The Needs and Joys of our (Im)migrant Students, Families, and Community Partners: Exploring and Expanding Our School Mental Health Practice

Session 3: School Mental Health Strategies to Support Newcomers:

CBITS and Community Building Circles

Join the Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center for a special three-part series followed by a four-part learning community focused on (im)migrant student mental health. Through this program, we hope to: 

• Deepen our understanding and awareness of the unique gifts, strengths, and challenges students with (im)migration stories hold

• Explore practical strategies to apply and deepen our work 

• Examine the What + How—what are the issues + how do we then take the what and impact our school mental health practice?

Together, we discuss and unpack nuances of students who are (im)migrants, newcomers, undocumented, transborder learners so that we can strengthen our school mental health systems, services, practices, and policies. 

Please note that while this program has a special focus on students who identify as Latino/a/x,  Chican@, and Mexican-American, all are welcome and much can be related to other student identities with shared experiences. 

Invited learners: school mental health professional associations (school psychology, counselors, psychiatry, teacher education programs, school social workers), community-based mental health providers who partner with schools in our Center’s region (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and U.S. Pacific Islands of American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau). 

For more information about the series, visit the series page.

Session 3: School Mental Health Strategies to Support Newcomers:

CBITS and Community Building Circles

When:  Monday, June 21, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. PT (view your time zone)

(Mon.) 6-8 p.m. ET / 3-5 p.m. PT / 12-2 p.m. HT / 11 a.m.-1 p.m. American Samoa

(Tues.) 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Marshall Islands / 9-11 a.m. Pohnpei, Kosrae / 8-10 a.m. Guam, Chuuk, Yap, Northern Mariana Islands /  7-9 a.m. Palau

Faculty: Claudia Rojas and Angela Castellanos

The plight of newcomers (students who have recently arrived to the United States) continues to be an issue that impacts their educational journey and is even more exacerbated during the pandemic. Students' experiences vary, but they may include feelings of isolation, integration, and adapting to new cultural norms. This session will highlight a student’s experience and what school systems can offer to support students in traditional and distance learning settings. 

The session examines shared risk and protective factors for vulnerable populations and outlines school programs like CBITS and restorative justice Community Building Circles, highlighting cultural adaptations of both models. 

To deepen our awareness about (im)migrant student experiences, we: 

1. Build understanding of: the impact of mental health on newcomer students and its relation to their learning, adapting to the American school system, and resources to support their growth.

2. Explore myths and misconceptions about newcomer students and build empathetic partnerships for their academic and social emotional growth.

3. Examine the risk factors and increase support systems to enhance protective factors such as CBITS and restorative justice Community Building Circles.