Live Oak Partners With Think:Kids to Support Student Wellness and Mental Health

As part of our closing week professional development this year, we launched a new partnership to enhance our students’ mental health and emotional wellness, recognizing that children learn best when they feel safe, understood, and connected in their school environment. Last fall, several staff members attended the Learning and the Brain Conference, where they learned about Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) and Think:Kids—an evidence-based, trauma-informed approach developed by psychologists at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

A lot can be learned from recent research related to the current challenges facing school-aged children. As we get to know our Live Oak students in this current context, we are drawn to opportunities to evolve the systems and structures of support that we provide to our students, making efforts to outfit all of our classrooms with the expertise to meet the needs of our students.

 

Over the next three years, through this partnership with Think:Kids, we will train and coach our faculty in integrating the Collaborative Problem Solving approach in our work with students throughout the school. A dedicated internal team of administrators, teachers, and staff will lead this work, embedding CPS into our systems and daily practices. Members of this team will include our new Deans of Student Wellness for both lower and middle school, as well as our new K-8 Dean of Student Inclusion and Belonging, further enhancing the people and programs dedicated to ensuring our students’ capacity to thrive in Live Oak’s learning environment.

Stay tuned for more information on our work at school and for resources to support your children at home.