Last month, we also had the privilege and opportunity to join the school district’s Office of School Climate and Culture (OSCC) gathering to help weave contemplative practices throughout the 2-days, providing insight into how to make long, information-packed meetings more impactful – and restorative. OSCC is the primary department we work with, and in the days of Zoom meetings, we really only saw about five people. And yet, spaced throughout a beautiful space in The Quorum of the University of the Sciences, the 120 people who make up the department presented their work, shared ideas, and offered up ways to dissolve silos so we can all mutually support and reinforce each other’s work and better serve students. We made new friends and put faces to the acronyms of the department teams – PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support), MTSS (Multi-tiered Student Supports), CC (Climate Coaches), RF (Relationships First), SEL (Social Emotional Learning specialists), SWBS (Student Well-Being Survey) and more.

It was such a warm and inspired groups of people! Everyone appreciated the mindfulness practices, the stress management perspectives, the movement and music, and the affirmation notebooks, which brought a little levity and focus on wellbeing during this working session. Throughout the two days, we learned about many ways we can collaborate, gain insights from data that these other departments collect, and share our work to better support students with a 360 degree approach. Thank you, Dr. Abigail Gray, for convening everyone.