In this webinar, researchers and practitioners from Education Development Center (EDC) will discuss current findings and impactful strategies for the prevention of suicide and bullying from several perspectives. Shai Fuxman will describe how multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) – a framework for implementing a cohesive set of evidence-based programs and practices – can promote young people’s social, emotional, and mental health. Shawna Hite-Jones and Richard Fournier will present EDC’s Multi-Tiered Suicide Prevention (MTSP) for Schools model, which supports school districts in creating structural changes in policy and practice to align with evidence-based suicide prevention components within an MTSS framework. Resources and tools available to schools and youth providers will be shared. Shari Kessel Schneider will discuss how schools can combat the negative effects of social media and empower students to use digital media in safe, healthy ways. These approaches can reduce incidences of cyberbullying and support mental wellness among young people.
Speakers
Shai Fuxman, a behavioral health expert and senior research scientist, leads initiatives promoting the well-being, academic success, and career readiness of youth. He has extensive experience in adolescent health and development, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and substance misuse prevention. He also has expertise in program evaluation and quantitative and qualitative research.
Through his leadership of EDC’s Massachusetts Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Academy, Fuxman guides schools and districts in building and sustaining strong systems to improve students’ learning outcomes, health, and mental health. As a member of the EDC Solutions team, he provides MTSS consultation to other states, districts, and schools. He also advances other initiatives focused on K–12 education, student well-being, strengthening the education workforce, and substance misuse prevention for people of all ages.
Fuxman is an experienced public speaker, presenter, trainer, coach, and systems change consultant. A frequently published author, his recent works focus on MTSS and digital wellness and supporting educators.
Fuxman holds an MEd and EdD in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University, and he is fluent in Spanish, Hebrew, and English.
Shawna Hite-Jones is an experienced public health professional specializing in mental health promotion, suicide prevention, and health communication. A master certified health education specialist, Hite-Jones brings expertise in training and technical assistance, project management, and product development. She is passionate about promoting population-level prevention initiatives that seek to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors, particularly in rural communities.
As a senior prevention specialist with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, Hite-Jones provides support and develops resources on a public health approach to suicide prevention. As an EDC Solutions project manager, she supports schools in developing multi-tiered, system-level approaches to preventing youth suicide. As a subject matter expert on a Safe States and CDC-supported suicide prevention initiative, she is helping develop a website and tools to strengthen community-level suicide prevention capacity.
Hite-Jones has written about understanding and effectively preventing suicide in rural communities. Previously, she served as the program director for the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation.
Hite-Jones holds an MPH from Ohio State University and a BA in Psychology and Communications from Lake Forest College.
Richard Fournier, director of Education & Wellbeing in EDC Solutions, leads EDC’s direct service work with states, districts, and schools—including consulting, technical assistance, professional development, and research—to improve students’ education and health outcomes. He specializes in advancing policy and leadership that promotes citizenship, character, academic success, and wellbeing.
Fournier is a subject matter expert for EDC’s Massachusetts Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Academy; an advisor for EDC’s school suicide prevention work with North Central Health Services in Indiana; and an education and wellbeing consultant for the School District of Philadelphia. As a licensed superintendent, former teacher, and researcher, he brings expertise in practice, policy, and research to every project.
Previously, Fournier was a managing partner at Transforming Education, where he guided education leaders’ improvement and innovation efforts. Nationwide, he has helped improve strategic planning, assessment, professional development, leadership development, and classroom practice.
Fournier holds an EdM and EdD in Leadership and Policy from Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development and a BA in History from the University of Maine.
Shari Kessel Schneider, an expert in adolescent health and school health, advances knowledge of effective programs and practices to improve the physical and mental well-being of youth. She leads initiatives focused on survey research, program evaluation, intervention design, and training and technical assistance. Her content expertise in adolescent health and risk behaviors includes bullying and cyberbullying, social media use, substance misuse, and mental health.
Schneider is consulted by the media for her insights into adolescent behavior and related public health trends. She leads EDC’s MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey and provides technical assistance to school districts in using student survey data to inform educational efforts, prevention programming, and policymaking.
Recently, Schneider co-authored a seminal report funded by The Ruderman Foundation on the impact of social media and cyberbullying on youth with disabilities. She has led groundbreaking research on cyberbullying trends, the mental health consequences of cyberbullying, and the effectiveness of increasing the minimum sales age for tobacco to 21 in reducing youth tobacco use.
Schneider holds an MSPH from the Harvard University School of Public Health.
Moderator
Alexis Kaigler is the Partnerships Lead at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Violence Prevention. In her 18 years at CDC, she has provided leadership in policy and program implementation, communication, strategic planning, budgeting, partnership development, and operational activities. Throughout her career, she has worked on a wide range of public health programs to reduce chronic and infectious diseases and injury and violence.
In her current role, she leads national partnership initiatives with governmental and non-governmental organizations to translate and disseminate proven violence prevention strategies and inform public policy to elevate the public health approach to violence prevention. Additionally, she serves on the editorial board of Stopbullying.gov, a federal interagency effort to coordinate policy, research, and communications on bullying topics.
Alexis has a BA in Sociology from Spelman College and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University with a focus on child and family policy.