The Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center and the UW SMART Center presented the 2024 Virtual Speaker Series to the school mental health workforce. The six-session series features discussions on ways to create a positive school climate for students and staff. Through this series, we spotlight evidenced-based strategies to address universal screening, staff retention, and bullying and its intersection with youth mental health and violence. Please feel free to share the series flyer with your colleagues!   Learn more and register for upcoming events in the series here.    Check out the history of this series! SMART Center 2023 Speaker Series SMART Center 2022 Speaker Series SMART Center 2021 Speaker Series   Learn more about the UW SMART Center here.   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.

This event is part of the UW SMART Center's 2024 Virtual Speaker Series. Learn more and register for upcoming events in the series here.  School Mental Health through a Multi-tiered System Framework Description: Enhance your screening system by hearing from experts from the field. A new version of the Washington OSPI Model School District Screening Plan for recognition, initial screening, and response to emotional or behavioral distress in students will be discussed and shared. A Washington School District will provide examples of universal Social Emotional Behavioral screening efforts, policies, and systems.  Objectives: Review systematic screening, including a brief intro on what it is and why it’s important. Review systematic screening through the implementation cascade, including state-level supports and resources to share with your organizations. Learn from an exemplar district and reflect on key steps to help install systematic screening tools    Presentation Materials   About the Presenter: Rayann Silva, M.Ed. Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator and Training Unit Coordinator  Rayann Silva, MEd, Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator and Training Unit Coordinator  supports program development, and training and technical assistance for the SAMHSA funded School Mental Health supplement that is part of the Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center covering the Region 10 states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In addition, she supports the Technical Assistance Core (TACore) at the UW SMART Center providing systems-change training and technical assistance to state, local agencies, and districts across the Northwest. Rayann may be one of the newest additions to the UW Smart Center, but her professional career spans across many years, roles, and agencies. While Rayann began her professional journey as an ABA Therapist for children with Autism, she eventually grew an interest in prevention and became a teacher. In her previous role, she served as a district administrator in Tacoma Public Schools leading the development and implementation of district-wide social emotional learning for in and out of school time. She has also supported district MTSS implementation through professional development, coaching, and program evaluation across many districts across Washington State.       Mari Meador, M.Ed. Implementation Coach Mari Meador, M.Ed., is an implementation coach at the University of Washington. She works in collaboration with Schools to support implementation efforts of proactive systems of support. Mari joins us from the University of Washington Tacoma where she worked in collaboration with Tacoma Public Schools to support implementation efforts of the Tacoma Whole Child Initiative. Mari has served as a PBIS State Facilitator and Assistant Coordinator for the Northwest PBIS Network providing training and technical assistance, coaching, and ongoing supports to build local and district capacity to implement, sustain, and scale PBIS, and she began her career as a school support counselor and school-based mental health associate. Her professional interests include systems change, culturally responsive positive behavior support and social emotional learning, and fidelity of implementation. Her research interests include equitable and inclusive school discipline practices, implementation science, and effective teaming practices in schools.         Kristi Greenaway Cirignano Whole Child Coordinator, Tacoma Public Schools  Kristi started her career as a middle school science teacher, and still thinks middle school students are the best, and loves learning about earth science. She also served as a dean of students at the middle school level before starting with Tacoma Whole Child Initiative 7 years ago.                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.

This event is part of the UW SMART Center's 2024 Virtual Speaker Series. Learn more and register for upcoming events in the series here.  Fostering Belonging in Staff Recruitment and Retention   Description: This session will provide participants with the opportunity to describe the concept of belonging in education. Belonging is the "north star" along the journey of equitable and inclusionary practices. While most of the focus on belonging in education has been on students, a necessary component is staff belonging. Objectives: Participants will describe their current understanding of the need for recruiting and retaining educational mental health professionals who represent the communities they serve. Participants will engage in developing an understanding of the concept of belonging in education, particularly as it relates to staff belonging. Participants will contextualize provided strategies to enhance their recruitment and retention efforts.    Presentation Materials   About the Presenter: Nikole Y. Hollins-Sims, Ed.D. Technical Assistance Coordinator for the Midwest PBIS Network Nikole Y. Hollins-Sims, Ed.D.,is the senior educational consultant & strategist for Hollins-Sims Consultation. She formerly served as a technical assistance coordinator for the Midwest PBIS network and is a former Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Dr. Hollins-Sims has been awarded as a Moral and Courageous Leader for Education by Cabrini University in 2021, the 2021 American Psychology Association (APA) Anti-Racism School Psychology Emerging Professional Award and was named the 2021 Pennsylvania School Psychologist of the Year. One of her career highlights is serving as the lead author of the book titled: Creating Equitable Practices in PBIS.       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.

This event is part of the UW SMART Center's 2024 Virtual Speaker Series. Learn more and register for upcoming events in the series here. School Mental Health through a Multi-tiered System Framework Description: This session will provide participants with an overview of the Interconnected Systems Framework and how it supports the implementation of School Mental Health. Objective: Participants will develop an understanding of the Interconnected Systems Framework and the importance of a single system of delivery.   Presentation Materials   About the Presenter: Clynita Grafenreed, Ph.D. Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator at the Northwest MHTTC/ UW SMART Center Clynita Grafenreed, Ph.D., is a Licensed Psychologist (LP) and a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP). She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology (1993) and Ph.D. in Psychology (1998) from Texas A&M University in College Station. While she is a LP, Clynita considers herself first as an educator, having spent 24 years in education as a School Psychologist. For 12 years, Clynita worked as a LSSP in several Houston area school districts and then 12 years as an Education Specialist at Region 4 Education Service Center (Region 4) in the Department of Special Education Solutions. While at Region 4, the largest Education Service Center in Texas, Clynita led the Texas Behavior Support Network, a Texas Education Agency sponsored statewide network designed to build capacity in Texas schools through the provision of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to all students for ten years. Clynita has expertise in the areas of equity, school discipline, mental health, and behavioral supports and interventions.     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.

This event is part of the UW SMART Center's 2024 Virtual Speaker Series. Learn more and register for upcoming events in the series here. Becoming - The Journey of a Change Agent  Description: In part II of the series, participants will describe the value of belonging in their own self-awareness journey to creating transformative educational systems. What role will they play in the work of creating belonging for every learner? How will they create spaces in their roles to disrupt disproportionate outcomes for students and improve school climate? Ultimately, how can we create and support change agents in education? Objective: This session will offer strategies and considerations for ensuring newly recruited and current staff have empowerment to shift their climates.   About the Presenter: Nikole Y. Hollins-Sims, Ed.D. Technical Assistance Coordinator for the Midwest PBIS Network Nikole Y. Hollins-Sims, Ed.D.,is the senior educational consultant & strategist for Hollins-Sims Consultation. She formerly served as a technical assistance coordinator for the Midwest PBIS network and is a former Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education at the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Dr. Hollins-Sims has been awarded as a Moral and Courageous Leader for Education by Cabrini University in 2021, the 2021 American Psychology Association (APA) Anti-Racism School Psychology Emerging Professional Award and was named the 2021 Pennsylvania School Psychologist of the Year. One of her career highlights is serving as the lead author of the book titled: Creating Equitable Practices in PBIS.     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.