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  • 2 Oct 2018 7:37 AM | Anne Zaslofsky (Administrator)

    $25 million in Safety Grants Awarded to Minnesota Schools

    Funding will be used to make security and violence-prevention improvements to school districts and charter schools across the state

    ROSEVILLE – Yesterday, the Minnesota Department of Education announced that 90 Minnesota public schools districts or charter schools were awarded school safety grants to be used for security and violence prevention improvements at 123 building sites across the state. The funds may be used to predesign, design, construct, furnish and equip school facilities, including renovating and expanding existing buildings. The Minnesota Department of Education received a total of 1,187 complete applications, requesting $255.5 million—more than 10 times the available amount of funding.

    “Students and teachers clearly need more support to ensure our kids are safe,” said Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. “When we have more than 1,000 schools asking for over $250 million in funding to secure their buildings, we must respond with urgency. The school safety grants announced today only scratch the surface. A more comprehensive approach, including efforts to improve school climate, expand mental health services, and enact common-sense gun safety measures is needed.”

    Governor Dayton and the 2018 Legislature passed school safety grants last spring. Governor Dayton proposed a more comprehensive Safe and Secure Schools Act package, including intervention and support for expelled students and improving student access to mental health support. Governor Dayton also supported legislation to reduce gun violence by passing criminal background checks, age restrictions on assault rifles, and a red flag law.

    Districts were able to submit separate grant applications for each building. Due to the large number of applications received, high-priority projects submitted on the first day were assigned random numbers to determine the order of funding up to the available $25 million. The final grant award values will be determined after recipients get complete bids from contractors. Schools were able to apply with qualifying projects for up to $500,000 per building. The Minnesota Department of Education, in consultation with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Minnesota School Safety Center, determined grant eligibility based on project priority, with half of the grant funds available to schools outside of the 11-county metropolitan area. High-priority projects included improvements to exterior entry security, such as access controls, keyless entry systems, door locking and glass integrity, door alarm systems, and structure changes to main entrances. Additions or improvements to communication systems, such as electronic emergency notification systems for staff and first responders, were also considered high-priority projects.

    School Climate Improvements since 2011

    Under Governor Mark Dayton’s leadership, Minnesota has expanded resources, support and programs to improve school climate in every corner of the state.

    In 2014, Governor Dayton signed into law the Safe and Supportive Schools Act, creating the School Safety Technical Assistance Center at the Minnesota Department of Education to help schools with training for teachers and staff, gather data on bullying in Minnesota schools, review best practices, and help school districts develop and implement anti-bullying policies at the local level. Since its establishment, the School Safety Technical Assistance Center has provided thousands of hours of technical assistance to students, families and school staff on a range of topics, including: social and emotional learning; restorative practices; identifying, investigating and addressing bullying; school climate improvement; rethinking discipline policies and practices; trauma-informed approaches to supporting students; using student data to inform school improvement planning; and practices to ensure that LGBTQ students feel safe, supported and welcome at school.

    In 2016, Governor Dayton worked with the Minnesota Legislature to secure $2.75 million for schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). The statewide program provides districts and individual schools throughout Minnesota with training and technical support to improve student behavior, especially for students with challenging social behaviors.

    To date, more than 300,000 Minnesota students at 645 schools have benefited from this training. Once implemented, PBIS utilizes an evidence-based framework for preventing problem behavior, providing instruction and support for positive behaviors, and supporting social, emotional and behavioral needs for all students.


  • 4 Sep 2018 12:47 PM | Anne Zaslofsky (Administrator)

    Minnesota School Psychologist Association is excited to announce the Mid-Winter Conference Keynote Speaker: Marc Brackett, PhD. Mark your calendars for Friday, January 25th!


    Marc Brackett, Ph.D., is founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University. His grant-funded research focuses on: (1) the role of emotions and emotional intelligence in learning, decision making, relationship quality, and mental health; (2) the measurement of emotional intelligence; (3) best practices for teaching emotional intelligence; and (3) the influences of emotional intelligence training on children’s and adults’ effectiveness, health, creativity, and both school and workplace climate. Marc has published 125 scholarly articles and has received numerous awards, including the Joseph E. Zins Award for his research on social and emotional learning and an honorary doctorate from Manhattanville College. He also is a distinguished scientist on the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development.

    Marc is the lead developer of RULER (an acronym for the five key emotion skills of recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating emotions) is an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning that has been adopted by over 1,500 public, charter, and private pre-school to high schools across the United States and in other countries, including Australia, China, England, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and Sri Lanka. RULER infuses social and emotion learning into the immune system of schools by enhancing how school administrators lead, educators teach, students learn, and families parent. Research has shown that RULER boosts academic performance, decreases school problems like bullying, enriches classroom climates, reduces teacher stress and burnout, and enhances teacher instructional practices.

    Marc regularly consults with large companies, including Facebook and Google on best practices for integrating the principles of emotional intelligence into training and product design. With Facebook, he has developed a number of products, including: social resolution tools to help adults and youth resolve online conflict, the bullying prevention hub to support educators, families, and teens, and InspirED, an open-source resource center to support high school students in leading positive change in their schools. Marc also holds a 5th degree black belt in Hapkido, a Korean martial art. 


  • 16 Aug 2018 9:44 AM | Anne Zaslofsky (Administrator)

    Dear Colleague:

    You are invited to participate in a survey about school psychologists’ perceptions of and experiences with engaging in coordinated care to serve students with ASD. We believe that the results of this study will provide valuable information to school psychologists, graduate educators, and policy makers in better understanding the benefits as well as barriers and facilitators to coordinated care between schools and outside providers. Participants must be currently employed as a school psychologist in a public or private school district in the United States.

    This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (Protocol #9425) at Utah State University. Participation is voluntary and is anticipated to take 20-30 minutes to complete. All responses will be kept strictly confidential. There is no foreseeable risk to participants and you may opt out at any time. Participants who complete the survey will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Amazon.com

    If you are interested in participating in the current study, please select the following link: https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_51qEMUmerSMtayF

     If you have any general questions about the survey, please contact the principal investigator, Maryellen McClain Verdoes, PhD at 435-797-6373 or maryellen.mcclainverdoes@usu.edu

     Please feel free to forward the survey to your friends and colleagues. 


  • 15 Jul 2018 4:42 PM | Anne Zaslofsky (Administrator)
  • 23 May 2018 6:01 PM | Anne Zaslofsky (Administrator)

    Kim Adams (right), Minnesota NASP Representative presents $500 check to Sue Abderholden (left) from NAMI-MN.  This money was raised from the Annual Silent Auction featured at the 2018 MSPA Midwinter Conference.


  • 20 Mar 2018 12:55 PM | Anonymous

    PREPaRE School Crisis Workshops

    Greetings from UWRF!

    School crisis prevention and intervention workshops will be held this coming June in Hudson, WI. Learn school safety and crisis prevention skills (Workshop 1) and/or develop your tiered crisis intervention skills (Workshop 2). NASP approved continuing professional development hours are provided.

    Additional details and registration information: https://www.uwrf.edu/CSP/PREPaREWorkshop.cfm

    Seats are limited so consider registering soon!

    Feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be interested.

    Questions? Call me at the number below.

    Scott A. Woitaszewski, Ph.D., NCSP
    Professor & Director, School Psychology Program
    Department of Counseling & School Psychology
    University of Wisconsin - River Falls
    (715) 425-3883
    (Pronouns: He/Him/His)

  • 12 Mar 2018 12:00 PM | Anonymous

    2018 MSSWA Spring Conference

    Suicide Prevention/Mastering Skills to Support Others

    Wednesday, April 11th at the TIES Event Center in St. Paul

    Click here for more information.

  • 25 Feb 2018 12:00 PM | Anonymous

    LGBTQ and other gender nonconforming identified School Psychology program graduates, whether they are currently practicing in the field of school psychology or not, are invited to participate in a Queens College research study on School Psychologists’ Experiences with Gender and Sexual Diversity in the work field. This study is led by Dr. Cliff Yung-Chi Chen, Assistant Professor of School Psychology, Educational and Community Programs, Queens College of the City University of New York.

    The link to the study is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LGBTQSchoolPsychologist

    Please email us at yungchi.chen@qc.cuny.edu if you have any questions about this study.

    Thanks.
    Cliff Yung-Chi Chen, Ph.D.


  • 21 Feb 2018 12:00 PM | Anonymous

    15th Annual Day at the Hill

    Changed to May 5th @ EdMN

    Monday March 5, 2018
    8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
    Capitol Ridge Event Center
    161 St. Anthony Ave,#100
    St. Paul, MN 55103

    MN School Social Workers' Association and MN School Psychologists Association is once again excited to join together for this year's Day at the Hill.  School social workers and school psychologists will work together to inform legislators about our roles.

    Day at the Hill provides an opportunity for school social workers and school psychologists to come together to educate state lawmakers about how we address student barriers to academic success in cost effective ways.  6 CEUs awarded.  This is a staff development/Board of Social Work approved opportunity, not a political lobby day.

    Click the title above for more information and how to register for this amazing opportunity!  MSPA members can register for free!!


  • 11 Feb 2018 12:00 PM | Anonymous

    PREPaRE 1 and 2

    Edinburgh, Scotland

    June 29th -July 6th 2018

    In conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Office of International Education, school psychology graduate educators Todd A. Savage (UWRF; NASP President, 2015-2016) and Christine Peterson (UW-Stout) will be offering a week-long study abroad opportunity at Dalkeith Palace outside of Edinburgh, Scotland during the summer of 2018. Throughout this week abroad, participants will receive certified PREPaRE workshops 1 and 2. Other activities include an educational field trip as well as time for personal exploration. Participants may also elect to extend their stay (June 29-July 27) for a full course on school safety and culture. To learn more, please contact Todd A. Savage (todd.savage@uwrf.edu), Christine R. Peterson (petersonchris@uwstout.edu) or UW Office of International Education  (715) 425- 3228.


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