaching and conducting research in the field of adolescent mental health.
Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.
