Staff Mental Health and Social Emotional Learning Supports and Resources

Staff mental health and social emotional wellbeing are extremely important to Pittsburgh Public School. In order to be the best for our students, staff, colleagues, and family we must first take care of ourself. This means not only our physical health, but also our mental, emotional, and social health.

Staff Supports and Resources

• Anxiety & Depression: The Symptoms and How to Cope - ​This document outlines the symptoms of anxiety and depression and provides tips on how to cope.
• Mental Health Tip Sheet - This document provides mental health tips for navigating COVID-19.
• The Employee Assistance Program provides several no cost services that can help with mental health, which include counseling, coping with anxiety and/or depression, balancing work and home life, dealing with family and relationship concerns, daily living issues, financial budgeting, and much more. 
• Get Connected: Creative Ideas for Building Staff Relationships – Improving connectedness, engagement and relationships is vital to the positive social-emotional health of any school community. This can happen by encouraging and engaging staff in activities that help build and maintain meaningful relationships with each other.
• Managing Conflicts with the RELATE Model– All relationships come with conflict at some point. The key is what you do when it arises. By following the RELATE model, you can work through conflict, using it as an opportunity to build a stronger relationship.
• 5-week Guide for Creating a Caring School Community: Supporting Staff
• Wellness Wheel for Self-Care: Strategies for Frontline School Staff – It is important to include healthy practices and activities in our daily schedules to support our physical health, build positive relationships and cope with stress. The Wellness Wheel provides ideas and action steps for self-care that address five key areas of our overall well-being.
• Harmony SEL: Coping with Teacher Stress – Get help identifying and coping with stress
• Harmony SEL: Teacher Self-Care – Set aside some time for self-care using these tips from Harmony SEL
• Filling Your Cup: Comprehensive Self-Care Strategies – An eLearning Companion Guide for School Leaders - The Alliance for a Healthier Generation (will need to create a FREE school account to access)
• Rethink (rethinked.com) – This resource site provides course training on the development of social emotional skills to promote the well-being and success for students and adult learners. (Available through Clever)
• Rethink (rethinked.com) – This resource site additionally provides a mindfulness and meditation course for educators to improve wellbeing, personal growth and mindset. (Available through Clever)

Pittsburgh Public Schools Student Supports Services - Mental Health Resources

• Student Support Services / Mental Health Resources (pghschools.org) - A collection of mental health resources that can be used for your kids and many times yourself. Please note there are also many community and school-based services, you may reach out to your school’s social worker or counselor for more information. 
• 5-Week Guide for Creating a Caring School Community: Grades K-2 - This guide provides five weeks of daily scaffolded activities that are responsive to students' needs and focus on building a supportive learning environment.
• 5-Week Guide for Creating a Caring School Community: Grades 3-5 - This guide provides five weeks of daily scaffolded activities that are responsive to students' needs and focus on building a supportive learning environment.
• 5-Week Guide for Creating a Caring School Community: Grades 6-8 - This guide provides five weeks of daily scaffolded activities that are responsive to students' needs and focus on building a supportive learning environment.
• 5-Week Guide for Creating a Caring School Community: Grades 9-12 - This guide provides five weeks of daily scaffolded activities that are responsive to students' needs and focus on building a supportive learning environment.
• 5 Ways to Foster Social-Emotional Skills – Try these simple ways to develop social-emotional skills in your children and teens
• Harmony SEL: Meet Up – Promote a sense of connection and inclusion among students with this simple 10- to 20-minute activity
• Harmony SEL: Buddy Up – Encourage ongoing interaction between diverse peers in this activity that emphasizes empathy and collaboration
• Harmony SEL: Stop, Think and Cool Off Activity – In this activity, students practice monitoring and rating their feelings in conflict situations, then try out different relaxation strategies to help calm their bodies
• Integrating STEM and SEL with Wellness: This guide is intended to support educators in identifying opportunities to implement STEM education through practical applications of physical activity and nutrition enrichment
• Taking a Me Moment: Integrating Self-Regulation Strategies for Students into your Learning Environment - A guide to integrating Me Moments — self-regulation strategies students can use to address their needs at any moment within the learning environment.
• https://members.ccbh.com/covid-19-information/back-to-school - Community Cares Behavioral Health Organization