| Mapping the right
road to help kids at risk.
In these times it's easy for kids to get
lost. When a child is in pain, it's easy to turn
to drugs, alcohol, depression, violence, or gangs as a
way to ease the pain. And when that happens
everyone loses -- kids, families, schools, and the
community.
Because Masons care about kids, they
offer a free workshop for North Dakota educators,
administrators, and support staff in school from
kindergarten through high school. Called MMSATP,
Masonic Model Student Assistance Training Program, this
three-day workshop teaches participants how to identify
kids at rish and help them on the road to a successful
life.
Who should participate in MMSATP?
A core team from each participating
school, often consisting of a regular of special
education teacher, an administrator, the school nurse,
and other staff members, attend the seminar. The
seminar, all materials, food and lodging are provided
free of charge by the North Dakota Masons. There
is no cost to participating schools except to provide
substitute coverage where necessary.
How does MMSATP work?
MMSATP teaches each core team how to
work with other personnel at their school to identify
kids at rish, gather the necessary information about the
child, and then develop a school-based action plan
appropriate to the specific needs of each child.
MMSATP provides specific strategies
for identification and intervention in the areas of
academics, health, behavior, and attendance. Teams
also learn about locally available assistance for
children who need outside help.
After completing the seminar, the core
team teaches their fellow teachers and staff how to
identify kids in pain and describe as specifically as
possible what the behaviors and issues are. The
team then gathers further information from other school
personnel, parents, and the child before preparing a
plan that will help the child find a road to success at
school. Meeting on a regular basis, the core team
gathers the necessary data and creates a plan that might
include assigning a mentor or tutor, weekly visits to
the school nurse or counselor, or other strategies
specific to each child's needs.
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What is taught in
the seminar? The seminar
emphasizes experiential training -- hands on solutions
that can be used every day in the classroom. After
each concept is presented, participants role play take
part in activities, and work together to create a deeper
understanding. At the end of the course, each core
team uses the MMSATP process to help a troubled child at
their school who is known to the team. They gather
the data, do the necessary paperwork, and develop a
school-based action plan for that child.
Very often educators already know how
to identify children in pain, but they are not sure
where to start or what to do about it. The MMSATP
training emphasizes that intervention is a process not
and event as well as the need to make a start -- it took
years for the child's pain to develop, and it may take a
few years before a sense of success in some area of
school life can be achieved.
Topics covered in the workshop
include.
- Family dynamics
- Life Skills for K-12
- Enabling and codependency
- Alcohol and drug abuse
- Depression
- Suicide
- Violence
- Team work
- Group dynamics
What do participants get from
training?
In addition to learning a structured
objective way to help troubled kids with the life
skills, MMSATP participants learn about team work, what
their individual strengths are, and effective ways to
help kids grow.
Who originated MMSATP?
The MMSATP seminar was developed in
1984 by Larry Newman and Thorn Stecher. Together
they have over 40 years of teaching, program
administration, and therapeutic experience and consult
regularly for school districts and Education, Health and
Welfare Departments.
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What are MMSATP graduates
saying? "I was impressed
by how the program was organized. Because I work
with already at-risk kids, the information really helped
enhance what I do with the children and their families."
"Thank you for this valuable training
in these difficult financial times. We'll run with
the information."
"The beauty of MMSATP is that is is an
umbrella to all the tings we already had in place
including district and federal programs. It covers
those things in the sorting process as well as the new
things we developed as a result of the MMSATP training."
"Being away from school for three days
is never easy, however this training is well worth it."
"You did an amazing job of providing
for our needs and making us comfortable. It was
also humbling to realize that some individual had
written a check that allowed me to attend. Thank
You!"
"To build on what we learned during
the training session, we are currently putting together
a community mental health referral list and are planning
to invite local mental health providers to our school to
talk with staff and develop our referral relationships."
"Thank you for treating me as such a
valuable player. Rarely has a staff development
opportunity been so well framed that I could
unconsciously place all my focous and energy on my
personal growth."
How do I sign up?
For information or an enrollment
packet, write to:
- Bismarck Lodge #5
- P.O. Box 624
- Bismarck, ND
58502-0624
- 1-701-223-0299
- e.mail: masonctr@binet.net
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