MCEC Podcast

September 15th through October 15th is National Hispanic American Heritage Month, celebrating the contributions of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation.  Listen as Dr. Jessica Meléndez-Carrillo, a lifelong educator, discusses the importance of embracing a cultural community with understanding, respect, and support.  In addition, she shares best practices for supporting military-connected students and their families.   This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Air and Space Forces Spouses’ Club of Washington DC. To learn more, visit https://www.afoscdc.com/.   Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.   Show Notes: Resources:   2022 Demographics Profile of the Military Community https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24177791/2022-demographics-report.pdf   https://www.militaryonesource.mil/data-research-and-statistics/military-community-demographics/   Economic and International Development Population Demographics- City of El Paso https://www.elpasotexas.gov/economic-development/economic-snapshot/population-demographics/   Texas Education Agency Purple Star Campus Designation https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/other-services/military-families/purple-star-campus-designation   Congressman Silvestre and Carolina Reyes Elementary School https://res.canutillo-isd.org/   Canutillo Independent School District https://www.canutillo-isd.org/ Bio: Dr. Jessica Meléndez-Carrillo serves as Principal at Congressman Silvestre and Carolina Reyes Elementary School in El Paso, Texas in the Canutillo Independent School District. Dr. Meléndez-Carrillo has worked in public education for 20 years working with students ranging from PreK through 5th grade as well as teaching college courses. Over the years, she has served as a teacher, instructional coach, curriculum district coordinator and assistant principal. She is a proud graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso where she received her bachelor's and a master’s degree. In 2018, she was selected as the National Assistant Principal of the Year for Texas by TEPSA (Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association) and in November 2021, El Paso Inc., a local magazine, named her as the top 5 school principals in the region.   Dr. Meléndez-Carrillo currently serves on the Executive Board of El Paso TALAS (Texas Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents) as the President-Elect. In June 2022, she was invited to attend Harvard University as part of the Raise Your Hand Texas cohort to focus on School Turnaround Leadership. In December 2022, she graduated from West Texas A&M University with a doctorate in educational leadership focusing on teacher retention and leadership. She has been invited to participate in national webinars as a guest speaker such as NAESP (National Association of Elementary School Principals) and Principals of Success to share her educational journey and work in public education.   Under her leadership, Congressman Silvestre and Carolina Reyes Elementary School has been awarded the Texas Education Agency Purple Star designation, being the first school in the Westside area of El Paso to earn this designation, due to their work commitment to meeting the unique needs of military-connected students and their families. Additionally, the school has earned the recognition of a Best Elementary School in 2024 by the U.S. News and World Report and the Honor Roll School designation by the Educational Results Partnership.   As an educator and transformational leader, Dr. Meléndez-Carrillo believes education is the opportunity equalizer and advocates for equitable education for all students providing a culture of excellence and giving a voice to the voiceless.    

Technology has had an incredible impact on how we live and work in the world today.  Our access to videos, websites, and social media platforms are just at our fingertips.  But does digital media usage affect our mental health?  Listen as Dr. Justin Rowberry discusses the impact that this usage has on our mental, emotional, and behavioral health… especially for our kids.   This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Luke Spouses' Club and Tyndall Spouses Club.  To learn more, visit https://www.lukespousesclub.org/ and https://www.tyndallsc.org/.   Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.   Show Notes:   Resources:   Bio: Justin R. Rowberry, MD leads an innovative health program designed to provide developmental, behavioral, and mental health care to remote or underserved locations across the world.  Dr. Rowberry ensures timely delivery of needed remote care through a combination of virtual video visits, specialty provider extender training, and provider travel, improving health care for those who need it most.

The topic of mental health continues to be a priority in our world today.  Listen as Ashley Jensen discusses why our emotional, psychological, and social well-being are so important.  She also shares how the Cohen Veterans Network is helping support our military-connected families. This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Fort Bliss Spouses’ Association. To learn more, visit https://www.thefbsa.org/.   Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.   Show Notes: Resources:   Cohen Veterans Network https://www.cohenveteransnetwork.org/   National Alliance on Mental Illness https://www.nami.org/   Foulkes, L. (2024, January 4).The adolescent mental health mess. Medium. https://lucyfoulkes3.medium.com/the-adolescent-mental-health-mess-c93f23f8ed56   Bio: Ashley Jensen is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been serving children and families with complex behavioral health diagnosis and relational distress for over thirteen years. As a clinician, she developed specialties in Trauma-Focused CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), Solution-Focused Therapy, parent coaching, and evidence-based practices. Ashley has extensive experience as a Clinical Supervisor and Service Director of non-profit behavioral health services provided via clinic-based settings, home-based wraparound services, and crisis response teams. As a Senior Manager of Clinical Practice at Cohen Veterans Network, Ashley's aim is to drive innovation in clinical leadership and spark creativity in child and family therapy.

Dr. Patricia Jennings discusses the importance of supporting our educator’s mental health and well-being, especially those that work with our military-connected students.  She introduces us to CARE for Teachers (Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education), a professional development program designed to help teachers with stress management and rediscover the joys of teaching.   This podcast is made possible by our partnership with The National Child Traumatic Stress Network and their generous support. To learn more, visit  https://www.nctsn.org/.   Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.   Show Notes: Resources: CARE for Teachers (Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education) https://care4teachers.org/   Compassionate Schools Project https://www.compassionschools.org/   Bio: Patricia A. Jennings M.Ed., Ph.D. is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of social and emotional learning and mindfulness in education. A Professor of Education at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia, her research places a specific emphasis on teacher stress and how it impacts the social and emotional context of the classroom, as articulated in her highly cited theoretical article "The Prosocial Classroom." Jennings led the team that developed CARE, a mindfulness-based professional development program shown to significantly improve teacher well-being, classroom interactions, and student outcomes in the largest randomized controlled trial of a mindfulness-based intervention designed to address teacher stress. CARE research has been validated by What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) and the CARE program is recommended by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) for supporting teachers’ well-being. She is a co-author of Flourish: The Compassionate Schools Project curriculum, an integrated health and social and emotional learning program. She is the author numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters and several books including Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom and Mindfulness in the Pre-K-5 Classroom: Helping Students Stress Less and Learn More. Earlier in her career she spent 22 years as a teacher, school leader, and teacher educator.  

We were delighted to be able to sit down with Lucy a year after our first conversation.  Listen as she discusses her recent PCS, how it feels to start all over again as the new kid, and how her love of music helps during those challenging times.   This podcast is made possible by generous funding from the Mountain Home Officers’ Spouses’ Club and Naval Officers’ Spouses’ Club Washington, D.C. To learn more, visit  https://www.mountainhomeosc.org/ and https://www.noscdc.org/.   Audio mixing by Concentus Media, Inc., Temple, Texas.   Show Notes: If you would like to hear part of Lucy’s original song and listen to her discuss her experiences growing up a military child, we have shared the link to our earlier podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hello-my-name-is-lucy/id1386801038?i=1000626814063 Resources: Bio: Lucy is a 14-year-old military child.  Her father is in the US Navy and she just completed her fourth move!  Last year, Lucy was a member of the National Junior Honor Society and held the Parliamentary position.  She was captain of her school’s dance team, a member of the jazz band, and was asked to sing the National Anthem at the opening season of softball.  She loves to sing, dance, and write her own songs.  She is a kind and compassionate daughter, sister, and friend.  This year she will be starting high school as a freshman at Jamestown High School in Williamsburg, Virginia and is looking forward to making new friends.