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Well Being Committee

Well Being Committee

The mission of the TELS well being committee is to provide support to department-affiliated students, staff, and faculty in known areas of need and unexpected circumstances. As new employees and students enter and begin to work in our college, and as graduating students transition from our college into varied workplaces such as K-12 schools, they will likely encounter challenges in numerous mental health and well-being realms (emotional, psychological, social, economic, and physical). The all-volunteer TELS Well-Being Committee is dedicated to addressing areas of need by coordinating some of the training and community-building activities and assistance services outlined below.

Well-Being Oriented Training

  • coordination of professional learning events for the department around topics of well-being (e.g., maintaining work-life balance for faculty; stress management workshops for students; proposing student professional growth units or PGUs on topics of wellness); identifying campus partners to support said events (e.g., NCSU Counseling Center; Counselor Education program)

Community Building Between Staff

  • solicitation and coordination of department teams to participate in university-sponsored well-being challenges (e.g., movement/fitness, nutrition, sleep)
  • coordination of social events toward welcoming new department faculty, staff, and students, as well as celebrating major department milestones (e.g., awards, retirements)

Community Building Between Staff and Schools or Local Agencies

  • identifying and coordinating opportunities to engage students in service learning in schools, and/or faculty and staff in community service days; coordinating partnerships with partner schools, agencies, and organizations
  • outreach to current students in placements and graduates in schools who may be struggling with transitions and emerging issues in schools (e.g., social issues, curriculum mandates, assessment mandates); identifying potential support mechanisms (e.g., online communities of practice)

Onboarding Services

  • pre-arrival contact with incoming international students to assist with relocation questions and decisions; providing transportation to incoming students without vehicles to assist with setting up their households (e.g., picking up used furniture, kitchenware, bedding); determining any needed items from new students and coordinating donations of said items from employees (e.g., used TVs, furniture, dishes)
  • pre-arrival contact with incoming department faculty to assist with relocation questions and decisions; maintenance of a FAQ for new faculty to help address questions new hires tend to have

Soliciting Donations

  • solicitation and coordination of departmental food donations in association with Feed the Pack pantry to address food insecurity for students, staff, and faculty
  • solicitation and coordination of departmental monetary donations for the annual state employees combined campaign, as well as holiday and year-end staff/housekeeping gifts

    Well-Being Oriented Research and Teaching

    • coordinating faculty teams interested in studying wellness-oriented interventions introduced by the committee (e.g., communities of practice among new in-service teachers) and applying wellness-oriented theoretical frameworks to research and teaching (e.g., trauma-informed pedagogy, belonging)

    Other

    Committee Members

    • Candy Beal
    • Maria Coady
    • Micha Jeffries
    • Jill Jones, Committee Chair
    • Betsy Knight