CALSA's Summer Institute 2026

This session, Supporting School Staff: A Multi-Tiered Guide to Immigration-Related Stress, equips school and district leaders with practical strategies to address the growing impact of immigration-related stress on educators and school communities. Grounded in a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework, the session highlights how immigration policy changes contribute to secondary trauma, disrupted workplace trust, and feelings of helplessness among staff, ultimately affecting school climate and student support systems .
Participants will explore how administrators can proactively build a culture of collective wellness by embedding universal supports into daily practice, such as structured check-ins, community-building circles, and micro-wellness strategies. The session also addresses targeted interventions, including informational workshops and resilience-building opportunities that empower staff with knowledge and coping tools. For staff experiencing acute distress, leaders will learn how to implement intensive supports, including crisis response protocols and referral systems to professional mental health services.
A key focus of the session is clarifying the administrator’s role in supporting staff wellbeing through the “notice, normalize, and refer” approach, while maintaining professional boundaries and psychological safety. Through reflection and discussion, participants will assess their current systems and identify opportunities to strengthen implementation within their school communities.
Ultimately, this session provides actionable, equity-centered strategies to help educational leaders sustain staff wellbeing, foster resilience, and maintain supportive school environments during times of sociopolitical stress.