Supporting Mental Health at School: Conflict Resolution

Schools are a swarm of people with different backgrounds, developmental levels, needs, stressors, and goals. Beyond academics, children often need support from adults at school to learn effective social skills and peacefully resolve conflict. In this article, we lay out eight steps to equitably react to fighting and conflict between students. Here’s an additional resource from the University of Kansas for background on what conflict resolution is and why it is important to practice. 

Elizabeth Janca, experienced school administrator, licensed professional counselor, and Possip Reporter, shares ways to support and mediate conflict resolution between students.

The final step of reacting to a conflict between students includes facilitating conflict resolution when needed. This is an important skill for students to develop, but can be hard to navigate. Having written guidelines may help the students and mediator have a more successful conversation. At the end of this post, we’ve included a printable download for students as you navigate this process.

Be Proactive and Reactive Teaching Conflict Resolution

In the Possip blog Preventing and Reacting to Fighting in School, we recommend using conflict resolution as part of Step 8 in holding students accountable. However, we should engage in conflict resolution proactively. Sometimes we need to have these conversations much sooner to prevent the situation from escalating further. In these moments it’s important to wait until all parties are calm and regulated and when you’ve been able to identify why the students are upset. 

In order to identify the root cause of the conflict, or real reason why someone feels upset, ask “why” they’re upset until you no longer can. For example, if a student states they hit a peer because they annoyed them, you may ask, “why did you find them annoying?” The student may say “they made a noise and motion that my younger sibling does and it makes me mad when they do that”. You may ask “why does it make you mad?” and get a response about how it feels disrespectful. In this case we’ve identified the student was ultimately upset because they felt disrespected. Helping them discover the root cause will enable the student to communicate their feelings. “I felt disrespected when you made that noise and motion.”

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Recess: A Teacher’s Guide

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Ensuring Academic Rigor: When Students Need More

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Offering Anonymity: Possip’s Commitment to Amplifying Voices

In the realm of education, Possip strives empower families, students, and staff by giving them a platform to express their thoughts and concerns. Ultimately, we aim to help schools not only acknowledge every stakeholder’s voice but also welcome those voices. We consider the input essential to leaders’ decision-making process.

Caroline Carrello, a Possip intern majoring in Human and Organization Development at Vanderbilt University, explores the advantages of offering anonymity in Possip Pulse Checks®. 

Our Pulse Check reports serve as a bridge, enabling schools to actively listen and respond to the diverse perspectives of their community members. It’s a proactive approach that ensures everyone’s thoughts and concerns are considered. This helps foster a collaborative and inclusive educational environment.

Why Offer Anonymity?

Possip provides a safe space to communicate by inviting families, staff, and students to respond anonymously to Pulse Checks if they wish. Stakeholders may choose to respond anonymously because they want to provide feedback without the desire for a follow-up. On the other hand, some prefer to remain anonymous as a means of feeling more at ease and honest in their expressions. Some people shy away from sharing their true opinions if they know their name will be attached to their thoughts. This might be the case even if you have attempted to cultivate a community that welcomes and values honest feedback. 

In the 2022-23 school year, 23% of family members and 48% of staff members selected to respond anonymously to Pulse Checks. If you do not offer the opportunity to remain anonymous, there’s a chance that you won’t hear the honest feedback of one-quarter of your families or even up to one-half of your staff members. Inviting people to provide anonymous feedback proves that you are willing to listen, even if the feedback is critical. This builds trust on a deep level. Plus, this article explains that “While anonymity may make it easy for people to act antagonistically, unprofessionally, or unethically, research has shown it can also make people unusually forthcoming and helpful.”

What To Expect

At the end of every Pulse Check, the last question is “Do you want to share your name with this?”. When asked this question, respondents have the option to say yes or no. Respondents who say yes will have their information tagged to their comments in Possip’s resorts. Respondents who say no will remain anonymous. Respondents can choose to be anonymous one week and share their identity the next if they wish to do so too.

When school leaders review their school or district reports, the comments either share the name of the respondent or state “Anonymous”. 

Ways to Address Anonymous Feedback

Anonymous responses can be great for hearing more vulnerable thoughts and perspectives. But they can also be a little frightening for school administrators. How can you effectively use this feedback when you’re not sure who feels this way? What do you do when you can’t follow up for more context or to directly tackle the problem?

Responding collectively can be a good way to think about “replying” to anonymous comments. Here are three ways to consider doing that:

1. Use Your Possip 360 Script or an FAQ/Summary. Possip provides 360 scripts that summarize your Pulse Check Report findings. Communicating back to your families or staff using the script or other summaries, like an FAQ page close the feedback loop. This can be a great way to let people know they’re heard and address questions that have come up. Here’s part of a sample 360 script from our demo report:

2. Create a Follow-up Bonus Question. Asking a Bonus Question to your community can be a great way to better understand comments from a previous Pulse Check. For example, if a parent suggested a new after-school program, you could use a future Pulse Check to see if more parents would be interested.

3. Articulate Your Hopes Around Name Sharing. When you request or remind your community to participate in Pulse Checks or other opportunities to provide feedback, include a note about why sharing their name can be helpful for them and you.

Possip showcases our dedication to amplifying voices in education by providing an innovative platform that allows families, students, and staff a secure space to share their thoughts and concerns. Embracing anonymity, Possip enables school leaders to cultivate trust. If you need guidance and and practical ways to collectively respond to anonymous feedback, please reach out for support!

Want more? Read how this school uses staff Pulse Checks to inform decision making.

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8 Strategies to Grade With Equity

8 Strategies to Grade With Equity

Every teacher aspires for students to succeed in their classroom and to have an equal chance to do so. Every student comes to school with their circumstances, which can result in them having an advantage or disadvantage when it comes to their academic success. It can be challenging for teachers to meet every child where they are and give them what they need at each moment. 

One way that teachers can ensure success for all kids, without lowering expectations, is to ensure they are grading with equity. 

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Cate Reed, seasoned administrator, current Senior Vice President of Teach For America, and Possip Reporter, outlines strategies to help teachers grade with equity. 

Ensuring students can be successful means remembering that while every child may have similar resources available in their classroom, all the supports students have outside of school are not always the same. Developing a playing field where all students can succeed at high levels is important – and possible! Ensuring equitable grading promotes fairness and inclusivity in educational settings. 

Here are eight strategies to help you grade more equitably: 

1. Clearly Define Expectations

Some students may have families at home with easy access to the internet who can look up strategies for support, or access the online school portal. Others may not. Providing clear and detailed grading criteria for assignments and assessments, in writing, and requiring students to take it home with them, ensures that everyone has equal access to what they are expected to do. 

This includes the specific criteria you will use to evaluate their work. Develop and use rubrics that outline the criteria for each level of performance. Rubrics help standardize the grading process and make it more transparent for students, ensuring everyone is assessed based on the same criteria.

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Supporting Mental Health at School: Conflict Resolution

Unlock a world of exclusive content and insights for leaders who listen!

Join our community of Possip Members to get ahead of the trends, access free resources, and more!

If you are already a #PossipPartner, good news! Your Membership is on us. Use coupon code: POSSIPPARTNER to start enjoying your membership today!

If you are not yet a Possip Partner, we are offering a limited-time promo code for non-partners. Use the coupon code: FREEMEMBER to get started.

SIGN UP NOW or sign in below.

The post Supporting Mental Health at School: Conflict Resolution appeared first on Possip | Engagement Platform | School Feedback Survey.

What’s A Family Engagement Specialist?

Have you ever wondered how you can level up your family’s involvement on your school’s campus? Or where you can find answers to all of your questions about school events, fundraisers, and programs? Your school’s Family Engagement Specialist is here to assist! 

Sarah Besand, a teacher and Possip Reporter, explains the role and goals of a school’s Family Engagement Specialist. 

While job duties vary greatly from school to school, Family Engagement Specialists aim to serve you and your family. Their goals include increasing family involvement, directing families toward programs to address specific needs, and helping families feel more involved in their school community.

We spoke with Rachel Hippel, Family Engagement Specialist at Eakin Elementary in Nashville, TN to find out more about this role at schools. Before becoming a Family Engagement Specialist a decade ago, Rachel was a teacher in the community, and she relies on that experience to excel in her position.

Family Engagement Specialists’ Main Goal

Just as schools across the world bring unique assets to their campus, the role of a family engagement specialist can also vary from school to school. However, Rachel says that daily tasks “always aim to support students, families, and teachers by bridging the gap between school and home.” At her school in particular, Rachel sets specific goals that she works toward every day. She shares that her role “involves connecting families with resources to help meet clothing, food, backpacks/other school supply needs, and also connecting them with other professionals in our school building who can assist their student.” 

In roles like this one, families often wonder: when should you reach out to your family engagement specialist? While the job description for this type of specialist varies, Rachel offers families a guide for how to utilize your specialist on a day-to-day basis. She shares, “For me, anything that makes school success feel like a challenge is an area I’d like to assist with! If I can’t personally answer a question or meet a need, I can connect families with counselors, social workers, or other support staff, and provide a listening ear and encouragement as well.”

How Family Engagement Specialists Can Help With Attendance Challenges

Family Engagement Specialists also assist with student attendance. As we know, students learn so much more when they are in school regularly, and your family engagement specialist can greatly help with attendance-related needs. Rachel shares that she often acts as a liaison between the school and families. This means she helps schools stay in alignment with district guidelines while also assisting with needs families have that may provide a barrier to their student’s attendance. She shares, “For me, the most important thing is building solid, respectful, warm relationships between teachers and families. Students should want to come to school, and parents should feel good about sending them each day (when they’re healthy, of course.) Maintaining friendly open dialogue between home and school is critical.”

Top 3 Tips to Keep Families Engaged and Informed

So much of the family engagement specialist role revolves around connecting new families to the school community, while also keeping established families engaged as well. Here are Rachel’s Top 3 Tips for families to keep engaged and informed throughout the whole school year:

1. Sign up for all the messaging apps. She shares, “It can be super frustrating because there are often multiple apps/messaging sources to deal with, but it’s worth the effort to feel connected and informed.”
2. Keep the main office informed. Rachel’s rule of thumb is: “If your contact information changes, make sure the main office knows so they can update your phone number or email address in the district’s computer system. That way you’ll continue to be reachable when call-outs or online newsletters go out, as well as if there’s an emergency situation.”
3. Engage with other families. Rachel advises, “Try to meet and/or connect with some families of your student’s classmates. They can be invaluable sources of information and support.”

 

We hope Rachel’s expertise as a family engagement specialist helps you and your family as you navigate utilizing this specialist at your school! They are there to build families and schools up through compassion and connections with resources. We can’t wait to hear what a difference this makes in your family’s involvement on your campus.

Click here to learn more tips to help your child in school!

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