Family-School Partnerships: Proven Strategies to Promote Success for Students at Risk
Susan M. Sheridan  & Amanda L. Witte

It is well-established that when parents and educators engage with one another, students benefit. Family-school partnerships are student-centered approaches wherein parents and educators work deliberately and collaboratively to enhance opportunities and success for students. Beyond one-way parental involvement in traditional activities, parents and teachers engaged in partnerships work jointly and share responsibility for children’s success across home and school systems. This workshop will provide hands-on strategies for building and strengthening family-school partnerships, with particular attention to supports for students with behavioral, social-emotional, or academic challenges. A strengths-based framework will be explored, including methods for increasing communication and collaboration. In addition, a research-based intervention for connecting parents and educators of students at-risk of school failure will be emphasized. Implementation tools and tips will be presented, as well as video demonstrations, case examples, and discussion. Participants will leave the workshop with knowledge and materials for creating partnerships for student success.

Learning Goals
Participants will:

1. Learn about the benefits of family-school partnerships and a framework for understanding how they can be developed and fostered in culturally responsive ways.
2. Explore in depth a research-based approach to family-school partnerships for students with behavioral, social-emotional, or academic challenges.
3. Learn hands-on strategies for strengthening relationships and partnerships between families and schools.
4. Engage with presenters and each other to identify methods for integrating research-based family-school partnerships into daily practice.

Susan M. Sheridan is George Holmes University Professor of Educational Psychology; the founding Director of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools; and the Associate Dean for Research and Creative Activity in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is recognized as a leader in family–school partnerships, parent engagement, early childhood intervention, social-behavioral interventions for students at risk, and rural education. Sheridan has published more than 200 books, chapters, and journal articles on these and related topics. She has received more than $63 million in research and training grants from agencies including the Institute of Education Sciences, National Institutes of Health, and National Science Foundation. A Fellow of Division 16 of the American Psychological Association and past president of the Society for the Study of School Psychology, Sheridan was bestowed the 1993 Lightner Witmer award by APA’s Division of School Psychology for early career accomplishments; the 2005 Presidential Award from the National Association of School Psychologists; the 2014 University of Nebraska Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award; the 2015 Senior Scientist Award for lifetime career accomplishments from APA’s Division of School Psychology; and 2019 Distinguished Alumni Awards from both Western Illinois University’s Department of Psychology and the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Educational Psychology. She holds a doctorate in educational (school) psychology from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Amanda L. Witte is a Research Assistant Professor at the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools (CYFS). Her research is focused on family-school partnerships, early learning and rural education, and multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). She has extensive experience with family-school partnership interventions as a consultant, trainer, and researcher. She delivers workshops and training in family-school partnerships to parents, educators, and service providers internationally, and facilitates the ongoing coaching of family-school partnership interventionists. She currently collaborates with state and local education agencies to provide leadership and research support to state MTSS efforts. Dr. Witte has experience engaging educators and parents in qualitative and quantitative research, having collaborated with approximately 250 school districts to create research-practice partnerships. Witte has contributed to numerous research publications and practitioner-oriented resources relating to family-school partnership practices. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in educational psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Mindfulness: Improving Your Personal and Professional Well-Being
Prof. William (Bill) Pfohl

This workshop will focus on mindfulness theory and practice and how these methods can be used in your daily personal and professional life. The theory of mindfulness will be covered and participants will learn from demonstrated experiential events how a mindful outlook and structured activities can be used to enhance your personal well-being. Mindfulness programs for classrooms will also be covered. Dress comfortably.

Learning Objectives
Participants will:

1. Learn the current research on mindfulness
2. Learn and practice a variety of mindfulness activities to learn by direct exposure
3. Know a variety of student, teacher, and personal resources for practicing mindfulness
4. Learn how incorporate mindfulness activities into their personal lives
5. Learn how to introduce mindfulness activities into the schools and working with children and youth

William (Bill) Pfohl is a Professor (Emeritus) of Psychology at Western Kentucky University where he was a trainer of school and clinical psychologists for the past 36 years. He teaches a course in Cognitive Behavior Therapy and incorporates Mindfulness theory and practices into the course. He was a member of the Goldie Hawn Foundation Board of Directors as it started development a mindful curriculum for elementary and middle schools in 2006-07. He uses mindful activities daily.
He has held leadership positions in the National Association of School Psychologists, International School Psychology Association, and other state organizations in the USA. He is a Lifetime Achievement Award member of NASP, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and recently was awarded the ISPA’s Distinguished Service Award. He has presented mindfulness workshops at various state school psychology association conferences.

How to be Confident, Competent and Calm during a Crisis at School: Overview over Basic Strategies and Tools
Dr. Jan-Erik Schmidt & Odeth Bloemberg

There is a growing expectation on the school staff in schools to be ready to lead the response to crises in schools today. It seems to be very important for all those who respond to be competent, confident, and calm. Severe violence, threats or death in the context of schools demands special knowledge and techniques applied by school-psychologists. During the workshop the most important strategies of psychological support for schools in case of a crisis are presented. A demonstration of special communication techniques and tools for the analysis of first steps will provide you with ideas what to do in case you have to respond to a tragic event in the context of school.

Workshop Objectives

1. Get an idea how to prepare caregivers for a crisis
2. Get an idea how to guide schools through the process of recovery after a crisis
3. Get an idea how to focus on relevant information after a crisis at school
4. Get to know strategies to take care of your own health during a crisis response

Odeth Bloemberg – van den Bekerom studied psychology at the Tilburg University and pedagogics (science of teaching) at the Free University in Amsterdam. She is working as a School Psychologist for a school board consisting of 25 special needs schools for children with mental and physical disabilities and psychiatric problems. Odeth is Program Co-chair of the Postmaster School Psychology Program in Nijmegen. She also works as trainer for ESPCT, a training center originated from ISPA. She is board member of ESPCT and secretary of ISPA. Her special interest areas are special educational needs, crisis response, trauma and safe schools. She is registered as a child & youth psychologist and EMDR practitioner.

Dr. Jan-Erik Schmidt studied Psychology in Tuebingen, Germany. He worked in a residential youth home, in a family-counseling-center and he is school-psychologist since 2008. He is a registered solution-focused family-therapist and coordinator of the local crisis-intervention-team. Since 2013 Jan-Erik Schmidt is Board member of the European School Psychology Center for Training (ESPCT) and trainer for Crisis Intervention in Schools. His areas of interest are the cooperation of professionals in educational institutions and the cooperation between students and adults in educational settings.

Supervision as life- long professional development in school psychology
Sharone L. Maital & Reuvena Shalhevet- Kaniel

In recent years there has been increasing attention to the need for supervision specific to school psychology. Supervision involves an ongoing “collaborative process,” between more senior school psychologists and less experienced supervisees (NASP, 2004). Supervision is increasingly recognized as a core training practice, essential both at early career stages, and as a means of ensuring continuing professional development and quality of psychological services within educational settings. The complexity of our profession, new developments and evidence, and ongoing social and cultural change require ongoing professional development throughout one’s career.
This workshop will focus on defining supervision as a distinct practice within school psychology. We will consider different approaches to supervision that relate to the varied needs of school psychologists at different career stages and in different cultural contexts. Until recently, supervision practices have been based on clinical approaches. Some differentiate humanistic/artistic; didactic/ technical; and developmental/reflective approaches (Pajack, 2002). The common core supervision competencies proposed by APA (2015) are certainly relevant. Recently, Simon & Swerdlik (2017) presented a comprehensive, developmental, ecological and problem-solving (DEP) model of supervision specific to school psychology.
Our workshop will address questions concerning supervision practices in different countries and what constitutes competent supervision for school psychologists. What specific skills are required and how do cultural influences affect supervision practices? How can we assess the effectiveness of supervision practices, from the perspectives of the supervisee, the supervisor, and those receiving services? Throughout the workshop, we will discuss ethical dilemmas and guidelines specific to supervision.

Learning objectives
Participants will understand and appreciate:

1. Distinct aspects of supervision in school psychology practice and commonalities with other helping professions, as well as differences and similarities in different cultural contexts.
2. The importance and the need for supervision over the course of one’s career in school psychology and at different career levels.
3. Dilemmas and suitable responses to issues in multicultural supervision settings.
4. Participants will become familiar with key supervision practices and competencies through consideration of cases and role play and will discuss possible ways to assess the effectiveness of supervision.
5. Participants will have an opportunity to discuss ethical dilemmas that arise in the practice of supervision.

Dr. Sharona Maital is a supervisor and senior educational psychologist in Israel where she lives and works. She recently retired from her post as Deputy Head Psychologist of the Northern Region of the Israel Educational Psychology Services and from lecturing at Jezreel Valley College and in the Faculty of Education at Haifa University. She continues to supervise and train school psychologists in the field, focusing on consultation, conducts training workshops and serves as a school psychology division representative on the national board of the Israel Psychological Association. She has written articles on an eco-systemic approach to consultation, Internet based services, and multicultural approaches to consultation and recently co-edited the Israeli Handbook of School psychology in Hebrew together with Reuvena Shalhevet Kaniel

Reuvena Shalhevet – Kaniel is a supervisor and senior educational psychologist in Israel where she lives and works. She lectures on learning disabilities and attention difficulties to advanced master’s level students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the departments of educational psychology and counseling. She is the retired director of the Educational Psychology Services of Jerusalem and recently retired from her post as the founding director of the School for Advanced Studies in School Psychology in Israel, which provides post-graduate, in-service courses for educational psychologists throughout the country. Recently she co-edited the Israeli Handbook of School psychology in Hebrew together with Sharone L. Maital.

Culturally Responsible Mental Health in Schools: A Global Framework
Sam Song PhD, Nicole Martinez & Taylor Milner

Youth mental health remains a global crisis due to the pandemic. School mental health is part of the solution; however, that too appears to have fallen short given. School psychologists can lead schools into delivering more effective mental health services that are equitable for all children and youth. However, a new model is needed to guide practice, research, and policy — the culturally responsible dual-factor mental health framework (Lazarus, Doll, Song, & Radliff, 2021). The purpose of this session is to introduce this framework, explain what it means for school psychology, and discuss strategies to be implemented by school psychologists. One of the advantages of this session will be its facilitation of self-understanding and professional growth in cultural humility and cultural competency. This session will rely on engaging instructional approaches including discussion, case examples, collaborative learning, games, and brief lectures.

Learning Objectives
After attending this session, participants will articulate

1. an understanding of the culturally responsible dual-factor mental health framework.
2. the assumptions of the culturally responsible dual-factor mental health framework compared to a traditional framework.
3. strategies to be used in schools to promote culturally responsible mental health.

Dr. Samuel Song, PhD, NCSP, is Professor in the Counselor Education, School Psychology, and Human Services Department, and the Coordinator of School Psychology programs (EdS & PhD) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Past-President of Division 16, School Psychology, of the American Psychological Association (APA). He has two books on social justice and school psychology published by NASP and Routledge. Dr. Song’s research agenda focuses on school violence/safety and healthy school cultures and climates for all students, especially those who are minoritized. He is the Principal Investigator of the Restorative Schools Project at UNLV.
He has consulted with schools on issues of school safety, crisis, bullying, and restorative justice strategies in a number of states across the country for over 15 years. He is a trained restorative justice facilitator and has responded acutely to traumatic events in schools with a restorative crisis response. He has served as an Expert Consultant to APA’s Safe and Supportive Schools Project on HIV prevention in schools. He is a sought after trainer offering workshops and speaking on school safety, restorative justice and school psychology across several states in the country and internationally (Asia and New Zealand). He is the 2020 recipient of the Jean Baker Service and Practice Award bestowed by the Division 16 of APA, is an Associate Editor for School Psychology Review (official journal of NASP), and is an editorial board member on the top journals in the field.