Many schools are working to better support students’ physiological, social, and emotional growth in addition to their cognitive development as a part of their school improvement efforts. Moreover, students are playing a key role in helping education leaders develop and implement new policies and practices.

In this episode, Danny Torres (host) and Grace Westermann (co-host) talk with Rebeca Cerna, Director for the California Center for School Climate (CCSC), and special guest, Julian Berkowitz-Sklar, a graduating senior at Saratoga High School in California and member of the Center’s Youth Advisory Team.

Berkowitz-Sklar brings a unique perspective as a high school student driving positive change within his school community. As a Youth Advisory Team member, he has played a pivotal role in collaborating with his peers and CCSC to design and implement resources that facilitate school climate improvements.

From student-led initiatives to helping schools and districts tell stories with their school climate data, Cerna dives into the comprehensive approach taken by CCSC to empower students and foster safe and supportive learning environments.

Their conversation includes the following topics:

• How a positive school climate affects outcomes for students

Transcript

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Cultivating Caring Relationships at School: 15 Activities That Promote Staff and Student Connection

Additional Related Resources from the CCSC

• Understanding School Climate: An Overview of School Climate Domains

Learn more about the CCSC and access their resources to support your school climate efforts.

“We've essentially created a blueprint for these state education agencies to get a sense of how they could improve their data systems, how they could think through changing or modifying their current accountability frameworks, and how by identifying particular student groups who have been historically underserved and getting a better sense of their experiences and their outcomes in schools, all those things can really team to improve the system.” – Dr. Raifu Durodoye

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In this episode, host Danny Torres and Dr. Raifu Durodoye, Senior Research Associate at WestEd, discuss the REMIQS project, a multi-state, mixed-methods investigation designed to explore how we can best serve our most vulnerable learners. Their conversation focuses on expanding measures of school quality and reframing (remixing) accountability systems in ways that can support all learners.

Dr. Durodoye is an educational researcher and practitioner whose work primarily consists of experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations of education programs and interventions. Durodoye also provides technical assistance to school districts and state education agencies and conducts studies of state education finance systems. The thrust of his research and work with school districts and states has been to foster meaningful research-practice partnerships with the aim of improving outcomes for historically marginalized students and currently underserved communities.

To learn more about the REMIQS project, visit REMIQS.org.

You can find Dr. Durodoye on LinkedIn or send a message online at WestEd.org/personnel/raifu-durodoye-jr.

Additional Resources for this Episode

• REMIQS Qualitative Filtering Technical Report

“I hope that after engaging in this conversation, folks are thinking about the systemic work that needs to be done. It is not just left to the principal to figure out how she can decompress and do self-care. There are real systemic gaps and challenges that will continuously make her job unbearable. And so, what can we do to lighten that load to mitigate some of those barriers?” – Dr. Erin Browder

Research shows effective and supported education leaders, particularly principals, can have a significant impact on student achievement outcomes. Their impact is schoolwide. How can we best support them?

In this episode, host Danny Torres and Dr. Erin Browder, Senior Program Associate at WestEd, discuss the pressing and enduring needs of leaders of color and the work the education community must do to address the systemic inequities that threaten leaders’ health and well-being.

Their conversation touches upon the following topics:

• The important difference between retaining and sustaining leaders of color

Dr. Browder provides technical assistance and project design for K–12 initiatives. Her work focuses on trauma-informed topics, school improvement, systems change, leadership development, social-emotional learning, and culturally responsive and equity-centered approaches to promote safe and supportive schools.

Dr. Browder also provides technical assistance for the national Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety, federally funded comprehensive centers (Region 2 and Region 15), and regional educational laboratories (REL West and REL-NEI).

WestEd works with schools, districts, and states to build capacity to develop and implement anti-racist, equity-focused policies and practices that lead to transformative, systemwide change. Learn more about our Systemic Equity Review work.

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Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Center for Black Educator Development

You can find Dr. Browder on Twitter at @erintheeducator or send a message online at Wested.org/personnel/erin-browder.

“At the heart of formative assessment is a belief in the students and the communities that we partner with and their ability as a system to learn and grow. This idea that learning is for all of us is something that’s central to our belief system. That learning is something that we share as humanity — a desire to learn, a desire to grow, and a desire to learn from one another.”

In this episode, Nancy Gerzon, Franchesca Warren, and Cali Kaminsky, all experts with WestEd’s Formative Insights, discuss how schools and districts can amplify student agency and identity through formative assessment policies and practices.

Nancy Gerzon is Project Director for WestEd's Formative Insights team. She has been at the forefront of developing scalable approaches to teacher-led learning and formative assessment. Professional Learning Specialist Franchesca Warren leads work that builds teacher and student capacity for strategic impact and increased agency. Senior Program Associate Cali Kaminsky supports large-scale projects that grow teacher and leader agency through formative assessment.

With host Danny Torres, they explore:

• What is formative assessment and how it relates to student agency

Learn more about WestEd’s Formative Insights services.

Transcript

Resources

• Formative Insights Website and Video Collection

Follow the Formative Insights Team on Twitter: @FormativInsight

In recent years, educators have faced unprecedented upheaval and stress. While ensuring student well-being, self-care often becomes less of a priority. However, self-care is critical for educators.

In this episode, Dr. Christina Pate, Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety, and host Danny Torres share a rich discussion about the importance of educator self-care for improved well-being and better student outcomes. Sr. Pate is also Director of Safe and Supportive Learning Environments (SSLE) services at WestEd.

As a leading voice in the field, Dr. Pate works to foster adult well-being, promotes trauma-informed practice and resilience, and improves cross-sector collaboration in ways that help improve outcomes for individuals and systems.

“We don’t have to be in perfect condition to be helpful,” Dr. Pate says, “but we certainly can’t be in a debilitating condition or under so much stress that we can’t really show up for other people…. To be helpful to others, we have to be helping ourselves first.”

Dr. Pate describes her personal experience of burnout and offers a framework for addressing educator well-being. Find out why self-care doesn’t mean spa days, learn practical strategies to support well-being, and much more.

Learn more about WestEd's Safe and Supportive Learning Environments services.

Transcript

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Self-Care Strategies for Educators During the Coronavirus Crisis: Supporting Personal Social and Emotional Well-Being (PDF)