Hello! I am Lisa Truitt, the newly hired Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Wellness Specialist and State Attendance Officer. I attended Indiana University in Bloomington and obtained a degree in Secondary Education. I taught Language Arts for twelve years in the high school setting and loved every minute of it. While teaching, my administrators provided me with many opportunities in leadership and I quickly decided that school administration was a great next move for my career. I attended Ball State University and obtained my Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision. I was hired as an assistant principal in a small rural school, serving grades 6-12. I stayed in that position for eight years until moving to IDOE this past June. I am married to my wonderful husband Nathan and have two teenage daughters, Madison and Mira, five step children, Shelby (married to Nik), Alex, Abby, Phoebe, and Hudson, and three dogs, Deirks Bentley, Izzy, and Luna. Life is never dull in our house! In my free time I enjoy time with my family, and traveling any chance I can get!

If you haven't explored the toolkits and resources available on the Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Wellness website, please block out time to do so! It has lesson plans, handouts, and activities all broken down by grade band. This is an incredible free tool.

The goal of Project AWARE is to increase awareness of mental and emotional health concerns, and to improve connections to mental health services for students by developing and expanding school-based mental health teams. Through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sponsored grant, states were asked to select three districts to work in conjunction with state education agencies to achieve the mission of Project AWARE. In partnership with selected districts, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) will work to create demonstration sites for effective mental health practices in suburban, urban, and rural settings for replication across Indiana. The partnership between IDOE and the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addictions (DMHA) will assist school corporations in collaborating with local mental health agencies and systems of care in order to establish a community approach to supporting the whole child.

For more information please contact Jessica Yoder.

Children’s Commission Update

July 12, 2019

At Wednesday’s Children’s Commission meeting, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Task Force gave a presentation on mobile crisis response for children and youth with mental health needs.

Main points included:

· Data indicate that the model has been successful in New Jersey and Arizona, with New Jersey able to keep 97 percent of youth in crisis at home through mobile response.

· A child welfare pilot also prevented placement disruptions for 100 percent of the foster youth in the pilot, all of whom had previously had several disrupted placements.

· The presentation generated a spirited discussion about ways to bring the model to Indiana and potential sources of funding for a pilot project.

Additionally, the Commission:

· approved a recommendation to support a coordinated campaign to increase Indiana’s rate of developmental screening for children ages zero - five years of age,

· adopted recommended definitions related to trauma and trauma-informed care, and

· discussed increasing awareness of the Commission’s Information Sharing Guide.

For all the meeting documents and to watch the video of the meeting, click here.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 14, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Indiana Government Center South, Conference Room B.

School nurses are seen as a valuable resource regarding student physical health, but they can also serve as an integral component of school mental health teams. Numerous studies recognize that positive physical and mental health is essential for student academic success. School nurses, because of their regular access to students and their experience with care coordination, are uniquely equipped to assist school and community-based behavioral health professionals in providing services to students. School nurses can provide ongoing assessments, monitor treatment compliance, and provide timely feedback to parents, providers and school personnel regarding a student’s physical or mental health condition. The school nurse can also assist students as they return to school after homebound instruction or hospitalization. In future newsletters, we will discuss these school nurse roles in more detail. Please click here to access IDOE’s Social, Emotional and Wellness website where you will find toolkits and resources to assist school personnel, including school nurses, with meeting the health needs of students.

For more information contact Jolene Bracole.

· SEA 632 – Radon in Schools (Effective July 2019)

o Recommendations for radon testing have been developed by the Indiana State Department of Health and distributed to schools

o To see these recommendations as well as other Indoor Air Quality best-practices, please click here

Did You Know?

• Students should miss no more than nine days of school each year to stay engaged, successful and on track to graduation.

• Absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with school work, dealing with a bully, or facing some other potentially serious difficulty.

• Preliminary data from a California study found that children who were chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade were far less likely to read proficiently at the end of third grade.

• By sixth grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school.

• By ninth grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.

• Missing 10 percent, or about 18 days, of the school year can drastically affect a student’s academic success.

• Students can be chronically absent even if they only miss a day or two every few weeks.

• Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child be successful after high school.

What You Can Do

Make school attendance a priority

• Talk about the importance of showing up to school everyday, make that the expectation.

• Help your child maintain daily routines, such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep.

• Try not to schedule dental and medical appointments during the school day.

• Don’t let your child stay home unless truly sick. Complaints of headaches or stomach aches may be signs of anxiety.

Communicate with the school

• Know the school’s attendance policy.

• Talk to teachers if you notice sudden changes in behavior. These could be tied to something going on at school.

• Check on your student’s attendance to be sure absences are not piling up.

• Ask for help from school officials, after school programs, and other parents or community agencies if you’re having trouble getting your student to school.

Join IDOE for a day of training on how Multi-Tiered Systems of Support can be implemented in your school and/or district. Districts are encouraged to come in teams of two-to-four educators (administrators, general education teachers, student services, and/or special education teachers). Please register at this link for the date and location that works for your team. If you have any questions, please contact Christy Berger.

The Indiana Department of School Improvement will host three training opportunities for expulsion officers. This training will include important information for those who are already serving in this capacity and for those who may be new to the role. An opportunity for questions, scenarios and information on new and long standing laws and protocols will be covered in this four hour training facilitated by a state expert.

Aug. 20, 2019 11:30-3:30

Indiana Association of School Principals

11025 E. 25th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46229

Closed

Aug. 27, 2019, 11:30-3:30

South Bend Community School Corporation

215 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. BLVD

South Bend, IN 46601

Click here to register

Sept. 3, 2019, 11:30-3:30

South Indiana Education Center

1102 Tree Lane Drive

Jasper, IN 47546

Click here to register

Indianapolis Public Schools was successful in a bid to host a Midwest region PK12 school district led by the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA). A nationally recognized attorney with ATIXA will provide three days of specific content including athletic equity, compliance with law, and protection for students. Participants will receive certification in PK12 Title IX Administration if they attend all three days.

The conference will be Sept. 11-13, 2019. Indianapolis Public Schools is hosting this conference in an effort to provide effective training for PK-12 colleagues, especially right here in Indiana.

For More Information Contact:

Kim Kennedy |Paralegal & Title IX Coordinator

Indianapolis Public Schools |120 E. Walnut St., Indianapolis, IN 46204

317.226..4644|kennedyk@myips.org

As the school year begins, don't forget to create healthy habits for yourself! Happy educators are able to build positive and meaningful relationships with their students and increase job satisfaction!

IDOE will be releasing an educator wellness class. The Science Happiness course will be released in September to help support Indiana educators and their over-all well-being. Educator well-being has great impact on Indiana’s students, schools, and success. This self-paced, online course is designed to help educators learn strategies for improving their personal emotional health as related to their exceptional professional responsibilities. Teachers will be able to earn 45 PGP's upon completion of this course.

Indiana Department of Education

Indiana School Social Work Association

Indiana Association of School Nurses

Indiana School Counselors Association

Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Wellness Specialist

Email: LTruitt1@doe.in.gov
Website: www.doe.in.gov/sebw
Location: 115 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-233-6016
Twitter: @LisaTruitt_SEL