Inspiring Stories Archives - BELONG Partners

Growing Through the Changes

Just like in nature, community groups, school systems, and school communities grow in response to the environments around them. Sometimes schools are able to forecast changing needs and intentionally create new systems, and sometimes the environment forces change. School systems and communities have grown and changed based on new research, the experience of educators, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, and Sound Discipline has too. Over the years we have grown and changed to be responsive to the communities we serve. We started out in our co-founder, Dr. Jody McVittie’s living room, and now we’re serving [...]

pase2023-05-25T22:29:44+00:00May 25, 2023|

Campbell Hill Classified Staff use Data and SEL Strategies to Help with Transitions and Recess

The classified staff of Campbell Hill Elementary, in Renton, WA, works hard every day to be sure that students know they are safe, belong, and matter in the unstructured spaces like the school playground and cafeteria. This team of educators meet monthly to align their practice, continue their learning about social emotional learning and trauma-responsive strategies, and to support building equitable classrooms and communities. One of their best tools is using patterns in discipline data - which helps them to identify system improvements and opportunities to build lagging skills for the adults and/or the kids. Supporting Transitions from Classroom [...]

belongpartners2023-04-28T19:58:31+00:00March 21, 2023|

Sound Discipline Working Moms

To celebrate International Women's History Month and National Working Moms' Day, we are featuring interviews with some amazing working moms here at Sound Discipline. Our Sound Discipline colleagues shared with us how they've attempted to balance working and parenting and also how working at Sound Discipline has impacted them as working moms. Stacy Lappin, Director of Program Roxana Amaral, District Partnerships Manager Mary Stillwell Power, Communications and Marketing Manager

belongpartners2023-05-17T18:58:40+00:00March 20, 2023|

Celebrating Black History Month with Facilitator Roshaé Lowe

Roshaé Lowe, Facilitator Why are you an educator/do you work in education? As a child, growing up, education was always presented to me as a pathway – a means to an end, a road that leads to all roads. As an adult, I still see education as a pathway -- one that allows people to connect, to learn, to grow, to grieve, to be together. I’ve come to realize that our current educational system is a reflection of our larger society. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum. And when we, adults, educators, work to confront and change the issues [...]

belongpartners2023-05-17T18:32:08+00:00February 28, 2023|

Celebrating Black History Month with Teague Parker

Teague Parker, Facilitator Why are you an educator/do you work in education? Being a theatre artist brought me to the world of education! I would lead improv workshops every week through college, TA acting & playwriting classes, and soak up all the ways you could pass information. It felt to me that arts & wellness practices were not accessible to the public, so, as life continued, I became invested in bringing arts wellness practices to anybody and everybody that felt that needed them! What Black educators did you look up to as a youth? Black artists tend [...]

belongpartners2023-05-17T18:32:09+00:00February 3, 2023|

Celebrating Black History Month with Sylvia Hadnot

Sylvia Hadnot, Facilitator and Social Media Coordinator Why are you an educator/do you work in education? I've wanted to be a teacher since I was 5 years old. Looking back, I realize that my teachers were some of my first nurturers. I loved their love and the way it made me feel! As a perpetually curious child, I also loved learning. I remember thinking I wanted to be just like my teachers when I grew up, and now I understand that what I really want to be was love, embodied. That's what they were to me. Now I [...]

belongpartners2023-05-17T18:32:09+00:00February 3, 2023|

School Discipline Data Points to the Need for Self-Regulation Skills

Terminal Park Elementary School in Auburn, WA is one of our Whole School partners. They have an active Data Team made up of staff who are leading the implementation of Sound Discipline work at their school. Data Teams in our partner schools gather and analyze discipline data – which is documentation of when a student is removed from the classroom or community. They look for patterns in that data and define potential problems that indicate either a systemic issue or lagging skills that need to be developed in adults or young people. The Data Team proposes a solution and works [...]

belongpartners2023-05-02T01:02:53+00:00December 14, 2022|

DOOL Youth Inspire Educators to Share Power and Create Equitable Learning Environments

DOOL presenters pose in front of the Space Needle after an inspiring session at the TAF Convening! On October 8th a diverse crowd of educators filed into the Laser Dome at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center. However, none of them were there to see a laser show! They had all come to experience an immersive workshop designed and facilitated by youth from Sound Discipline’s DOOL program. DOOL (Designing Our Own Learning) is in its fourth year, bringing together students and educators to share power, develop leadership skills, and reimagine our educational system. The original funding for DOOL came through a [...]

belongpartners2023-05-01T22:46:12+00:00October 31, 2022|

Auburn School District’s All-Staff Wellness Day Lays Foundation for a Culture of Care

“SEL is about preparing students and staff for quality instruction, quality learning, and quality interaction, because that’s where we are spending all of our time.” - Assistant Superintendent Rhonda Larson, Family Engagement & Student Success Dept On September 1, Auburn School District provided a day of wellness training for all 2600 of their staff! Thursday, September 1, we were thrilled to spend the ENTIRE day with Auburn School District Staff during their first All-Staff Wellness training day! This district-wide day of wellness and staff training was planned and executed by a collaborative team at the district level. In [...]

belongpartners2023-05-17T18:32:30+00:00September 30, 2022|

Centered in Belonging: In-Person & Online Professional Development for Teachers

Sound Discipline launched our hybrid professional development program for educators in August, with a pretty cool piece of tech that enables a great hybrid experience - we call it Rooty Hooty. Our 'Rooty Hooty' webcam What is Rooty Hooty? Rooty got its name from the first workshop where it was used -- Rooted Relationships: Growing Equitable Classroom Communities. It’s a Meeting Owl, aka a fancy web cam made by Owl Labs. With a swivel-head, 360-degree camera and microphone, participants can see, hear, and engage easily with one another, even in group discussion. Making community and connection [...]

belongpartners2022-08-19T13:28:56+00:00August 19, 2022|

Sound Discipline is now BELONG Partners

Inspiring Stories

Inspiring Stories

Sound Discipline is now BELONG Partners.

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