The overall well-being and emotional state of teachers during these challenging times has been at the forefront of schools, and one of the priorities of the Fordham PDRC. Since the opening of the center in March 2020, we have engaged with outstanding professional psychologists and counselors who facilitated training for over 625 educators, during the first year of operations.
 Claudia Belmonte, a Fordham Graduate student who is collaborating with the PDRC team, attended many of the sessions, studied the recorded videos, carefully analyzed the response of participants to the sessions and their impact in the classroom, and wrote an evidence-based scholarly article. The article – which is excerpted in this newsletter, has just been published in the February issue of the Education and Culture Studies Journal. We are very proud of this work and encourage you to read the full article.
We acknowledge that many of these challenges continue and we are committed to support all educators of religious and independent schools. Therefore, the team has selected a few of the most successful webinars and are making them available on-demand and for credit during this February break. We hope it will be a tool to reflect, learn and recharge before the spring term.
Please go to the UPCOMING WEBINARS & EVENTS for details and registration links
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By: Claudia Belmonte
The socioemotional health of teachers has been an increasing area of research within the past decade. The emotional well-being of teachers is so important because it directly relates to both teaching effectiveness and student engagement for learning. In addition, it has been reported that teachers experience considerable stress and a variety of negative mental health outcomes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to ensure that teachers are supported emotionally, as well as professionally to ensure student success.
In response to this need, the Fordham Professional Development Resource Center (PDRC) where I am currently doing my Graduate Student internship, has strived to offer webinars and online sessions tailored to teacher and administrator social emotional well being. Given the importance of the issues and my own interest as a graduate student with a Counseling major, this work offered me the opportunity to research and study the impact that these professional opportunities had in teaching and learning.
In one of our sessions given by Dr. Amelio D’Onofrio, we were reminded that we should not consider ourselves weak or at fault because of stress. “Stress is a by-product of the care-intensive work that teachers do every day.” When we recognize, accept and acknowledge the problem, that’s when real healing and resilience begins.
To that purpose, and for the past two years, I worked alongside the staff of the PDRC and eventually submitted an article for publication consideration. Teachers sought professional development to care about their own mental health, and detailed how the intersection of SEL made the teaching practice more meaningful.
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Many educators are looking for practical ways to create a meaningful learning environment for students. The primary reason is to create an environment that reflects inclusion, SEL frameworks, and academic success. Each of these objectives are important to the teaching practice and student development. More importantly, these creative opportunities also lend support to the diversity that is discovered through a students' voice. For example, when a learning community utilizes students' feedback and experiences, the school community becomes more inclusive, intentional with SEL frameworks, and develops meaningful academic support.
 Student voice has the ability to shape school culture, classroom dynamics, and teacher experiences. To help educators further diversify the use of student voice within their school, the Fordham University-PDRC is hosting a webinar series entitled “Empowering Student Voice”. This series will begin March 31, 2022 and presented by Sara Steinweiss, NYS Education Consultant. Sara is the founder of Conflict Resolution Systems, which is an education resource that provides teachers and students with solutions to the challenges that exist within the Middle School and High School experience. The Empowering Student Voice series is designed to help educators diversify their approach to student needs and teaching demands within today's climate.
Through Sara’s expertise in teacher development and student solutions, she has curated a series that is intentional to the educators needs. For example, the workshops will cover themes such as how to utilize empathetic communication skills, how to navigate student transitions in a transitional climate, and understanding a language of calm that promotes self-reflection. Sara has developed a PD series that creatively illustrates how educators can diversify social emotional tools for student success. When a student is given the opportunity to articulate their thoughts and feelings, diversity and inclusion is manifested in the learning environment. Student voice covers a myriad of student development themes and academic tenets that can help teachers to effectively diversify the classroom and overall school community.
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LEARNER-CENTERED WRITING STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNICATION & LEARNING
Presenter: Michele Silva, Educational Consultant
Date: February 16, 2022
Time: 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Audience: K- 12 Teachers, including ENL and WL
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