Reaching parents and teachers through interdisciplinary professional development modules

As the need for quality resources for parents and teachers related to mental health support continues to be extraordinarily high, the Mental Health / Trauma-Informed Professional Development Modules was developed to address that need. The goal of the training was to deliver educational content that provides teachers, students, and parents with the skills required to be resilient, to overcome stress and anxiety, to deal with trauma, and to be prepared mentally and physically to effectively learn and thrive. 

The training consisted of three professional development modules that take approximately twenty to thirty minutes to complete.  The first module, Getting Everyone Ready for the Upcoming Year (Putting on your own mask first), begins the conversation about preparing for the school year, not only for educators but for parents and students as well.  The second module, Trauma-Informed Practices for Teachers analyzes the concept of trauma-informed classrooms and schools and their relationship.  Updates from Local Healthcare Providers is the third module that provides community resources to stay up to date on physical and emotional health issues. 

Thus far, the modules have been accessed by 80 educators and have been completed by 59 educators with others making steady progress towards completion. Follow-up plans for additional training for teachers already include: Restorative practice, social justice and diversity, and classroom management.