ADMPS 2402: Health, Mental Health, and Safety
Summer, 2016
Dr. Mary Margaret Kerr, Instructor (/ 412-648-7205)
Overview
This course will help you understand how to assess and plan for a school’s needs in the areas of health, mental health, and crisis prevention and intervention. To frame our work conceptually, we turn to the National Health, Mental Health and Safety Guidelines for Schools. To understand the importance of this work as a District leader, consider the following:
“Health, mental health, and safety, as defined here, are inextricably linked to student achievement. Poor nutrition, impaired vision or hearing, dental pain, sleep deficiency, substance abuse, anxiety about home life, anxiety about relations with peers, exposure to violence, and any unaddressed symptom are examples of health and safety issues associated with less than optimal achievement in school. `Sometimes the association between achievement and health, mental health, and safety is obvious (e.g., an injury or illness that causes a low school attendance rate). At other times the association between student achievement and health, mental health, and safety is not easily observed (e.g., when a teacher’s health or mental health affects teaching and relationships with students or when a student’s anxiety about a real or perceived threat of violence affects his/her attention to class work). Complementary to benefits of optimizing health and safety to improve student achievement is the understanding that an educated populace is a beneficial factor for the health and safety of the population” (description from National Guidelines website, http://www.nationalguidelines.org/).
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to use research-based approaches to meet the guidelines and standards as outlined in the Health, Mental Health and Safety Guidelines for Schools and the PDE Core and Corollary Standards for School Leaders that apply to this course
Our classroom meetings are May 16 from 4:30-8:30 and June 4 from 9-4 pm. Both classes are at the AIU at the Waterfront, 475 East Waterfront Drive Homestead, PA 15120. For all other weeks, this course will be offered on-line. During those weeks, you do not have to be on-line at the same time; the on-line sessions are asynchronous. You must complete all assignments, however.
Graded Assignments and Deadlines
Assignment/points possible / Starting / EndingCHAPter readings/quizzes (80) / 5.15.2016 / 7.31.2016
simulations in class (120) / 5.16.2016 / 6.4.2016
Readability activity (100) / 5.16.2016 / 5.31.2016
crisis plan critique (100) / 5.16.2016 / 5.31.2016
School Health Index (100) / [Select Date] / 6.30.2016
How to Prepare for the First Class and Course
1. Study the syllabus and let me know if you have any questions.
2. Download and read Chapters 1 and 2 from Kerr, M.M. (2009). School Crisis Prevention and Intervention. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Publishing, Inc. You will find these on the CourseWeb site. The Pitt Bookstore offers the best price for this textbook, if you choose to purchase it. http://pitt.verbacompare.com/comparison?id=42856
3. Plan Your Time: You should schedule 3 hours of “homework” a week and 1.5-2 hours of working through on-line instruction a week[1]. So, block off at 5 hours a week, please.
4. Enter the assignments, dates and times into your calendar. To make it simpler, assignments are due the last day of May, June, and July.
5. Bring your laptop to both classes for in-class exercises.
6. Bring a printed copy of Chapter 2, if possible, because you will need to refer to it while doing activities that may also be on your laptop.
7. Familiarize yourself with CourseWeb: To access the course Web site, go to www.my.pitt.edu and log on using your Pitt user name and password. For help with CourseWeb issues, just call 412-624-HELP. This help is available 24/7., and you will talk with a helpdesk employee, not a recording!
How You Earn Your Grade
You will earn your grade in this part of the course by completing the following assignments. In order to ensure that your work is evaluated in a timely manner, please follow these guidelines.
· Go to the assignment on the course website left panel to submit your graded assignment.
· Email chapter quizzes directly from the textbook companion website, http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_kerr_crisis_1/. After you take the quiz, email it to
· Late assignments will not be read or graded.
· Label your files, please: last name. assignment name. date submitted.
· Unless specifically requested, do not submit drafts. I assume that all assignments you submit are final work ready to be graded.
· If you are not sure about the instructions for an assignment, you are welcome to e-mail me, but do not wait until the last minute lest you do not get a response. See e-mail guidelines below.
The following are assignments you will complete for this course. For each assignment, you will find specific directions under the assignment section of the CourseWeb site.
Textbook chapters and quizzes (All quizzes are due on July 31, 11:59 pm.) You will read specific chapters in the textbook (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9). These chapters are available for you on the course website for downloading for your personal use only (one copy), since the book just went out of print.
After reading each chapter, complete an online multiple-choice quiz to assess your knowledge gained regarding the given chapter’s material. To access online comprehension checks for each chapter of the Kerr (2009), goto the textbook web site.
· As you read each chapter, complete the short multiple-choice quiz. [You do not have to complete the other quizzes.]
· At the end of each quiz, you can email the quiz to
· Each submitted quiz must have at least a 90% score. You will receive 10 points for each one. You will not receive any points for less than a 90% scored quiz.
· Total points possible = 80 points, 10 points per chapter.
Crisis Simulations (in class): In class, you will participate in crisis simulations taken from actual school district examples. You will receive up to 40 points for your successful participation in each simulation, so be sure you have read and studied your textbook chapters. (120 points total)
Readability Revision of a Parent Communication due May 31, 11:59 pm: You will receive a parent communication on a health topic. Your task is to revise this communication so that it conveys the information but is at a readability level of no more than 7.0 grade level. Detailed instructions are posted on the course web site, and we will preview this in class to get you started. You may earn up to 100 points for this assignment.
Crisis Plan Critique, due May 31, 11:59 pm: You will write at least 10 comments about a school crisis plan. Detailed instructions are posted on the course web site, and we will preview this in class to get you started. You may earn up to 100 points for this assignment.
School Health Index: due June 30, 11:59 pm:
Go to the School Health Index web site https://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/shi/default.aspx and register to use the SHI. ****Use a pseudonym for the school name.
You are not required to complete the entire SHI but you must include data on these three SHI modules:
1 - School Health and Safety Policies and Environment
5 - Health Services
6 - Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services.
Save your scorecard and plan for improvement (print as a PDF). Then submit your SHI assessment data, via the course website. Specifically, here is what you will submit:
o Scorecard for each module
o Plan for Improvement for each module
o From each module, a one-page reflection about what you learned (3 in total).
You may receive up to 100 points for your completion of this assignment.
Calculation and Reporting of Grades
You can access your grades on the Course Web My Grades page. Total points possible for the course = 500.
Incomplete course grades (G) will be given only in emergencies, with requested documentation such as a note from a physician. The G grade signifies unfinished course work due to extenuating personal circumstances. Students assigned G grades are required to complete course requirements no later than one year after the term or session in which the course was taken. Once the deadline has passed, the G grade will remain on the record, and the student will be required to reregister for the course if it is needed to fulfill requirements for graduation.
Please remember: you must attend both in-class sessions to earn a grade in this course. If you miss a class, you will receive an incomplete grade until you make the class up the next time the course is offered.
Letter Grade / PercentagesA+ / 98-100
A / 93-97
A- / 90-92
B+ / 88-89
B / 83-87
B- / 80-82
C+ / 78-79
C / 73-77
C- / 70-72
D+ / 68-69
F / <68
Your course grade will be assigned based on the points you attain:
Other Course Policies
Communications: You can reach me at . I want to give you the individual feedback you need. Accordingly, I have guidelines that allow you to receive our feedback and help in a timely manner.
· Use pitt.edu: You can email directly from the course web site or from your email. I may not answer e-mails that are not from a pitt.edu address, because of spam. Please be careful about this.
· Read the syllabus and any assignment instructions before posing a question.
· I answer e-mails Monday through Friday, 8 am -6 pm Eastern time, throughout the course. I generally do not answer e-mails on weekends, holidays, or after hours, so do not wait until the weekend to ask your questions! You can expect a response within 24 hours of your e-mail, as long as you follow the course guidelines.
· For help accessing or forwarding your Pitt e-mail, call 412-624-HELP. Here is the University’s policy on e-mail, which we will follow for the success of this course:
“Each student is issued a University e-mail address () upon admittance. This e-mail address may be used by the University for official communication with students. Students are expected to read e-mail sent to this account on a regular basis. Failure to read and react to University communications in a timely manner does not absolve the student from knowing and complying with the content of the communications. The University provides an e-mail forwarding service that allows students to read their e-mail via other service providers (e.g., Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo). Students that choose to forward their e-mail from their pitt.edu address to another address do so at their own risk. If e-mail is lost as a result of forwarding, it does not absolve the student from responding to official communications sent to their University e-mail address.”
Telephone Calls or Office Appointments: You may need to have a conversation about something in the course. I will arrange either videoconference or telephone “office hours” or meetings on an as-needed basis. Just e-mail me and let me know your available time/days. I will be glad to schedule a conference between 9 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday, at a mutually convenient time.
Attendance: Everyone in this course has a busy schedule. However, we have only two face-to-face class sessions for this part of the course. You may not miss a face-to-face session for that reason. If you must miss a session, you will need to make it up the next time the course is offered. The instructor cannot be responsible for delivering alternative individual course instruction or assignments.
Course Website: Presentations and print materials on course website are copyrighted and may not be used or duplicated for purposes other than this course.
Academic Integrity: Students in this course will be expected to comply with the University of Pittsburgh's Policy on Academic Integrity. Any student suspected of violating this obligation for any reason during the semester will be required to participate in the procedural process, initiated at the instructor level, as outlined in the University Guidelines on Academic Integrity. This may include, but is not limited to, the confiscation of the examination of any individual suspected of violating University Policy. By enrolling in this course, you agree that you have read, understood, and accept the obligations of the University’s Students Rights Responsibilities. Detailed information is posted at http://www.provost.pitt.edu/info/aistudcode1.html.
Classroom Recording: To ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may not record classroom lectures, discussion and/or activities without the advance written permission of the instructor, and any such recording properly approved in advance can be used solely for the student’s own private use.
Disabilities: If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890/(412) 383-7355 (TTY), as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course. I will be happy to work with you.
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[1] According to the University’s definition of a credit hour, a two-credit course should have 28 contact hours, where a contact hour is 50 minutes of instruction, provided on-line or in-class. In addition, students are expected to spend 1.5 hours outside of class for each in-class hour. This includes reading, completing weekly exercises, and working on graded assignments.