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Avoiding Common Classroom Management Missteps

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Avoiding Common Classroom Management Missteps

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A great article that describes some common mistakes in classroom management and suggestions on alternate approaches.

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Abstract

What Is Classroom "Management"?

How Did We Get Here?

Reimagining Classroom Expectations

The Steps in Practice

Teachers should be cultivators-not managers-of their classroom environments.

Abstract

What Is Classroom "Management"?

How Did We Get Here?

Reimagining Classroom Expectations

The Steps in Practice

The 1st grade students were sitting in a circle around the teacher on the carpet, reading about the different kinds of bird beaks. Every student, that is, except Samuel, who was pacing in front of the door. He folded his arms and twisted his mouth into a grimace, clearly looking for the perfect opportunity to make a run for it. Spotting him, the teacher looked in his direction and said, "You have until the count of three to make a better choice."

"No," Samuel responded. "You make a better choice and move my clip back up." He was referring to the system the teacher used to "manage" classroom behavior; students would move a clip with their names up or down on a chart, based on good behavior or misbehavior. The teacher looked at me, the observing instructional coach, with exasperation written all over her face. Later, she told me, "I just don't know what to do. They don't listen. And I can't seem to get anything done."

In my various roles over the years as a teacher leader, new teacher mentor, coach, and assistant principal, this statement- I just don't know what to do-has been an all-too-familiar cry. When teachers feel frustrated and overwhelmed by students who seem to be "out of control," they try multiple approaches to "manage" behavior, from charts and point systems to notes and treasure boxes and everything in between. But what if the issue lies more in our approach?

What Is Classroom "Management"?

The term "classroom management" refers to the strategies a teacher has in place to ensure an environment in which students can effectively learn. Traditionally, this involves teaching expectations, routines, and procedures early in the school year (Lester, Allanson, & Notar, 2017). Research suggests that carefully constructed routines significantly affect social and emotional development and reduce distracting behaviors (Ostrosky, Jung, & Hemmeter, 2003). The absence of structure has been associated with negative behavioral, social, and academic outcomes (Whisman & Hammer, 2014). In addition, when teachers struggle to effectively manage classroom behaviors, they report higher levels of stress and lower levels of job satisfaction (Kwok, 2018).

In my experience, there are two extremes of classroom management. At the one end is the teacher who appears to have no control over the classroom culture, which typically manifests as students talking while the teacher is (and therefore unable to hear instruction or directions) or students off-task during work time. This indicates that control has shifted to the students. At the other end is the overly controlled classroom, with a rigid set of rules and procedures. The power rests solely with the teacher, who is unwavering in how, when, and why they offer consequences. Both extremes are the result of a power imbalance, and the assumption is that the power needs to be in the teacher's favor for effective classroom management.

How Did We Get Here?

Only about half of all U.S. teacher education programs have a course on effective strategies for managing classroom behaviors (NCTQ, 2020). Though this is up from 23 percent in 2013, only 14 percent of current programs require candidates to model and practice these strategies in clinical situations (NCTQ, 2020). This means that a large number of teachers enter the profession unprepared to effectively cultivate a culture of learning.

While more districts now offer professional development on relationship-centered and trauma-informed approaches to classroom management, not all teachers attend these sessions or have the support they need to go from theory to practice. Thus, teachers may turn to more traditional strategies (clip charts, notes home, time-outs, treasure boxes, discipline cards). The problem with these practices is that they fail to take into consideration the differences in how and why students behave the way they do.

As students readjust to in-person learning, at a time when the pandemic is still changing our country, it is important that we remain sensitive to the vast differences in students' experiences and their varying degrees of trauma. There should be a focus on student/teacher relationships, with teachers as cultivators -not managers-of their classroom environments. I'd like to share common management missteps and suggest how teachers can move from classroom "manager" to "cultivator."

Reimagining Classroom Expectations

Classroom culture is, in my opinion, one of the most crucial components of educational practice-the one that must be in place before all other practices can work. A culture where students are aware of what is expected from them, both academically and behaviorally, and where they feel safe, supported, and part of a community, is necessary for high academic achievement.

One of the biggest classroom management mistakes is focusing on rules rather than relationships. In this set-up, students are expected to "obey" certain conditions or receive a consequence if they don't. This militant says the classroom belongs to the teacher and makes it a challenge for students to remember everything they need to avoid doing (Deci & Ryan, 2016). More recently, the trend has been for teachers to develop three to five value-focused "rules" (i.e. Be Respectful, Be Prepared). Though easier to remember, because any number of behaviors could fall under "be respectful" or "be prepared," and because students' understanding of these values can differ depending on background, culture, and experience, students may find themselves unintentionally in violation.

It is important that students have a clear understanding of what we expect of them, and why. One way to do this is to work as a class to create a series of "norms" for how everyone will "behave" when together. These are different than rules because they are collaborative rather than a list of demands made by the "authority figure." Specifically, norms represent an agreement among all community members about how they will treat one another. I find it works best when the norm begins with "We will ...", when the class comes up with no more than 3-5 norms, and when the norm is well-defined.

One teacher I work with begins with three charts of paper, each with a relationship written at the top: student to student, teacher to student, and student to teacher. The teacher starts the process by including his or her non-negotiables (for example, "we will respect one another") and then opens a class brainstorming session. The class then votes on their top 5 norms and defines clearly what each norm looks like in action. To further solidify commitment, students can sign the bottom of the page. Because students have a sense of shared ownership in the creation of classroom expectations, they are more likely to invest in them. In addition, by supporting student autonomy rather than just telling students what not to do, we promote intrinsic motivation, which supports academic growth (Deci & Ryan, 2016).

When a teacher offers praise for "good behavior," especially relationally ("I love how John is sitting quietly waiting for directions"), there are invariably students who receive less praise than others. The problem with a focus on praise is that it assumes a student can control their behavior, or that their misbehavior is intentional.

Moreover, the absence of praise for students who have not yet learned the skills to control their behavior, who do not know what they have done wrong, or who are acting out because of unresolved trauma-rather than a desire to be defiant or disrespectful-does not change the behavior, which completely defeats the purpose of a classroom management system. Another problem comes when students begin to look to the teacher to determine whether a behavior is worthy of merit, or when students are only motivated to act a certain way because they are expecting a reward (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000).

Unlike praise, positive reinforcement acknowledges desired behaviors. There is a difference, for example, between saying "I love how John is sitting quietly waiting for directions" (praising John and attaching a teacher feeling) and "John is sitting with his eyes on me" (reinforcing John's behavior and simultaneously reinforcing the expectation for those not quite there yet).

The goal here is to acknowledge everyone equally without singling out those not complying by name (for example, saying, "I'm waiting on one person" instead of "Sam, your eyes should be on me). The advantage of this approach is that student/teacher relationships are not determined by the degree of reinforcement a student receives. It also allows for an immediate change in unwanted behaviors.

When using positive reinforcement, teachers need to first provide clear directions that include a cue to begin (when I say, "go"), what to do, and how to do it (quietly, without talking, within a certain time), and then narrate behaviors to ensure everyone knows what to do.

My state uses the RTI2-B (Response to Instruction and Intervention for Behavior) framework, which promotes problem-solving approaches and focuses on teaching appropriate behaviors as opposed to punishing inappropriate ones. However, despite this emphasis for behavior support over the last decade, it has been my observation, both as a traveling instructional coach and as an assistant principal, that many teachers in K-2 classrooms still rely on traditional, punishment focused approaches (time out, moving clips, pulling cards, sending notes home, taking away behavior points). Based on my conversations with them, this is usually because these approaches are familiar and because teachers are afraid to try something new.

The problem with this approach is that it assumes all students are deterred by the same "punishment." Over the years, I've noticed that different students are deterred by different things, which renders a centralized punishment system useless. Moreover, these approaches rely on shame and embarrassment as a means of control, which can damage a child's self-esteem (McIntosh, Sugai, Simonsen, 2020). Most significant, this type of management assumes a student knows what they have done "wrong," which may not always be the case (Romi, Lewis, & Salkovsky, 2015).

A restorative approach to classroom cultivation provides a framework for students to understand what they did wrong and why they did it and come up with a plan to do better next time. A reflection sheet, which can be adapted for all grade levels, is my favorite tool. I like to recommend this strategy when a student is struggling to meet the classroom norms, even after a "warning" or reminder. Teachers can give a sheet to students following a behavior incident that asks students to explain what happened, how they were feeling when it happened, why it was inappropriate, and how they can do better next time (see sheet examples for 1st grade ; for 3rd to 5th grade ; and for middle school and high school ). Younger students can color a picture, write responses, or explain orally to the teacher. The key to this strategy's success is meeting individually and privately with the student at their desk or the teacher's desk to talk about what happened and hit the "reset" button, so that the student knows they are resuming regular classroom activities with a clean slate. The privacy also prevents students from feeling singled out or embarrassed.

Student background, culture, and previous school experience all play a role in determining how and why students behave (or misbehave) the way they do. By ignoring these important dimensions of student identity, teachers find themselves "attempting to manage fragmented, disconnected, and incomplete students" (Milner & Tenore, 2010, p. 567). A universal application of rules and consequences "alienate[s] and marginalize[s] some students, while privileging others" (Weinstein, Curran, & Tomlinson-Clarke, 2003, p. 270).

In a classroom where strong teacher/student relationships exist, there is usually little need for rewards and consequences. Students follow expectations because they feel a sense of collective responsibility and know that their teacher cares about them. When off-task behavior does happen, students are either able to self-correct or the teacher understands why the behavior happened and is quickly able to deal with it.

I often recommend the following strategies to strengthen student/teacher relationships:

"2 x 10": Spend two minutes a day for 10 consecutive days getting to know each student on a rotating basis)

Morning Meetings and Closing Circles: Take the first and final 20 minutes of each day to establish community, get to know one another, and address key issues and conflicts occurring in the school, community, or world

Intentional Time: Eat lunch with students or play a game together at recess

Being deliberate about building relationships with students helps them know that we love and care about them, regardless of what happens in the classroom.

The Steps in Practice

When a student fails a test or doesn't understand something we have taught, we differentiate, reteach, and try to figure out why. If the goal of classroom management is to ensure an environment where students can learn, we need to be cultivators. After all, providing students with the strategies to interact with the world they live in remains the reason for why we do what we do.

References

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2016). Optimizing students' motivation in the era of testing and pressure: A self-determination theory perspective. In Building Autonomous Learners (pp. 9- 29). Springer

Kwok, A. (2018). Classroom Management Actions of Beginning Urban Teachers. Urban Education 54(3), 339-367.

Lester, R. Allanson, P., & Notar, C. (2017). Routines are the foundation of classroom management. Education 137(4), 398-412

McIntosh, K., Sugai, G., & Simonsen, B. (February, 2020). "Ditch the Clip! Why Clip Charts Are Not a PBIS Practice and What to Do Instead." Center on PBIS, University of Oregon.

Milner, H. R., & Tenore, F. B. (2010). Classroom management in diverse classrooms. Urban Education, 45(5), 560-603.

NQTE (2020). "Classroom Management." Research Brief.

Ostrosky, M. M., Jung, E. Y., Hemmeter, M. L. (2003). "Helping children make transitions between activities." What Works, Brief 4, Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning.

Romi, S., Lewis, R., & Salkovsky, M. (2015). "Exclusion as a way of promoting student responsibility: Does the kind of misbehavior matter?" The Journal of Educational Research, 108(4), 306-317.

Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). "Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 68-81.

Weinstein, C., Curran, M., & Tomlinson-Clarke, S. (2003). Culturally responsive classroom management: Awareness into action. Theory Into Practice, 42(4), 269-276.

Whisman, A. & Hammer, P. C. (2014). "The association between school discipline and mathematics performance: A case for positive discipline approaches." Charleston, WV: West Virginia Department of Education, Division of Teaching and Learning, Office of Research.

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Avoiding Common Classroom Management Missteps

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Teachers should be cultivators-not managers-of their classroom environments.

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Adding SEL Components to a High School Classroom

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Adding SEL Components to a High School Classroom

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A good overview on the core competencies of SEL and how they may be integrated into a high school setting.

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Adding SEL Components to a High School Classroom - TeachHUB

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Educators know students need to master social-emotional learning just like academics. Learn about adding SEL components to a high school classroom.

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Learning for Justice | Classroom Culture

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Learning for Justice | Classroom Culture

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An excellent article outlining different approaches to creating a more equitable classroom environment through anti-bias education practices. A lot of this material is applicable to the "Procedures & Routines" section as well!

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When asking students to explore issues of personal and social identity, teachers must provide safe spaces where students are seen, valued, cared for and respected. It is also important that students have opportunities to learn from one another's varied experiences and perspectives. To create this learning environment, teachers need to skillfully draw on student experiences to enrich the curriculum.

Teachers can show they value students' lives and identities in a variety of ways. Some are small, like taking the time to learn the proper pronunciation of every student's name or getting to know young people's families. Others require more time and investment, like building curriculum around personal narratives or incorporating identity-based responses into the study of texts. At the community level, it is important to understand neighborhood demographics, strengths, concerns, conflicts and challenges. Like students themselves, these dynamics may change frequently.

For teachers whose experiences differ from those of their students, it is critical to exercise sensitivity. They must bring the following to the effort:

An asset-based view of youth and unfamiliar identity groups

A commitment to avoiding and challenging stereotypes

A sense of openness and cultural humility

A willingness to let students define their own identities

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Honoring student experience supports three of the four anti-bias domains: Identity, Diversity and Action. Students who feel their experiences are unwelcome, judged, stereotyped, disrespected or invisible find it extremely difficult to engage in meaningful discussion of identity and justice issues. Those whose stories and voices are heard and reflected in the classroom are more likely to engage with anti-bias curriculum and translate their learning into action.

Knowing and valuing students' lives provides other benefits:

Ability to identify potential "hot spots" on key topics.

Development of caring student-teacher relationships that support effective identity-based learning.

Development of intergroup awareness and understanding.

Direction in the selection of texts that are relevant to a particular class.

Appreciation of student contributions to discussions.

Strategies

Classroom-Reflective Texts Coupled with Nonjudgmental Dialogue

Choosing texts that reflect classroom demographics and following the readings with discussions or reflective writing assignments can provide teachers with powerful information about their students' hopes, concerns, strengths and life circumstances. These practices also open channels of understanding among students. Successful conversations about issues of identity frequently lead to deeper dialogue about students' own backgrounds and the experiences of others.

Share Stories That Make Room for Student Sharing

Personal anecdotes-respectfully and thoughtfully shared by teachers-have great power. Stories should be chosen carefully, kept brief, and told at a level that invites appropriate student sharing.

Community Study or Student-Led Walking Tour

Community studies usually address up to three questions; structure can vary greatly and may involve research, interviews, art, writing, video or other media. A walking tour should also focus on a few themes and ask students to highlight neighborhood places they find meaningful in relation to a relevant social issue. Student age and physical limitations should be taken into consideration when planning a walking tour.

Without saying a word, classrooms send messages about diversity, relationship building, communication and the roles of teachers and students. Consider the different messages sent by these two classrooms:

Classroom 1

Desks are arranged in a U shape. The teacher's desk is in the front center of the room. On the wall is a poster of U.S. presidents, a copy of the Declaration of Independence and inspiring quotes from Winston Churchill, Robert F. Kennedy and Albert Einstein. Students are working quietly on an independent assignment.

Classroom 2

Desks are arranged in clusters of four with students facing one another. The teacher's desk is in the back corner of the room. On the wall is a display of student self-portraits, a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and inspiring quotes from Maya Angelou and César Chávez. Students are working with their table-mates on a group project.

Classroom setup should be student centered. Specifics will vary from teacher to teacher and class to class, but common elements include these:

Classroom milieu. Classrooms should be decorated with multicultural images that mirror student backgrounds and showcase the diversity of our society.

Arrangement of furniture and supplies. The arrangement will look different depending on age group and subject, but all teachers can draw on these goals when setting up a classroom: supporting collaboration, fostering dialogue, encouraging ownership and ensuring comfort.

Student roles and responsibilities. Classrooms will be most effective when structured to maximize student voice and participation.

Classroom norms. Norms and expectations should take into account different cultural and communication styles, as well as gender differences, language needs and the desire to challenge stereotypes. Students should be involved in setting classroom norms to generate buy-in.

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Thoughtful classroom setup and structure supports two of the four anti-bias domains: Diversity and Justice. A welcoming class space sets the tone for participatory engagement. Diverse images affect students' conscious and subconscious understanding of classroom values. Expectations and practices that honor diverse backgrounds also create a more just and equitable educational experience.

Strategies

Classroom "Audit"

A (nonjudgmental) classroom audit involves "reading" the messages conveyed by the images on the walls, the books on the shelves and the arrangement of the furniture with an eye toward diversity, equity and student empowerment. The audit also includes considering the types of interactions that teachers have with students and that students have with one another.

Student Jobs and Ownership of Classroom Space

Many daily tasks can be done by students who, given the opportunity, may create new and interesting ways to approach them. Real-world lessons related to work and responsibility can be reinforced in a classroom. Students can apply for a position and be rewarded or promoted for a job well done. Some classroom jobs might involve passing out materials, documenting or taking notes, managing a classroom library, filing papers or helping with a bulletin board. The job of "peacemaker" can work nicely in classrooms where students have been trained in conflict resolution. Jobs in a responsive classroom can accommodate multiple learning styles such as artistic, kinesthetic and verbal.

Gender-Neutral Practices

Many teachers, especially at the elementary level, seat or group students along gender lines. However, not everyone fits traditional gender categories. Some students may feel they are truly a different gender than their physical bodies suggest; others might not fit neatly into either the male or female identity category. Using gender-neutral categories or allowing students to choose the group with which they identify affirms the experiences of all students.

Differences shape who we are and what we know. Life, history, society and power cannot be understood from a single perspective; we need multiple viewpoints to truly see the world. Because of this, inclusive classrooms must function as learning communities built on shared inquiry and dialogue.

Dialogue is more than conversation. It is also different than debate, in which someone wins and someone loses. Dialogue requires openness to new ideas and collective learning. This is not an easy practice; for students (and teachers) to engage in dialogue, they must build and exercise specific skills:

Listening. Deeply listening to what others say and to the feelings, experiences and wisdom behind what they say.

Humility. Recognizing that, however passionately we hold ideas and opinions, other people may hold pieces of the puzzle that we don't.

Respect. Trusting the integrity of others, believing they have the right to their opinions (even when different from your own) and valuing others enough to risk sharing ideas.

Trust. Building a safe space to explore new ideas and work through conflicts, controversy and painful moments that may arise when talking about issues of injustice and oppression.

Voice. Speaking the truth as we see it and asking questions about things we don't know or understand, particularly on topics related to identity, power and justice.

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Shared inquiry and dialogue support two of the four anti-bias domains: Diversity and Action. Building the skills necessary to explore multiple perspectives fosters critical thinking, complex textual understanding and appreciation for diversity. Dialogue also supports active listening, respectful sharing and conflict resolution. A culture of shared inquiry offers a lived example of meaningful collaborative work and a model for community building.

Strategies

Naming Shared Inquiry as a Goal

Because many students experience classrooms that do not value shared inquiry and dialogue, it is important for teachers to create a safe environment before asking students to engage in this work. Safety can be established by discussing principles of engagement, demonstrating the teacher's commitment to collective learning or creating a set of discussion agreements.

Teaching Active Listening Skills

Active listening is a way of hearing and responding to another person that requires the listener to stop thinking about his or her own ideas and focus on the speaker. Active listening behavior includes asking good questions, listening without judgment and paraphrasing. These behaviors can be modeled through the use of talking circles or ordered sharing. Short practice activities can also strengthen active listening skills.

Rethinking Participation Norms

To most teachers, class participation means contributing to discussions, volunteering to answer questions or otherwise engaging in verbal exchanges. However, participation does not have to be verbal; gender, culture and ability may affect student comfort levels with verbal communication. Modeling equity and inclusiveness calls for a broader definition of participation that includes active listening, written response, artistic response and involvement in small groups. These options should all be valued as classroom participation.

Addressing Conflicts and Hurt Feelings

Teachers need to prepare for possible conflicts or hurt feelings when exploring personally or politically sensitive material. Teachers can encourage students to publicly or privately name "ouch moments"-times when comments or reactions (usually unintentional) cause upset or discomfort. It is also helpful for teachers to check in with students who seem upset as a result of a class activity or conversation.

Social-emotional learning, respect and safety are as important as literacy and critical thinking skills when exploring an anti-bias curriculum. Research shows that students need to feel both physically and emotionally safe to learn. This includes safety from stereotype threat, harassment and exclusion.

Creating a safe climate takes time and work. These are some of the most important components:

Active teaching of social-emotional skills

Attention to creating positive relationships

Bullying prevention and intervention

Community building

Explicit focus on understanding and appreciating differences

Meaningful conflict resolution

Teaching students to challenge bias and exclusion

Upstander training

Work on classroom climate and social-emotional learning cannot simply focus on empathy, kindness and inclusion. Social difference and bias underlie many unsafe and exclusionary behaviors; these issues need to be discussed explicitly. Appreciation for multicultural perspectives is also critical when teaching about relationship building, conflict management and community. This helps students learn to draw on many traditions and experiences and address social divisions in the classroom.

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Prioritizing social and emotional safety supports three of the four anti-bias domains: Identity, Diversity and Action. This practice supports a classroom community in which students feel secure enough to engage in respectful, productive conversations about identity and diversity. This work also models actions necessary to nurture inclusive, respectful connections across lines of difference.

Strategies

Classroom Contracts

A contract of norms and behaviors can help define the classroom community as a socially and emotionally safe place. Students should participate in shaping the contract, identifying a list of agreements about how class members will treat one another, talk together and so on. Issues such as identity, difference and power should be addressed explicitly. For example, a contract could include "Listen with respect to the experiences of others," "Try to understand what someone is saying before rushing to judgment" or "Put-downs of any kind are never OK."

Explicit Anti-bullying or Community-Building Curricula

Many powerful anti-bullying and community- building curricula, when integrated into the regular school curriculum, can build social-emotional skills and teach students to manage conflict. Below are a few suggested resources. Not all address diversity or bias issues specifically; be sure to add these issues to the existing materials if they're missing.

Tribes Learning Community. Research-based approaches to classroom and school-wide community building, social-emotional education and the development of positive learning communities (all grades).

Respect for All Project (GroundSpark). Award-winning films, curriculum guides and teacher training on issues of bias-based bullying, family diversity, gender role expectations and LGBT inclusivity (all grades).

Steps to Respect/Second Step (Committee for Children). Research-based social-emotional learning and bullying-prevention programs (pre-K through middle school).

Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History (Learning for Justice). Documentary and teaching guide about one student's ordeal at the hands of anti-gay bullies and his fight against hate and harassment (middle and high school).

A Guide to the Film Bully by Lee Hirsch (Facing History and Ourselves). Film and discussion guide on bullying and its profound impact on several different students and families (middle and high school).

Participation in Mix It Up at Lunch Day

Mix It Up is a Learning for Justice program designed to help students identify, question and cross social boundaries. Launched in 2001, Mix It Up recognizes that some of the deepest social divisions in schools are found in the cafeteria. Each fall, Learning for Justice sponsors a national Mix It Up at Lunch Day when schools around the country encourage students to move out of their comfort zones and share a meal with peers who are different from them.

Discipline and behavior management are central to classroom culture. How are students encouraged to treat one another? What happens when they make poor choices or present behavioral challenges? What shapes student-teacher interactions? And what happens when conflicts arise?

This critical practice asks teachers to think about behavior management in light of five key principles:

Belief in the dignity of every person

Community building

Equity and fairness

Respect for cultural differences

Respect for the safety and inclusion of all individuals and groups

These values can be creatively infused into disciplinary practices. However, in general, responsive classrooms address three key aspects.

First, behavior management systems must support safe, inclusive communities by enforcing high standards for respectful interaction; incorporating student-generated discipline policies; teaching conflict resolution; and actively addressing all instances of bias, bullying, exclusion or disrespect.

Second, disciplinary incidents must go beyond punishment and be treated as opportunities for growth, restitution and community building. This is not to say that rules violations should not be met with consequences. However, if community respect is to be a core classroom value, students should not be cast out of the group, even if they struggle to live up to expectations.

Finally, behavior management practices must reflect fairness, equity and cultural awareness. Research shows that students of color and special education students face disproportionate rates of discipline, suspension and expulsion. These patterns have devastating social consequences. Applying disciplinary rules fairly requires self-awareness and willingness to suspend judgment (positive as well as negative) about individual students. Culture also plays a role in disciplinary judgments; in some cases, "inappropriate behaviors" may reflect a cultural mismatch between the norms of the school and the norms of a student's home culture. Teachers can better understand the relationship between culture and discipline by working on a related critical practice: self-awareness and cultural competency.

Connection to Anti-bias Education

Taking a values-based approach to behavior management and discipline supports one of the four anti-bias domains: Justice. This practice exposes students to community-building goals and to a system of justice that values all people and builds connections rather than creates divisions.

Strategies

Student-Generated Agreements and Contracts

Involving students in the design of classroom discipline policies can go a long way toward establishing buy-in and shared ownership of classroom culture. Ideally, students will work on the policies as a class, but teachers can also work individually with students who need extra support.

"Zero Indifference" but Not Zero Tolerance

Although zero-tolerance policies are popular, mounting evidence suggests that this approach does not make schools safer. An alternative (recommended by the American Civil Liberties Union; GLSEN; the Anti-Defamation League; the Respect for All Project; and Learning for Justice) is taking a "zero-indifference" approach to bullying, harassment and other disciplinary issues. Zero indifference means never letting disrespectful conduct go unaddressed; school staff always name and respond to behaviors, but they do not implement automatic suspension, expulsion or other punishments.

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is an approach to school discipline (and criminal justice) that emphasizes repairing harm and restoring relationships rather than simply punishing those who have engaged in misconduct. Restorative justice spans a wide variety of practices and strategies, including peacemaking circles, peer jury processes, mediation, conferencing and classroom discussions focused on building empathy.

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Critical Practices for Anti-bias Education

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Learning for Justice | Family and Community Engagement

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Learning for Justice | Family and Community Engagement

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Another excellent article from learningforjustice.org, this focuses on how to better engage the family's and broader community of students in a more equitable way. This obviously ties into the "Equity & Inclusion" category as well!

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Critical Practices
* Recognizing Caregivers as Funds of Knowledge
* Home-to-School Connections
* Inclusion of Community Wisdom
* Engagement With Community Interests and Concerns

The Learning for Justice article " Community Organizing Uplifts Immigrant Students " reminds us that engaging caregivers and community members "is critical to student success and a building block for wider civic participation for both children and adults." Collaborating with families and communities provides educators with opportunities for reciprocal sharing that can benefit students, educators, schools and communities. When we center children and their needs, we recognize that school is only one aspect of a child's life and experiences. Educators are not alone in the work of social justice education, and families and community members can be strong advocates and teachers as well.

Because all students' households are different, we use the terms caregivers and families interchangeably to define the adult(s) responsible for the care of the student. Using the language of caregivers and families references the larger support system around students, including parental partners, stepparents, extended family members, foster parents, coaches, mentors, teachers and community leaders.

Educators can model inclusivity in their language by ensuring all materials addressing families and caregivers are inclusive. For example, instead of sending home a note that opens with the phrase "Dear parents," use a more general greeting like "Dear families." Instead of asking for "mother's name" and "father's name" on a form, have a space for "names of caregivers/family members."

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Educators are not alone in the work of social justice education, and families and community members can be strong advocates and teachers as well.

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An article listing a number of different strategies for connecting with students who have experienced trauma.

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Vol. 77

No. 2

Abstract

1. Expect Unexpected Responses

2. Employ Thoughtful Interactions

3. Be Specific About Relationship Building

4. Promote Predictability and Consistency

5. Teach Strategies to "Change the Channel"

6. Give Supportive Feedback to Reduce Negative Thinking

7. Create Islands of Competence

8. Limit Exclusionary Practices

Fostering a Feeling of Safety

Small changes in classroom interactions can make a big difference for traumatized students.

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Credit: Shannon Fagan

Abstract

1. Expect Unexpected Responses

2. Employ Thoughtful Interactions

3. Be Specific About Relationship Building

4. Promote Predictability and Consistency

5. Teach Strategies to "Change the Channel"

6. Give Supportive Feedback to Reduce Negative Thinking

7. Create Islands of Competence

8. Limit Exclusionary Practices

Fostering a Feeling of Safety

Up to two-thirds of U.S. children have experienced at least one type of serious childhood trauma, such as abuse, neglect, natural disaster, or experiencing or witnessing violence. Trauma is possibly the largest public health issue facing our children today (CDC, 2019). Traumatized students are especially prone to difficulty in self-regulation, negative thinking, being on high alert, difficulty trusting adults, and inappropriate social interactions (Lacoe, 2013; Terrasi & de Galarce, 2017). They often haven't learned to express emotions healthily and instead show their distress through aggression, avoidance, shutting down, or other off-putting behaviors. These actions can feel antagonistic to teachers who don't understand the root cause of the student's behavior, which can lead to misunderstandings, ineffective interventions, and missed learning time.

Neurobiologically, students can't learn if they don't feel safe, known, and cared for within their schools (Aupperle et al., 2012). When teachers are proactive and responsive to the needs of students suffering from traumatic stress and make small changes in the classroom that foster a feeling of safety, it makes a huge difference in their ability to learn. Here are some examples.

1. Expect Unexpected Responses

First, teachers must learn to put students' reactions into context-and not to take them personally. Students with trauma histories can react and behave in seemingly unexpected ways, such as having a sudden outburst during a favorite activity or crying out of the blue one second after laughing. Teachers may be taken by surprise. They say things like, "But he was fine this morning, I didn't see that coming!" or "She normally loves playing the drums in music class. I have no idea where her reaction came from." This uncertainty leaves the teacher in a constant state of hyper-alertness when interacting with the student. This in turn can result in fatigue, as the teacher is guarded and unable to predict what will happen from one moment to another.

One way to understand these reactions is to think of the student as a soda can, and events that may trigger their trauma stress as shaking that can. We can't tell by looking if the can was recently shaken, but if it was, opening the can results in an unexpected explosive, messy reaction. If a student is triggered and experiencing heightened emotion, even a benign direction such as, "Please move over to make room for Jenny" could result in an "explosion" that the teacher never saw coming. By using trauma-sensitive strategies in the classroom, we can help reduce the times our students are "shaken."

2. Employ Thoughtful Interactions

Traumatized students often behave in ways that may interfere with teaching and learning, which can be frustrating. Teachers are in a position of power, and these students may be overly defensive, anticipating adult criticism, or defiant, as a way to assert control (Jennings, 2018). Yet for traumatized students, the ability to learn and behave appropriately can be person-dependent. When they are with a safe and supportive adult, their behavior reflects that.

Consider this scenario drawn from schools I've worked with: Trevor, a 6th grader whose father overdosed on heroin two years ago and who has witnessed ongoing domestic abuse throughout his childhood, was in Ms. Carlton's class for part of the day and Ms. Finch's class for the other part. Ms. Carlton had a reputation of working well with hard-to-reach kids, and sure enough, Trevor behaved in a stellar way in her class. When he was with Ms. Finch, however, he was sent to the office nearly three times a week for explosive behavior.

The teacher is 50 percent of every interaction with a student: By changing the way we give a direction or respond, we can reduce problematic behavior. Ms. Carlton had taken the time to build a trusting relationship with Trevor and learned to give directions in a way that he would respond well to. Interaction strategies are a type of accommodation that typically go unnamed and unwritten, but they were the reason that Trevor could feel safe and access the curriculum (Minahan & Rappaport, 2012).

If Ms. Carlton had written down the successful strategies she used with Trevor, the list might have started with avoiding authoritative directives such as, "Pick that up." To give Trevor a sense of control, Ms. Carlton always embedded choice in her directions, asking, "Do you want to be in the front of the line or the back of the line?" instead of simply telling him to "line up." This helped prevent a poor reaction (Minahan, 2019).

Ms. Carlton also conveyed respect and transparency by providing the reason behind each direction. Instead of saying, "No backpacks on the floor. I don't want to trip and fall!" Ms. Carlton would say, "Oh dear, I hope I don't fall. I have a bad knee! Could you please move your backpack?" Stating the reason first assured that Trevor knew the context (and necessity) of the demand.

Conversely, Ms. Finch would often go up close to Trevor, tower over him, and say in front of his peers, "Stop tapping your pencil!" This typically ended in a power struggle and Trevor's escalating behavior. Trevor, like many traumatized students, had experienced a loss of control in his life, and power struggles with an authoritative figure were particularly triggering. Ms. Carlton instinctively knew that a more private nonverbal direction could be less confrontational for a student in "fight or flight" mode. She would write, "Please stop tapping" on a piece of paper, put it gently on Trevor's desk without his peers noticing, and then give him space by walking away quickly. When possible, she also gave Trevor extended time to comply with directions to avoid power struggles, asking, for example, "Can you please pick that up before lunch?" rather than, "Pick that up now" (Minahan, 2019). This allowed Trevor time to decompress and respond rationally.

3. Be Specific About Relationship Building

At one point in the year, Ms. Carlton told Ms. Finch that building a relationship with Trevor was key to her success with him, and she suggested that Ms. Finch do the same. Unfortunately, saying, "Build a relationship" is too vague and leaves too much up to the teacher's instincts. Instead, Ms. Carlton could have told Ms. Finch that she greeted Trevor every day at the classroom door and asked him about the Avengers or basketball. She could have told Ms. Finch how she used the "two by ten" rule; she talked to him for two minutes a day for 10 days in a row about topics unrelated to academics or behavior. Whenever Ms. Carlton could see she wouldn't have time for this in the 10-day period, she asked the counselor or special education teacher to cover her class for two minutes so she could go for a walk with Trevor. She repeated this trust-building strategy several times throughout the year, especially after he exhibited anger or frustration and after school vacations and long weekends.

Ms. Carlton skillfully used relationship-building and interaction strategies to work with Trevor. Yet the impact could have been greater had she written and shared those strategies with Ms. Finch and the rest of Trevor's team via a shared document, behavior plan, or student success plan (Minahan, 2019). Likewise, if counselors, school nurses, and psychologists write and share such techniques with each classroom teacher, kids like Trevor, when triggered, wouldn't always have to leave class to find a safe adult.

Not knowing what is coming next can put anyone on high alert, especially traumatized students. Providing predictability through visual schedules of the class agenda or school day can help. Ms. Carlton was adamant about previewing any changes to the normal routine ahead of time (saying, "We are going to have indoor recess today because of the snow," or "The DVD player isn't working so we can't watch a science video at the end of class today"). This prepared Trevor and thus elicited a calmer response.

A teacher's behavior can also feel unpredictable to traumatized students. When students are working independently and quietly-doing what they are supposed to be doing-they don't know when they will get the teacher's attention. But when students are doing the wrong thing-like drumming on the desk with a pencil in each hand or swearing-teachers are more predictable and react quickly! Because predictability is comforting to students with anxiety and trauma histories, they may resort to getting the teacher's attention through inappropriate means. Trevor could get Ms. Finch to react immediately by flipping his water bottle noisily, but could go 20 minutes without so much as eye contact from her when he was quietly reading.

To counter this imbalance and create an overall feeling of safety, teachers can use predictable positive attention (Minahan, 2014). During independent work time, if a teacher says to a student "Great work! I'll be back to check on you," the student has no way of predicting how long they need to wait-and from past experience they know that the teacher may forget to return altogether. Using predictable positive attention, however, the teacher can say, "I am going to check on you in 10 minutes," put a timer on the student's desk, and add, "Come tap me on the shoulder when the timer goes off." If the teacher has many students in the class that could benefit from this, she could transfer the strategy to small groups: "I will check on this desk group at X time."

Another strategy for providing predictable attention, especially for middle and high school students, is to hand an anxious or traumatized student a sticky note with a time on it as they walk into class each day. The first time, the note will need to be explained: "If you don't understand something in class, please don't worry-I am going to check on you during independent work time at 11:45, and I will answer any questions you have then." Ms. Carlton found this strategy comforting to Trevor. This predictable check-in pairs the negative thoughts the student may have ("I don't know how to do this") with a reassuring thought ("But my teacher will be here in seven minutes!"). The student can better tolerate uncomfortable feelings when they know help and a positive interaction are coming. Telling the student what will happen and when and always following through establishes the teacher as a consistent, reliable adult.

5. Teach Strategies to "Change the Channel"

Traumatized students often engage in inaccurate thinking, tending to focus on the negative. Common classroom management strategies often only exasperate this tendency. How many of us have seen frequent movement breaks on a student's IEP or student success plan? It is one of the most common accommodations that we offer to students who seem dysregulated. Unfortunately, during these breaks, students can ruminate on negative memories, current stressors, angry thoughts, or worries. If we ask a high school student who is getting angry and becoming agitated to take a walk, he may ruminate the whole time and return just as angry. Sending a 1st grader to a "calming chair" can leave her to perseverate on worrying thoughts. Instead, we need to help them "change the channel." Both Ms. Carlton and Ms. Finch used breaks with Trevor, but in vastly different ways.

When adults can't sleep, we often read a book or watch TV, which distracts us from uncomfortable thoughts so we can fall back asleep. Teachers can use the same principle for kids with trauma and anxiety: Teach students that their brain is like a remote control that they can use to "switch the channel" to help them calm down (Minahan & Rappaport, 2012). These switching activities are called cognitive distractions or thought breaks and are incompatible with negative thinking. A listening center or "find the picture" activity can be helpful to young children. For older students, you might try Mad Libs, trivia, or more abstract strategies such as counting all the green items in the room, saying the alphabet backwards, or thinking of the first 10 lines of a favorite movie. Ms. Carlton taught Trevor to do Star Wars trivia when he was upset, which helped him calm down quickly. Conversely when Ms. Finch had Trevor go for a walk, his negative thinking would escalate, and he would often not return to class.

6. Give Supportive Feedback to Reduce Negative Thinking

Many traumatized students interpret information through a negativity amplifier. When a teacher says, "Please correct the first problem," the student might hear, "You are stupid." Or a student might report that the teacher screamed at her when the teacher was really using a calm tone, as even neutral facial expressions can be misinterpreted. It is helpful to smile and explicitly say when you are happy with the student, a strategy Ms. Carlton utilized. When giving negative feedback, teachers can use the positive sandwich approach-starting and ending with a positive comment: (1) "I love how you remembered the formula," (2) "You made a small calculation error there," (3) "Great job getting problem #3 correct."

7. Create Islands of Competence

Recognizing areas of strength in students is a powerful way to combat the poor self-concept and negative thinking associated with trauma (Jennings, 2018). To support a more accurate self-concept, teachers can provide what Robert Brooks calls "islands of competence" for students swimming in a sea of inadequacy (2003). When a student thinks negatively, the negative moments during the day tend to weigh more heavily than the positive moments. We need to counter this effect with positive experiences. Educator teams need to ask themselves, "Does the student feel competent during the day?" If the answer is no, contriving an island of competence for the student is in order. Ms. Carlton often asked Trevor to help a younger student or a peer who was struggling in an academic area Trevor was strong in, or had him fix the stapler when it was malfunctioning. She would also point out in a written note to Trevor that he was the first student to finish a math activity. In high school, educators may want to foster students' talents by never letting them drop electives (which might require creativity in scheduling academic support in core classes).

It is important that students experience competence to develop a more accurate self-narrative and to begin to create a positive future picture of themselves. We want them to say, "I really helped that student with her artwork. When I grow up, I could work with kids." Or "I am good at fixing things. I could be a mechanic someday."

8. Limit Exclusionary Practices

Behavior is communication, and we've looked at how traumatized students often communicate feelings through their behavior. Teachers' behavior is also communication-and it may not be communicating the message we are striving to send. Common teacher practices such as ignoring inappropriate behavior, sending students to the office, or sending younger kids to sit alone at a back table or in the hallway can unintentionally trigger students who have experienced abandonment or neglect. We need to remember that when some of our students were young and cried, no one came. Ignoring them can trigger a trauma response and make them feel the teacher doesn't like them or is even happy that they are upset.

Ms. Finch would ignore Trevor when he was expressing anger, such as by crumpling up a paper, growling, or slinging a book from his desk onto the floor. On the other hand, Ms. Carlton responded to such moments at the beginning of the year by validating Trevor's feelings ("I am sorry you are upset" or "I see that you are angry"). This is a much more empathetic approach, will preserve the relationship, and will avoid triggering a trauma response in the student.

Another practice to be cautious about is using time with a preferred adult as an incentive. For example, a principal might say, "If you get all your homework done this week, you and I will have lunch together!" The problem with this is that if the student doesn't get all their homework done, then the principal withholds their attention and time. This implies the relationship is conditional and can trigger an abandonment trauma response for some students. It is better to use one-to-one time with students in a noncontingent way. This way adults are communicating, "I like you for who you are," not "I like you when you behave the right way."

Fostering a Feeling of Safety

Students can't learn unless they feel safe. When it comes to student trauma, there is much that is beyond educators' power, but there is also a great deal they can do to build a supportive and sensitive environment where students feel safe, comfortable, take risks, learn, and even heal.

Reflect & Discuss

➛ As Minahan writes, "Students can't learn if they don't feel safe." What small changes are you willing to try in your classroom to foster a sense of safety among traumatized students?

➛ Think about one of your students who struggles with behavior. How could you help him "switch the channel" when he is upset?

➛ Do you routinely share-and exchange ideas about-what's working with a traumatized student? How could you better improve lines of communication across the whole support team?

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Small changes in classroom interactions can make a big difference for traumatized students.

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Parental Involvement in Education & Schools: Benefits and Strategies

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Parental Involvement in Education & Schools: Benefits and Strategies

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An article listing both the benefits of increased involvement of parents or guardians in a student's education and strategies on how to foster that.

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Parents have a strong influence on their child. They have a direct influence that is stronger than that of teachers, friends, and media.

For this reason, a parent's positive attitude and support towards their children's education is considerable. It can inspire and empower the child to develop good learning habits.

This results in academic success. In the long run, the child experiences economic and social benefits.

Sadly, many schools are unsuccessful in getting parents to take an active role in their child's education. Some common mistakes educators make are:

Making uninvolved parents feel guilty.

Inattentiveness to the parent's perspective.

Poor communication.

Indifference to the individuality of the parents.

We share four simple but effective strategies that can promote productive parent engagement in your school. But first, here are a few reasons parental involvement is important.

1. Parent Involvement Leads to Reduced Absenteeism

Research shows that parental involvement encourages children to attend school regularly.

Findings from a study on middle school students in a public school, for instance, show a strong negative relationship between parental involvement and absenteeism. As the involvement of parents increased, absenteeism reduced.

Why is a high rate of absenteeism bad?

Research from the University of California shows absenteeism negatively affects social-emotional learning (SEL). It hinders the development of social skills like self-efficacy, social awareness, self-management, and a growth mindset.

Absenteeism causes a decrease in academic performance. Studies have proven that as students miss classes, their academic performance drops.

It can lead to student dropout. This is according to Jason A. Schoeneberger, author of the Longitudinal Attendance Patterns study. Dropouts have long-term consequences like unemployment, low income, and higher incidences of crime involvement.

2. It Promotes Better Behavior

The same study on absenteeism among middle school students shows that a parent who's involved in a child's academics makes a big impression on the student. This parental support, in turn, causes:

A boost in the student's self-esteem

An improvement in their attitude towards school.

Less disobedience

The ability for the child to build and maintain healthy relationships with peers and teachers

Reduced inappropriate classroom behavior, such as bullying and fighting

Conversely, studies show that uninvolved parents or parents who disagree with the teachers may negatively affect the child's behavior. The child could also develop a negative attitude towards the teachers.

3. Increased Student Achievement

Parent involvement motivates children to learn, leading to higher grades.

The level of involvement is crucial in producing a high impact on the student's performance. The higher the degree of parental involvement, the higher the impact on the child's academic achievement.

This research involves three types of parent involvement-high, medium, and low.

Results show a higher student achievement from high and medium-involved parents compared to children from low-involved families.

A similar study published on IOPscience further proves this concept. Results show that students from intensely involved parents have higher test scores in all subjects compared to children with uninvolved parents.

4. Parent Involvement Improves Parent and Teacher Satisfaction

Besides promoting student success, parental involvement in a child's education is beneficial to the teachers and the parents. It builds a positive relationship characterized by mutual respect. They're able to work together to promote student learning and performance.

This partnership benefits the child's teacher in that:

Parents develop an appreciation for the challenges teachers face. It makes them feel valued. This gives the teacher morale and boosts their performance, creating higher job satisfaction.

The interaction between the teacher and the parent helps the teacher know the student more. It enables them to teach in a personalized way.

There is better communication between parents, teachers, and school administrators. Parents are more likely to accept teachers' requests for help with homework completion.

The parents involved in their children's learning process also benefit in that:

They understand their child's emotional and intellectual needs better.

They gain confidence in their parenting capabilities.

The parent learns their children's development stages and how to use positive reinforcement for each stage.

The improved communication gives parents the confidence to raise any concerns they may have about the school's practices.

The parents become more committed to the school. They could become more active in policy-making and other important processes in the school.

4 Strategies for Successful Parental Involvement in Children's Education

Successful parent involvement entails active and continuous participation in the children's education.

Here are some strategies that can promote successful parental involvement.

1. Educate the Parents

Some parents may not have any experience in getting involved in their children's academics. They'll need direction on where to start and tips on how to get involved in a way that benefits the child.

Engage parents by holding training and workshops that address:

The importance of parental involvement.

How to create a favorable learning environment at home.

Ways to track a child's progress in classes.

How to encourage a child to develop positive study habits at home.

How to guide a child to create academic goals.

Many parents may avoid attending these training sessions. Try using incentives like food and prizes to encourage attendance.

Using webinars also makes it possible to have face-to-face discussions with parents from any location.

2. Create All-Round Activities

Academic activities that get the parent involved such as collaborative homework are great. But it's important to include school activities that promote SEL.

Use SEL enrichment materials that encourage family involvement.

Our evidence and research-based Positive Action Family Kit promotes SEL learning while strengthening family relationships.

Each lesson is a short 15 minutes, which the parents can teach their child at home or in school. It promotes the child's feeling of self-worth while increasing their interest in learning. As the parent teaches their child, their parenting skills will also improve.

You can also organize special parenting classes using the Positive Action Family Curriculum Kit. Parents can learn alongside their children about the importance of positive behavioral choices in improving feelings of self-worth.

3. Personalize Parent Involvement

Personalization is important in encouraging parents to be involved in their children's education.

It's essential to know each family and its unique characteristics. Work on tailoring school-based activities and communications to suit these needs.

In a multicultural class, parents with limited English skills, for example, could get frustrated with your communications. This could cause them to avoid getting involved in their child's education. They could feel uncomfortable attending school meetings and working with teachers.

Work on building successful partnerships with this group by providing information and materials in their first language. Bilingual school staff can also help in making communication, such as emails, in the parents' first language.

Find innovative ways to address the specific needs of parents with disabilities. Accommodate them in the learning environment by including varying types of school events and activities.

As much as parental involvement is beneficial to the child, some parents may take time to acknowledge it.

Understand these parents and give them time to warm up to the idea. Make it clear that no child will be mistreated if the parent is not ready to get involved in the child's education.

At Positive Action, we know the importance of building relationships with all types of parents. We provide a variety of family kits that can easily fit into the lives of busy families. A Spanish Family Kit is also available to cater to non-English speaking families in your school.

4. Encourage Open Communication

Open communication between teachers and parents can help in establishing trust and building relationships. This can increase parental involvement.

Start by arranging parent-teacher conferences at the start of the school year. Parents and teachers can share a bit about themselves and the parents can ask questions and give their opinions. This will set the tone for open communication throughout the year.

Open communication will encourage parents to share their child's strengths and weaknesses. They'll make the teacher aware of events happening at home that could affect the child's behavior in class.

Teachers can freely share the child's progress and make recommendations to improve their SEL and academic growth.

You don't want to overwhelm parents with one or two long, extensive messages. Instead, plan for short and regular communications throughout the school year.

Parents should know:

When to expect communication from educators.

Which tool they will use-text, email, social media, school website-it's best if all the teachers use one channel.

They have an option to choose which updates or information they can receive from the school.

How to raise concerns and give feedback. And as educators, it's important to make the parents feel that their opinion counts.

Whichever tool you choose for communication, ensure that it's available to all parents.

Be sure to share actionable information. You can share details on upcoming activities or homework assignments that the parent can get involved in.

Ready to Promote Student Success Through Effective Parental Involvement?

Our family involvement programs help parents get and stay involved in their child's school progress.

They encourage family members and children to work together to act, think, and feel positive about themselves. This helps them to become better parents and successful students.

It leads to a continuously positive learning environment in school and at home.

Many schools have benefited from the Positive Action program. Here are some positive results from Noonan Elementary school in Alice, Texas.
"The assemblies are creative and fun," Jackson says. "It's how we link the program to parents; it's a part of our PTA program. We send news of our achievements to our local paper." "Our parents are involved in a big way and our superb staff is dedicated to the program. They teach the lessons faithfully, and they recognize and reward positive actions every day," says Carvajal. The principal and the staff-including our kitchen staff and our maintenance crew, as well as our teachers and administrative people-believe in the program." "When we started the Positive Action program, we were at the 11th percentile in writing; now we are consistently in the 90th percentiles," Jackson reports. "We are the second largest elementary school in our district and we are recognized as one of the top 25 percent of the schools in Texas academically. Our walls are covered with trophies and plaques we've received over the years for our efforts-academically and behaviorally. Our test scores, which started out low 16 years ago, have steadily climbed over the years, and we have very few negative behaviors." "I've been an educator for 32 years," Carvajal laughs. "Positive Action helps me handle anything that comes my way!"
We have effective school programs suitable for young children in Pre-K, middle, and elementary school as well as high school students. Grab a Positive Action Family Kit and begin the transformation in your school.

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The Benefits and Strategies of Parental Involvement in Education & Schools

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How families will transform our broken school system

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How families will transform our broken school system

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Great TEDTalk by Veronica Crespin-Palmer, sharing her own family history and talking about how increased involvement from families can lead to increased academic achievement for students, especially for students of color. Much of what Veronica talks about is also applicable to the "Equity & Inclusion" category.

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How families will transform our broken school system | Veronica Crespin-Palmer | TEDxMileHigh

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SEL Video Lesson of the Week - Resilience

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SEL Video Lesson of the Week - Resilience

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A succinct video on resilience by the YouTube channel "Lessons for SEL", which releases weekly videos on different aspects of social emotional learning that are easily digestible.

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SEL Video Lesson of the Week - Resilience

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Building Strong Foundations With Classroom Routines

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Building Strong Foundations With Classroom Routines

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Nice, quick video from Edutopia discussing establishing routines at the beginning of a year (or semester) and evaluating how those routines work out and reflecting on how they can be improved year-to-year (or semester-to-semester).

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Building Strong Foundations With Classroom Routines

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19 Effective Classroom Procedures You Can Try

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19 Effective Classroom Procedures You Can Try

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An article from Indeed that lists a number of different things to consider when developing procedures for your classroom.

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www.indeed.com needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding.

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What is Equity and Why Do Our Children Deserve it?

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What is Equity and Why Do Our Children Deserve it?

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An excellent TEDTalk by Rodney Robinson, 2019 National Teacher of the Year, speaking on the importance of economic & cultural equity and second chances in education.

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What is Equity and Why Do Our Children Deserve it? | Rodney Robinson | TEDxCharlottesville

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Building Better Relationships With Parents at the Classroom, School, and District Level

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Building Better Relationships With Parents at the Classroom, School, and District Level

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Good article from Edutopia on relationship building with the family's of students at all levels of the educational ecosystem they inhabit.

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The need to partner with caregivers is even more important now with so many students learning at home.

Family + Student + School + Policy makers/Voters = Student Success.

Little did we know then that the closure of school nine years later would see a tightening of these variables-in particular, those between the school and home. The pandemic has amplified our need to work together like never before.

The research in parent engagement makes it clear that even during challenging times, when so much is unknown and when our methods of communication have been disrupted, it is more vital than ever to strengthen our interactions with those at home supporting our students.

Research shows that activating parent engagement has a direct impact on student engagement. Generally, we see benefits such as higher grades and test scores along with greater social skills and better reported behavior. And when we're faced with virtual rooms of deactivated cameras, or students who are not submitting work or attending office hours for aid, we need every ally out there fully ready to help.

Engaging Parents Is a Two-Pronged Approach

Engaging parents can be a two-pronged plan. One is to focus on the micro by building up communication between the individual teachers and family. The second is to focus on the macro by building up communication and support by the district or organization and the family.

Last year, I wrote about the steps a teacher can take to increase parent engagement. These " 8Ps of Parent Engagement " can apply in any classroom environment, but in virtual or hybrid learning, I wanted to lift up the following:

Praise: Give our families grace. Praise the successes, however small they may be, and find ways to reach out with positives as well as with requests for support.

Personality: Share your own personality and character. Your humanity and individualism can pull students into learning and families into caring about class.

Piece of Cake: Make things easier for our families to engage with the classroom. It means more effort from the classroom teacher, but more parents will tune in if there's flexibility in our methods of communication and flexibility in our timing of face-to-face or synchronous meetings.

There are also steps that a district or school can take to increase parents' engagement. During school closure, my district, San Gabriel Unified in Los Angeles, recognized the need to rethink our parent outreach. So as the 21st-century learning and professional development coordinator for our district, I haven't just been running PD for our teachers and staff. I've been running a learning track for parents as well that goes beyond merely communicating district decisions. Our Parents as Partners learning series began in August and has become a symbol of how committed SGUSD is to deepening our relationship with families as a means to support our students.

The webinar series began with sessions featuring Devorah Heitner, author of Screenwise. As an expert in digital parenting, she provided advice to help parents navigate increased screen time. She also provided actionable tips to help students build and maintain friendships online.

Another webinar featured Dr. Sameer Hinduja, codirector of the Cyberbullying Research Center, who spoke about cyberbullying and helping our students become more empathetic online and offline. Dr. Hinduja posed that "schools should be working to intentionally partner with parents.... We need a united front to encourage positive, helpful, and even kind interactions among your students-whether they are playing Roblox together, participating in a group chat about a homework assignment, or are seeing each other in person two days a week on campus."

We're providing grade-level meetups to help parents across the district connect and solve problems together to help with their own social and emotional wellness. We're bringing in an expert in kinesiology to talk to the parents about helping our kids to remain physically active at home. After all, physical wellness positively impacts mental wellness.

We've provided trainings in Google Classroom and Zoom so that our families can be the first step in tech support for our students. We hosted a webinar to talk to parents about the whys and hows of diagnostics, encouraging them to allow students to be more independent in their online assessments.

Our series has signaled a tightening of the partnership between parents and schools, and we see its creation as an unintentional outcome that could perhaps remain with us even after this pandemic ends.

How to Create a Parents as Partners Learning Series

Interested in setting up your own Parents as Partners series? Here are some actionable steps and things we are continuing to learn along the way:

Survey stakeholders for topics: Survey families to see what they need to help support their students. Survey teachers to see what they need most from the families at home. Developing topics is about listening to the needs of parents and playing a role in providing those needs.

Use a calendar with hyperlinks to registrations: Set up an interactive calendar of events using Google Calendar.

Make it inclusive: Provide translators for your major events to ensure that all parents can learn with the community. Put the recording on YouTube so that people can use captions in different languages.

Get the school communities involved: We had a middle school student compose an original piece that plays as parents enter from the waiting room. Principals and PTA parents chime in on the chat to keep conversations going. We use our PTAs to help promote upcoming events.

There are many things we've learned during this time. For one, regardless of our learning environment, we can't do this alone. We need to not only communicate with families but recruit them into the learning of their students as well. We need all the help we can get, and with parents as partners, we can better meet the needs of our students.

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Building Better Relationships With Parents at the Classroom, School, and District Level

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The need to partner with caregivers is even more important now with so many students learning at home. Family + Student + School + Policy makers/Voters = Student Success. Little did we know then that the closure of school nine years later would see a tightening of these variables-in particular, those between the school and home.

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Cultivating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education Environments

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Cultivating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education Environments

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An excellent section of the Resilient Educator website that links to articles about many different aspects of equitable education practices: culturally responsive teaching (CRT), differentiated instruction, how to best serve our ELL & neurodiverse students and how teachers can create and foster and inclusive learning environment. There's even some aspects that would fit well in the "SEL" section!

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Cultivating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education Environments

Racial and cultural diversity are hallmarks of our society. To celebrate this diversity, and cultivate harmony and respect for all peoples, educators must nurture equality and inclusion within the classroom. Students enter the classroom carrying an assortment of beliefs. This may include racial and cultural prejudices picked up from their neighborhoods, pop culture, and their families. Educators can help combat prejudice and racial discord by supporting positive behaviors among students, fostering a sense of belonging for all students and their families, and instilling respect for all peoples.

We've gathered a range of resources to help educators create a culturally inclusive classroom, one that celebrates diversity and inclusion in education while encouraging students to spread the values of inclusion and cultural respect in their everyday lives. Providing instruction through a lens of diversity promotes tolerance of people with differing ideals and practice. It fosters cultural respect and understanding of 'the other,' and may even reduce bullying.

Providing equitable access to education and supporting tolerance of those who look different or have special needs creates a positive effect on learning. Classroom management falters when students experience friction with other students. By actively engaging in learning activities that instill respect for diversity, the classroom can become a place where respect is a cornerstone and intolerance becomes abhorrent.

The classroom isn't an island. Its walls, even adorned with posters of diverse figures from history, are porous to ideas. By teaching students about the contributions that all cultures bring to our society, educators can encourage them to spread this respect for diversity beyond school. Integrated and diverse classrooms promote critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. Racial and economic diversity within the classroom results in higher test scores - a quantifiable benefit, of course - but the less tangible reward, a respect for the dignity of every human, is the bedrock of any healthy community.

Teaching Styles

The cultivation of diversity, inclusion, and equity starts in the classroom. How an instructor teaches a class is important and influences how well students absorb these concepts. Should a teacher adopt a one-style-fits-all approach? Or should they personalize their instruction according to the learning environment? These articles introduce educators to different teaching style approaches that help students embrace diversity and inclusion.

Diversity Activities in the Classroom

The following section includes links to resources containing activities designed to help students understand the importance of empathy and respect for other cultures and cultural activities, including language, religious practices, cuisine and other cultural markers. By nurturing an awareness of other cultural beliefs and customs, educators can create a multicultural classroom that cultivates learning via cultural diversity activities. Ultimately, these cultural diversity activity ideas can help students from different backgrounds succeed in the classroom environment.

Inclusive Teaching

This section features inclusive education activities for teachers, helping them find ways to effectively manage an inclusive classroom for the benefit of all students.

Creating an Equitable Learning Environment

"Am I biased?" To support equity in the classroom, each teacher, regardless of race or cultural background, must learn to assess their own biases in order to view every student as an individual. Some of the resources in this section can help educators identify and overcome their own biases and embrace difficult conversations. These conversations within the school environment are crucial for creating fair school policies and for cultivating a willingness among teachers to build positive bonds with their students and their families or guardians. Fair student-teacher relationships can make all the difference in a student's life, while an unfair relationship can sabotage a student's views on education for the rest of their life. Working to create a fair, equitable environment based on values like respect and inclusivity, isn't simply important to promote an improved learning environment, but also to instill life-long values that enrich the human experience.

One comprehensive resource you can explore that's related to inclusive learning environments is this Antiracist Teaching Resource Website that showcases additional tips for creating diversity and inclusiveness in the classroom.

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Cultivating Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity: Resources for Educators | Resilient Educator

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We've gathered a range of resources to help educators create a culturally inclusive classroom that celebrates diversity and inclusion in education.

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Insightful piece from the National Education Association on Trauma-Informed schools that really highlights and provides statistics on children who suffer adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the impact that can have not just on their education, but their lives after school.

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NEA's COMMITMENT

The National Education Association (NEA) is committed to ensuring that school is a safe, welcoming, and inclusive place where all students can thrive, regardless of circumstance or ZIP code, and where educators have the support and resources they need to be successful. We believe supporting students who suffer from childhood trauma requires whole school involvement and transformation. All school employees play a crucial role in supporting students impacted by childhood trauma. In keeping with this vision, the Association and its affiliates are actively engaged in finding ways for schools and educators to address the issue of trauma and its implications for learning, behavior, and school safety.

FRAMING THE ISSUE OF TRAUMA

From school shootings that shock the nation with grim regularity to the daily toll of violence, poverty, abuse, and addiction in our communities that rarely makes headlines, America's students and their families often experience traumatic events that can shape their lives forever.

Decades of research and studies have established that children who experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) not only are more likely to exhibit negative behaviors at school, but are more likely to develop risky behaviors. They are more likely to face a host of negative health consequences over their lifetimes, including reduced life expectancy. Data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) showed that 46 percent of America's children had experienced at least one adverse childhood experience with the number rising to 55 percent for children aged 12 to 17. One in five U.S. children had two or more ACEs.

Given the pervasiveness of ACEs across the population, most educators encounter trauma-affected students throughout their careers, whether they know it or not. Often these students exhibit a sudden change in behavior, from social withdrawal to violent outbursts or self-harm. When an educator frequently interrupts instruction to address disruptive behavior, teaching and learning for the entire class can suffer.

These outbursts and the punishments that often follow affect the psychological well-being and safety of both educators and students and, left unexamined, contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline that NEA is committed to eradicating.

ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OF TRAUMA

Unions and districts across the country are working together to address the epidemic of trauma in schools with students' and educators' needs in mind. They are collaborating to transform schools into "trauma-informed" or "trauma-sensitive" environments, taking deliberate steps to become safe havens for every student and safe working environments for every educator.

ACEs awareness and engagement on a national level is imperative to ensure students are healthy, safe, engaged and supported so that they are ready to learn. Trauma-sensitive and trauma-informed environments allow educators the opportunity to collaborate in a way that supports a student's mental and physical health so that learning can occur. School communities that engage in paid professional development, practice and support for all school employees create a culture that builds resilience for all students. Trauma-sensitive focus on education fosters a school climate where students feel safe and confident in their ability to learn, can differentiate between trauma induced behavior and appropriate behavior, and connect with adults and peers in a positive manner.

NEA believes that supporting students' needs around the issues of trauma will enable them to come to school ready to learn and meet academic challenges that reinforce the development of life skills, mental stimulation, and student learning. When schools become trauma sensitive, they strive to ensure that all students are receiving the supports they need to succeed.

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Supporting students who suffer from childhood trauma requires whole school involvement and transformation. NEA and its affiliates are actively engaged in finding ways for schools and educators to address the issue of trauma and its implications for learning, behavior, and school safety.

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Creating, Supporting, and Sustaining Trauma-Informed Schools:A System Framework

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Creating, Supporting, and Sustaining Trauma-Informed Schools:A System Framework

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A report from The National Child Traumatic Stress Network on how to create a Trauma-Informed School through striving to adhere to a system of "4 R's" in developing school practices and educational policy.

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Why High School SEL Programs Feel 'Lame'-and How to Fix Them

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Why High School SEL Programs Feel 'Lame'-and How to Fix Them

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An excellent article by EdWeek on how to integrate SEL into high school curriculum more effectively, as explicit SEL programs are shown to be less effective at that level than for younger students.

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High school-age students have a sixth sense for when things feel dopey, dumb, sus, cheesy, corny, basic, cringe, or "cheugy." (That last term is au courant according to The New York Times, which may mean it's already out of date.)

Nowhere are the pitfalls greater than in well-intentioned social-emotional learning programs for secondary students. To put it bluntly, if you're doing mood meters, "scared straight" lectures, or feeling sticks with high school students, there's probably a good chance that the students are tuning them out.

The big problem, researchers and practitioners say, is that too much of what constitutes SEL learning feels patronizing to teenagers and fails to address their core psychological needs and motivations: developing an identity and sense of agency, being recognized and respected by peers, finding ways to excel, and committing to specific goals and activities.

Programs that explicitly teach SEL skills generally have a good track record for younger children. But for older students, the paradigm looks different. It's less explicit and requires creating leadership opportunities-formal and informal-where students will have to exercise their relationship and self-regulation muscles.

And it means adults have to do things differently, too, to create a school climate that supports rather than contravenes those efforts.

"When we think about working with younger students in general, often being a great teacher feels very theatrical. And as students get older, it's actually the opposite," said Jeffrey Imwold, the managing director of student support services for KIPP NYC, a chain of charter schools. "Students will know when you're being inauthentic. What matters is how you show up for them and deliver the material-and it can be really hard to show up authentically."
What do we know from research about high school SEL?
There are fewer resources for teachers and school leaders who want to devise strong SEL programs at the high school level, according to several recent reports from the RAND Corporation, a research and analysis firm.

Using a nationally representative sample of teachers, it found that more than half of secondary teachers said they didn't often make connections to SEL through academic work, and just 19 percent used written lesson plans to promote SEL.

There is also less research on SEL at the upper secondary level. In a second report, RAND found just eight programs for high school-age students that had at least some positive research-and not a single one had been evaluated using a random-assignment design, the most rigorous way to assess effectiveness.

Researchers who study social-emotional learning say the focus on doing "programs" is perhaps part of the problem. Too many are retrofits of initiatives aimed at younger children that feel phony to older students, said David Yeager, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.

Yeager analyzed six dozen studies on anti-bullying programs and found that most of them were beneficial through about 7th grade, but had no overall benefits in high school. Like failed anti-smoking or anti-gang initiatives, too many SEL programs just don't align with what older students need, he concluded.

"Teenagers are really sensitive to social status. Anti-bullying programs don't deal with the teenage need to have status. They just tell you, don't do it," he noted. "That argument doesn't work for 14- or 15-year-olds. Anti-bullying efforts need to give kids alternative routes to status, rather than telling them to not care about status."

Thus, successful SEL approaches are often implicit, getting adolescents to exercise their SEL muscles without necessarily knowing that that's the intent-a little bit like sneaking kale into a fruit smoothie.

Here, Education Week outlines five ideas for thinking about SEL programs in high schools-both what to do and what to avoid. They aren't a recipe and should be tailored to districts' local context and instructional goals. But they could help district and school leaders avoid SEL efforts that feel lame. (Or cheugy.)

1. Integrate high school SEL programs into academic learning.

Research indicates that it's difficult to teach noncognitive skills, including core SEL concepts such as self-management and responsible decision-making outside of content. That's partly because these skills look different depending on the task at hand. (Compare, for example, persistence in writing an essay to persistence at solving a multi-step mathematics problem.)

And when students engage in rich and robust classroom discourse-learning how to disagree constructively and how to persuade others-those are as much SEL opportunities as they are academic ones, noted Eugene Pinkard, the director of practice and leadership at the Aspen Institute's education and society program.

There are some major challenges with this type of high-quality integration. For one, noted Cami Anderson, the founder and CEO of ThirdWay Solutions, a consulting firm, even rich, well-regarded academic curricula often lack the scaffolds and supports that help teachers and students engage with the social-emotional implications of each lesson. (Anderson, a former Newark, N.J., superintendent and administrator in the New York City district, worked on SEL and curriculum in both positions.)

"It needs to be rigorous and content-rich, but also provide opportunities for meaning-making around SEL skills," she said. Take, for example, a lesson that focuses on Ruby Bridges, who helped desegregate New Orleans schools in 1960. Great content will have students reading Bridges' reflections, as well as those of students and parents who opposed integration, and situate the historical moment within the larger civil rights struggle.

But teachers can also use the lesson to prompt dialogue about what kinds of social and emotional strengths Bridges drew on.

"As a facilitator, there's a lot to unpack there around moral decisionmaking. When do you decide to steer into conflict? What are the personal consequences of that decision? Where does that land you in terms of emotion? How do you take care of yourself personally? Where is the line around empathy?" Anderson suggested. "To me, that is the work. ... But it would require some really high-quality, adult-facing training" for teachers.

2. Aim for coherence across the system.

Many school systems now use regular climate surveys and check-ins to get a picture of overall student health. But coherence goes beyond that, the researchers and practitioners said, and it is harder to achieve in high schools if one teacher, for example, gives multiple revision opportunities for work and another doesn't, or if departments use divergent grading approaches.

"Part of the problem with high school SEL is that it's so compartmentalized. It's not obvious how to use and transfer those insights," said Yeager. "If your health teacher says 'Here's how to succeed,' your health teacher isn't the one handing out your math grades."

To create common, coherent experiences for students, some districts are investing in specially designed academic lessons that also purposefully build SEL skills. Beginning in 2015-16, the District of Columbia Public Schools began to create an academically rich set of lessons, called Cornerstones, nested within its English/language arts and social studies curricula.

Each cornerstone is anchored in complex text, includes a field trip or partnership with community groups to make the work feel authentic, and generally ends with a performance or set of outcomes in which students share their work with each other and with the community. In 10th grade, for example, D.C. students experience "Life I Choose," a cornerstone lesson focused on narrative poetry and what it means to be successful in life.

Situated within a larger ELA unit about narrative, "Life I Choose" includes learning about poetry slams; as it progresses, also students will write their own poems and revise them using a framework. They're helped by a teaching artist who partners with the district and the cornerstone culminates in an opportunity for students to present their own slam poetry in a legit performance space.

Such lessons flip the paradigm of how SEL works, said Karen Cole, the district's deputy chief of academic and creative empowerment.

"In most SEL, we present it as something you should do with students to prepare them to be successful in academics," she said. "But the idea of Cornerstones is that when you acquire academics, it develops you as a person in a way nothing else does."

3. Focus on how adults can foster a good school climate.

It's tempting to think that SEL is something that teachers "do" to students. But much actually hinges on getting educators to make changes to the overarching school climate. Schools should be nurturing places where systems and structures support SEL work, teachers are trained on learning development, and thoughtful SEL experiences are devised for students, Pinkard said.

"Where I've landed is to give kids beneficial messages and interventions that aren't too long, and therefore not insulting about telling kids what to think or how to think," added Yeager. "Work on the adults in the school to change the climate to be more student-centric."

Some aspects of creating school climate can be harder to tackle than others. Schools' dress codes and conduct manuals, for instance, can convey a quiet authoritarianism that undercuts some of the values schools purport to care about, like fostering citizenship and independence.

Similarly, said Yeager, it's all well and good to say that you support students to have a growth mindset to, for example, overcome shyness or loneliness.

"But if you're in the kind of school where there are few opportunities for you to feel like a worthwhile person-there's no leadership opportunities, no clubs, if there are no affordances for real contributions to community or peer group-it's hard for you to believe that things can improve for the better," he noted.

The good part, the SEL leaders say, is that teachers will get on board with these efforts if school leaders convince them it will support the outcomes they care about.

"When you have an SEL classroom, students want to be there and it's less work for you; and more importantly, it creates the kind of student behavior you want, and turns the classroom into the kind of classroom you want it to be," Imwold said.

One way to show high schoolers you're serious about creating a positive climate? You don't necessarily have to create your SEL initiative from scratch, Anderson said, but you do need to let the end users-students-weigh in on what they want and need from the efforts.

4. Don't neglect extracurriculars and other out-of-classroom opportunities to let students lead.

From devising cheerleading routines, building the sets for the school musical, athletic scrimmages, and the studio arts, there are tons of opportunities to build in SEL learning competencies beyond the classroom.

"We find [students] develop so many of these competencies through the extracurriculars and they frequently talk about their experiences in extracurricular opportunities," said Imwold of KIPP NYC. "That's where I developed social awareness or self awareness; I realized I was not a football player, and I found my people through theater, and that became the defining experience of my time in high school."

Similarly, said Pinkard of Aspen, "don't make the mistake of assuming all of this learning is in the classroom. The SEL experiences that we're describing require students to be in places to engage each other outside the classroom, and with adults and community members outside the classroom.

"If you want your students to give a speech about something that's important in their community, you can't expect that to just come out of their head or simply be composed in the classroom," he said.

The District of Columbia's "Our City" cornerstone looks at the city's neighborhoods and how their residents can advocate for better services through their advisory neighborhood councils, Washington's most local level of government. It concludes with students interacting with the commissioners at a municipal building.

And the Oakland, Calif., district uses capstone projects that require students to interview community members and researchers or conduct surveys to explore a social problem.

5. Consider peer mentoring programs.

Saul Vargas, a 2020 graduate of KIPP NYC high school, has a unique insight on what works for high school-age students: As a peer leader, he and a partner regularly met with underclassmen in groups of about 12 students about how to make the big transition to high school.

"We talked a lot about organization, about making friends and reaching out to teachers-just learning how to manage yourself and be independent, because you're in transition from a place in middle school where your hand is being held," he said in an interview. "In high school, you either do the work or you don't."

Peer mentoring of this sort is an approach that checks off a few SEL boxes at once: It gives one group of students an opportunity to lead, while helping younger students exercise their SEL skills in an authentic way.

The charter school's program was sometimes more prescriptive than Vargas would have liked-he wasn't a big fan of icebreakers and preferred sharing his own challenges and solutions with students. But he found the experience ultimately powerful-especially when he found success mentoring students who were struggling.

Vargas' proudest moment was speaking with a student who was struggling with motivation and filing assignments. Vargas helped her see the work as an investment in herself, rather than something to please adults.

"One of the problems with her specifically was that she felt that teachers sort of undervalued her and didn't think she was good enough to perform and talking to her about that and convincing her that you don't need external validation to do well," said Vargas, now entering his sophomore year at Princeton University. "In the next two to three quarters, her grades improved. She started getting 80s and 90s ... and it felt like a successful moment."

Samara Fraser-Wellington, now a junior at the school, also sat on its restorative-justice team, where she helped resolve interpersonal issues among students.

"Sometimes you have to sit and listen to things you don't necessarily agree with yourself but you have to still figure out how to help them," she said. "So I think that was the hardest part when I first started. I think the most rewarding part is knowing what they get out of it, knowing I was able to help them, and hearing people say thank you. That makes me smile."

The programs do take some work to set up. Students will need some training and guidelines: KIPP used an extra class period and a summer retreat to help its peer leaders learn how to model a lesson and host a dialogue.

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Why High School SEL Programs Feel 'Lame'-and How to Fix Them

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Here's how to devise high school SEL lessons that don't feel preachy and align with adolescents' cognitive and psychological development.

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Building Inclusive Classrooms through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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Building Inclusive Classrooms through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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A longer conversation between educators from around the world on what inclusivity and equity looks like in their own classrooms and cultures.

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Building Inclusive Classrooms through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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The First Day of High School: Establishing Classroom Expectations and Building Relationships

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The First Day of High School: Establishing Classroom Expectations and Building Relationships

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Great video demonstration on how Jose Gomez, a high school math teacher in the San Bernardino City Unified School District, uses the first day of school to set procedures, expectations and establish relationships with a new class of students.

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The First Day of High School: Establishing Classroom Expectations and Building Relationships

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TEDTalk from Dr. Meredith Fox sharing her own traumatic experiences, how they shaped her and how to improve upon trauma informed practices in the classroom.

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Trauma Informed Teaching | Dr. Meredith Fox | TEDxFieldstoneDriveED

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A non-profit organization that helps marginalized communities in Oregon build equity through programs that help families build assets and savings for college, and promote the development of affordable housing, amongst others.

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Strengthening Families Financial Well-being - Casa of Oregon

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CASA of Oregon works alongside community organizations to provide programs and resources that strengthen families' financial well-being.

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Emotional Intelligence From a Teenage Perspective

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Emotional Intelligence From a Teenage Perspective

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Great TEDTalk from a teenager advocating for essentially SEL education in schools to better be able to deal with the emotions that come with being a teenager.

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Emotional Intelligence From a Teenage Perspective | Maximilian Park | TEDxYouth@PVPHS

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A national program that helps train Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), who are volunteers that advocate for children in abusive homes to courts in order to improve their home health. Oregon has networks all over the state and can also provide additional resources for children in need.

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How Did CASA Programs Start?
In 1977, Judge Soukup in Seattle, WA conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. The program was so successful that judges across the country began using citizen advocates. The U.S. Congress encouraged expansion of CASA programs with its passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act in 1990. Today, there are nearly 1,000 local programs nationally that support the volunteers serving children, including Oregon's 22 local programs.

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Oregon CASA Network - Oregon CASA Network

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How Did CASA Programs Start? In 1977, Judge Soukup in Seattle, WA conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. The program was so successful that judges across the country began using citizen advocates. The U.S.

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A section on the Oregon Department of Education's website about family engagement, with enough links to different frameworks, research and other resources to drown in.

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Educator Tools & Resources

Family engagement tools and resources can support building partnerships between families and schools.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Information from the Connecticut State Department of Education regarding Building Powerful Partnerships with Families.

Welcoming Schools

Other Tools and Resources

Useful Websites

Educator Professional Development

Effectively training and supporting educators in implementing family engagement is an essential strategy for school improvement and student success.

Research

Over four decades of research shows how meaningful family engagement supports student learning and how systemic family engagement and meaningful partnerships must be in place to ensure positive outcomes.

Systemic Family Engagement

Links to Learning

Partnerships

Attendance

Pre-K - 3

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Family engagement tools and resources can support building partnerships between families and schools. Information from the Connecticut State Department of Education regarding Building Powerful Partnerships with Families. Effectively training and supporting educators in implementing family engagement is an essential strategy for school improvement and student success.

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Guiding Older Students to Enter and Exit the Classroom Smoothly

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Guiding Older Students to Enter and Exit the Classroom Smoothly

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An Edutopia article about how to get students back into the rhythm of being in the classroom again after distance learning through the first year or so of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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After so much time out of school, middle and high school students may need multiple refreshers on classroom procedures.

Although most students around the country have been back in physical classrooms for a few months now, there are still many middle and high school students who need support when it comes to entering and exiting the classroom properly. As students continue to get used to being back in school, there are a few quick things we as teachers can do to support them in creating routines that both help them adjust and maintain the sanctity of instructional time.

How Students Enter the Classroom

Over the past year, many students have had the ability to simply wake up and log on to a computer as their entering-the-classroom procedure. With the shift back to in-person learning, it's imperative that we teach students what we want to see as they enter our physical spaces.

Students should have a clear set of guidelines regarding the noise level at which they enter the classroom, the location in the room they should move to, and what they should be doing once they reach their seats. By teaching and practicing these procedures, teachers can ensure that they are able to begin class on time and that students will be set up for success in that class period. Additionally, these consistent structures help students understand what is expected of them and ensure that they are able to immediately focus on content rather than attempting to decipher how to behave as they enter the room.

What noise level is expected as students enter?

Will students have assigned seats?

Is there going to be a "Do Now" on the board? Is it going to be something students do silently or with a partner?

What materials should students have out on their desks by the time instruction begins?

What should a student do if they are missing materials-where are extra pencils, books, paper, etc.?

How long do students have to get settled before instruction begins?

Here are some questions to consider when introducing the procedure to students:

How Students Exit the Classroom

As with entering, students have not necessarily had to physically exit a classroom in over a year. By creating a procedure for students to exit the classroom, teachers can ensure that students are prepared to effectively, calmly, and safely enter their next class or dismiss from the building. Additionally, teachers can avoid unwanted behaviors by clearly outlining and explicitly teaching their expectations for how students exit.

As the class period comes to an end, it's important for teachers to have a plan of how they will wrap up the lesson, collect any materials, and prepare the space for the next group of students. Ideally, students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their learning from the day's lesson through a written exit ticket, a verbal discussion, or another medium. This closing activity cues students to the fact that they are going to be transitioning out of the classroom shortly. Students should have a clear understanding of how they are to submit any completed class assignments, how they are expected to return any classroom materials, and how they are to collect their belongings and exit the room.

Clear procedures will support teachers in ensuring that each class period is given closure and that they are prepared for the start of the next class. Students will benefit from being given the time to recollect themselves and their belongings before moving into a new space. Additionally, students are more likely to avoid unwanted behaviors as they transition between classes when they understand and have practiced the procedures.

Will each student hand in their own work, or will it be collected?

Should students leave materials on their desks for the next class or return them to a specified location?

Should students leave the room when they hear the bell or wait for the teacher to dismiss them?

Do students all leave at once, or will they be dismissed by area in the room?

Some questions to consider when introducing the procedure to students:

We cannot yet know the extent to which virtual learning has impacted and will continue to impact our students. However, we do have the power to support them as they make the transition back to in-person learning by creating clear and consistent structures that help them navigate our physical classroom spaces. The traumas caused by Covid-19 cannot be undone by simply welcoming students back into the building; we as teachers must be prepared to provide wraparound support and structure throughout the day to help students once again feel safe and confident in these spaces. Simple procedures like entering and exiting the classroom are a meaningful starting point.

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Guiding Older Students to Enter and Exit the Classroom Smoothly

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After so much time out of school, middle and high school students may need multiple refreshers on classroom procedures.

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A section on the Oregon Department of Education's website about SEL, how it is used and implemented in Oregon schools, and legislative steps that are being taken to better integrate it into schools. There are a bunch of resources on the page as well for educators!