Poughkeepsie City School District

ABOUT THE OFFICE OF SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT

The Office of School Engagement mission aligns directly with the National Center for School Engagement (NCSE) which is to Promote Attendance, Attachment, and Achievement for students and families. 

To inspire successful academic outcomes, the Office of School Engagement works to: 

• Encourage school and educational engagement through evidence-based strategies

• Create positive environments

• Providing supportive resources

These district-wide efforts are achieved through district-wide initiatives, supportive programming, online platforms, and activities that all work to encourage student and family engagement in school learning.

Click here to learn more about the National Center for School Engagement 

SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS:

The Office of School Engagement oversees and is responsible for the following student support platforms, programs, and supports district-wide:

Student Support Platforms - The listed platforms are evidence-based online programming designed to support student social emotional learning, behavioral, and mental health developmental growth.

7 Mindsets is an evidence-based social emotional learning system platform that contains student-based lessons, activities, and short videos to stimulate social emotional conversations and personal growth. Within the 7 Mindsets system are Tier 1 learning solutions for all students from PreK through 12^th grade. In addition, all professional development lessons, videos, and activities are on the platform for all district staff. A Parent and Staff edition 7 Mindsets Newsletters are published each month to introduce each mindset of study. 

BASE is a mental health platform designed to address mental health topics with students and employ journalistic self-examination to aid students in exploring their internal emotions. BASE is structured to support Tier 2 and Tier 3 learning solutions by providing personalized pathways and interventions for all students ranging from PreK through 12^th grade. Students are assigned accounts, complete assessments, are granted access to a full library of topic-driven modules, and participate in online groups with fellow students. 

Within the Navigate350 platform, the Office of School Engagement oversees 3 elements - CSTAG and the Suicide Risk Assessments, Detect, and P3 Tips. CSTAG and the Suicide Risk Assessment are behavioral threat assessments to aid violence (to self or others) prevention and school safety. Detect is a digital scanning feature that decodes intention and meaning of modern language to help identify potential threats to individuals and communities. And P3 Tips is a tip line for reporting potential threats.

Panorama is a dashboard that features the ability of educators to view student academic, behavior, and SEL data to aid in streamlining interventions. The platform offers its researched-backed social emotional learning surveying tool, intervention tracking, and check-in tools for implementation fidelity. In addition, to support a positive school climate, Panorama contains MTSS, PBIS, Student Check-ins, and Family Engagement tools.

SmartSocial is a free online resource to help parents and educators keep students safe online. The platform offers a wide range of digital and social media topics ranging from app such as TikTok and Instagram to games such as Fortnite and Minecraft. Also available on the platform are resources for student college readiness on social media networks. SmartSocial publishes a weekly newsletter for parents and educators that highlights a new topic pertaining to social media.

Student Support Programs - The listed programs are evidence-based resources provided to support student social emotional learning, behavioral, and mental health developmental growth.

City Connects is a comprehensive student support program that reviews student strengths and needs annually and creates tailored support plans, leveraging existing services and providing in-depth reviews for students at risk. City Connects gathers and organizes each into two categories: community-based services and school-based supports. From these categories, supports are organized by intensity level and a comprehensive support plan is coordinated to meet the student needs.

Everyday Labs is an evidence-based program that works by monitoring daily attendance data to decrease chronic absenteeism, streamline mindful family outreach to maximize needed resources, and mitigate barriers to student learning. A monthly newsletter is published for parents with each issue highlighting attendance facts and tips to support student engagement within their school.

Astor Services School-Based Mental Health Clinics (PMS and PHS only)

Through a partnership with Astor Service, a school-based mental health clinic is located within the PMS and PHS. Each clinic contains one Astor Service licensed Clinician and provides the following services: Therapeutic Sessions, Evidence-Based Support Groups, In-Classroom Support, Staff Professional Development, Referral Services, and Mental Health Resources. In addition, the clinic partners with the Office of School Engagement to publish a monthly and quarterly newsletter on mental health topics, self-care tips, wellness, and resources for support.

Dylan’s Wings

The PCSD is partnered with Dylan’s Wings of Change to provide the Wingman Program within the PHS. The program encourages students to foster leadership skills and team-centered mentalities to nurture social and emotional development, empathy, courage, and hope. The Wingman program harnesses the impact of experimental-based learning with peers to participate in engaging workshops that nurture social and emotional development, shapes good leaders, and inspires empathy, courage, and hope in and outside of the school building. The organization was formed by a parent of a student victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting.

The MBK Fellows Program provides rising 12th grade high school students with a unique mentorship program to gain leadership experiences, complete service projects which benefit their school and community, and develop ambassadors for the school district on a local, State, and National level. Students within this program are assigned to a mentor, complete book studies, and participate in virtual and in-person activities/events. To strengthen leadership skills, Fellows are expected to participate in district and/or building level activities. This can vary from presentations to speaking engagements. To encourage networking and growth opportunities, Fellows are expected to participate in events hosted at the State level MBK Program.

High Needs Supports

• The PCSD defines “High Needs Supports” as the framework for providing all students, particularly students that display extraordinary needs, with supports, services, and programming needed to find success as students and future citizens. To meet this need, the Office of School Engagement partners with internal departments and external community organizations to provide a comprehensive network of coordinated programs and interventions which support the academic, social, behavioral, and emotional development of all students. This supportive partnership includes the following objectives:

  • Strengthening the district-wide impact on positive youth development

  • Aligning internal and external supports and resources to meet student needs

  • Develop collaborative strategies with community partners and students to address student needs

  • Provide professional development/capacity building opportunities to staff, parents, students, and community partners

Additional Supports - To aid in creating and supporting a positive school environment, the Office of School Engagement also provides:

Guest Speakers & Workshops

• To create and provide a positive school environment, guest speakers will be invited to promote student attendance and achievement, as well as enriched growth opportunities for staff. Guest speaker topics for students will vary from social emotional to Mental Health to Academic and will be grade level appropriate. Workshops for staff will vary in topic from De-escalation to Cultural Biases. 

Informative Resources

• To provide informative resources district-wide, the Office of School Engagement publishes several newsletters. The publications vary from monthly to quarterly and are published for students, families, staff, and the community. Newsletter topics address: Mental Health, Self-Care Tips, Personal Wellness, Healthy Mindsets, Social Media, Attendance, and many local, State, and National resources for support. 

Here is the listing of newsletters:

• 7 Mindsets Newsletter (monthly) - for Educators & Staff

• 7 Mindsets Newsletter (monthly) - for Parents

• Mental Health: In the Spotlight (monthly) - for Teachers & Staff

• Mental Health & Wellness Newsletter (quarterly) - for Staff

• SmartSocial Virtual Event Newsletter (monthly) - for Staff & Parents

• Office of School Engagement Newsletter (monthly) - for Staff & Community