TRMS principal to speak at national summit this week

Jeff Jones, who’s principal of Tongue River Middle School in Ranchester, will speak this week at the 2021 National Leadership Summit on Educator Mental Health and Wellness.

In an interview with Sheridan Media, Jones elaborated on his topic.

Jones said his specific presentation will deal with chronic toxic behavior within a school culture. The summit, which is virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is Wednesday and Thursday, and Jones said his presentation will be on Thursday.

He said he has worked as a counselor and his background is in dealing with mental health. In addition, he said, he’s given presentations all over the country on school culture, educator mental health and educator burnout, and he believes that, because of COVID, the topic is more important now than ever.

He said one of the things he’s noticed over the years is that when people don’t feel a sense of control over their circumstances, their anxiety and stress increase.

He said he thinks the anxiety and stress of teachers at the middle school was probably less at the start of this year than last spring. He attributes that in part to the teachers being a little bit more familiar with what’s being expected of them but also, he said, to a return to the classroom.

He said having students back in school for the most part has been a huge, huge relief.