Resilient Schools

• How To Help Families Find Joy In Reading with Dr. Erin Bailey Transformative Principal 586
• Focused on language components - material and affective component. 
• Sitting side-by-side and face-to-face with a child.
• When kids want to read the books a hundred times in a row! 
• Gen Z Parents Not Reading to their Kids
• Quick attention. Training your brain to only be able to pay attention
• Missing out on opportunities to bond with children when reading. 
• Reading can take you places, and you can escape.
• Family education 
• Meet families where they are at. 
• Schools cutting back on read-aloud time. 
• Accessible guides.
• Teaching in Hong Kong
• Cognitive Debt Research
• How to Train Your Amygdala

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

For the interview between Barb and Erin, go here: https://transformativeprincipal.org

• Half of all mental health issues start before 14. 
• Only half of those who need it are getting the help they need. 
• Distinct warning signs. https://nami.org/signs
• Looking for changes. 
• Call a pediatrician 
• Conversation starters
• Find a support group
• When you are not alone, you have hope.
• Cathleen Beachboard on Resilient Schools talking about hope.
• Trauma Awareness Training
• Kids are a lot stronger than we give them credit for. 
• Outcomes for students - what are the outcomes we want. 
• Mental health education is health education.
• Focus on connection not perfection. 

Barb Solish: National Alliance on Mental illness

Barb Solish is NAMI’s National Director of Innovation. She is passionate about mental health awareness, education, and advocacy, especially after the loss of a friend to suicide. Barb’s lived experience developing a mental health condition as a young person also motivates her work improving outcomes for young people with mental health concerns.

In her time at NAMI, Barb has led NAMI’s Youth and Young Adult Initiatives team, developing new resources for kids, teens, young adults, educators, and caregivers. She also led the creation of new initiatives, including the virtual version of the NAMI Ending the Silence presentation program for middle and high school students and NAMI Next Gen, NAMI’s young adult advisory group. In addition to youth and young adult work, Barb oversees NAMI’s Workplace Mental Health Initiatives, including NAMI StigmaFree Workplace. Barb believes strongly that not only is creating a mentally healthy workplace the right thing to do, it’s an economic imperative.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

• NAMI and RIF joining together with the support of Macy’s
• Being next to someone is powerful
• Name it to tame it. 
• Identifying emotions for kids is powerful
• Literacy for skills in both areas. 
• The power of a mother reading aloud to her children. 
• NICU mothers reading aloud to kids every day lowered rates of post-partum depression and stress. 
• Routine and trust are built together. 
• Early intervention 
• The Presence and the connection is what really matters. 

Barb Solish: Link to headshot - National Alliance on Mental illness

Barb Solish is NAMI’s National Director of Innovation. She is passionate about mental health awareness, education, and advocacy, especially after the loss of a friend to suicide. Barb’s lived experience developing a mental health condition as a young person also motivates her work improving outcomes for young people with mental health concerns.

In her time at NAMI, Barb has led NAMI’s Youth and Young Adult Initiatives team, developing new resources for kids, teens, young adults, educators, and caregivers. She also led the creation of new initiatives, including the virtual version of the NAMI Ending the Silence presentation program for middle and high school students and NAMI Next Gen, NAMI’s young adult advisory group. In addition to youth and young adult work, Barb oversees NAMI’s Workplace Mental Health Initiatives, including NAMI StigmaFree Workplace. Barb believes strongly that not only is creating a mentally healthy workplace the right thing to do, it’s an economic imperative.

Erin Bailey, Vice President, Literacy Programs & Research, Reading Is Fundamental

Erin Bailey, Ed.D., joined Reading Is Fundamental in 2021 and currently serves as the Vice President of Literacy Programs and Research. Dr. Bailey brings deep curriculum and instructional expertise to her position, which includes serving as the subject matter expert and developing, curating, and managing content and professional learning for educators and families on literacy.

She has played a pivotal role in shaping high-quality, research-based content that supports Pre-K through Middle School students nationwide. With a strong command of literacy best practices, she leads cross-functional efforts to ensure RIF’s resources spark reading joy while aligning with effective instructional strategies. Passionate about empowering educators, Dr. Bailey has spearheaded RIF’s professional development initiatives—designing and delivering hands-on, relevant learning experiences that build lasting capacity and support classroom success.

Dr. Bailey has been an educator in U.S. and international classrooms. Her teaching experience spans from PreK-8 including roles as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, English language learning specialist, and university instructor. Her interests include professional learning for teachers on family and community engagement, instructional strategies for multilingual learners, and literacy instruction. She is interested in the ways that partnering with families and communities, particularly for children from historically marginalized communities, can transform literacy instruction. Additionally, she designs curriculum and professional development for utilizing play-based learning to teach language and literacy to young children.

Dr. Bailey has a robust and interdisciplinary research repertoire including learning through informal spaces such as public gardens, art museums, and social movements. She takes up art processes such as film, photography, and sound mixing to expand approaches to qualitative inquiry. She has presented her work at several major conferences including the American Education Research Association (AERA) and the World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) and has published in academic journals including Qualitative Inquiry, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, and Journal of Literacy Research.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

• Bringing Humanity Back to Schools
• Four mistakes instructional leaders make

Notes:

• Had everything, but things were still falling apart. 
• Workplace wellbeing - too expensive, geared for corporate. 
• Resilience from BigImpactMixer.com. 
• Resilience is being the little light that encourages you to take the next step. 
• 3 main things that the app provides. 
• Athletes - Their job is to do a physical activity. What being a Division 1 Athlete really looks like
• Recovery is important too. 
• We all have different experiences and knowledge, because not one thing is going to work the same for everyone. 
• Apps, challenges, and resources to help teachers with mental fitness. 
• Within the group plan, principals can help prescribe
• The power of check in. 
• Teachers are exhausted, and they need help! 
• Dragging their bag to the car, and it totally makes sense. 
• “I can’t do one more thing!”
• Most of the content is audio so people can listen when they are doing something else. 
• Wellbeing has to come before school improvement. 
• We can do so much more than we think we can. 

About Amber Dembowski

Amber Dembowski is a dynamic leader in school improvement and educator wellness, and the driving force behind Dembowski Consulting EDU, EudoLeadership, and the TeacherWell app. With 27 years of experience in public education, Amber is passionate about reshaping schools into thriving communities through human-centered, innovative approaches. Her newsletter and downloadable app offers actionable insights and inspiration for educators looking to prioritize well-being and empowerment.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

• Safety vs. self-awareness. 
• A prescription for safety.
• We never ask the question, “What makes you feel safe?”
• Self-awareness: presence, values and identity. 
• Focusing on polarizing things that make us different.
• Siloed efforts on SEL, PBIS, etc. 
• More info about PRISM
• Start with adults first - to generate buy-in and help them learn how to do it also.
• We can use it better with kids when we 
• Growth mindset - and other mindsets.
• It’s not a training, it’s a continual process. 
• When we beef up the self-awareness skills
• Stem, Limbic system and cortex
• Kids who are living in their brain stem - constant state of toxic stress
• Regulation spaces and activities
• How to support families with self-awareness
• Provide educational opportunities for families. 
• Social emotional skill building starts at home. 
• The importance of partnering with families. 

About Dr. Leslie Anway

Currently the Director of Resilient Schools for the Pima County School Superintendent’s Office, Dr. Leslie Anway’s biggest focus over the last several years has been on assisting with the creation of educational systems that streamline and integrate proactive initiative work to create foundationally safe learning spaces that foster belonging and connection and prioritize educator wellness. Leslie is a national presenter who trains and consults with practitioners, schools, and districts around the state, but she remains an educator at heart with over 25 years of direct experience in the schools as both a teacher and a school psychologist. She is the co-founder of Flourish Learning Group, LLC and PRISM© and she participates on multiple state and national committees. Leslie adores being a lifelong learner who learns on a daily basis from the hardworking humans and kindred spirits she interacts with, as well as from her three spirited grandchildren. 

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.