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This document is a study conducted by researchers to examine the racial and ethnic disparities in pediatric mental health services and addressing how these disparities can be fixed. The study also highlights how language differences impact the likelihood of receiving mental health services.

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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pediatric Mental Health

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Disparities remain in mental health status and care for racial and ethnic minority youth, despite national attention to disparity reduction. This paper offers a comprehensive picture of the status of pediatric disparities, by addressing the major…

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The Case For Mental Health Services In Schools

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The Case For Mental Health Services In Schools

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This article provides an overview on the importance of mental health services in schools. In addition to explaining the purposes of comprehensive mental health services, it also explains the disparities in mental health counseling. Emergent bilinguals who need mental health services are less likely to receive them if they live in a low income area.

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National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

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Mentally healthy children are more successful in school and life. Good mental health is critical to children's success in school and life. Research demonstrates that students who receive social-emotional and mental and behavioral health support achieve better academically. School climate, classroom behavior, engagement in learning, and students' sense of connectedness and well-being all improve as well. Mental health is not simply the absence of mental illness but also encompasses wellness promotion; social, emotional, and behavioral health; and the ability to cope with life's challenges. Left unmet, mental health problems are linked to costly negative outcomes such as academic and behavior problems, dropping out, and delinquency. Mental and behavioral health problems not only affect students' short-term classroom engagement, but also interfere with long-term development of positive relationships and work-related skills.

There is a growing and unmet need for mental and behavioral health services for children and youth. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one in five children and adolescents experience a mental health problem during their school years. Examples include stress, anxiety, bullying, family problems, depression, learning disability, and alcohol and substance abuse. Serious mental health problems, such as self-injurious behaviors and suicide, are on the rise, particularly among youth. Unfortunately, many children and youth do not receive the help they need, and disparities in access to care exist among low-income communities and minoritized youth. Among the 3.8 million adolescents ages 12-17 who reported a major depressive episode in the past year, nearly 60% did not receive any treatment, according to a 2019 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Of the adolescents who do get help, nearly two thirds do so only in school.

Schools are an ideal place to provide mental and behavioral health services to children and youth. Schools provide an ideal context for prevention, intervention, positive development, and regular communication between school and families. Schools also offer caring relationships and regular, consistent connections between students and staff both in person and virtually. School-employed mental health professionals (i.e., school psychologists, school counselors, school social workers, and school nurses) know the students, parents, and other staff, which contributes to accessibility of services. Research shows that students are more likely to seek counseling when services are available in schools. In some cases, such as rural areas, schools provide the only mental health services in the community. Comprehensive, culturally responsive school mental health services can help address inequities in access and help reduce the stigma associated with receiving mental health services by making it part of the fabric of the school system.

Comprehensive school mental and behavioral health services support the mission and purpose of schools: learning. All services provided in schools should be appropriate to the learning environment; those that are not risk being ineffective or even counterproductive. Just as children are not simply small adults, schools are not merely private clinics with white boards. Being trained to work within the school culture is essential to being effective (and cost-effective). School psychologists have specialized training in child development, mental health, learning, diversity, culturally responsive services, and school systems and law. Their unique expertise lies in how these elements interact to shape children's behavior, learning, and overall adjustment.

Comprehensive school mental health services are essential to creating and sustaining safe schools. Increased access to mental health services in schools is vital to improving the physical and psychological safety of our students and schools, as well as academic performance and problem-solving skills. Culturally responsive school mental health supports that encompass social-emotional learning, mental wellness, behavioral health, resilience, and positive connections between students and adults are essential to creating a school culture in which students feel safe and empowered to report safety concerns, which is proven to be among the most effective school safety strategies. Additionally, in the aftermath of a crisis, school-employed mental health professionals provide supports that facilitate a return to normalcy, are sustainable, and can help to identify and work with students with more intense or ongoing needs.

Providing a continuum of school mental and behavioral health services is critical to effectively addressing the breadth of students' needs. Comprehensive mental health services are most effective when provided through a multitiered system of supports (MTSS). MTSS encompasses the continuum of need, enabling schools to promote mental wellness for all students, identify and address problems before they escalate or become chronic, and provide increasingly intensive, data-driven services for individual students as needed. Access to adequate staffing of school-employed mental health professionals, like school psychologists, is essential to the quality and effectiveness of these services.

School psychologists provide a continuum of services that connect mental health, behavior and learning, school and home, and school and community services. Meeting the full continuum of student needs requires collaboration and coordination. Typically, community providers offer supplementary or intensive services that go beyond school capacities. An MTSS approach facilitates collaboration while ensuring that services provided in school are appropriate to the learning context and those that are provided after school hours are appropriately linked to and supported in the school setting. Partnerships are most effective when they are coordinated by school-employed mental health professionals, are defined by clear memoranda of understanding, and reinforce an appreciation for the unique contribution each group makes to creating more seamless and comprehensive service delivery. This not only reduces gaps, redundancy, and conflict, it also reduces stress on families and supports their roles as primary caregivers and decision makers regarding their child's development.

School psychologists are part of a team of school-employed mental health professionals who provide these services. Improving staffing ratios for these professionals is critical to adequately supporting students' mental and behavioral health. For more information on school-based mental health services and the role of school psychologists, visit www.nasponline.org.

Please cite this document as:

National Association of School Psychologists. (2021). Comprehensive School-Based Mental and Behavioral Health Services and School Psychologists [handout]. Author.

© 2021, National Association of School Psychologists, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814, 301-657-0270, www.nasponline.org

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Comprehensive School-Based Mental and Behavioral Health Services and School Psychologists

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Mentally healthy children are more successful in school and life. Good mental health is critical to children's success in school and life. Research demonstrates that students who receive social-emotional and mental and behavioral health support achieve better academically. School climate, classroom behavior, engagement in learning, and students' sense of connectedness and well-being all improve as well.

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This link provides the reader with a look inside the minds of emergent bilinguals. In this article, emergent bilinguals share their stories about their school experiences. A common theme is the difficulties they faced and stress they felt when they first started at their new school. They also discuss how they've progressed in learning a new language, and how it makes them feel.

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Every school day just over 80,000 foreign-speaking students show up for school throughout Connecticut.

That's one in seven students.

Nearly half of these students understand so little English they are considered English learners. That's one in 14 students, and Connecticut has the largest gap in achievement in the country between its English learners and its English-speaking peers.

Bulkeley High School in Hartford has seen a steady influx of students who just moved to the country. Almost two-thirds of the students who attend the school have lived in Connecticut for less than 30 months and understand so little English they require extra support. As part of its recent exploration of issues surrounding English-language learners, the Mirror wanted to hear what these students feel is helping them.

Here are a few of their stories.

Most students wrote in their native language and later translated their stories into English, sometimes with the help of Google Translator.

Yoel Veras: 'One day I notice that people understand what I say.'
Yoel moved to East Hartford from the Dominican Republican two years ago and says the Rosetta Stone audio program the district provided him helped him learn English. He now lives in Hartford and will be a junior when school starts in the fall. His favorite subject is math, and he wants to be a teacher when he grows up.
"I came to United States because the money from here is more money in my country Dominican Republic. Also my father wanted a better life for me so I came with him.

I came from Santiago, La Joya, Dominican Republic in June 13, 2015. ... I came only with my father because my mother and my father are not together anymore. I think that the trip was very good because I see like 2 movie called: Batman vs. Superman, and Civil War.

I was worried about my mother because she would be stay in Dominican Republic with my siblings.

I feel good to be here because I meet new friends and I learn a lot. I start my first day of schools in East Hartford High School in 9 grade. In my first time in school I didn't know English and it was difficult. I learned how to speak, read, and understand English like in 4 month because that only person that can help me with my homework didn't speak Spanish. The first time he was trying to translate every word that I say and I feel sad for him. The second time that I visit him I was trying to speak in English and it was easier for him. From that day I was just trying to speak English until one day I notice that people understand what I say. Also, people were calling me to translate people that didn't understand English and I was proud of me."

Blu Nay Htoo: 'It hard to find help when you don't know the language.'
When Blu moved to Hartford two years ago, Karen was the only language he understood. He says his teacher helped him by using pictures to teach him vocabulary. He will be a senior in the fall. His favorite subject is English, and he wants to be an engineer when he grows up.
"My first day of school was the worst day of school because I don't even know anyone and I don't know what to do. It is hard for me to do everything in school and find the classroom. It is hard to ask question because I don't know anybody and I don't understand the language. I was afraid because everything here was different from where I lived in Thailand. I was bored in class because I don't have any friends to talk to and have anyone to sit with. It was the worst day of school. I don't even where I have to eat but even if I know it I will not know how to get it and what should I take or not.

I feel like I not fit in because it hard to find help when you don't know the language. I also feel like I'm a stranger to this country. Sometimes I met with some of students if they talk good things about me or not because I don't understand the language. But my first week were still the same.

When my one month of the school almost end it was better but not much because I still don't know the language. But I get too meet some of the good people so I have friends to talk too.
Anderson moved to Hartford from Haiti three years ago, speaking only French Creole. He will be a senior when school starts in the fall. His favorite subjects are science and English. He credits his teachers and the library with helping him learn English. When he grows up he wants to be a lawyer or a teacher.
My favorite subject is English because the teacher is kind and good at teaching. Also she was my favorite teacher. She help me a lot with my English to good at speak and write in English. She help my vocabulary by showing the pictures. I feel better much better than before and get used to it."

Anderson Elien: 'I stay after school sometime trying to get more help in school because education is life'

"My first day of school was sad because I didn't know where is the classes and the bathroom. I didn't know how to ask my teachers I wanna use the bathroom or go drink some water because I didn't know English.

But after that I found someone who was helping me in the classes with my work because I didn't speak English. Yet when the class is over I didn't know where do I have to go. I didn't know how to say it in English. I went to a girl bathroom but I didn't know how to read in English so I just went there and sit down in I saw someone just open the door and his asking me a lot question in English but I didn't understand what he was saying. I went outside I saw a lot people they was laugh at me... I was sad that day.

But I found someone who was teaching me how to speak English so I was feeling better. A teacher who impacted me was Ms. Cloutman. She taught art class. But she taught me more than that. She taught me about being respectful. For example, she taught me to call people by their names instead of "yo" or "hey you!" and how to be nice with other people. Because being respectful and being nice to other people that can help you in your life. And she allway telling me that if I wanna become a teacher to help other people that don't know how to read write.

I join Ms. Knobloch and learning English at the library in Hartford. The program is very helpful. I like it we communicate with other people. My library in the school they are helping me a lot with English so if I know a lot English now is because of my school in the library. It important to me because it helps me with how to talk to other people.
Yolendi moved to Hartford five months ago from the Dominican Republic. She will be a sophomore when she starts school in the fall. She says her teachers are helping her gain confidence in speaking English.
I stay after school sometime trying to get more help in school because education is life. You can become president or lawyer or police or army but that is the only one thing that can help you is education. That is what my parent allway say I have to take my education seriously because without school life nothing. "

Yolendi Guerrero: 'In time, I lost the fear when speaking, and I understood.'

"My first day at school was difficult because I did not know anyone. I was late for class because I got lost in school. I did not know anyone, over the weeks I got to know more people in each class.

I arrived at the school that knew nothing of English, but I try harder and understand several things and I speak a little, but I will continue to strive to learn much more.
Alexander spoke no English when he moved to Hartford from the Dominican Republic two years ago. He wants to be a weatherman when he grows up, so naturally science is his favorite subject. He will be a senior when school begins.
I got a lot of help from my teacher, she is a good teacher helps the students and I got help from her. Another teacher who also helped me in English, to talk a little more and to lose the fear when speaking in English, was Miss Callous, although it was difficult to understand because I did not know English but in time, I lost the fear when speaking, and I understood."

Alexander Cisnero: 'Teachers who speak the same language and help you ... makes it easier.'

"I do not like talking in front of people who speak English because I feel ashamed and I think they will laugh at how I speak it. Teachers who speak the same language and help you to excel in English explaining the meaning in native language makes it easier.
When Joel moved from Togo a year ago he only spoke French and Ewe. He says going to the library all the time has helped him the most. His favorite subject is math, and when he grows up he wants to be a police officer.
When I get to meet with people who speak my language and they helped me understand the English. My brothers also continue to help me. I read books and find the definition of words that I do not know and work on the program (Middleburg interactive) has helped me. Listen to music has helped me learn the language."

Joel Agbetossou: 'Everyday after school I go to library to read the books and get in better in English.'

"Before I came to united of state I was in africa with my family. Went I was 4 year old my dad win visa to come to United State and my mom was so happy for him and he went. After 10 year went he get some money and he bring me to United of State. After one month in the country I went to Bulkeley High School.

My first day was very sad on my life. It was boring with not friends or best friends to help you out. I find a friend from Brazil but he do not speak in English like me too but he speaks little and me and him talk about what country we from and how many month we are in USA.
Osman took a few English classes in school in Malaysia before moving to Hartford almost two years ago, but he says he didn't really know the language. He will be a senior when he starts school in the fall. His favorite subject is English and when he grows up he wants to open a restaurant or cafe.
After 3 month in USA I get my library card and everyday after school I go to library to read the books and get in better in English so in 9 months I start to speak little English."

Osman Raja Kamal: 'Program[s] helped me a lot like socializing with people and learn more English.'

"We never thought of moving to United States until we got educational and economic problems. I did go to school in Malaysia. I was in my first year of high school. I did not do good enough in first year. I promised myself to try harder in second year until I knew that my mom had a neck cancer. My father is around 60 years old. So, he won't be able support the families. In Malaysia, we had to pay school fees every months and workers get pay monthly only.

My family open a grocery store in the house and I knew it won't able to pay up my mom surgery and the three children's of schools fees. So, I decided to quit school and work. I gave up on my dream and goals. My first job was a carpenter. It was really hard because I have to carry all the heavy stuff and I never work that kind of jobs before. I'm not strong enough but somehow I get through everything.

After 2 years, my brother finished his high school and my sister finished her class as an seamstress but most importantly, my mom did beat her cancer. After working hard as carpenter for two years, I decided to take a little rest and spent more times with my family.

Since we are [UN Refugee Agency] card holder, the UN's give my family a chance to go another country or we can refuse their offer and apply for citizenship and stay in Malaysia. We all decided to move to United States. My only reason for moving is to find a job and support my family. My sister will continue her high school and my family social case worker say that I can still continue my high school too. But I refuse it because I already gave up on school. I'm not interesting in school anymore.

My family convinces me in so many ways to go to school. In the end I accept their decision. So, I went school and I made couples of friend on my first day. It went pretty well. My first period was gym and I play soccer, from that I made a few more friends.

... I was really nervous at first because everything is strange to me. I had a hard time to interact with people because I'm not a socializing person.
(Darvelis moved to Hartford six months ago from the Dominican Republic. She will be a sophomore when she starts school in August. Her favorite subject in school is English and when she grows up she wants to be an actress.)
In sophomore year, I joined a Spirit Horse Program. In that program I take care of the horse and clean their poop. I had a chance to make more friends and ride a horse for the first time. That program helped me a lot like socializing with people and learn more English. After the I get invited to National Honor Society and student council.

I felt proud of myself because they only choose 19 students. Because of that I decided to join more program in school. That is why I am in the library program.

Darvelis Reyes: 'Some of the teachers helped me a lot and for that I will be grateful.'
(Olwitch moved to Hartford three years ago from Haiti. When he moved here he spoke no English - now his favorite subject in school is English. He is going to be a senior next year. He wants to be a mechanical Engineer when he grow up.)
My first day in the school was not very easy for me because I did not have anyone who could help me. My experience that when I get to school I was lost because almost nobody helped me when I needed it most. Finally, one of them offered me his help and could help me. But some of the teachers helped me a lot and for that I will be grateful.

And after a while I met my friend who is a very good person. I could make friends, thank God.
Read more of The Mirror's coverage of English learners here.

The Mirror's project that is exploring ways to close persistent gaps in educational achievement is supported in part by a grant from the Solutions Journalism Network and the Nellie Mae Foundation. View more of the projects they have funded here. The Connecticut Mirror retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage.
Olwitch Parisse: 'I used the computer to help me speak English more.'

'I remember the first day the I was come to Bulkeley High School. Its was very terrible for me because I didn't have any friends no body to talk to even when I have a question I can't asked my teach. When I was need to go to the bathroom I couldn't asked my teacher the permission to go. I was feel so isolated like I shouldn't come to this country. Some time I even want to sleep school because at my school I wasn't see no one who's spoke my language which is french and Haitian Creole.

But thank God by time I start going to the Hartford Public Library I start obtain some vocabulary and verbs so I start speak English, and read some story books. At the Hartford Public library I used the computer to help me speak English more. I decide to speak English I come at the Hartford Public Library every day after school."

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In their words: English learners share their stories about school

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One in 14 Connecticut students understand so little English, they are considered English learners, and the state has the largest gap in achievement in the country between its English learners and its English-speaking peers. As part of its recent exploration of issues surrounding English-language learners, the Mirror wanted to hear what these students feel is helping them.

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How One School Welcomes Immigrant Students

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How One School Welcomes Immigrant Students

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This video focuses on Salina Elementary School and Salina Intermediate Schools, two schools from Michigan's Dearborn Public School District located in the South End of Dearborn. Both these schools have heavily diverse student populations, and a high number of immigrant students. In this video, immigrant students describe their experiences and trauma, and members of the school community discuss the ways they try to build a supportive and safe environment for their students.

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You Are Welcome Here: Supporting the Social and Emotional Health of Newcomer Immigrant Students

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Supporting Emergent Bilinguals Through Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Supporting Emergent Bilinguals Through Culturally Responsive Teaching

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This article explains how using a culturally responsive approach to teaching can help emergent bilinguals thrive in the classroom. Culturally Responsive Teaching helps to create a positive and welcoming classroom environment for emergent bilinguals. By demonstrating an interest in the lives of their students and showing value for their cultural backgrounds, teachers can help emergent bilinguals feel comfortable in the classroom.

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Recently, some colleagues and I have engaged in a powerful book study of Zaretta Hammond's book Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain. Hammond's work has immersed us ways to support culturally and linguistically diverse students through authentic engagement and rigorous thinking.

In this blog, I approach the topic of supporting our English Language Learners through the lens of culturally responsive teaching (CRT).

Neuroscience and Culturally Responsive Teaching

As neuroscience advances, we are finding out more and more about how the brain learns. We are able to see more of the importance of the brain's executive functions in directing learning, problem solving, and self-regulation. For many of us, our teacher preparation programs briefly covered this topic, but never afforded us the opportunity to really dig in and explore the implications for our everyday teaching. Recent research has further clarified how culturally responsive practices set the context for engagement and growth.

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) goes far beyond alluding to students' home culture or bringing in examples of traditions and customs. Although this approach might make students feel included, it fails to bring the necessary rigor into our instructional practices.

More than a motivational tool, CRT is a serious and powerful way to accelerate student learning. As educators, this is our ultimate goal! There is a clear connection between how the brain learns and rigorous culturally responsive teaching. We can prepare students for rigorous learning through culturally responsive practices!

English Language Learners and culturally diverse students are simultaneously engaging in the learning, acquiring a second language, and/or acclimating to a new culture. In part 2 of our series on supporting English Language Learners in Collaborative Literacy, we explored the affective filter and its impact on students who are acquiring a second language. We established the importance of ensuring that the learning environment we create for ELL students is emotionally safe. However, the neuroscience takes us deeper. Neuroimaging demonstrates what happens in the brain when the affective filter is high and the student is in an emotional state of stress. It reveals to us that students' comfort level critically impacts information transmission and storage in the brain. The factors that affect this comfort level, such as self-confidence, trust in and positive feelings for teachers, and supportive classroom and school communities, directly relate to the most successful learning, remembering, and higher-order thinking.

Hammond has outlined six core design principals (brain rules) to help us understand how the brain uses culture to interpret threats and opportunities. Here is brain rule 1 for us to consider.

1. The brain seeks to minimize social threats and maximize opportunities to connect with others in community.

The brain seeks to be happy and safe

The brain protects well-being, self-determination, and self-worth

The brain will not seek to connect to others if it feels threatened socially or psychologically

The amygdala in the brain is on alert trying to detect "microagressions" (subtle, verbal/nonverbal slights or snubs that communicate hostility/negative messages)

Students who do not feel supported are especially vulnerable to feeling threatened and inferior. And students who feel threatened most likely go into fight, flight, or freeze mode to avoid public humiliation. As Hammond points out, the teacher's definition of what feels threatening or welcoming might be different from the students' definitions. It is important to understand and act upon our students' definitions even if they do not coincide with our own.

Fostering a classroom free from psychological and social threats is critical for students from diverse backgrounds, but it is not enough. The students need to be part of a caring social community to maximize a sense of well-being. Especially for ELLs and culturally diverse students, it is essential to feel affirmed and valued as members of a learning community. Building this kind of nurturing environment is fostered by the social and emotional component of Collaborative Literacy and the support the lessons provide for these and all students!

Want to be a part of our book study? Collegial conversations? We invite you to lend your voice on our Collaborative Classroom Facebook page!

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English Language Learners and Culturally Responsive Teaching, Rule 1 | Center for the Collaborative Classroom

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Recently, some colleagues and I have engaged in a powerful book study of Zaretta Hammond's book Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain. Hammond's work has immersed us ways to support culturally and linguistically diverse students through authentic engagement and rigorous thinking. In this blog, I approach the topic of supporting our English Language Learners through [...]

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Support Statement For Mental Health Services of ELLs

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Support Statement For Mental Health Services of ELLs

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This PDF is a letter from the NJ Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/ NJ Bilingual Educators to the New Jersey Assembly Majority Leader. The NJTESOL/NJBE is a professional organization of educators and administrators with the goal of promoting the education of English Language Learners. In their statement, NJTESOL/NJBE voices their support for a bill to assist students with mental health needs.

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This website explains Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and how it can be used to help English Language Language learners. Social Emotional Learning is the process through which people learn the skills needed to process and understand emotions and apply these skills to their lives and relationships. Learning about these skills and how to use them helps students manage stress and mental health.

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At a recent Learning Policy Institute event, Colorado's 2016 Teacher of the Year, Leticia Ingram, reflected on the need to support students' development more holistically.

"So many times we forget about social and emotional learning, and it's crucial to academic learning," she said. "You need to have that foundation for kids to learn."

Ingram's comments highlight an important reality for the field of PreK-12 education. It is crucial to examine how schools promote social and emotional learning (SEL) in their students as these skills are becoming increasingly necessary for employment in the modern economy.

So what exactly is SEL? The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines it as "the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions."

A new report by the Learning Policy Institute outlines several benefits to integrating SEL with academic learning, including higher graduation rates, fewer instances of bullying, and lower teacher stress. Other studies note the economic benefits of SEL, while others outline the positive impact of it on the mindset, social behaviors, and academics of students. Data presented by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) also point to the overwhelmingly positive effects of SEL on the academic achievement of English learners (ELs).

This growing body of research suggests that the use of SEL in classrooms has positive impacts on all students, teachers, and society at large. The needs of ELs, however, are not the same as those of other students.

According to the affective filter hypothesis, high anxiety and low self-confidence can cause an English learner to filter out language inputs and make it extremely difficult to acquire another language. All of the studies cited above note the importance of SEL in reducing student anxiety and promoting a safe learning environment. As such, SEL and its positive effects are of critical importance to EL instruction.

But how can teachers successfully integrate SEL into classroom teaching? Specifically, what does SEL instruction look like when it is geared toward EL students?

One suggestion for promoting SEL in these classrooms is to help ELs take pride in their cultures. Teachers can do this by integrating cultural aspects into curricula, labeling classroom objects in other languages, and encouraging parents to promote cultural affirmation at home. These techniques can reduce the sense of "otherness" that English learners often feel in classrooms. Another effective technique is to pair ELs with non-ELs in a buddy system. This encourages collaboration, mutual respect, and teamwork.

Finally, and perhaps most crucially, teachers must provide realistic practice for students to test out acquired social and emotional skills. Providing opportunities for ELs to manage stressful situations using their learned skills prepares students to tackle them in the real world.

Several of these SEL practices are ones that Ingram, the Colorado Teacher of the Year, utilizes in creative ways at Basalt High School. The school is located about twenty miles north of Aspen, and 58 percent of students speak a native language other than English.

In a recent interview, Ingram described to me the stressful situations her EL students encounter when they buy groceries in a store where a certain level of English proficiency is required. So, in her class, she sets out to teach them what she refers to as "survival language." In the classroom, students study grocery terms in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. After they have learned these terms, Ingram takes them to the local grocery store in Basalt.

Once there, students must find everything on the teacher's grocery list in a scavenger hunt. They can also practice their social skills by asking store employees for help. In this way, not only are these EL students learning to manage a potentially stressful situation, but they are also learning English and engaging with members of their small community. The class also participates in similar field trips to banks and hospitals.

Attempts by teachers like Ingram at supporting EL-specific social and emotional learning are crucial. Equally important is the need to track the impact of efforts to continuously improve SEL practices. As an example of this, Ingram visits each of her students' homes at least twice a year to assess their social and emotional needs. She also relies on classroom observations along with student and family surveys, mindful to use multiple methods of evaluation. In this way, Ingram is constantly reflecting on the impacts of her SEL methods and looking to adjust when needed.

Ingram's example illustrates what initiative and leadership for SEL with English learners can look like at the classroom level. But systemwide, in a new era of accountability under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, scaling and ensuring accountability in SEL instruction will not be an easy lift. Since SEL is not a required accountability measure, it is possible that SEL may be seen as a lesser priority in the minds of state and local policymakers.

Nonetheless, given the overwhelmingly positive results of incorporating SEL into academic content, schools and districts should strive to integrate SEL into curricula and create methods to gauge the impact on student outcomes. All students, and ELs in particular, stand to benefit immensely.

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Social and Emotional Learning for English Learners

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A look at how Colorado's Teacher of the Year leverages social and emotional learning to improve outcomes for her English learner students

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Influences On The Mental Health Of English Language Learners

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Influences On The Mental Health Of English Language Learners

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This document describes many of the common challenges English Language Learners face and the effects they have on their mental states.

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Meeting Social and Emotional Learning Needs

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Meeting Social and Emotional Learning Needs

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Emergent bilinguals tend to score higher in social emotional and interpersonal skills.  However, SEL skills tend to go unrecognized or unaccounted for by administrators and others. This website explains the importance of recognizing and valuing our ELLs' strong areas instead of primarily focusing on their developing skills.

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Advocates of educational equity, access, and inclusion for historically underserved children have always struggled to highlight the challenges these children face without defining the children as themselves being those challenges. Indeed, the very term-"historically underserved"-stems from a correction of an older term, "underprivileged." This switch has been important, because "historically underserved" puts the onus on what adults can control (how systems serve these kids) instead of on the privileges that the kids lack.

This shift should not obscure the complexity within these terms. As the field of education devotes more attention to historically underserved children's social and emotional development, advocates must also account for ways that different forms of historical inequity influence children's social and emotional growth in different ways. This is particularly important for linguistically and culturally diverse children in U.S. schools.

An Under-Recognized Strength

The issue of accurate and equitable terminology extends even further for students who speak languages other than English when not in school. In the United States, they have been called everything from Limited English Proficient to English Learners, Dual Language Learners, Emergent Bilingual Learners, and Multilingual Learners, among other labels.

Each of these terms is inadequate in its own way. All define students-who are children in all their diversity and complexity-solely in terms of their languages, and most emphasize the English skills they have not yet fully developed. These kids are more than their linguistic profiles: classifying them so narrowly risks leaving out their other strengths, goals, and needs.

For instance, research often shows that these students score higher on measures of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills than do their monolingual peers. Social and emotional learning includes things like relationship-building skills, emotional self-regulation, and abilities related to the understanding and management of social cues. These are not separate from children's academic development. A growing research consensus suggests that social and emotional skills have significant academic, health, and long-term social benefits. In its 2017 meta-analysis of the state of research on English Learner (EL) students, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine found that "Evidence indicates that [ELs] have comparable or better social-emotional competencies relative to their monolingual English peers." Specifically, ELs appear to score high on self-regulation and interpersonal skills.

New Enthusiasm for Holistic Approaches Child Development-but More Caution Needed

Competencies like those that fall under the umbrella of SEL are sometimes called "non-cognitive" or "non-academic" skills. Whichever term you prefer, there's no question that it is very much in vogue to discuss them in progressive education circles today. The 2015 passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) opened the door to converting this interest into firm policy. It allowed states to include a "non-academic" indicator in their systems for rating schools in their accountability systems. However, states have thus far avoided using this opportunity to directly measure students' SEL skills as part of their ESSA accountability systems.

There are understandable reasons for this. Even those who want U.S. schools to prioritize SEL development are concerned about measuring SEL metrics at scale, and with accountability stakes attached. Schools and teachers are a long way from being ready to implement SEL-focused programming at scale, and it can be difficult to get valid, reliable data on young students' SEL development with existing tools. As SEL advocate Tim Shriver told Education Week during the time when states were drafting their ESSA plans, interest in SEL was "booming," but while "Someone might say, 'Why aren't you holding states accountable for teaching it?' The answer to that is we are not ready for it yet."

Shriver's implication, however, was clear enough: interest in SEL competencies will eventually move educating for those competencies into systems for measuring school quality.

Designing for Inclusion and Diversity

When social and emotional learning measurement becomes widespread, this availability will offer a considerable opportunity for English-learning students. It could help schools think more capaciously about their English learners. Since ELs, on aggregate, tend to score well on these measures, it could help schools recognize these students in terms of their strengths, not just their still-developing language skills.

Since ELs, on aggregate, tend to score well on these measures, it could help schools recognize these students in terms of their strengths, not just their still-developing language skills.

However, a more precise view of ELs' social and emotional learning skills won't arrive automatically. Given how difficult it is to gather solid SEL data for any student, gathering it for ELs will require a high degree of intentionality to avoid duplicating schools' all-too-common blind spots regarding these students' diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Any efforts to incorporate these metrics into school ratings and accountability systems must be valid and reliable for multilingual and multicultural students as well.

A study published in Child Development in 2012 shows the limitations of even well-meaning metric design. The study found significant variation in the SEL caregiving practices of Latinx mothers, native-born white mothers, and Asian-heritage mothers. However, it characterizes these variations in terms of "strengths" and "weaknesses." Latinx households, it found, had similar "social-emotional functioning" levels as the households of native-born white mothers. By contrast, households of Asian-heritage mothers had "weaker social functioning." It bears noting that the SEL metrics driving this analysis drew upon a relatively limited set of specific questions around conflict (and resolutions) between parents, as well as symptoms of depression. SEL metrics like these are not sufficient to deliver on the modality's potential, and especially not for EL students.

Later studies have connected these sorts of in-home SEL practices with child outcomes. One found that Latinx children tend to score well on SEL but not as well on early academic and linguistic benchmarks. But it also noted the challenge of limited SEL assessment tools: "Stronger measurement would enrich our understanding of how Latino children grow within particular cultural contexts." Our yardsticks are still far from adequately calibrated for the job.

This lack of firm data can't be ignored as enthusiasm for SEL metrics-and linked accountability provisions-grows. Researchers and policymakers need to be cautious about imposing culturally specific norms on children's SEL development. Indeed, a 2013 review of research on ELs and SEL found "social-emotional benefits to fluent bilingualism," but also "no consistent pattern with respect to the social-emotional development of [ELs] in comparison to that of non-[ELs]." This may be due to diversity within the group of students that U.S. schools label as ELs. That is, EL students from particular cultural backgrounds may be more likely to perform well on some SEL metrics than on others.

Any efforts to measure students' SEL competencies-and schools' effects on them-could highlight English learning students' assets, but only if their linguistic and cultural diversities are taken seriously in the design and implementation processes.

Perhaps this uncertainty about the intersection of SEL measures and multilingual children's development reflects the myriad ways to be a healthy, productive human adult. As such, it would follow that there should be myriad healthy paths through childhood; and accordingly, any efforts to measure students' SEL competencies-and schools' effects on them-could highlight English learning students' assets, but only if their linguistic and cultural diversities are taken seriously in the design and implementation processes.

Tags: ELL, English Language Learners, Social and Emotional Learning

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Meeting the Social and Emotional Learning Needs of English Learners

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Advocates of educational equity, access, and inclusion for historically underserved children have always struggled to highlight the challenges these

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This website provides information on how educators can support Emergent Bilinguals beyond just academics. It also gives details on some issues English Language Learners might be dealing with in their own lives such as poverty, immigration status, and high levels of stress resulting from immigration status. Using a Strengths-Based Approach, teachers can support their ELL students by focusing on their students' inner strengths. To do this, teachers should learn as much as they can about their students to help build strong relationships with them, and use asset-based language in their conversations with them.

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Using a strengths-based approach allows educators to draw upon students' internal strengths and capacities, and it can be a particularly powerful practice for English learners who have experienced trauma, violence, or chronic stress. In this article adapted from Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress (ASCD, 2017), ELL experts Debbie Zacarian, Lourdes Álvarez-Ortiz, and Judie Haynes offer some concrete strategies for shifting to a strengths-based approach in the classroom, as well as numerous student examples.

Overview

Who are the nation's students experiencing trauma, violence and chronic stress?

One in every two of the total student population in the U.S. come to our schools having experienced or still experiencing some type of trauma, violence, or chronic stress - many of them at a very young age. This startling statistic presents a challenge to all of us as educators - especially since the available professional literature focuses almost solely on the therapeutic aspects for providing counseling supports and services to students who have experienced one or more of the following:

Physical, sexual, or verbal abuse;

Physical and emotional neglect;

A parents who is an alcoholic (or addicted to other drugs);

Witnessing a mother who experiences abuse;

A family member in jail;

Loss of a parent due to death or abandonment, including abandonment by parental divorce; or

Mental illness or a depressed suicidal person in the home

Source: (Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, 2011/2012).
What make these realities particularly relevant are the distinct circumstances of many English learners who experience violence, trauma, and chronic stress. Consider the following:

In 2015, U.S. Department of State reported that 69,930 refugees were admitted to the United States, with the largest groups coming from African, South Asian, Asian, and Latin American countries.

4.1 million children born in the United States have at least one parent who is undocumented (American Psychological Association, 2016).

Many of the nation's children of undocumented immigrants experience high levels of chronic stress from fear of deportation, living in extreme poverty, and being isolated from peers (Yoshikawa, 2011).

60 percent of English learners' families had incomes that were 185 percent below poverty level (Grantmakers in Education Report, April 2013).

In addition, very little professional literature has been written about teaching this particular population and doing so from a strengths-based perspective.

Why use a strengths-based approach?

The absence of any formal training in this area, understandably, has led many educators to feel quite unprepared to teach and work with the epic numbers of students, including English learners, who experience trauma, violence and chronic stress. Further, many teachers believe that some students' experiences are so extreme that there is little hope for them, despite all of their efforts and good intentions. This perception often puts limits and restrictions on them in terms of how they teach and interact with students as well as how they work with families. In a real sense, it has almost forced many teachers to look at students and their families as "broken" instead of as individuals who already possess inherent strengths and who can make great contributions to their classrooms, their communities, and the world. Indeed, for too long, teachers have found themselves using language to name their perceptions in terms of what they believe are impossible situations for students living with trauma, violence, and chronic stress.

Student vignette: Javier

Here is an example from Chris Homiak, a middle school English and mathematics teacher of English learners in Kansas City, Missouri. He tells us about Javier, a 7 th grade student.

Javier is a 7th grade student who joined our class after being out of school for six months. He is a n English learner whose home language is Spanish. Prior to enrolling in our school, he had recently moved across the country and was in transition, living in homeless shelters with his large family. At first, Javier answered questions very quietly, and his eyes often looked toward the floor or quickly around the room. Also, he often got out of his seat without permission and walked in a small circle near his desk.

In this example, it would be easy to pinpoint the adverse conditions and behaviors that would make Javier's ability to learn and our ability to teach him to be very difficult. However, it is important to take it a step further and look beyond "what is lacking" to find "what is already there". To accomplish this, we need to begin with a shift in mindset from what we believe is not happening and impossible to what is happening and possible. To do this we must take time to:

Identify students' existing strengths.

Honor, value, and acknowledge these strengths.

Help students become aware of their strengths.

Build instructional programming that boosts social ties and networks by drawing from students' strengths.

Let's take a look at Javier's story. What strengths can you see in Javier? At first glance, getting out of his seat without permission may seem to be an unacceptable behavior and, indeed, difficult to view as an asset. But adopting an asset-based perspective requires us to find evidence "in what students do; in what they don't; and in their intentions, hopes, successes, and even failures" ( Grove and Glasser, 2007). In this example, Javier didn't disrupt class by yelling or screaming, or by going to other students to talk to them. He contained himself in a small area, trying not to disrupt the class. This is the behavior we focus on, and the one that we want to acknowledge and reflect back to him to make it visible and transparent. Among Javier's assets is his ability to understand what he needs to turn his classroom environment into a favorable learning experience for him. In this case, it is an environment that will allow him the opportunity to engage in movement like standing, stretching, and moving his body. (Think of yourself during those long professional development trainings!) It is also evidence of Javier's good judgment, consideration, and respect for other people's spaces and time for learning because his behavior was contained and not disruptive. The goal is for Javier to see his strengths, value his own self-worth, create a personal account of his strengths, and begin to operate by drawing from it.

Let's look at what Chris Homiak did to identify Javier's strengths and what this understanding led to:
Observing him during independent work time, I saw that he had a deep capacity for abstract thinking and that he was strong in algebra. I shared my observation by saying: "Javier, you are such a strong problem-solver and algebra-thinker! I noticed that you can see patterns and break down the parts until you solve the problem." As his trusting relationships grew in our small group, I pushed him to explain his answers in more detail and to explore alternative ways for solving the same problem. Initially, he wanted to share his answers first and fast; I supported him to wait for others to catch up, and to see if he could help find their mistakes. I often turned to him to provide constructive feedback or error correction, handing over the document camera or whiteboard for him to play the teacher role.
It is greatly helpful to take time to identify students' strengths and teach by drawing from this understanding.

What strategies support a strengths-based approach?

In this article, we discuss some strategies for using a strengths-based approach in our classroom practice so that English learners, like Javier, and all students living with trauma, violence and chronic stress experience a real sense of being safe, valued, capable of learning, and worthy contributory members of their classroom communities. We consider these four essential experiences to be the basis for creating a strengths-based classroom that is inclusive and responsive to all students, and particularly to those living with trauma, violence and chronic stress.

Take time to build positive, asset-based student-teacher relationships

Working with students living with trauma, violence, or chronic stress requires us to be empathetic educators who care about our students and seek to support them. Nevertheless, we must take it a step further and strive to be asset-based teachers as well. That is, seeking, reflecting back, and honoring the many inherent attributes, values, and qualities our students (and families) possess. But it doesn't stop there. We must support them in drawing from these strengths and capacities to develop the skills, competencies, and confidence to be active learners, independent and critical thinkers, and contributory members of their learning community.

Gather as much information as we can about our students.

Use this background information to build and strengthen our relationships with students by personalizing our interactions using the strengths and assets that we continuously identify.

In Javier's story, his teacher was able to cultivate a positive relationship by helping Javier see his intrinsic assets and strengths and by capitalizing on them to engage Javier in learning. He observed Javier's curiosity and eagerness to solve problems and drew from these qualities to cultivate self-monitoring and leadership skills.

Use consistent positive, asset-based language when communicating with students.

There are many strategies that we can use to identify students' strengths and assets and build trusting relationships with them based on these, including:

An example, that can be adapted with support in a students' home language, is a high school teacher who asks students to complete questions on an index card during their first day of school. The front of the card asks them to write their name and nickname. The back asks the following, "What activities, such as sports, music, and work, are you involved or would like to be involved outside of our high school?" He meets first with individual students who leave the activity question blank and supports them in joining an after-school club, obtaining work, and/or engaging in an activity of their interest. He also takes time to visit students after school where they are participating in a sport or are at work. His sole goal is to help them see that they belong to a classroom community and that they are valued and capable individuals who have many personal strengths and assets worthy of recognition.

An example is a teacher who greets a student with personalized messages such as "Good morning, Lilliana, great to see you after that tough basketball game last night. I heard you were very determined on the court" shows that he understands what is important to the student, and at the same time, he's naming the attribute she is demonstrating (determination) which is one of her strengths. Or, in the case of Javier, his teacher took the opportunity to observe him during independent work and noticed that he had a solid capacity for abstract thinking and that he was strong in algebra. The way he reflected back these personal assets to Javier was by saying, "Javier, you're such a strong problem solver and algebra thinker! I noticed that you can see patterns and break down the parts until you solve the problem." This type of positive energy and language is one of the biggest assets that those of us that work with English learners and all students living with trauma, violence and chronic stress can bring to the classroom.

Create a physical environment that encourages students' sharing, participation and ownership of their physical classroom space.

Co-create (with students) an environment that facilitates their empowerment and voice and reinforces the skills necessary to be successful in a global society that demands constant communication, collaboration, teamwork, and innovation.

Foster unconditional acceptance, a sense of being safe, and of feeling valued and capable of learning.

Construct a physical environment that is conducive for communication and cooperation

Learning spaces have the ability to positively or negatively affect students' learning and morale. From the selection and arrangement of desks, tables and chairs, to the attention we pay to what we place on the classroom walls, every detail counts toward our efforts to keeping students engaged and maximizing their cooperation and creativity. To do this, we have to consider how to:

Students living with traumatic situations, including those who may be English learners, are likely to experience loss of control and sense of powerlessness to various degrees. As such, regaining control is crucial to coping with traumatic stressors ( Perry & Szalavitz, 2006). In the classroom, this translates to implementing practices that value and encourage all students' participation in decisions that matter to them.

For example, some groups of students may wish to work at their desks in the corner of a room, others may prefer to work on the floor, and others may want to stand at the white board. What's key is co-creating a space where students have a voice in arranging their desks, tables, and chairs and displaying (e.g., on classroom walls or tablemats) their shared ideas, opinions, and concepts to demonstrate a shared ownership of learning.

Classroom environments that promote this type of empowerment do so by building the confidence and capacity of English learners and all students to speak up, to present and address issues of their concern, to make changes, and to take risks. Students are more likely to encounter success in this process when adults become partners and provide active support.

Use predictable classroom routines and practices

What time does school actually start and should they arrive?

What should students do if there is a delayed opening or closing of school (e.g., a delay due to inclement weather)

If there is a delay, should students go directly into the school or wait on the playground?

Where should students go if they arrive at school late?

Where do they put their coats and backpacks when they enter their classroom? Where does their homework go?

What should they be doing while they are waiting for the rest of the class to arrive?

Who will be my teacher and what's his/her name?

Using routines and practices that are consistent and predictable have been found to be essential when working with students living with trauma, violence, and chronic stress ( Blaustein, 2013).

Start class

Start the lessons

Sequence the lessons

Transition students from one task to the next during the lesson

End the lessons

Support students during non-instructional time

The following questions help to form the routine responses that students need at the beginning of the school year or when a new student enrolls in our schools:

Welcome students positively by letting them know that they are welcomed and valuable members of our classroom community.

Engage students in a sharing activity about special news such as the arrival of a new sibling, an event, and/or occasion such as a birthday or a school event or sports, performance, or curricular activity. Create routines for this sharing activity to help it to be a predictable social activity.

Provide information about the day or class' schedule so that students know what to expect during the school day or class period.

Conduct a short academic or social learning experience. For example, during one meeting, a teacher asked for a student volunteer to share with his/her peers the process that students should follow when leaving from and returning to the classroom for small group instruction. His teaching goal was to support his students in making transitions and empower students in making good choices.

Support students to transition from the opening meeting to the next classroom activity by noticing and acknowledging those who show readiness.

According to Blaustein (2013), using the same routines and rituals in our classroom activities allows students living with trauma, violence and chronic stress to downshift from a fearful state where unpredictability takes control, to a calmer and more positive one where events happen in a predictable manner. These include the ways in which we:

Here are some suggestions:

Listening skills

Empathy

Social and emotional language that is needed to express their feelings to their peers and others

Attention to their own and their peers' values, assets, and strengths

Mediating their own emotions

Resolving conflict in a productive way.

Apprentice students in social and emotional communicative skills

While paired and groupwork are important methods in any classroom, an important means to support the method working more successfully is the level of trust that we create with and among all of our students. Classroom settings are ideal places for students to acquire the social and emotional communication skills that they need to work cooperatively. All students need this type of instruction so that everyone feels safe, competent, valued, and a sense of belonging. Our instruction must involve supporting students in the development and use of the following:

Design pair and group work with plans that explicitly and intentionally support students in the development and strengthening of these skills. Look for opportunities within these groups to recognize the many ways in which students, overtly or covertly, demonstrate their personal assets. Some examples of the type of language/communication that is helpful to acknowledge students' efforts and help them acknowledge others is the following:

Asset-Based Language to Describe Students' Qualities

Focusing on student strengths: Sample feedback

That is excellent use of logic.

You are being wise. That is a great quality that is coming across in your responses.

That was a very insightful thought you just shared.

That was a solid educated guess. That is an important skill.

I appreciate your willingness to collaborate.

You seem to be getting the picture after showing so much hard work analyzing this idea!

That was a great deduction you just made to figure out a possible answer. Well done!

You are showing great curiosity, which is a great way to learn.

The way you put these two ideas together shows how you are using great analytic skills in your problem solving.

I can see how much you are enjoying sharing and defending your unique ideas.

I really like how you are showing respect to your partner by listening carefully to what he is saying.

You are using your great mind to figure out an answer. Well done!

Student attributes, strengths, and values

Many English language learners who have experienced or are experiencing trauma, violence, or chronic stress are demonstrators of great tenacity and determination. Despite the many horrendous and traumatic experiences that many have experienced, living through civil strife, natural disasters, war, extreme poverty and more, they still find the energy to show up in our schools and classrooms every day. This energy reflects one of the many attributes, strengths, and values that they possess. How many other intrinsic qualities and values hidden under adversity can you identify in the students and families you serve? Although not an exhaustive one, this list can help you identify them.

Adapted from Glasser, 2011, p. 64-65.

Final Thoughts

Adopting a strengths-based approach allows us to draw from our students' internal strengths and capacities. It also supports the academic and social-emotional growth of all students - including English learners like Javier.

The strategies and the ideas found in this article are a small sampling from our book Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence and Chronic Stress. It is our hope that by using these our classrooms can be transformed into safe, productive, and positive places where all students can see their many strengths and unlimited human potential.

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Using a Strengths-Based Approach with ELs: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence and Chronic Stress

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Using a strengths-based approach allows educators to draw upon students' internal strengths and capacities, and it can be a particularly powerful practice for English learners who have experienced trauma, violence, or chronic stress.