End Well, Plan Well, Begin Well: Re-establishing the School as Community

Here is the link from a paper by Dave Melnick of the Northeastern Family Institute:
End Well, Plan Well, Begin Well: Re-establishing the School as Community General Considerations: Healing from Collective Crises and Trauma

A small excerpt:

While COVID-19 is a novel virus and potent stressor in the lives of most people, many components of our social-emotional recovery are baked into our biology. Our families, cultures, faith, schools, and organizations have passed down practices to deal successfully with adversity and struggle. Equipped

with these traditional practices, the pandemic will provide an opportunity to develop innovations that can be integrated with the existing ways we recover from, and build resilience to, community crises. What will be most remembered by those we raise, lead, and connect with is our humility and humanity during this crisis.

1. We heal collectively and we need our leaders/caregivers to promote, support and resource our well-being. When our parents, caregivers, leaders, supervisors, coaches, and mentors optimize their own well-being, then our workforce and students will benefit. Adult well-being is an act of altruism, both in families and organizations.

2. We have great wisdom about healing from collective crises and trauma. It is time to consult our roadmaps, wisdom practices, faith, family lore, and safety plans as beacons during difficult times.

3. When we celebrate, reinforce and engage in family connections, friendships, and professional affiliations, we can improve the healing potential of our interconnections and interdependence.

4. The priority for schools and other social institutions is to both address health/ mental health and promote achievement. Positive academic outcomes has to be a priority and students will catch up fastest when we prioritize the emotional well-being of everyone in schools.

5. Resilience is relational, at both the individual and organizational level. Our success largely depends on the network of supports we have; the more support we have, the more interconnected we are, the more resilient we become. Resilient people and resilient groups need three things: a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging or interconnection, and the capacity to make meaning from
experience.

6. Resources may initially be limited in schools, and our human capital will be even more important
than ever. Creativity, re-allocation of resources and relying on the abundance of healthy adults in our schools will help counteract these challenges. We will not be able to outsource SEL; all adults and capable students will have to work together to moderate stress, collectively. To this end:

• Consider how using Reflective Practices, Participatory Leadership, and Relational Leadership skills can contribute to workplace and organizational resilience.
• Consider how using Restorative Practices and Mindfulness will help to develop student resilience. We will need to rely on the strength of our students as part of the problem solving and stress reduction equation when school re-starts.

This document was created through our collaborative work with the following Districts/Schools( identified with their high school), as well as other organizations and Scholars:

• BUUSD: Spaulding HS
• Champlain Valley Educational Center: BOCES (Plattsburg, NY)
• Maplehill School and Community Farm
• RNESU: Otter Valley HS
• SVSU: Mount Anthony Union HS
• TRSU: Green Mtn. and Black River HS
• WCUUSD: U32
• WCSU: Leland and Gray
• WCSU: Woodstock UMHS
• WSESU: Windsor HS
• Trauma Transformed (SF Bay Area)
• Scholars: Michael Ungar, PhD.; Kelly McGonigal, PhD.; Alicia Lieberman, PhD.; Sandra Bloom, MD; Daniel Hughes, PhD.; Daniel Siegel, MD; Brene Brown, LCSW; Peter Senge, Ken Epstein, LICSW, PhD.; NCTSN; SEARCH Institute; Parker Palmer, PhD., etc.

Northeastern Family Institute
Bringing Vermont Children, Families, and Communities Together
The Family Center: Outpatient Mental Health
3000 Williston Road, Suite 2 | South Burlington, Vermont 05403
Phone: (802) 951-0450 | Fax: (802) 652-2008

davemelnick@nafi.com