April is Stress Awareness Month: Finding Calm in the Chaos

young female with curly hair looking into the distance.

Stress is the uninvited guest that never seems to know when to leave. Since April is Stress Awareness Month, we’re sharing tips for coexisting with that guest without losing our cool. Students of all ages are like emotional sponges – they don’t just see our stress, they absorb it. This month, we are providing a

Where Learning Grows: One Cool Earth’s Impact on Students and Schools

Young child wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and an orange hat, pushing a wheelbarrow filled with mulch.

One Cool Earth (OCE) is a SLO County based nonprofit that creates garden based education programs that grow happy, healthy and smart youth. One Cool Earth partners with public schools to maintain outdoor garden classrooms and places Garden Educators at each site to teach one or two days per week. Currently, One Cool Earth is

Cayucos Elementary School District Hosts Parent Training Event for CAASPP Success

Cayucos Elementary School District logo

Cayucos Elementary School District recently gathered parents together for a productive and engaging evening to discuss the upcoming CAASPP testing season. This Parent Partnership Training Event was primarily focused on educating parents on what to expect this year, with a vital emphasis on supporting students’ social-emotional wellbeing, reducing test anxiety, and building confidence and resilience.

CYBHI Progress Update

student with long brown hair wearing a white shirt and holding a backpack. Student is smiling.

This past year, we’ve made important strides in expanding access to student behavioral health services and building the systems needed to sustain them long term. Districts across the county are reaching key milestones in operational readiness, with SLCUSD now actively implementing billing processes and others advancing implementation plans to support future service delivery. At the

Sinsheimer Elementary Earns Gold for Schoolwide SEL Practices

Sinsheimer Stingers SOAR

Sinsheimer Elementary kicked off the school year on a high note, celebrating a major achievement: receiving Gold recognition from The Social Emotional Learning Alliance of California (SEL4CA). Specifically honored for the area of Schoolwide Practices, this award highlights Sinsheimer’s success in weaving Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into every fact of campus life – from the

SEL in Action at Los Ranchos Elementary School

Restorative Practices

In this month’s spotlight, we celebrate a teacher at Los Ranchos, Christine Lintner. By integrating Restorative Practices with the Leader in Me framework, she has cultivated a classroom where emotional intelligence is just as important as academics. Below, she shares how she builds a foundation of kindness and leadership every single day: “In my classroom,

Students Supporting Students: Inside SLO High School’s Growing Peer Support Program

image of group of students sitting at a table together conversating.

We recently visited San Luis Obispo High School to observe a groundbreaking and impactful approach students are taking to better utilize the school’s Wellness Center. At the heart of SLO High’s new approach is a peer support program led not by adults, but by students themselves. They call themselves Wellness Center Aides, seniors nominated by

Mental Health Webinar: It’s Okay Not to Be Okay This Holiday Season

Webinar: It's Okay Not to Be Okay

The holiday season is often seen as a time of joy, celebration, and togetherness—but for many families, this time of year also brings a mix of complex emotions. Loneliness, worry, grief, and stress can surface unexpectedly, and it’s important to remember: it’s okay not to be okay. In recognition of SAMHSA’s National Grief Awareness Week,

Youth Mental Health First Aid Training

youth mental health first aid

SLOCOE is partnering with the National Council on Mental Wellbeing to bring Youth Mental Health First Aid to our teachers, administrators, parents, coaches, and support staff. This early intervention public education program teaches adults how to recognize the signs and symptoms that suggest a potential mental health challenge, how to listen non judgmentally and give