Get School Psych'd

Hey there LSSPs,

So, I think I may have to re-evaluate my love of February with how last month went. :(

I hope everyone was able to stay safe and warm during the extreme weather we had. My family was fortunate with minimal issues (just a small plumbing bill), but I know many friends and family who were not so fortunate and are now dealing with another round of challenges on top of our still ongoing health pandemic.

If there is anything I can do to provide support for any of y'all, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Keep Being School Psych'd,

Keya Saleh, LSSP, NCSP

Region 10 Educational Service Center

Child Psychiatrists Warn That The Pandemic May Be Driving Up Kids' Suicide Risk

Part 1 of an NPR series on the possible increased risk of suicide results from the global health pandemic.

Make Space, Listen, Offer Hope: How To Help A Child At Risk Of Suicide

Part 2 in the series from NPR. This follow-up offers recommendations and strategies to serve as protective factors against risk of suicide.

Who Helps The Helpers? SEL For School Counselors’ Mental Health

A nice article from ASCD around the topics of burnout and compassion fatigue. While it is targeted to school counselors, you can mentally swap in the 'LSSP' and it all still pretty much applies.

As part of a new 'mini-series' in the Get School Pscyh'd newsletter, I will be featuring/sharing some information about the various statewide networks in Texas.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Technical Assistance Networks, here's a brief description:

As part of the dissemination of discretionary funds that TEA receives under IDEA-B for state-level activities, TEA provides grants for statewide leadership networks. Networks address major, thematic topics that are identified as critical technical assistance and support needs for the state. A network is comprised of:

• The grantee who implements the network under TEA's leadership
• Network members (At least 1 from each of the 20 Education Service Centers (ESCs) across the state)
• TEA special education program staff

This month's network highlight is TSLAT: the Texas Autism Statewide Leadership for Autism Training. The network has one of the most robust and free libraries of high quality, on-demand trainings. From evaluation to programming and service delivery, their online course library has it all (including a couple of courses for parents in Spanish!).

Check out the TSLAT website here.

SEL4TX invites you to join us in celebrating International SEL Day on March 26, 2021! Our mission? Get #SELday trending worldwide!

Sign up today to commit to showcasing, promoting, supporting, and advocating for social-emotional learning. Simply create an SEL artifact--such as a video, photo, blog, podcast, poster, etc.--and share it share on social media using the hashtags (#SELday) and (#SEL4TX)!

Not sure where to begin? Check out our #SELday Toolkits or our quick suggestions for 10 Ways to Celebrate #SELday. They’re loaded with ideas for all kinds of commitments. No matter how you choose to participate in #SELday, you’ll be able to find a starting point here!

Read to engage in a bit of friendly competition? Earn #SELday badges by completing activities that showcase and support SEL in your local school, organization, and community. Climb to the top of the leaderboard by contributing multiple activities that raise SEL engagement and bring awareness to our mission!

Become a member and join #SEL4TX in bringing social-emotional learning into the global spotlight on #SELday.

The Collin County System of Care has announced a "Share and Care" event series. This free

networking, resources, and information webinar related to various adolescent behavioral health needs.

You can sign up today at the CCSoC link here and come away with some great ideas from a panel discussion to apply in 2021.

The monthly Webinar series will be held the fourth Thursday of the month, the final date is:

Thursday, March 25th at 12 p.m. – Grief and Loss

A surrogate or foster parent may be needed to represent a student with a disability during the special education process as outlined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA).

In cases where the child has no parent(s), none can be located, or the child is a ward of the state, a surrogate parent must be appointed to make educational decisions on behalf of the child and to protect the child’s rights in matters relating to identification, evaluation, and placement in special education.

Given the rarity of the situation, you may find yourself unsure of how to proceed. If so, here are some great resources:

Surrogate Parent Certification Training - This free course is available in English and Spanish to help individuals understand the legal responsibilities and requirements for acting as a surrogate parent.

Surrogate Parent Flowchart - This wonderful resource from Region 20 helps educators, through a series of questions, determine whether or not a surrogate parent is allowed or available given a students unique circumstances.

I have always gotten a lot of questions about the books I am reading (mostly because approximately 84% of my sentences start with "you know I just read this book..."), so I decided to start sharing some of my personal favorites that I have recently read (or in some cases, reread).

This month: Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Dr. Dan Siegel

I had the great opportunity to hear Dr. Siegel speak as the Keynote speaker at the adolescent symposium last month, and he frequently referenced book of his that I had not read, so of course I immediately went online and snagged a copy. His discussion of the importance of the distinction between adolescence, puberty, and teenage was enough to pique my interest and I am glad it did. Like previous Siegel books, he provides wonderful insight into the brain development of children and offers practical ideas and strategies for dealing with some of the more challenging years in life.

One of my biggest goals of GSP is to get information about our Region 10 LSSPs. I know your time is valuable and I don't want to ask you to spend half a day filling out tons of information, so I have settled on what I am calling the Two-ish Question Quiz. Every so often, I humbly ask for you to answer two questions about yourself to help us get a better picture of the LSSPs in Region 10.

If you have any questions or need support in your campus/district, give me a shout!

Email: keya.saleh@region10.org
Website: www.region10.org/programs/evaluation-special-education/overview/
Location: 904 Abrams Road, Richardson, TX, USA
Phone: 972-348-1598
Twitter: @getschoolpsychd