ECHO Networks

ECHO-DU networks or partnerships are opportunities for educators, mental health professionals, social justice advocates and other professionals to connect and collaborate on effective best practices. These networks provide support and professional development for ECHO participants through engaging and interactive learning.

Benefits of Joining

• Collaborative problem-solving amongst other professionals statewide
• Professional development and training from any location using a smartphone, tablet or computer at no cost
• Build your support network statewide
• Support, training, and empowerment to implement best practices
• Interactive case study discussion and recommendations from fellow colleagues
• Potential for CEU or other professional credits

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Check out our Network Resources to find materials from previous ECHOs.

Past Events

Early Childhood Education

K-12 Education

• I-REECCH Spring 2021 ECHO Series 1

  I-REECCH increases identification of and service to traditionally underrepresented gifted and talented students in rural Colorado. The Jacob K. Javits funded project, Impacting Rural Education through Expanding Culturally responsive curriculum, Computer science training and Higher order thinking skill development, supports rural educators serving students eligible for free/reduced lunch, English language learners or individuals who identify as Hispanic or Native American.

  Four objectives guide the activities in support of the project, including 1) raising academic achievement and expanding screening opportunities, 2) serving underrepresented, rural students in computer programming and computational thinking, 3) improving classroom practices through rural faculty implementation of critical thinking skill development and talent and giftedness recognition, and 4) increasing rural faculty and principal ability to implement culturally responsive teacher and leadership supports for culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Professional learning opportunities are delivered via virtual gatherings where new content is presented, participants share examples of effective strategies implemented locally, and a continuous improvement cycle is actualized.

  Content is provided from the perspective of the program managers, the researchers, the site gifted coordinators and local educators. The session is designed to provide participants with applicable strategies and content to take back to their own settings, to prompt participants to recognize inequities in gifted programming and develop ideas to address those challenges, and to collaborate on effective intervention applications to improve the field. This is a closed ECHO series. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please contact Dr. Lindsey Reinert; I-REECCH Project Manager at MCE.IREECCH@du.edu.

  Schedule and Topics

  Date	Topic
  Feb. 1 & 2, 2021	Project I-REECCH (Overview)
  Feb. 8 & 9, 2021	Overview: CLDE & Students of poverty
  Feb. 22 & 23, 2021	Overview: CRT & L
  March 1 & 2, 2021	Overview: GT Identification & HOTS
  March 8 & 9, 2021	Overview: Computational Thinking & Computer Science
  April 5 & 6, 2021	Overview: Plan, Do, Study, Act Cycle Part 1
  April 12 & 13, 2021	Overview: Plan, Do, Study, Act Cycle Part 2

  Meeting Time: Mondays from 4:00 – 5:30 pm & Tuesdays from 4:00 –5:30 pm (MT)

  Includes: Access to resources of ECHO Series #1

  Facilitators: Dr. Norma Hafenstein, Ph.D., Dr. Kristina Hesbol, Ph.D., Dr. Lindsey Reinert, EdD

• Fostering Youth Mental Health and Resiliency

  This ECHO series is designed to give rural educators in the San Luis Valley and Southeast Colorado an opportunity to explore concepts of mental health and youth resiliency as they relate to their own students and experiences, and to provide practical school-based strategies they can use right away.

  Schedule and Topics

  Date	Topic
  01/29/21	Youth Mental Health 101
  02/05/21	School Climate and Mental Health
  02/12/21	Childhood Trauma and the Classroom
  02/19/21	Social Media: Pressures and Bullying
  02/26/21	Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention
  03/05/21	Resiliency: The Power of Connection

  Meeting Time: Fridays at 10:00 am (MT)

  Includes: Certificate of Hours Completed

  Facilitator: Anna Edelman

• Vitalizing Communities Through Empathy and Social-Emotional Learning (mindSpark)

  This Social-Emotional Learning ECHO, hosted by mindSpark Learning, explored best practices surrounding conflict resolution strategies, preventing and addressing bullying, self-care and relationship-building strategies through empathy in schools. They met every other Wednesday from 4:30 – 6:00 pm to complete eight total sessions. The series was open to Colorado rural school professionals such as school counselors, psychologists, social workers, librarians, and athletic and after-school coordinators.

  Schedule and Topics

  Date	Topic
  11/20/19	Empathetic accuracy, active listening, and perspective-taking
  12/04/19	Positive self-talk, self-regulation, and self-care techniques
  12/18/19	Empathizing and building agency through local and societal problems
  01/08/20	Healthy relationship-building and inclusion across lines of differences
  01/22/20	Empathy as the foundation of conflict resolution and frustration management
  02/05/20	Empathy to address bullying prevention and response
  02/19/20	TBD based on participant requests and case study submissions
  03/19/20	TBD based on participant requests and case study submissions

  Facilitator: Ashford Duffy, Director of Education Opportunity, mindSpark Learning

  RESOURCES

• Behavioral Health Solutions for Rural Schools (Center for Rural School Health & Education)

  This BHSRS ECHO series, hosted by the Center for Rural School Health & Education, looked to increase rural school mental health professionals’ knowledge, skills and evidence-based practices to better meet students’ emotional needs through Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework.

  This ECHO was open to all school mental health professionals including school psychologists, counselors, social workers, and other school professionals in rural Colorado. Participants were able to choose to attend on Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 10:00 – 11:00am (MT).

  Schedule & Topics

  Date	Topic
  09/09/19	Trauma Informed Care
  09/16/19	Suicide Prevention
  09/23/19	Self-Harm
  09/30/19	Depression & Anxiety
  10/07/20	Cultivating Strong School Community Mental Health Agency Partnerships
  10/14/19	Bullying
  10/21/19	School Disengagement & Resilience
  10/28/19	Review, Discussion, and Resources

  Meeting Time: 10:00 – 11:00 am

  Includes: An opportunity for CE credit and a Certificate of Completion

  Facilitator: Elaine Belansky, Ph.D., Center Director and Research Associate Professor, Center for Rural School Health & Education, Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver

  RESOURCES

• Wellness Coordinators Make it Happen

  The Wellness Coordinators Make It Happen! ECHO series, hosted by the Center for Rural School Health and Education, is designed to support the work of wellness coordinators in rural school districts as they implement best practices in the following areas of their comprehensive health and wellness plans: general health policies and practices; nutrition; physical education and activity; health education; family, community, and student involvement; and staff health promotion. Benefits of participation in this ECHO series include: 1) regular participation in a network of other rural wellness coordinators without having to travel, 2) learning about implementation successes and challenges from content experts and peers, and 3) the increased ability to promote health and wellness in their districts through the exchange of ideas and knowledge and skill development.

  By the end of this Wellness Coordinators Make It Happen! ECHO series, wellness coordinators will be able to:

  • Compare and contrast districts’ efforts to implement the following areas of their CHWPs: general health policies and practices; nutrition; physical education and activity; health education; family, community, and student involvement; and staff health promotion
  • Apply and/or adapt implementation methods or tactics that other school districts have used
  • Analyze implementation barriers districts have encountered, and learn about or offer advice about how to overcome those barriers
  • Analyze supports for implementation at other districts, and learn how to get these supports in place
  • Identify and access resources that might help with the implementation of evidence-based practices

  Schedule & Topics

  Date	Topic
  01/24/20	Coordinating District Health Advisory Committee meetings and work
  01/31/20	Addressing Food Scarcity and Promoting Healthy Eating
  02/07/20	Practices and policies that promote and protect physical activity
  02/14/20	Engaging Families and Communities in School Health Programs and Activities
  02/21/20	Promoting Staff Health and Wellness
  02/28/20	Coordinating Comprehensive Health Education Implementation – Part 1
  03/06/20	Coordinating Comprehensive Health Education Implementation – Part 2
  03/13/20	Comprehensive Sexual Education in a Rural School District

  Meeting Time: Fridays, 10:00 – 11:00 am (MT)

  Includes: Certificate of Completion

  Facilitator: Shannon Allen, PhD, Director of Community Services & Resources, Center for Rural School Health & Education, Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver

  RESOURCES

• The Power of Emotional Intelligence in K-12 Schools

  This Emotional Intelligence ECHO series, hosted by mindSpark Learning, will address how to equitably and sustainably strengthen teachers’, students’ and parents’ emotional intelligence to ensure everyone has the emotional skills and strategies needed to thrive in personal, academic and professional relationships.

  Schedule and Topics

  Date	Topic
  04/08/20	Emotions as Information
  04/15/20	Emotional Intelligence + Resiliency
  04/22/20	Theatre Arts as Therapy
  04/29/20	Connection between Creativity & Emotions
  05/06/20	RULER as a SEL program
  05/13/20	Emotional Intelligence + Bullying
  05/20/20	Embracing Emotional Intelligence School-Wide
  05/27/20	TBD – Based on participant needs

  Meeting Time: Wednesdays, 4:30 – 6:00 pm (MT)

  Includes: Certificate of Completion – Completion of ECHO counts toward 8 teacher recertification hours

  Facilitator: Victoria, MSEd – Johns Hopkins University, Virtual

  RESOURCES

• Wellness Coordinators Make it Happen 2

  The Wellness Coordinators Make It Happen 2, hosted by the Center for Rural School Health and Education, is designed to support the work of wellness coordinators and wellness champions with the implementation of the Comprehensive Health and Wellness Plan and navigating the terrain of school health during COVID-19.

  Those attending can expect to gain:

  • A stronger sense of community amongst wellness coordinators
  • New ideas, strategies and tactics to implement evidence-based practices
  • Improved overall capacity to promote health and wellness

  Schedule & Topics

  Date	Topic
  10/16/20	Practicing Self Care During the Pandemic: Tips for Wellness Coordinators
  10/23/20	Creating and Sustaining Happy Wellness Teams
  10/30/20	Helping Kids Stay Active During COVID Protocols
  11/06/20	Supporting Staff Physical and Mental Health
  11/13/20	Social Emotional Learning Across the Curriculum
  11/20/20	Getting It Done: Implementation Success Stories

  Meeting Time: Fridays, 10:00 – 11:15 am (MT)

  Includes: Certificate of Completion

  Facilitators:

  Ben Ingman, PhD., Principal Investigator, Center for Rural School Health and Education, Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver.

  Carla Loecke, MEd., Director of Curriculum and Training, Center for Rural School Health and Education, Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver.

• Critical Thinking Skills

  The Critical Thinking Skills workshop, hosted by I-REECCH, will be led by Colin Seale on Friday, August 6th. Colin Seale was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, where struggles in his upbringing gave birth to his passion for educational equity. Tracked early into gifted and talented programs, Colin was afforded opportunities his neighborhood peers were not. Using lessons from his experience as a math teacher, later as an attorney, and now as a keynote speaker, contributor to Forbes, The 74, and Education Post and author of Thinking Like a Lawyer: A Framework for Teaching Critical Thinking to All Students (Prufrock Press, 2020), Colin founded think Law, a multi-award-winning organization to help educators leverage inquiry-based instructional strategies to close the critical thinking gap and ensure they teach and REACH all students, regardless of race, zip code or what side of the poverty line they are born into. When he’s not serving as the world’s most fervent critical thinking advocate, Colin proudly serves as the world’s greatest entertainer to his two young children. He will be facilitating the training session for Educators on August 6th, which will take place from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm. We look forward to learning with you!

  Schedule and Topics

  Date	Audience
  Aug 6, 2021 9:00 – 12:30 p.m.	Educators

   

  Meeting Time: August 6th 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (MT)

  Includes: Certificate of Completion

  Facilitator: Colin Seale

• Culturally Responsive Teaching & Leading

  The Culturally Responsive Teaching & Leading workshop, hosted by I-REECCH, will be led by Jaime Castellano on Wednesday, August 4th. Dr. Jaime A. Castellano is a nationally recognized and award-winning educator, principal, author, scholar, and researcher. In 2017 he was recognized as SENG’s National Educator of the Year. As a highly sought-after speaker, he is recognized as one of the leading authorities in the United States in the education of Hispanic/Latino students. He is a preeminent scholar and researcher in gifted education and in identifying and serving diverse gifted students with particular expertise on identifying gifted Hispanic/Latino students, gifted English language learners, gifted Native Americans, gifted preschoolers, and gifted students from poverty. His current research is focused on working directly with gifted students with trauma, toxic stress,and adverse childhood experiences. Dr. Castellano will lead all three sessions on Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading. The morning training session, for school leaders, will take place from 9:00 am to 11:30 am. The afternoon session, created for educators, will take place from 12:30 pm until 3:00 pm. Both groups will join us for the conclusion session, from 3:00 pm until 3:30 pm. We look forward to learning with you!

  Schedule and Topics

   

  Date	Audience
  Aug 4, 2021,  9:00 – 11:30a.m.	Leaders
  Aug 4, 2021,  12:30 – 3:00p.m.	Educators
  Aug 4, 2021,  3:00 – 3:30 p.m.	Closing with both Leaders and Educators

   

  Meeting Time: August 4th at various times (MT)

  Includes: Certificate of Completion

  Facilitator: Dr. Jaime A. Castellano

Transforming Teacher Preparation through P-20 Residency Partnerships

As part of an effort to support P-20 partnerships in transforming their teacher preparation systems, Prepared To Teach at Bank Street College is facilitating a series of ECHOs on topic areas drawn from our Residency Partnership Development Framework. Each ECHO will be comprised of partnerships between teacher preparation programs and P-12 schools and districts from across the nation, forming community of practice groups (CPs) that engage in conversation, collaboration and learning that supports progress towards high-quality, funded teacher residencies.

• Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children

  The purpose of this ECHO, hosted by the Positive Early Learning Experience Center [link to PELE site], was to help early care and education practitioners reduce the challenging behaviors of young children by using Prevent Teach Reinforce for Young Children (PTR-YC) protocol. After meeting for 8 weeks, participants implemented the Prevent Teach Reinforce for Young Children (PTR-YC) process to reduce the challenging behaviors of young children in their classrooms and programs.

  Schedule & Topics

  Date	Topic
  04/09/19	Let’s Start at the Beginning
  04/16/19	Teaming & Goal Setting
  04/23/19	Data Collection
  05/07/19	Functional Behavior Assessment
  05/14/19	Behavior Intervention Plan
  05/21/19	Using Data and Next steps
  05/28/19	Group Problem Solving
  06/04/19	Group Problem Solving

  Meeting Time: Wednesdays 4:00pm – 5:00 pm (MST)

  Includes:The Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children Book and Certificate 

  Facilitator: Jackie Joseph, PhD, BCBA, Research Assistant Professor, Morgridge College of Education, Positive Early Learning Experiences Center

  RESOURCES

   

• Supporting Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Environments

  

  Supporting Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Environments ECHO is based on best practices for working with young children with disabilities in early childhood environments (preschools, child care centers, home child care environments). Every environment is a learning environment for a young child with and without disabilities. This ECHO will bring practitioners together to discuss positive inclusion practices and potential problems of practice related to working with young children with disabilities and their families in early childhood environments.

  Schedule & Topics

  Date	Topic
  05/05/20	Managing Powerful Emotions: Social & Emotional Skills
  05/12/20	ECE Teacher’s Role in Special Education
  05/19/20	Partnering with families that have children with developmental delays
  05/26/20	Assessing young children in EC environments

  Meeting Time: Tuesdays at 4:30 – 5:45 pm (MT)

  Includes: Certificate of Completion

  Facilitator: Dr. Jeanine Coleman, PhD, University of Denver, Early Childhood Special Education Program

• Mindset Shifts - Advisories: How can we lead a transformation towards sustainably funded teacher residencies?

  We can’t realize system transformations through heroic efforts of a few people; we need broad, aligned commitments across many groups and individuals to engage in long-term shifts. Designed for system leaders, this CP offers the space to envision structures and processes to build towards high-quality, sustainable residency models.

  Schedule and Topics

  Date	Topic
  11/18/20	Orientation: Reclaiming public education
  12/09/20	Re-visioning partnerships
  01//13/21	Networks, relationships, and systems change
  02/10/21	Building political will and movement building
  03/10/21	About the research
  04/14/21	Managing change
  05/12/21	Work spaces

  Meeting time: 11:15 am (ET)

  Facilitator: Karen DeMoss and Zachary Paull, Bank Street College of Education, Prepared To Teach

• Educator Roles: Exploring Staff Structure Flexibilities

  How can partnerships rethink staffing and resource allocation strategies in ways that serve P-12 instructional needs, maximize resident learning and bring financial resources to candidates? Designed for school-based staffing leads and resident supervision personnel, this CP will delve deeply into the nuts and bolts of what Higher Ed and P-12 can do to deepen partnerships, leverage strengths, and braid resources to serve instructional needs in schools, maximize learning and bring fiscal resources to resident teachers.

  Schedule & Topics

  Date	Topic
  01/19/20	Orientation: Reimagining resources
  02/17/20	Substitute models
  01/21/21	Pre-service paraprofessional models
  02/18/21	Grow your own: Paraprofessionals models
  03/18/21	Grow your own: High school academies
  04/15/21	Other flexibilities
  05/20/21	Higher education role flexibilities
  06/17/21	Braiding work study resources into teacher preparation

  Meeting Time: 1:15 pm (ET)

  Facilitators: Divya Mansukhani and Zachary Paull, Bank Street College of Education, Prepared To Teach

• School Improvement - Mentors

  How can residency partnerships embrace a vision for mentor teachers’ development trajectory and honor mentors’ roles as leaders? Designed for school or district instructional coaches, teacher leaders and mentor teachers, and clinical faculty, this CP will reimagine the role of the mentor, both within the school and with respect to the program, exploring how to build and support the mentor pool the partnership might need.

  Schedule & Topics

  Date	Topic
  11/18/20	Orientation: Centering mentors as teacher leaders
  12/16/20	A vision for a teacher development trajectory
  01/20/21	A P-20 approach to mentor development
  02/17/21	Mentor development strategies
  03/17/21	Co-teaching: What it can look like
  04/21/21	Co-teaching: Research base
  05/19/21	Workshop: Selection tools and approaches

  Meeting Time: 1:45 pm (ET)

  Facilitators: Brigid Brennan and Stephanie Stanglin, Bank Street College of Education, Prepared To Teach

• School Improvement - Curriculum and Whole School Design

  How do we integrate school improvement with teacher preparation program curricula while maintaining or improving program quality? Many schools and preparation programs have long, productive histories of collaboration, though historically the actual curriculum of teacher preparation has had little direct linkage with schools. This CP will explore how tighter linkages between a preparation program’s curriculum and schools’ instructional needs can strengthen both program and school outcomes.

  Schedule & Topics

  Date	Topic
  11/09/20	Orientation: Mindset shifts
  12/14/20	Taking stock of current teacher preparation programs
  01/11/21	Maximizing integration: Structural considerations and quality
  02/08/21	Maximizing integration: Curriculum
  03/08/21	Maximizing integration: Assessment
  04/12/21	Exploring whole school improvement models

  Meeting Time: 2:30 pm (ET)

  Facilitators: Francheska Santos and Karen DeMoss, Bank Street College of Education, Prepared To Teach