I had the fortune to attend this year’s #UNITED Conference sponsored by the NAESP and NASSP. In discussions with Principals, several concerns continued to arise. In this blog, we look at the return to budgetary concerns in a post-ESSER world, creating healthy educational environments, and utilizing movement as a tool for inclusive learning. I was so fortunate to have wonderful discussions with colleagues from throughout the US as we look to see how we can continue to provide the best education for our students.
The biggest concern shared with me was the reduction in funds due to the end of the ESSER Funding this year. Most districts have already spent their allocated funds and those who have yet to do so are in a quandary about how to approach the remaining funds. For those who do not have the funding, like 98% of the districts in Michigan as an example, we need to look at how we can begin to utilize our annual budgets in a way that gets the most impact. We spoke about the concerns surrounding the antiquated idea that by simply using any funding on technology, everything would be fine. In this era, we need to be more focused on the idea of accessibility and do the research around what that means. Much like having to explain to insurance companies that the purchase of an iPad and ProLoquo2Go does not mean all individuals now can communicate effectively, we need to have our tech directors understand that a computer with internal text-to-speech technology does not always mean that a computer is accessible. There will be needs for alternative forms of access along with some software that enables individuals to harness the power of Accessible Educational Materials. Just because the words in a presentation can be read, if the alternative text for pictures and graphs cannot be read, then the material is not accessible. We need to have our tech directors sit and listen to our insights into the needs of our students so that they too might make the best use of their budgets.
Another topic around funding was the return to grant writing. With AI becoming more integrated within our schools, we should harness its power while writing and applying for various educational grants. We still need to do our research and have thoughts as to the proper ways of evaluating how we would utilize the grant funds. We are entering an age though where we may not always need to incur the cost of an external grant writer if an internal one is not available. There are still many great grant opportunities available, and we need to get back to knowing which ones we might pursue. I also suggest that you host open faculty forums led by teachers who have been successful with grants and/or Donors Choose so that they can share how they received funding and give other teachers the opportunity to pursue their own grants as well.
The creation of healthy academic environments was also an important topic. Aside from discussions and sessions, this was also evident by the number of booths in the exhibit hall which focused on mental health and sensory supports. I shared with several colleagues the wonderful curriculum from the SHINE Hope company of which some of you have heard me speak. Hopeful Minds Overview Hopework Books | School Health I did have an opportunity to review some other curricular materials and as I finish my assessments of them, I will also share them with you. My caveat to the Principals with whom I spoke as well as to you is to do your homework and make sure the research has been done with these curricular materials. I did encounter a couple from non-educational vendors which seemed to discuss mental health and overall well-being in generic terms with ideas that did not have strong foundations. There were a couple others which seemed outstanding if they are based in research which is being shared with me. Stay turned for further updates on those materials. Also, Kathryn Goetzke and I had the opportunity to speak after her fantastic keynote on Hope at the National Association of School Nurses Conference. We will be looking at expanding her curricular materials to become inclusive and accessible. It will take a little time and some further research. I am excited that she is so open to this movement within her work.
Making our educational environments both mentally and physically healthy includes incorporating sensory tools into classrooms and daily activities. These tools can be life skills like breathing techniques and forms of exercise including walking. They can also include sensory areas within a classroom for decompression. As always, I am more than happy to help discuss approaches like this with you so feel free to reach out to me at rheipp@schoolhealth.com. I am grateful to those Principals who shared with me that my approach of discussing their needs was so vastly different than some of the “sensory room designers” who seem to only focus upon how large a kit they can put into a building. There are so many different approaches and tools which can be used to make something that best suits the overall needs of the building and students.
Another aspect of healthy academic environments which is quickly becoming prevalent in teaching approaches is that of movement-based learning. I was happy to hear about so many schools looking at the positive results of incorporating movement into academic activities. In working with OTs over the last two academic years, I have seen them shift to incorporating movement into learning to overcome some of the negative impact left by the pandemic. Now, we are seeing our Health and PE educators incorporating movement into their daily activities. These are great teachers to have lead instruction on how movement can also be incorporated into Math, Language Arts, Language Studies, Social Studies, and Science. The techniques around movement have their basis in research and, when done regularly and properly, can create levels of mastery learning in most students, even those who had struggled in certain subject areas in the past. Many of you have heard how I used to student foreign language vocabulary in different areas of my room at home in high school to create clearer pathways to remembering and understanding the words. I am not going to focus on my vocabulary review for my GREs later in life. However, those studies did include Springsteen, the Stones, and Van Halen. That approach is for a more (or maybe less depending on your opinions) developed mind. The bottom line is that movement, even something as simple as walking or standing can help with learning.
As we get ready to move into August and the 2024-25 academic year, I will be back out on the road with seminars and district presentations. I am focusing more on creating environments with stronger mental health and well-being but am happy to support you however you might need. Feel free to reach out to me with questions or potential dates you might have available. I left the Principals’ Conference exhausted and energized – talk about a dichotomy! We have so much to do. However, we also have the knowledge and tools to continue to strengthen everything we do for our students and communities!