Lauren Cikara is the Director of K-12 Initiatives at Active Minds. Prior to that, she worked for the Colorado School of Public Health School recruiting schools to participate in the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS), Colorado’s Youth Risk Behaviour Survey (YRBS), and Smart Source. She is a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusive school board policies and ensures the work she is a part of has an equitable and intersectional lens.     Show Highlights Must hear student campaigns that expand the generational lens surrounding mental health.  Peer to peer approach for mental health education school’s can easily adopt.  Active Academy students create policies that take control of their mental health.  Build a student coalition for moving through the system. Be a “youth champion” to provide life skills, support and tools to children. Change the conversations and destigmatize mental health with this next step. Rethink your learning environment with “Stressless Weeks.”    “For the students, I would say speak your truth and say it louder for people in the back. We don't sometimes listen to the stories that our youth are telling us, their experiences and how they advocate for their lived experience. For the youth champions, the adult stakeholders, listen to students.” -Lauren Cikara   Get the episode transcript here!!   Lauren’s Resources & Contact Info: Active Minds Facebook Twitter Instagram Read my latest book! Learn why the ABCs of powerful professional development™ work – Grow your skills by integrating more Authenticity, Belonging, and Challenge into your life and leadership.   Read Mastermind: Unlocking Talent Within Every School Leader today! Apply to the Mastermind The mastermind is changing the landscape of professional development for school leaders.    100% of our members agree that the mastermind is the #1 way they grow their leadership skills.   Apply to the mastermind today!   SHOW SPONSORS: HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION Transform how you lead to become a resilient and empowered change agent with Harvard’s online Certificate in School Management and Leadership. Grow your professional network with a global cohort of fellow school leaders as you collaborate in case studies bridging the fields of education and business. Apply today at http://hgse.me/leader.   TEACHFX Imagine providing feedback for every teacher, as often as they'd like, without relying on classroom observations.   TeachFX is an app that supports both student learning and teacher learning. With instructional support at the push of a button, our app provides teachers with objective, personalized, non evaluative feedback about the teaching and learning happening in their classrooms.   From student talk and teacher talk to insights into research-supported teaching practices like questioning technique, wait time, and more, TeachFX provides teachers with new insights into student engagement, academic dialogue, and equity of student voice.   Learn more about TeachFX and find out how to get a free TeachFX account for one of your teachers. Visit TeachFX | BLBS     ORGANIZED BINDER Organized Binder is the missing piece in many classrooms. Many teachers are great with the main content of the lesson. Organized Binder helps with powerful introductions, savvy transitions, and memorable lesson closings. Your students will grow their executive functioning skills (and as a bonus), your teachers will become more organized too. Help your students and staff level up with Organized Binder.   Copyright © 2023 Twelve Practices LLC