Whole Child Supports

Meet the Team

Supporting Educators in creating the learning conditions for a positive school climate to effectively meet the needs of the Whole Child through an integrated multi-tiered system of supports

Available Whole Child Support Services

  • Educators

    Supporting changemakers with Professional Development in addressing student needs in the areas of academics, behavior, and wellbeing

  • Districts and Schools

    Supporting groups with program implementation and fidelity

  • Collaboratives

    Connecting you with colleagues across the region

  • Resources

    Connecting you to an information hub for best practices and research

Educators

  • Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a set of research-based strategies used to increase quality of life and decrease problem behavior by teaching new skills and making changes in a person’s environment.

  • The high-leverage practice (HLP) of utilizing strategies to promote active student engagement highlights three essential components:

    1. Importance of building positive teacher–student relationships;

    2. Using a variety of strategies for ensuring student engagement during lessons; and

    3. Actively monitoring for engagement while providing ongoing feedback.

  • Equip teachers and leaders with essential strategies to combat compassion fatigue and promote wellness through the development of an action plan focused on self-compassion practices and improving work-life balance

  • Every day connections are more important than we ever believed. Science tells us that relationships have the power to shape our brains. Relationships help us learn better, work better, parent better. When we experience tough times, they help us heal. With each connection, we develop a healthier, stronger community. Connections Matter Georgia is an in-depth training designed to engage community members in building caring connections to improve resiliency, prevent childhood trauma, and understand how our interactions with others can support those who have experienced trauma.

  • Educators and caregivers function as co-regulators by supporting children's emotional development through a combination of warmth, structure, and skill instruction. This involves providing a secure base, validating emotions, and modeling healthy emotional regulation, ultimately fostering the child's ability to regulate themselves.

Districts and Schools

  • Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and wellbeing. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.

  • Connect Now provides an overview of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study and a glimpse into Connections Matter Georgia, a more in-depth training designed to engage community members in building caring connections to improve resiliency, prevent childhood trauma, and understand how our interactions with others can support those who have experienced trauma.

  • Trauma-Informed Classrooms training is designed to equip educators to support children experiencing trauma and/or neurodivergence. Learn strategies to disarm fear, optimize learning, and facilitate healing for vulnerable children in the classroom through the frameworks of TBRI and Heart-Strong Changemakers for Children.

  • Through the WISE Approach, we can end the stigma around mental health struggles and substance abuse with the following curriculums: The Compassion Resilience Toolkits are designed to promote compassion resilience by providing resources and support to help professionals and caregivers maintain their well-being and compassion in the face of daily challenges. The Up to Me program helps individuals with mental health challenges share their stories in a way that is empowering and hopeful, while also working to eliminate stigma surrounding mental health issues. The Safe Person 7 Promises training provides guidance in becoming a safe, supportive person for those struggling with mental health and addiction challenges.

  • Sources of Strength Secondary is a best practice youth suicide prevention project designed to harness the power of peer social networks to change unhealthy norms and culture, ultimately preventing suicide, bullying, and substance abuse. The mission of Sources of Strength is to prevent suicide by increasing help seeking behaviors and promoting connections between peers and caring adults. Sources of Strength moves beyond a singular focus on risk factors by utilizing an upstream approach for youth suicide prevention. This upstream model strengthens multiple sources of support (protective factors) around young individuals so that when times get hard they have strengths to rely on.

  • Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including ADHD), and eating disorders.

  • This program is designed for teens (age 13-18) desiring to obtain positive self-worth or secure attachment. Participants will go through a series of sessions in a group format designed to help them understand how the events in their lives have contributed to low self-worth. The classes focus on developing an understanding of the “lies” an individual believes about themselves, such as “I am not good enough,” or “I am not smart enough,” or “I have no patience” and how to replace these lies with truth. In addition, once a participant is released from the beliefs associated with the past, the sessions focus on rebuilding a new life based on positive self-worth as well as how to maintain these gains.

  • GaMTSS (with GaDOE support) - See the Georgia Department of Education’s guidance from the Office of Whole Child Supports on GaMTSS.

Collaboratives

  • Each district may send a team of up to five, including decision-making representatives from PBIS/School Climate, MTSS, Wraparound/Wellbeing Services, and Teaching & Learning.

    Districts are encouraged to send their District Implementation Leads (DILs) as well as additional members from their integrated District Leadership Team (DLT) if established.

    Lead Contact: Eileen Galang

  • Each school may send a team of up to three, including representatives from PBIS/School Climate, MTSS, Wraparound/Wellbeing, and Teaching & Learning.

    Lead Contact: Shawn Keim

  • Consortium for changemakers supporting the Whole Child approach in classroom settings. Members include specialists in the field(s) of School Counseling, School Social Work, School-based Mental/Behavioral Health, Parent/Family/Community Engagement, School Safety.

    Lead Contact: Eileen Galang

Resources

Disclaimer: Northwest Georgia RESA does not endorse any non-Georgia Department of Education websites or products contained through external hyperlinks. These webpages and products provide only a sampling of available resources and in no way should be considered an exhaustive list of available resources. It is at the discretion of individual districts and schools to determine appropriate resources to serve their students and families.