This is a 6 session series. Attendance at all sessions is mandatory.
Session Topics will consist of the following:

Session 1: Collective Care, Healing, and Equity-Responsive Practices When the World Feels

Heavy

In this session, participants will explore self- and collective care strategies to cope with isolation, uncertainty, and mental health challenges. Together, we will reflect on what is causing our burnout as well as relevant emotion regulation and self- and collective care strategies to mitigate burnout. Last, we will create plans for creating systemic change and implementing practices that facilitate collective Healing.

Session 2: Cultivating Belonging by Reflecting on Storytelling and Impostor Experiences

In this session, participants will discuss the promise and danger of single stories to develop a greater understanding of self and others. During reflecting on these incomplete stories, participants will explore the "unruly emotions" that single narratives can cause in our students. They will reflect on power, particularly who has the power to tell stories, and plan ways to tell more expansive stories to build identity-affirming practices at school.

Session 3: Emotions and Emotional intelligence

We will discuss what emotions are and explore and engage in interactive activities related to the skills of emotional intelligence. We will discuss each skill deeply and reflect on and brainstorm opportunities for teaching and leading with emotional intelligence so that, together, we can ensure better social, emotional, and mental health outcomes for faculty/staff, students, and families.

Session 4: Emotional Intelligence and Culturally Responsive Practices

Participants will work in groups to explore each skill of emotional intelligence as well as opportunities to apply a culturally relevant lens to each emotional intelligence skill. The goal is to ensure practices that create the conditions for belonging and social, emotional, and mental health for the school community.

Session 5: Applying Criticality to Social and Emotional Learning

Participants will engage in a cursory exploration of the current SEL landscape. They will also dissect current popular SEL standards and models and brainstorm ways to implement SEL into all aspects of teaching and learning with equity at the forefront. We will also create a plan for realizing a vision for SEL practices that center healing, justice, and love.

Session 6: From Equity to Collective Liberation

Participants will reflect and share with others what freedom means to them and develop a plan to realize their freedom-dreams for themselves and students with their social, emotional, and mental health and thriving at the forefront. We will also review everything we have learned together and will come up with action plans to bring our learning into our practice.