OEA Grow

Tier 3: Practices & Supports

Our host Dr. Amy Yillik ends this season’s discussion of Culture of Care with a close look at Tier 3 needs and services. Her guest is Ryan Harding, Behavior Specialist with the Redmond School District, who explains that the Tier 3 program is more long-term and individualized than Tier 2, with a focus on providing students with whatever each one needs for success.
Continuing repercussions from the pandemic have made these services even more critical with students’ increased difficulties in socializing and self-regulating, often most evident on the playground, according to Ryan. He stresses the importance of including parents to achieve the goal of integration back into the classroom. This is an episode promoting empathy, trying to understand the needs and perceptions of others engaged in the efforts to support our students. 
 
Resources - 
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) - sometimes called a Behavior Plan or a Behavior Support Plan (BSP)
Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI)
Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)
Oregon Senate Bill 819 concerning abbreviated school days
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Tier 2: Supporting Students in Need

Our season on Culture of Care continues this week with a discussion of academic and social/emotional support for students, specifically the Tier Two level of the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) rubric. Tier Two is a particularly difficult level to address, coming between Tier One, which all students receive, and Tier Three, which requires one-on-one help. Host Dr. Amy Yillik’s guest for this conversation is Jamie Gunter, a counselor for LaPine High School and Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the entire Bend/LaPine district, who suggests various approaches for Tier Two support when adequate staffing and funding are lacking. 
This episode offers many options for schools who struggle to support these Tier Two students in terms of substance usage, suicide prevention, and other social/emotional and academic needs. Suggestions range from a Graduation Coach who works with students beginning in their freshman year, to a designated Focus Room for any student who needs space and time to self-regulate, learn skills, or talk to a counselor. Schools without these resources could still utilize Youth Truth Surveys and host social/emotional campaigns throughout the year. Individual educators can help students with calming and self-regulating measures, such as grounding and breathing exercises. 
Oregon was one of the first states to mandate programs of suicide prevention in schools, but funding is insufficient to implement these programs. This episode is vital listening for educators wanting to support students in need. 
Resources - 
Jamie Gunter named 2017 Outstanding Support Staff Person of the Year
Sources of Strength
Teen Intervene
Upshift 
Youth Truth Surveys
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)
Oregon Dept. of Education: Suicide Prevention, Intervention, Postvention (Adi’s Act) 

Family Engagement: Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition

This week, Dr. Amy Yillik welcomes Julie Patton, Student Success Coordinator at Elton Gregory Middle School in Redmond and a member of the Family Engagement Team with Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition (BRYT). Their conversation centers around family engagement and the importance of educators establishing solid lines of communication with the families of their students. Children are more successful in school when their teachers work in partnership with their parents or guardians. 
In order to develop this relationship, Julie recommends that educators reach out to parents or guardians as soon as possible so that positive connections are already in place if more serious communication is needed in the future. She stresses the need to find the form of communication that each family finds most comfortable and to realize that parents may have varying experience and views of the educational system. The key is to withhold judgment and offer any needed resources. Parenting can be acutely isolating, and educators can help families find support.
Julie also offers information about the BRYT program, designed to partner with schools and families to promote healing, wellness, and academic success for students. The program is currently available in Oregon only in Redmond, Portland, and Bend/LaPine. She suggests that listeners consult the program’s websites for more support in engaging families in their students’ success. 
Resources:
BRYT Program in the Redmond School District 
BRYT Program for Students in Transition 
BRYT Caregiver Events 

Equity and Culture of Care Spaces

Dr. Amy Yillik continues Season 11, Culture of Care, with a discussion of the concept of equity. Her guest, Steve Wetherald of Bend High School, defines the term as the assurance that all students have whatever they need to succeed. As a Graduation Coach, Steve works to encourage students, whatever their needs, to graduate and attend college, and as the faculty advisor of the school’s Cross Cultural Club, he supports students in their efforts to build a mutually supportive and inclusive community.
Much of the conversation centers around this Cross Cultural Club at Bend High School that grew out of students’ request for a place where they feel absolutely safe and know that they belong. Steve affirms that all high schools might benefit from similar clubs, just as many colleges do. He offers suggestions for finding allies in this work of empowering students, whatever their needs. 
 
Resources - 
Steve Wetherald named 2022 Central Oregon Regional Teacher of the Year 
OEA Commitment to Equity
Center for Equity and Inclusion
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Restorative Justice & Practices

Confused about the concept of restorative justice? This week, host Dr. Amy Yillik talks with Sorahi Harati, Program Director of the Restorative Justice and Equity Group (RJE) in Bend. The two educators agree that restorative justice is often mislabeled as a misguided approach to discipline, “giving everyone a lollipop” to solve problems. Sorahi explains that, in reality, efforts of this kind involve peaceful problem-solving techniques to fit each situation. Also helpful are proactive restorative practices that preclude harmful interactions in the first place by building community and a sense of belonging. 
This episode offers simple suggestions for building circles of communication and teaching students of all ages how they might handle contentious situations. The message to educators: this is a practice that you’ve probably already begun as a thoughtful, reflective educator. Reach out for support and more information through Culture of Care and the Restorative Justice and Equity Group. 
 
Resources
Restorative Justice & Equity Group 
OEA Restorative Practices Solution Circle
Culture of Care recommended reading on Restorative Justice
Katherine Evans and Dorothy Vaandering. The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education. Good Books, 2016. 
Howard Zehr. The Little Book of Restorative Justice. Good Books, 2015. 
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Educator Wellness

Each of the episodes so far in Season 11 has centered on how educators might support the wellness of students. And in each week’s discussion, our host Dr. Amy Yillik and her guests have acknowledged that the suggested strategies for students work best when educators are themselves calm and mindful. This week, Dr. Yillik turns her focus to ways that educators can achieve this level of wellness with her guest Sandi Washburn, Behavior Specialist with the Greater Albany Public Schools and author of two books on resilience and mindfulness. In their conversation, the two educators discuss how to deal with stress and avoid burnout, describing several exercises suggested in the two books. 
Educators might include in their schedules a daily activity that is simple, yet calming to combat the stress inherent in education careers. These activities would ideally include movement, expressions of gratitude, and/or positive connections. If educators take the time, however limited, for self-care, they will in turn have the resources to model self-regulation and mindfulness for their students. 
 
Resources
“Self-Care, Wellness, and Joy” 
Sandi Washburn, Better by the Letter: Educator Edition. BookBaby, 2020
Sandi Washburn. Better by the Letter: Family Edition. BookBaby, 2022. 
Kelly McGonical. The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage. Avery, 2021.
Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey. What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing. Flatiron Books, 2021.  
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Truama-Informed Practices

This week, Dr. Amy Yillik discusses trauma-responsive practices in education with Jessica Reamon, Autism Consultant for the Northwest Regional Education Service District. The two educators emphasize the importance of creating an environment where students feel safe and connected, a necessity for any learning to take place. They suggest achieving this goal through co-regulation, the process of modeling and teaching self-regulation skills with supportive responses and a warm, calming presence.
Co-regulation, of course, cannot be effective if educators don’t also feel safe and in control, an ideal that is often difficult to achieve with the stress that is endemic to the field of education. This episode suggests a variety of strategies to maintain your equilibrium and sense of calm (have you ever heard of dance church?). The benefits for yourself and your students are within reach. 
 
Resources
Autism Resource Site, compiled by Jessica Reamon
Trauma-Informed Education
Dance Church  
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Interoceptive Strategies and Co-regulation

Do you know the term “interoception,” the perception of the internal state of one’s body? Tune into this episode for ways to help students refine their sense of interoception and gain awareness and self-control over their emotions and behavior. Dr. Amy Yillik’s guest this week is Katie Diez, an occupational therapist in the High Desert Education Service District who explains the importance of students becoming mindful of their body sensations and how these sensations are linked to emotions in particular. She suggests that educators encourage students to recognize physical sensations without judgment, link them to specific emotions, and develop strategies to deal with them. 
Educators can use these same methods, even as simple as deep breathing, to handle their own stress. This episode offers an array of helpful suggestions for achieving mindfulness and self-control as we help students self-regulate their behavior.   
 
Resources - 
The Significance of Interoception
Mindfulness in the Classroom
Resources for Educators 
Katie Diez demonstrates a mindfulness exercise, bead breathing
Katie Diez’s “Katie Calm Time” - working with students on turn taking, impulse control, and social skills 
Using Body Wisdom to Calm the Stressed Brain - OEA self-paced module
Applied Educational Neuroscience Program OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Introduction to Culture of Care (Part 2)

Dr. Amy Yillik continues her conversation this week with her Culture of Care colleagues, Amber McGill and Erin Taylor. In this episode they explain in detail how the program, focusing on trauma-responsive, restorative, and equitable practices, supports schools in the High Desert Education Service District with workshops, coaching, and other pedagogical services that individual educators often have neither time nor resources to provide for their students.
This episode offers simple, yet practical suggestions for helping students feel secure and empowered. The three coaches also discuss ways for educators to focus on their own wellness and avoid burnout. The conversation is overall an optimistic one - despite overworked educators and understaffed schools, there is an upsurge of commitment to these areas of restorative and equitable practices in Oregon, and listeners are encouraged to reach out to make connections and find support. 
Resources 
Tim Feeney Script Guides to simplify restorative practices 
 
Michael Grinder, ”Master the Science of Nonverbal Communication” with ENVoY Coaches and Trainers
 
Katharine Manning. The Empathetic Workplace: 5 Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job. HarperCollins Leadership, 2021. 
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network

Introduction to Culture of Care (Part I)

In this first episode of Season 11, our host Dr. Amy Yillik, discusses the importance of supporting the adults in the school system in order to foster trauma-sensitive, restorative, and equitable environments for students. Dr. Yillik’s guests this week are her colleagues Erin Taylor and Amber McGill, who work with her in Culture of Care, a program created by six Oregon school districts in the High Desert Education Service District. The three women bring their experience and expertise in school psychology to hold workshops and learning opportunities for adults who work with students so that they can support students’ needs to feel safe, seen, known, and valued.
Tune into this episode to gain insights into the challenges faced by students navigating a system that may not always meet their needs. The problems are increasingly acute when overworked educators are often on the verge of burnout, with overcrowded classrooms, understaffed schools, and lack of time for self-care. The three Culture of Care coaches offer suggestions for school districts facing these hurdles. 
 
Resources - 
Culture of Care program 
 
Dr. Amy Yillik’s TED Ed Talk 
 
Erin Taylor’s TED Ed Talk 
 
Matthew R. Morris on Teacher Burnout 
 
Herbert J. Freudenberger. Burn Out: The High Cost of High Achievement. Bantam, 1983. 
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network