annualreport-2022v9 - Flipbook - Page 10
“
Staff Stories: Happy Teacher Revolution
Ms. Megan Lopez,
Noble Prentis Elementary
School Counselor
“I am in my 5th year as a school counselor at Noble Prentis
Elementary. As a part of the KCKPS Trauma-Sensitive and Resilient Schools (TSRS) initiative, I saw a need to extend my level
of support in my school. My TSRS team was discussing and
exploring new ways of supporting students in trauma
sensitive ways. Many of my staff have gone through the
pandemic together, and over the last few years, we have felt a
shift in managing ourselves through our collective trauma. This
allowed me to see a need to support my teachers and staff
specifically. Through my searching, I found Happy Teacher
Revolution. This organization ‘is a Baltimore-born,
international movement with the mission to support
teachers’ mental health and wellness. [They] train
revolutionaries worldwide to initiate Happy Teacher
Revolution support group meetings in their communities.’
“I was fortunate enough to be allowed to sign on for this
training to become a “revolutionary” for teachers. I hope to
create a safe space for teachers to feel supported. My goal is
to help normalize mental health issues and to give my staff a
way of building resilience together.”
“Megan’s passion for
helping her colleagues feel
great about their work is the
driving force behind her
leadership of the Happy
Teacher Revolution. This work
is directly related to the five
core principles of a Trauma
Sensitive Community (safety,
trustworthiness, choice,
collaboration, and
empowerment), especially
empowerment. I can’t wait
to see what our empowered
educators do!”
– Ms. Brittany Talley,
Trauma Sensitive and Resilient
Schools Coordinator
8
– Ms. Megan Lopez,
Noble Prentis Elementary School Counselor
Mindful Momentum
In 2021, KCKPS partnered with Mindful Momentum, a local
company that focuses on the practice of mindfulness to help individuals and organizations flourish, cultivating peace, resilience,
and sustainable happiness. In partnership with KCKPS’ Trauma
Sensitive Resilient Schools initiative, Mindful Momentum created
a mindfulness curriculum for all High School students to roll out
in January of the 2021/2022 school year. To support KCKPS staff
and give them a full understanding of the student program, we
completed a three-session Mindfulness training for all teachers.
The driving idea behind this training was to give teachers the
same tools the students would be learning, to put them into
practice in their work and lives, and support the students as they
learn mindfulness practices. Today, six Mindful Momentum
certified trainers are working at KCKPS.