An Insider’s Guide to Working with School - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

An Insider’s Guide to Working with School

Boards in Ontario

Sandy

Palinski

Manager, Special Education Policy and Programs Branch

Ontario Ministry of Education

Kathy Short

Director, School Mental Health ASSIST

Hamilton-Wentworth District School BoardSlide2

Objectives

To welcome you as a partner in the Ontario Mental Health and Addictions Strategy

To provide context about the education sector & our commitments to the Strategy

To help you to successfully navigate the complex world of school boardsSlide3

WELCOME!

The Ontario Mental Health and Addictions Strategy is an exciting initiative and we all have an important role to play in ensuring success…for the children and youth in our province.Slide4

Overview

Brief Tour of the Education SectorEDU Commitments to the MHA StrategyAbout School Mental Health ASSIST

Understanding School Board Culture

Practical Considerations and SuggestionsSlide5

The Education Sector in ontario

A Brief Tour of Slide6

Federal Responsibilities

Federal government responsibilities with regard to education:

education of Aboriginal students (especially on Reserves)

funding of instruction of and in the official language of the minority (English in Québec, French in other provinces and territories)

funding of programs to welcome newcomers to schools

education of inmates in federal prisons

funding of adult training for the labour market

funding of university research

scholarship and loan programs for students in postsecondary

education of members of the armed forcesSlide7

Because Canada has no federal Department of Education, a coordinating organization was needed

The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) was established in 1967 as a forum in which Ministers of Education deal with issues of mutual interest and concern

All 13 provinces and territories are members, but

not

the federal government

Through the Council, Ministers consult and act on matters of mutual interest, and they consult and cooperate with national education organizations and the federal government

http://www.cmec.ca

Council of Ministers of

EducationSlide8

Government & Education in Ontario

Ontario follows the British parliamentary system: Government departments are headed by Ministers , elected MPPs who have been appointed by the Premier to Cabinet

The Minister of Education is responsible for child care, elementary and secondary education. The Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities is responsible for employment /training programs and postsecondary education.

Deputy Ministers are civil servants responsible for operation

Through the

Education Act,

the Ministry of Education provides leadership and develops education policySlide9

Ministry of Education Priorities

The Ministry of Education seeks to promote a strong, vibrant, publicly funded education system that is focused on three goals:

High levels of student achievement

Reduced gaps in student achievement

Increasing levels of public confidence in publicly funded educationSlide10

District School Boards

The Education Act delegates responsibility for governance of schools to four sets of district school boards, all of which are fully funded by the provincial government

Ontario’s 5,000 publicly funded schools are grouped in 72 district school boards:

31 English Public

(

secular or non-religious: open to all students

)

29 English Catholic

4 French Public

8 French Catholic

DID YOU KNOW??

Our context, our challengeSlide11

Trustees

-------------

Director of

Education

Superintendents

Principals and Managers

Teachers and Support Staff

Trustees

Elected every 4 years

Receive honoraria (are not salaried)

----------------------------------------------

Staff

Are employees of the school boards

Key Responsibilities of School

B

oards

Opening and closing of schools

Administration /enforcement of policy

Implementation of programs

Delivery of curriculum

Structure of District School BoardsSlide12

Publicly Funded Schools

Elementary schools usually offerJunior Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Grade 1 to Grade 8 (ages 3 or 4 to 13 or 14)

Secondary schools

Grade 9 to Grade 12

(ages 13 or 14 to 17 or 18)

Provincial schools

The ministry directly administers eight Provincial and Demonstration Schools for deaf, blind, deaf/blind, and severely disabled students; About 800 students are enrolled in the Provincial and Demonstration SchoolsSlide13

Education in Ontario: Quick Facts

Publicly funded schools in Ontario = 4,9234026 elementary

897 secondary

Number of students =

almost 2 million

1,355,440 elementary

715,296 secondary

Number of teachers in publicly funded schools =

116,179

72,207 elementary

43,972 secondary

Number of principals

/

vice-principals in publicly funded schools =

7,368

5,375 elementary

1,993 secondarySlide14

Commitments to the mental health & addictions strategy

Ontario Ministry of EducationSlide15

15

Provide fast access to high quality service

Kids and families will know where to go to get what they need and services will be available to respond in a timely way.

Identify and intervene in kids’ mental health needs early

Professionals in community-based child and youth mental health agencies and teachers will learn how to identify and respond to the mental health needs of kids.

Close critical service gaps for vulnerable kids, kids in key transitions, and those in remote communities

Kids will receive the type of specialized service they need and it will be culturally appropriate

THEMES

INDICATORS

Reduced child and youth suicides/suicide attempts

Educational progress (EQAO)

Fewer school suspensions and/or expulsions

Decrease in severity of mental health issues through treatment

Decrease in inpatient admission rates for child and youth mental health

Higher graduation rates

More professionals trained to identify kids’ mental health needs

Higher parent satisfaction in services received

Fewer hospital (ER) admissions and readmissions for child and youth mental health

Reduced Wait Times

OVERVIEW OF THE

MENTAL HEALTH & ADDICTIONS STRATEGY

- FIRST 3

YEARS

INITIATIVES

Provide designated mental health workers in schools

Implement Working Together for Kids’ Mental Health

Hire Nurse Practitioners for eating disorders program

Improve service coordination for high needs kids, youth and families

Implement standardized tools for outcomes and needs assessment

Amend education curriculum to cover mental health promotion and address stigma

Develop K-12 resource guide for educators

Implement school mental health ASSIST program

&mental

health literacy provincially

Enhance and expand Telepsychiatry model and services

Provide support at key transition points

Hire new Aboriginal workers Implement Aboriginal Mental Health Worker Training Program

Create 18 service collaboratives

Expand inpatient/outpatient services for child and youth eating disorders

Reduce wait times for service, revise service contracting, standards, and reporting

Funding to increase supply of child and youth mental health professionals

Improve public access to service information

Pilot Family Support Navigator model

Y1 pilot

Increase Youth Mental Health Court Workers

Provide nurses in schools to support mental health services

Implement Mental Health Leaders in selected School Boards

Outcomes, indicators and development of scorecard

Strategy EvaluationSlide16

Interconnected Initiatives

MOHLTC

Nurse Leaders

MHA Nurses in DSB program

Service

Collaboratives

SSLI

MCYS

MH Workers with Schools

Working Together

Student Support Leadership Initiative (SSLI)

EDU

SMH ASSIST

SSLISlide17

Schools are an optimal setting in which to:

Reduce stigmaPromote positive mental health Build social-emotional learning skills

Prevent mental health problems in high risk groups

Identify students in need

Create bridges to needed services

The MHA Strategy

R

ecognizes that Schools Have a Unique OpportunitySlide18

EDU Strategy Commitments

Amend the education curriculumDevelop a K-12 Resource Guide/WebsiteProvide support for professional learning in mental health and addictions for all Ontario educators

Fund and support Mental Health Leaders

Implement School Mental Health ASSISTSlide19

LNS SS_Lto18

Positive School Climate

Learning for All

Leadership Strategy

Growing Success

Student Voice

Parent Engagement

Accepting and Safe Schools Strategy

Aboriginal Education Strategy

Equity and

Inclusive

Education

Strategy

BIP for Student Achievement

K-12 School Effectiveness Framework

Healthy Schools

Mental Health

& Addictions Strategy Connections

Amend the education curriculum

Implement School Mental Health ASSIST

Develop a K-12 Resource Guide /Website

Fund and support Mental Health Leaders in school boards

Provide support for professional learning in mental health

and addictions

for educators

Related EDU InitiativesSlide20

School Mental Health is Not New

Schools and communities in Ontario and elsewhere have been dealing with these issues for decadesInconsistent, fragmented approaches, with pockets of excellence…

What’s new is the galvanizing of research, policy and practice to reach an integrated solution to a complex problemSlide21

OUT OF THE SHADOWS AT LAST

 The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and TechnologyThe Honourable Michael J. L. Kirby, Chair

May 2006

Making the school a site for the effective delivery of mental health services involves several key steps.  First, its potential must be recognized. Slide22

National School Mental Health

School-Based Mental Health & Substance Abuse ConsortiumCanada’s Mental Health Strategy (MHCC)EvergreenNational Infant Child & Youth Mental Health ConsortiumOpening Minds

Joint Consortium for School Health

Public Health Agency of Canada

Canadian Association for School Health

Canadian Centre for Substance AbuseSlide23

Release of SBMHSA Findings

MH Promotion

Prevention

Intervention/

Ongoing

Care

School/Class-wide Social Emotional Learning is associated

with enhanced

prosocial

ability and academic achievement

Internalizing

Cognitive-

Behaviour

Therapy

/ Behavior Therapy that is skill-based and builds protective factors can reduce symptoms

CBT/BT focused on core elements like social problem solving, cognitive restructuring, relaxation

Externalizing

Cognitive-

Behaviour

Therapy

/ Behavior Therapy that builds conflict resolution and

anger management skills can reduce symptoms

CBT/BT focused on core elements like identifying cues for aggression,

resisting automatic aggressive impulses, alternative behaviors

Substance Use

Mixed results – best

strategies are interactive and build refusal and life skills

Insufficient

evidence

Meta-Synthesis of ReviewsSlide24

Report of 150 nominated programs and strategies, from every province

Across the Evergreen continuumDevelopment and adaptation driven by need, resulting in islands of innovationInconsistent alignment with evidence, inconsistent use of local evaluationActionable messages

Build tools to support coherence and decision-making

NATIONAL SCAN DATABASE

Support evaluation and scale up of research-consistent programs

Release of SBMHSA Findings

Scan of Nominated Best PracticesSlide25

Release of SBMHSA Findings

National Survey of Schools and Boards

Broad Findings

85

% of

board-level respondents, and 65% of school-level

participants,

indicated

they were concerned or very concerned about

student

mental health and/or substance

use

Over 80% of respondents indicated that there are unmet student mental health and/or substance use needs in their board or school

Most Common

– Problems With:

a

ttention

& learning, anxiety, substance use, social relationships

&

bullying, oppositional behavior

&

aggression, depressed

mood

Identified need for organizational conditions at the school and board

level (board

policy, clear service pathways, infrastructure, role clarity, systematic PD)

Inconsistent coverage of the continuum of care in boards and schools. Primary focus on identification

and referral, individual intervention and crisis intervention

Implementation Barriers include: insufficient

resources in schools/communities, insufficient qualified staff in school boards, need for parent engagement/collaboration, need for promotion/prevention programming, need for systematic PD for educatorsSlide26

International Alliance for Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Schools

http://www.intercamhs.net/US – Canada Alliance for School Mental HealthAdvances in School Mental Health PromotionKey conferences featuring School Mental Health

7th Annual World Conference on Mental Health Promotion and Treatment of Behavioral Disorders, October 17-19, Perth, Australia

17

th

Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health, October 25-27, Salt Lake City, Utah

26

th

Annual Children’s Mental Health Research and Policy Conference, March 3-6, Tampa, Florida

International School Mental HealthSlide27

Taking Mental Health to School Ontario

Different models of mental health service delivery across boards (Taking Mental Health to School, 2009)Variable leadership structures, variable levels and types of professional support, variable relationship with community, variable range of services

Educators are very concerned about student mental health, but feel ill-prepared to provide support

Acknowledgement of promising supports (e.g., Student Support Leadership Initiative)

Need for leadership, coordination, access to evidence-based approaches, implementation support, evaluationSlide28

School Mental Health ASSIST

is a provincial implementation support team designed to help Ontario school boards to promote student mental health and well-being, through leadership, practical resources and systematic research-based approaches to school mental health.Slide29

Ontario Ministry of Education Lead

Special Education Policy & Programs Branch

School Board Lead

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

SMH ASSIST Core Team

Director, and 4

+

P/T Implementation Coaches (3 Senior School Mental Health Professionals, 1 Superintendent),

.

5

Research Associate (new!)

Cross-Sector Partners

Interministerial

Staff Team

Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child & Youth MH

Provincial Stakeholder Organizations

Evaluation and Implementation Consultation Team

Drs. Michael Boyle, Bruce Ferguson, Tom

Kratochwill

, Robert

Lucio

, Ian

Manion

, Doris McWhorter, Karen Milligan, Caroline

Parkin

, Joyce

Sebian

, Mark

Weist

Leadership StructureSlide30

Priorities

Organizational Conditions for Effective School Mental HealthMental Health Capacity-Building for Educators

Implementation of Evidence-Based Mental Health Promotion and Prevention ProgrammingSlide31

Organizational Conditions

Commitment

School Mental Health Leadership Team

Clear & Focused Vision

Shared Language

Assessment of Initial Capacity

Standard Processes

PD Protocols

School Mental Health Strategy / Action Plan

Broad Collaboration

Ongoing Quality Improvement

Top 10 ListSlide32

Capacity-Building

Mental Health Awareness

Mental Health Literacy

Mental Health Expertise

Basic mental health information, tailored for different school board audiences

Deeper working knowledge for those who have a direct role in supporting student mental health (creating mentally healthy schools & classrooms, recognizing early signs of difficulty)

Skills and knowledge for SMH professionals to effectively provide evidence-based promotion, prevention, and intervention

ALL

SOME

FEW

Capacity Building is not an

event! It is an iterative deepening of knowledge embedded in school board life. It takes time.

Resources should be tailored for

different education audiences Slide33

Not all programming in school mental health is helpful for all students. Some programming, though well-intentioned, is benign or harmful for certain populations.

Program implementation standards are critical (training, coaching, fidelity to protocols, evaluation) SMH ASSIST can help boards to select and sustain appropriate mental health promotion and prevention programs and strategiesMental Health Promotion & PreventionSlide34

Resources

Webinar series, other staff development materialsDecision support tools

Templates

School Administrators’ Toolkit

Consultation

Workshops

Representation on provincial reference groups & committees

Support to ALL Ontario boardsSlide35

15 boards were Focus Boards in 2011-2012, another 15 announced for 2012-2013Boards receive 1 FTE Mental Health Leader and SMH ASSIST support

Reciprocal relationship with SMH ASSISTASSIST provides leadership & implementation supportFocus Boards help with piloting resources that will be rolled out to all boards in timeFocus BoardsSlide36

Focus Boards

Algoma DSBAlgonquin and Lakeshore Catholic DSBCSD Catholiques Centre-Sud

CSD des écoles catholiques du

Sud-Ouest

CSD du

Nord-Est

de l'Ontario

District School Board of Niagara

Hamilton-Wentworth DSB

Hastings and Prince Edward DSB

Huron-Superior Catholic DSB

Keewatin-Patricia DSB

Kenora

Catholic District School Board

Peel DSBSimcoe-Muskoka Catholic DSBToronto Catholic DSB

Trillium Lakelands DSB

Selected for geographic, language, Catholic/Public representation, along a continuum of School Mental Health capacity

CSD catholique des Grandes Rivières

CSD du Grand Nord de l'Ontario

Grand Erie DSB

Halton

DSB

Lakehead

DSB

Lambton Kent DSB

London District Catholic DSB

Northeastern

Catholic DSB

Ontario North East DSB

Ottawa Catholic DSB

Simcoe County DSB

Thunder Bay Catholic DSBToronto DSBUpper Grand DSBYork Catholic DSBSlide37

Mental Health Leaders

Mental Health Leaders are senior mental health professionals hired by District School Boards to:Provide leadership & coordination in school mental health, conduct/update a mental health needs assessment, co-create a Board Mental Health Strategy, oversee the implementation of the Board MH Strategy,

support community collaboration

Mental Health Leaders work closely with Superintendents with responsibility for mental health, and existing school mental health professionals to tailor the role for the board

Work within a community of practice, participate in SMH ASSIST leadership modules, receive ongoing coachingSlide38

Visit SMH ASSIST

http://smh-assist.ca/Slide39

Understanding School

Board CultureSlide40

What Life in School Boards is Really Like…Slide41

A day in the life of a school

We teach students, age 3 through 18+, literacy, numeracy, content, character, coping, career…We get them to school safely on buses, feed them, clean up cut knees and wipe away tears, watch them play, learn, make mistakes, and help one anotherWe provide extra support to vulnerable students

We

assess progress, maintain records, aggregate data

We reach out to parents

We collaborate with

our community partners

We support one another, and our students ,

every day…Slide42

Education Priorities

Academic learning is our primary responsibilityImportant to make the connections between mental health and academic achievementBoards create an annual achievement plan (BIPSA)Schools create an annual achievement plan (SIP)Boards and schools follow a planning / monitoring process called the School Effectiveness Framework Slide43

Getting Started…

Learn about the board(s) – they are each uniqueMake contact with the Superintendent responsible for student mental healthConnect with the Mental Health Leader, if present & the Chief Social Worker / PsychologistConfirm expectations for the role (scope, focus)Slide44

Some Good Questions…

Who has lead responsibility for student mental health in the board?Is there a board mental health leadership team? May I join?Who provides mental health services in the board currently? Who does what?Does the board have a mental health strategy? What are the key priorities?Slide45

Resource Mapping

If your board has a Mental Health Leader, then a resource mapping will have been completedThis mapping is meant to illuminate system strengths and gaps, for use in the development of the board mental health strategyIn many boards, the mapping extends to school level resource/program information, to assist with school programming decisionsSlide46

Professional Learning

Movement towards working together in a climate of collective inquiry towards a clear focused educational goalCross-classroom, cross-division, cross-school, cross-department, cross-boardAligns with research on adult learning and teacher preferencesSlide47

Tiers of Intervention

Key initiatives that are foundational to mental health ascribe to a tiered model of intervention (e.g., Student Success, Learning for All) This aligns with the national Evergreen framework, and the public health model

Mental health promotion, prevention, intervention and ongoing care

Boards deliver promotion

&

prevention

routinely, and many have mental health professionals who provide intervention services

But there is much to do and we rely on our partners for help!Slide48

Tiered Support in Systems of Care

Universal Evidence-Based

Mental Health Promotion, Social-Emotional Learning

Targeted Evidence-Based Prevention

E-B Clinical

Intervention

Evidence-Based Clinical Intervention

Targeted Evidence-Based Prevention

Universal E-B Mental Health Promotion

Community

School Boards

Organizational Conditions

Mental Health Capacity

Continuous Quality Improvement

Engagement

Implementation FocusSlide49

Questions for Reflection…Slide50

Contact Information

Sandy PalinskiManager, Special Education Policy & Programs BranchOntario Ministry of EducationSandy.Palinski@ontario.ca

Kathy Short

Director, School Mental Health ASSIST

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

Kathy.Short@hwdsb.on.ca