You are here

Who is Student Services, Prevention, and Wellness (SSPW)

Friday, September 13, 2024
SSPW team members sit together on a long, red sectional couch.
Just a few of the amazing human beings who make up the DPI's Student Services, Prevention, and Wellness Team.

Welcome to the newest ConnectEd recurring feature: Who Is...! The DPI has many different divisions and programs, and they're run by some of the most talented, compassionate people we know. (Ok, we might be a little biased here...) With such a wide variety of programs, services, and initiatives, we wanted to make it easier for you to know who we are and how we can help you with almost anything under the sun. 

Meet Student Services, Prevention, and Wellness (SSPW)
 

The SSPW team provides state-wide leadership and resources in the areas of school health, students’ physical and mental health, school nursing, physical education, school safety, after school programming, substance use prevention, and drivers' education. Our team provides quality technical assistance, consultation, and resources to school staff so that they feel supported and are able to perform at their best as they serve students and families. The goal of the SSPW team is to support Wisconsin schools in being safe, inclusive, and equitable spaces for students, staff, and families. We seek to support schools in prioritizing student and staff mental health and wellness as well as educational equity.

You might know us already! Here are some of the programs we work on:
 

  • New School Nurse Orientation, Child Abuse Trainings, Medication Administration Training, Suicide Prevention, bloodborne pathogen training
  • Attendance and absenteeism information
  • Pupil services professional practice support
  • Comprehensive school mental health systems implementation
  • Trauma sensitive schools
  • Social emotional learning
  • School safety
  • School discipline resources
  • Training for the mandated reporting of child abuse and neglect
  • Bullying prevention
  • Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
  • School mental health grants and aids
  • Our work with school mental health, suicide prevention, trauma sensitive schools, mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect, and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). You may also know our student services consultants who support school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and school nurses across Wisconsin!
  • The local after school (out-of-school time) program, club or summer program offered through your school or local youth organization. The 21st Century Community Learning Center Program funds more than 170 of these programs around the state
  • Supporting out-of-school time programs in schools through the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center grant or the ESSER III Out-of-School Time grant.

You might not know that we also:
 

  • Run the School Nurse Summer Institute, out of school time programs
  • Are expanding our mental health academy to the CESAs and have trained point people at each CESA to lead their own academies
  • Focus on bullying prevention, alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA), and anti-human trafficking

  • Can help you gain access to state and national resources

  • Want to help you understand and apply state education rules

     

  • Would love to share resources to support a school infrastructure where everyone is and feels healthy, safe, supported, engaged, and challenges - team vision!

Here are some of the "next big things" you can anticipate seeing from us:
 

  • Completing and updating the School Nurse Handbook

  • Understanding Youth-Serving Systems Webinar Series

  • Creating more resources and connections around absenteeism prevention

  • Changing School Health Awards to a new platform called Healthy Schools Academy.

SSPW team members

Our team is amazing, and we want you to know that as people, we:
 

  • Are competent, caring, and extremely knowledgeable. Student centered. Supportive of students and families. intentional in equity, diversity, and inclusion. Use an equity lens and take action in providing for equitable communities as we engage in our work
  • Value belonging and connection, we encourage student and family voice, we are always learning, we value input from the field, we are open to suggestions for conference presentation topics
  • Have decades of experience working in K-12 schools! Many consultants and leaders on our team are former teachers, student services professionals, and administrators!
  • Value team collaboration and service to our schools and their communities
  • Focus on how various actions, practices, and rules impact students, both broadly and by subgroups of students (demographics, geographic, etc.) and that we strive for equity and access in our work.

To learn more, check out these resources, or reach out to us directly!