Peer Wellness

Problem of Practice

Educators in our region expressed (through the MCREN Network Health Survey) that they feel burnt out, unbalanced, and that there is a lack of support in the area of adult mental health. Administrators echoed these feelings, along with a seemingly separate ask for more ways to solve behavior problems in the classroom. Knowing that calibrated adults are the building blocks for creating calibrated students in classrooms and that component three of Oregon’s Transformative Social and Emotional Learning Framework & Standards emphasizes adult transformative SEL, we know that this is a multi-pronged issue which needs to be addressed in layers.

Our professional learning needs will address this from the base upwards, providing educators with the skills and support needed to care better for themselves and each other, leading to a broader capacity to care for students and create healthy school communities. Due to the nature of classified staff, they are not in a position contractually to receive high quality professional learning, this is one way to challenge that.

Overview

This project focuses on mental health and wellbeing for classified educators working in alternative education programs by providing staff with skills and supported need to better care for themselves and each other, leading to a broader capacity to care for students and create a healthy school environment.