Escaping Vaping: Informational Webinar on Teen Vaping & COVID-19

The Palo Alto Youth Council invites the parent community to a vaping panel where guest speakers from different professions 

will confer their experience dealing with vaping. The panel will include a 15 min. presentation from each panelist surrounding 

vaping and how it pertains to their specific field, results from a vaping survey of over 300 students from the Palo Alto district, 

and a 45 min. Q and A segment at the end of the session.

Watch Webinar Here >>

The SCCOE Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) Program partnered with the Leadership Academy to bring you a leadership webinar series featuring content experts from across the country to tackle just-in time topics to discuss tangible strategies that schools and school systems can adopt around alternatives to suspension for vape/tobacco related offenses and beyond.

The first webinar focused on setting the foundation for leading for equity in the COVID-19 crisis with an emphasis on decreasing suspensions for tobacco and vape related offenses using an equity centered lens. In this 90-minute webinar, participants will explore:

• Issues of inequity that existed before COVID-19 both in Santa Clara County and nationwide, including inequities in tobacco marketing, usage rates, and suspension data
• The effects of COVID-19 on exacerbating these inequities
• Implications for your role as a leader during this unprecedented time
• Practices to ensure strong, healthy relationships with students and staff 
• Alternatives to suspension ideas both locally and nationally to increase positive school climate
• Tobacco cessation resources provided

Facilitator: Imee Almazan, Ed.D. Coordinator of State & Federal Programs, Alum Rock Union Elementary School District

Expert Guest: Nancy Gutierrez, Ed.L.D. President & CEO NYC Leadership Academy

• NYC Leadership Academy's guide on leading an equity-focused response through and beyond COVID-19
• TNTP's report on the opportunity myth
  

The second webinar focused on dealing with trauma in the COVID-19 crisis. The webinar will explore trauma-informed approaches for individual resilience to identify root causes on why students use tobacco or vape products. Participants will learn:

• Deepen participants' understanding of the impact of trauma and the creation of trauma-sensitive schools and school systems and identifying the root causes of student tobacco use
• Explore trauma-informed approaches for individual resilience during COVID-19 and beyond 
• Provide recommendations for practicing self care as a key leadership strategy to support students who use tobacco and vape products
  
• Tobacco cessation resources provided

Facilitator: Imee Almazan, Ed.D. Coordinator of State & Federal Programs, Alum Rock Union Elementary School District

Expert Guest: Annya Artigas, Ed.D. Coordinator of Mental Wellness Support, Alum Rock Union Elementary School District

• NYC Leadership Academy's blog post onmaking schools safer for students of color
  
• Ted Talk: "How Childhood Trauma Effects Health Across a Lifetime"
• Ted Talk: "Challenging the Bootstrap Myth"
  

Join us as we continue our Leading for Equity webinar series in conversation with school district leaders who offer alternatives to discipline & suspension to support students who need it most. Together we will explore:

• The increase in student vaping/tobacco use that has led to increased suspensions 
• The disproportionality of student discipline on the basis of race and ethnicity
• Alternatives to discipline and suspension that schools have put in place to support students and families
• Opportunities to shift from punitive responses and social and emotional supports
• Intervention and cessation options for teen vaping/tobacco use vs. punitive responses

• “8 Can’t Wait” Article
  

Webinar Objectives:

• Exploring the toxic stress of racism which we know contributes to adverse mental and physical health effects of BIPOC youth and families
• Unpacking the intended and unintended consequences for vulnerable populations when mitigating racial trauma
• Creating spaces for students to share their feelings freely in courageous and safe spaces centered on healing
• Addressing unhealthy youth coping mechanisms such as tobacco and vaping

​Educator​s & Parents as Allies: A Research-Based, Family-Centered Approach

Webinar Objectives:

• Leading and supporting families in the time of a pandemic
• Culturally-responsive outreach and communication strategies to boost families' engagement throughout the year
• Explore strategies to support teens navigate stressors related to crisis, such as social isolation, distance learning and addiction
• Providing leaders, teachers, and families with strategies to more effectively communicate with youth around difficult topics such as tobacco/vape use and other coping mechanisms​​