Educators Respond: Addressing School Readiness and Wellness in the time of Covid-19

In this episode of the Educators Respond podcast, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Seria Chatters. Dr. Chatters is the Director of Equity and Inclusivity at the State College Area School District in Pennsylvania and adjunct associate professor at the Pennsylvania State University. Originally, I had scheduled this conversation with Dr. Chatters to discuss how schools can develop an equity focused response to the current Covid 19 crisis. After scheduling this time however, the United States witnessed the killing of George Floyd and the many Black Lives Matter protests and demonstrations that have sought to once again bring light to the many equity related issues in our society and issues of racial injustice. What follows then is our discussion about what one school district is doing and planning as we stand on the intersection between this social justice moment and this Covid-19 pandemic as well as issues that all schools need to be considering in this unique time. 

Dr. chatters is an educator and a school leader and a mother of children in the district and she shares stories from her own life as well as from her work to maintain an equity-focus in all decision-making at the school.  

In this episode, I speak with Lisa Harpster and Andy Wilson, teachers at State College Area High School in Pennsylvania who run the English language learner program in the school. In addition to discussing the current school situation for their students and what they are thinking about into the next school year, we also discuss the amazing work they are doing right now to support the families of their students. These amazing educators are providing much needed support to families in serious need. They are delivering food and helping them to avoid evictions and pay utilities through financial support. If you are able to help with donations, Lisa's email address is [email protected].  

In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Peter Montminy.  Dr. Montminy is a clinical psychologist who specializes in children’s self regulation and helping young people cope with stress and trauma.  He is also a certified mindfulness teacher and founder of A Mindful Village: https://amindfulvillage.com/. 

We discuss how educators can support themselves and their students in this difficult times as well as the role mindfulness can play in self-care and responding to student behavior.  

In this episode, I have the pleasure to  speak with Adrian Principe who is the founder and Executive Director of Turning Life On. Turning life on is a non-profit seeking to promote grassroots efforts around exploring concepts of digital wellness. 

I speak with Adrian about her organization and the seven pillars of digital wellness as well as how these pillars can be useful for promoting digital wellness in communities and schools.

In this episode, I talk with Peter Buck who is running for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives seat in the 171st district. Peter holds a PhD in education and currently works for the Penn State Sustainability Institute.  We discuss what he is learning about the needs of school districts in the 171st and how these needs can be met through state and federal support. This episode is also in preparation for a panel discussion we will be cohosting that will take place on October 13 to dive deeper into this topic and respond to questions and concerns from educators and community members. Follow Educators Respond or Peter Buck on Facebook to tune in to that discussion. You can also follow and support Buck's campaign by going to buckforpa.com.