Schools are key settings for suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. Most children and youth spend most of their day in school where caring and trained adults are available to help them. Teachers, mental health providers, and all other school personnel who interact with students can play an important role in keeping them safe (VDH, 2019). School personnel have a legal and ethical responsibility to recognize and respond to suicidal thinking and behavior, as well as other indicators of concern. Although many suicidal children and adolescents do not self-refer, most show some warning signs. Never ignore these signs. Schools must have clear policies and procedures for suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention, as well as trained school-employed mental health professionals and crisis response teams. Suicide prevention should be an integral component of a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, and multi-tiered system of mental health and safety supports (National Association of School Psychologists, 2019).

This session will focus on a tier 1 classroom lesson plan that can be tailored for any age student on emotional regulation. The lesson will teach school counselors how to teach students about anxiety using digestible terminology that will help empower students to label what they are experiencing. The lesson plans focus on an regulation and dysregulation; the fight, flight, freeze response; and includes a discussion about things that may cause us to become dysregulated, signs our bodies send us that we may be becoming dysregulated, and ways we can promote regulation among ourselves. Participants will gain access to the lesson(s).

An excel spreadsheet for school counselors to use to track their time and monitor alignment with state code requirements.Walkthrough Video of Time Tracking Tool (24 minutes)

Crosswalking tool for school counselors to align ASCA Mindsets and Behavior student standards to VA SEL Guidance Standards (done by gradeband). 

The Virginia SEL Guidance Standards are meant to serve as a resource for school divisions and are not required or mandated for implementation. As such, school or division teams have the autonomy to prioritize the selection of specific standards that address student needs and compliment their mission and vision. This tool can guide teams through this process. School data (such as: climate surveys, academic data, postsecondary enrollment data, or behavior data) can help school teams identify the social, emotional, and cognitive developmental needs of students. Additionally, stakeholders such as students, teachers, administrators, and caregivers should be involved when determining which SEL standards should be prioritized, taught, and measured.

This is a simple, yet effective tool is an excellent way to not only introduce this concept to students but to also allow them the opportunity for reflection and goal setting. The activity adapts the eight dimensions to six dimensions for youth wellness and helps students to quickly understand that each area of life plays a role in supporting their overall wheel (well-being).