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"Are Youth disengaging?\n- Boredom, identity, school connectedness, academic motivation, sense of belonging, low self-esteem.\n- Socio-economic status.\n- Family dysfunction, mental illness, disability\n- Race, ethnicity, gender\n- Difficulties in literacy/numeracy\n- Relationships with teacher, parents, peers, bullying.\nThe Mission Australia Youth Survey 2019 discovered that the top three personal concerns of young people over the past year include, coping with stress (49%), school or study problems (34%) and mental health (33%). In QLD a considerable factor adding to these issues included Bullying. 80.4% of respondents reported that they had experienced bullying at a School, TAFE or University in the past year.\nThere are significant numbers of young people across Australia who are struggling to fit into everyday schools due to issues associated with bullying, domestic violence, challenging family situations, anxiety, disability, mental health issues, anger management issues and behavioural disorders, boredom, gender and sexuality acceptance.\nAs evidence above, there is a substantial need to provide alternative and safe educational options for young people to ensure a positive outcome in their futures. Arcadia College considers the unique circumstances and individuality of each and every student to provide an educational program that addresses not only academic achievement but prioritises a young person’s overall wellbeing and sets them up for post-school success.\nThe College provides an extensive range of support for students including; experienced teaching staff, teacher aides, wellbeing coordinators, youth workers, nurses and a team of psychologists to provide onsite professional intervention and care as needed.\nIt is our aim to provide an alternative education environment that can support the needs of young people disengaging and with time and understanding begin to turn this trend around."

"The Equality Act covers nine protected characteristics, which cannot be used as a reason to treat people unfairly. Every person has one or more of the protected characteristics, so the act protects everyone against unfair treatment.\nBelow are links to organisations and groups which support the protected characteristics.\nCumbria County Council Equality Links\nPlease visit the links below to other County Council Equality and Diversity links:\nGeneral Equality and Diversity Links\nEquality and Diversity Forum\nA network of national organisations committed to equal opportunities, social justice, good community relations, respect for human rights and an end to discrimination based on age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation.\nEquality and Human Rights Commission\nStatutory body which promotes and monitors human rights; and to protect, enforce and promote equality across the nine \"protected\" grounds - age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation and gender reassignment.\nLeads on issues relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equality matters and has responsibility across government for equality strategy and legislation.\nAge UK Information and advice on ageing issues\nCumbria Disability Network\nNetwork which develops links between disability associations ensuring that they reflect all impairment groups.\nDeafVisionA registered charity and the lead organisation for deaf issues and support in Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway.\nInformation about disability rights.\nEmployers Forum on Disability Employers' Forum on Disability is the world's leading employers' organisation focused on disability as it affects business.\nNationwide Disabled Access Register Accessible venues in Cumbria\nThe Gender Trust The Gender Trust is a UK organisation supporting transsexuals and others suffering from Gender Identity Disorder by promoting public education about transgender issues and providing information to those affected.\nFawcett campaigns for gender equality in the UK, looking at women's rights in issues such as equal pay, pensions, poverty, justice and politics.\nThe Rights of Women\nRights of Women works to attain justice and equality by informing, educating and empowering women on their legal rights.\nNational Charity which provides advice and practical support for single parents.\nMarriage and Civil partnership\nFree guide for gay and lesbian couples in the UK considering a Civil Partnership.\nInformation on getting married or forming a civil partnership, legal obligations, overseas marriages, forced marriages, cohabitation and civil partnerships : your rights\nCumbria Registration Service (Cumbria County Council)\nThe Cumbria Registration Services manages process of registering births and deaths, and the legal preliminaries and conducting of ceremonies for civil marriages and civil Partnership.\nPregnancy and Maternity\nPregnancy and maternity rights in the workplace.\nOrganisation which develops links between Black and Minority Ethnic people of all backgrounds, and engages with faith groups.\nCumbria Multicultural Women's Network\nBrings together women of diverse cultures now living in Cumbria.\nThe Runnymede Trust\nThe UK’s leading independent race equality thinktank which generates intelligence for a multi-ethnic Britain through research, network building, leading debate, and policy engagement.\nReligion or belief\nThe Inter Faith Network\nFounded in 1987 to promote good relations between people of different faiths in the UK.\nBritish Humanist Association\nThe national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity.\nSex and sexual orientation\nOutREACH Cumbria Develops links between Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender people.\nPiNC A youth group based in Carlisle for young people who identify as LGBT or questioning their sexuality\nGroup which promotes equal rights for gay men, lesbians and bisexuals.\nThe Lesbian and Gay Foundation\nContains information for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and transvestite communities on sexual health, well being, groups and events.\nInformation for trans people, their families and the professionals who care for them.\nExternal websites – In providing these links Cumbria County Council accepts no responsibility for their content."

"This website is designed by a group of young people for young people. We've all experienced domestic abuse and we know there can be a brighter future. We've gathered information and resources to help you understand domestic abuse and get help if you need to. The site has info, facts, stories and even a quiz. Why not have a look for yourself?go to the Safe Hub\nDomestic Abuse Facts\n61 per cent (33,842) of the victims in recorded incidents had previously experienced domestic abuse more\nThe learning Context\nThe Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes provide the framework for children’s and young people’s learning in Scotland.The curriculum aims to provide children and young people with skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work through eight curriculum areas:\n- Expressive arts\n- Health and wellbeing\n- Religious and moral education\n- Social studies\nWithin the Health and Wellbeing Experiences and outcomes children and young people have the opportunity to learn about; Mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing, Planning for choices and changes, Physical education, physical activity and sport, Food and health, Substance misuse and Relationships, sexual health and parenthood. As part of this final section there is an outcome at level four which is about young people knowing about where to get support and help with situations involving abuse and that there are laws which protect them from different kinds of abuse (HWB 3-49b HWB 4-49b). This outcome and others related to Relationships, sexual health and parenthood within the health and wellbeing organiser enables discussions to take place as part of the curriculum on a number of aspects relating to domestic abuse. These can be supported by the many resources which are outlined in the Resources section [link to resources].\nUnder the Equality Act 2010 schools have a number of duties in relation to sex (gender). There are duties in relation to the prevention of direct, and indirect discrimination and discrimination by perception and association. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has developed a Code of Practice for schools on the provisions of the Act. These provisions ensure gender equality in schools, and support the development of an equal and fair ethos and culture in schools, from which domestic abuse can be considered.\nAll Scottish schools have a duty to be health promoting. A school is a health promoting school if it provides activities and an environment and facilities which promote the physical, social, mental and emotional health and wellbeing of pupils. These duties complement the Health and Wellbeing Experiences and Outcomes in Curriculum for Excellence and underpin the delivery of learning and teaching on health and wellbeing issues, for example resilience and mental health and wellbeing which are important in the context of domestic abuse.\nAffected by these issues?\nYou can contact ChildLine about anything. No problem is too big or too small. Whatever your worry it's better out than in.more\nPurchase Respect Packs\nGet your secondary, primary and youth respect packsmore\nOther online resources\nSee the resources section for loads of resources which could help you to know more about domestic abuse.more"

"The DfE have stated the requirement “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.”\nAt Lyng CE Primary School, these values are explicitly taught through Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE), and Religious Education (RE). We also teach British Values through planning and delivering a broad and balanced curriculum and Values focus within Collective Worship and assemblies. We have achieved the following external accreditations which demonstrate evidence of our commitment to these values:\n- Ofsted grade of ‘Good’\n- School Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) grade of ‘Good’\n- Formulate and agree a set of ‘class rules’ at the beginning of each school year.\n- Organise an election day when members of the School Council are elected by the whole school, following the presentation of election manifestos by each candidate.\n- Elect class representatives to our school council.\n- Have a School Council and Eco-Team who contribute enormously to school life by organising and managing whole-school events. Many of these involve raising money for charities.\n- Allow the children’s voice to be heard. We regularly ask for their views.\n- Ask children to support the interviewing process for new staff.\n- Discuss democracy within assemblies\n- Curriculum Learning ; Democracy workshop / meet a councillor\n- Voting for different purposes- eg Eco team design for new logo\nThe Rule of Law:\nWe promote the rule of law by:\n- Having a clear, consistent behaviour policy (based upon positive rewards) which is consistently applied throughout the school.\n- Providing opportunities for children to reflect about positive and negative behaviour.\n- Providing an extensive Road Safety programme throughout the school.\n- Developing links with the Police Service.\n- Addressing issues of law during whole-school assemblies as and when appropriate.\n- Giving considerable time to individual pupils who require additional opportunities to understand the importance of following rules.\n- Using our extensive reward system to acknowledge good behaviour as well as good academic work.\n- Giving older pupils responsibilities, including older pupils undertaking an Ambassador role\n- Pupils are actively encouraged to make choices at our school, knowing that they are learning within a safe and supportive environment.\n- Pupils are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their rights and personal freedoms and are advised how to exercise these safely, for example through our e-Safety teaching.\n- Children are encouraged to understand responsibility in school in terms of behaviour and attitude to learning.\n- Justice and Wisdom are given a focus as part of our values curriculum.\n- Home / school agreements for all pupils are in place.\n- Pupils are taught how to be safe and how to act safely. This is given an additional emphasis during anti-bullying week.\nRespect and Responsibility are key values which permeate all aspects of school life at Lyng. They determine the way in which we support and care for each other, for the community and for the environment.\nAt Lyng, children learn respect through;\n- The promotion of positive relationships.\n- The modelling of positive relationships by all adults working in school.\n- A Personal, Social and Health Education curriculum in which children are taught that behaviour has an effect upon those around them and upon their own rights.\n- The RE curriculum.\n- All other aspects of the curriculum (as successfully working in groups requires respect for each other).\n- The work of the school council and eco-team.\n- The positive reward system developed to promote respect.\n- Our celebration assemblies when all pupils show respect for the efforts of others.\n- Giving responsibility to pupils (team captains, playground buddies, peer mediators, etc.)\n- Participation in events organised to raise money for various charities..\n- Developing a sense of belonging and ‘community’ through team events, whole school days, such as Outdoor Day and School Games Day ,educational visits and residential visits\nTolerance of Those of Different Faiths and Beliefs:\nTolerance is promoted in our school through:\n- The stated aims and values of the school.\n- The PSHE curriculum.\n- The RE curriculum.\n- The Languages curriculum.\n- Our annual Languages Week (part of participation in European day of Languages)\n- Cultural activities linked to curriculum topics, visitors\n- Educational visits to places of religious worship.\n- Class and whole school assemblies.\n- Festival study and celebration (Divali, Harvest, etc.)\n- Work on prejudice-based bullying during anti-bullying week.\n- Using world events as opportunities to positively reinforce life and culture in other countries (football world cup, the Olympics, etc.)\n- The school’s equal opportunities policy.\nLink to Ofsted report for our school\nLink to Department for Education Performance Tables"

"COVID-19 Response Plan\nAs you are aware, schools across B.C. have been suspended to students until further notice. These are unprecedented times for our schools and all school boards across the province. All of our staff is working hard to take a thoughtful and responsive approach to plan the continuity of learning for students and services to our families.\nA Caring and Responsive Approach\nCariboo Chilcotin School District recognizes the challenging situation that we currently find ourselves in. We are working hard with our administrators and teachers to build a plan to support the continuity of learning for all students. This plan will include keeping the safety of both students and staff at the forefront and following the lead of Dr. Bonnie Henry on how to achieve this. There will be many questions about how we will be achieving this goal and they will be forthcoming in the following days and weeks.\nIn responding to general questions we are following four guiding principles of the Ministry.\n- Maintain a healthy and safe environment for all students and families and all employees.\n- Provide services to support children of essential workers\n- Support vulnerable students who may need special assistance.\n- Provide continuity of educational opportunities for all students\nQ: What are the School District’s health and safety protocols for protecting employees?\nA: The School District is committed to a healthy and safe environment for all staff and students. To ensure this, additional cleaning protocols have been put in place to ensure work areas are thoroughly sanitized daily and throughout the day. Plans are being developed to ensure that social distancing between staff and students in schools occurs. In order for social distancing to occur, all staff must be aware of their space when interacting with each other.\nQ: The Provincial Health Officer mandated that there shall be no gatherings of greater than 50 people. How does this rule apply to schools?\nA: The PHO’s order is meant to prevent large groups of people from gathering in close quarters with one another. There may be more than 50 students and staff in a school at a given time if they are not all in one area and are actively engaged in social distancing.\nQ: When will learning opportunities be provided for students?\nA: SD 27 will be taking the first week following Spring Break to assess the needs of our students and to work with staff to develop continuity of learning plans. As plans develop at either the District level or the school level they will be shared with staff and students.\nQ: In the term, “essential worker” who is defined?\nA: Although there is no definition for “essential service worker”, the term considers individuals who are considered critical to preserving life, health and societal functioning. This includes emergency responders, front-line health care workers, and critical infrastructure and supply chain (grocery store workers, pharmacists)."

"At NAC, we are intentional and deliberate in equipping our students with social and emotional abilities that will stand each child in good stead for the future.\nWe explicitly teach skills, purposefully model qualities and mindfully nurture our students’ development so that they will become resilient, connected and positive, setting them on a path to success. We call this our whole-school Pastoral Care framework, and we are proud of the way it interplays with our ‘whole child’ learning approach.\nOur approach is backed by evidence\nPositive social and emotional learning programs that are woven into the curriculum are shown to bring about improved academic success, positive attitudes, more trust and respect for teachers, improved participation in class*.\nAt NAC, students are given skills and resources that assist in preventing destructive behaviours, and instead, give them a solid foundation for a successful life. We agree with Professor Arthur Costa, who says we need to prepare students ‘not just for a life of tests but for the test of life.’\nWhat we aim for\nQualities that are present in a successful, resilient and happy person** include:\n- Positive Emotions – such as joy, peace, gratitude, hope and love, shown to trigger an upward spiral.\n- Engagement – becoming fully immersed in a situation, task, or project, experiencing a state of flow.\n- Relationships – having meaningful, positive interactions and friendships with others.\n- Meaning – belonging to and serving something bigger than themselves.\n- Accomplishment – aiming to master a skill or achieve a valuable goal.\nTwo of these qualities, ‘engagement’ and ‘accomplishment’ are part of our ‘whole child’ approach to learning at NAC. The other three are brought out in our ‘whole school’ pastoral care model: the two approaches are complementary and interdependent.\nHow does it work?\nParents may ask how ‘relationships’, ‘meaning’ and ‘positive emotions’ can become interwoven in the curriculum. Our answer is this: in many ways.\nOur structured Homeroom program, which gathers students in multi-age care groups, is where many of our pastoral care activities take place. Homeroom teachers facilitate group-building and individual growth through sessions such as ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ and ‘Friday Funday’.\nWe intentionally use positive language that becomes part of our school’s narrative. Words have power; the right words form positive culture and expectations and help us to establish our school community in its faith values and celebrate students’ creativity and efforts at all levels.\nPeople who can help\nWe also encourage students, and families to talk to their Year Co-ordinators and homeroom facilitators, as well as the pastoral care staff, counsellor and school psychologist, where needed. However, pastoral care does not only come from these members of staff. Every teacher and support person in the school is trained and encouraged in our pastoral care principles, which are embedded in our learning philosophy.\nStudents who come from a Defence Forces background, or who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander have specialised, dedicated advocates and mentors, who are active in their efforts to create a stable, supportive environment for these particular student communities. As well, our Learning Support Staff and School Counsellor (an experienced clinical psychologist) provide extra support for all students.\n* Cross, D, Erceg, E., & Thompson, S. (2014). Evidence for Practice: A Comprehensive Guide to the Implementation of Friendly Schools Plus. Victoria, Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education.\n** According to Dr Martin Seligman’s PERMA Theory"

"Prevention and Intervention Programs Promoting Positive Peer Relations in Early Childhood\n1Carla Kalvin, MS, 1Karen L. Bierman, PhD, 2Stephen A. Erath, PhD\n1Pennsylvania State University, USA; 2Auburn University, USA\nUnder optimal conditions, children learn core social-emotional skills during the preschool years that enable them to establish and maintain their first friendships, get along well as members of their peer communities, and participate effectively in school. Children who are delayed in their acquisition of these social-emotional competencies are at heightened risk for significant peer problems and behavioural difficulties when they enter grade school1 which can escalate to more serious emotional difficulties and antisocial behaviours in adolescence.2 Hence, promoting social-emotional development during the preschool years is a priority.\nEmpirical evidence indicates that several intervention approaches effectively promote social-emotional development and enhance positive peer relations in the preschool years.1,3 Universal (or tier 1) interventions are implemented by preschool teachers and are designed to benefit all children in a classroom. Selective/indicated (or tier 2/3) interventions are implemented by teachers or specialists and focus on remediating skill deficits and reducing the existing problems of children with social-emotional delays or behavioural disturbances. Prevention research suggests that the coordinated nesting of universal and indicated preventive interventions may provide an optimal “continuum” of services, making appropriate levels of support available to children and families who vary in their level of need.4,5\nTo effectively promote positive peer relations, preschool programs need to target the social-emotional skills that are “competence correlates” – skills that are associated with peer acceptance and protect against peer rejection.5 During the preschool years, these skills include: 1) cooperative play skills (taking turns, sharing toys, collaborating in pretend play and responding positively to peers);6 2) language and communication skills (conversing with peers, suggesting and elaborating joint play themes, asking questions and responding to requests for clarification, inviting others to play);7 3) emotional understanding and regulation (identifying the feelings of self and other, regulating affect when excited or upset, inhibiting emotional outbursts and coping with everyday frustrations);8,9 and 4) aggression control and social problem-solving skills (inhibiting reactive aggression, managing conflicts verbally, generating alternative solutions to social problems and negotiating with peers).4,6 A particular goal at this age is to strengthen the self-regulation skills that can help children adapt effectively to the behavioural and social demands of the school setting.10\nDevelopmental research suggests that social-emotional competencies can be taught using explicit coaching strategies that include skill explanations, demonstrations, and practice activities.11 Evidence-based preschool social-emotional learning (SEL) programs provide teachers with lessons, stories, puppets, and activities that introduce social-emotional skills. In addition, positive behavioural management strategies (e.g., the systematic use of instructions, contingent reinforcement, redirection, and limit-setting) have been used effectively to reduce social behaviour problems and foster positive peer interactions. Randomized trials provide evidence of effectiveness for a handful of model preschool SEL and positive behavioural management programs, described below.\nKey Research Questions\nIn general, more randomized, controlled trials are needed to identify model programs to support the positive peer relations of preschool children. In addition, a number of research questions remain regarding the optimal design and focus of interventions to promote social competence for preschool children. What are the relative benefits of universal and selective/indicated early intervention strategies? How might indicated programs be nested within universal programs? What intervention strategies optimize engagement and learning? What environmental arrangements promote generalization of skills to the naturalistic peer context? What is the value of linking social competence promotion programs at school with parent-focused early intervention programs?\nRecent Research Results\nSeveral universal-level SEL curricula have proven effective in randomized trials, demonstrating that the use of explicit coaching strategies at the classroom level can promote preschool social-emotional skill development.1,3 Examples include the I Can Problem Solve” Program (ICPS)12 and Al’s Pals.13 The most well-studied is the Preschool PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) program. In a first randomized trial, Preschool PATHS increased child emotion skills and promoted teacher and parent ratings of social competence.14 In a second, independent trial, Preschool PATHS was combined with on-line professional development supports, and improved child social competencies (frustration tolerance, assertiveness skills, task orientation, social skills) as rated by teachers.15 In a third trial, when Preschool PATHS was combined with additional intervention components targeting language and literacy skills in the Head Start REDI project, sustained benefits for preschool children included improved learning engagement and social competence after the transition into kindergarten.16\nPrograms that focus on structuring the preschool environment with positive behavioural management strategies also show great promise. For example, in an initial randomized trial, the Incredible Years Teacher Training Program (IY) led to reduced levels of aggressive and disruptive behaviours in preschools serving low-income children.17 In a subsequent study (the Chicago School Readiness Project), IY was supplemented with teacher mental health consultation, and reduced classroom levels of aggressive-disruptive behaviour as well as enhancing learning.18 A recent large-scale U.S. national trial contrasted the effectiveness of Incredible Years and Preschool PATHS in preschools serving low-income children and found that, relative to usual practice, both programs promoted improved social problem-solving skills and social behaviour.19\nAt the selective/indicated level, social competence coaching programs have also proven effective for preschool children with low levels of peer acceptance and social-behavioural problems20 and developmental disabilities.21 For example, in the Resilient Peer Treatment program for socially withdrawn, maltreated preschool children, target children and prosocial peer partners have play sessions guided by an adult coach who scaffolds and reinforces positive social behaviour, thereby increasing collaborative and interactive play.22 These programs suggest that coaching young children in cooperative play and communication skills (e.g. initiating play, asking questions, supporting peers) may have positive effects on their social behaviour, and further suggest that generalization activities in the classroom context (selective reinforcement and environmental engineering of opportunities for peer play) play an important role in promoting improvements in peer acceptance. In addition, the Incredible Years Dinosaur Social Skills and Problem Solving Curriculum has been developed specifically for preschool and early elementary children with aggressive-disruptive conduct problems and associated peer problems, reducing problem behaviours and promoting social problem-solving skills in a randomized trial.23 Individualized behavioural management programs may be particularly beneficial for preschool children with elevated aggressive and disruptive behaviours. For example, the BEST in CLASS intervention combines a classroom-level focus on positive behavioural management with individualized management for at-risk students, demonstrating positive preliminary effects on children’s social behaviour and social skills.24\nThe preschool years represent an ideal time for preventive and educational interventions designed to promote social-emotional development and peer interaction competencies. A number of universal and selective/indicated programs have proven effective in promoting the social-emotional competencies of preschool children, contributing to their peer acceptance and school readiness. These model programs provide evidence that systematic instruction and positive behavioural management can enhance social-emotional development and promote positive peer relations among preschool children.\nEvidence-based approaches to promoting social-emotional competencies and positive peer relations need to be diffused widely into preschools and child-care centres. Additional research is needed to expand and refine available evidence-based programs, as well as to identify optimal supports for high-fidelity implementation, sustained use, and work-force professional development support. Additional research is also needed to identify the role of parent training in social-competence promotion programs for preschool children.\n- McCabe PC, Altamura M. Empirically valid strategies to improve social and emotional competence of preschool children. Psychology in the Schools 2011;48(5):513-539.\n- Rubin KH, Bukowski W, Laursen B, eds. Handbook of peer interactions, relationships, and groups. New York: Guilford, 2011.\n- Bierman KL, Motamedi M. Social-emotional programs for preschool children. In Durlak J, eissberg R, Gullotta T, eds. Handbook of Social and Emotional Learning: Research and Practice. New York, NY: Guilford. In press.\n- Webster-Stratton C, Taylor T. Nipping early risk factors in the bud: preventing substance abuse, delinquency, and violence in adolescence through interventions targeted at young children (0-8 years). Prevention Science 2001;2(3):165-192.\n- Bierman KL, Domitrovich C, Darling H. Early prevention initiatives. In J. Roopnarine & J. Johnson, eds. Approaches to early childhood education, 6th Ed. Columbus, OH: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall; 2012:147–164.\n- Denham SA, Burton R. Social and emotional prevention and intervention programming for preschoolers. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers; 2003.\n- Mendez JL, Fantuzzo J, Cicchetti D. Profiles of social competence among low-income African-American preschool children. Child Development 2002;73(4):1085-1100.\n- Izard CE. Translating emotion theory and research into preventive interventions. Psychological Bulletin. 2002;128:796–824.\n- Youngstrom E, Wolpaw JM, Kogos JL, Schoff K, Ackerman B, Izard C. Interpersonal problem solving in preschool and first grade: Developmental change and ecological validity. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology. 2000;29(4):589-602.\n- Ursache A, Blair C, Raver CC. The promotion of self-regulation as a means of enhancing school readiness and early achievement in children at risk for school failure. Child Development Perspectives. 2012;6:122-128.\n- Bierman KL. Peer rejection: Developmental processes and intervention strategies. New York: Guilford; 2004.\n- Shure MB, Spivack G. Interpersonal problem-solving in young children: A cognitive approach to prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology. 1982;10(3):341-356.\n- Lynch KB, Geller SR, Schmidt MG. Multi-year evaluation of the effectiveness of a resilience-based prevention program for young children. The Journal of Primary Prevention. 2004;24:335–353.\n- Domitrovich CE, Cortes R, Greenberg MT. Improving young children’s social and emotional competence: A randomized trial of the preschool PATHS curriculum. Journal of Primary Prevention. 2007;28:67-91.\n- Hamre BK, Pianta RC, Mashburn AJ, Downer J. Promoting young children’s social competence through the Preschool PATHS Curriculum and My Teaching Partner professional development resources. Early Education and Development. 2012;23:809-832.\n- Bierman KL, Nix RL, Heinrichs BS, Domitrovich CE, Gest SD, Welsh JA, Gill S. Effects of Head Start REDI on children’s outcomes one year later in different kindergarten contexts. Child Development. 2014;85:140-159.\n- Webster-Stratton C, Reid MJ, Hammond M. Preventing conduct problems, promoting social competence: A parent and teacher training partnership in Head Start. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. 2001;30:283-302.\n- Raver CC, Jones SM, Li-Grining C, Zhai F, Bub K, Pressler E. CSRP’s impact on low-income preschoolers’ preacademic skills: Self-regulation as a mediating mechanism. Child Development. 2011;82:362-378.\n- Morris P, Mattera SK, Castells N, Bangser M, Bierman K, Raver C. Impact Findings from the Head Start CARES Demonstration: National Evaluation of Three Approaches to Improving Preschoolers’ Social and Emotional Competence. OPRE Report 2014-44. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014.\n- Mize J, Ladd GW. Toward the development of successful social skills training for preschool children. In: Asher SR, Coie JD, eds. Peer rejection in childhood. Cambridge studies in social and emotional development. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press; 1990:338-361.\n- Odom SL, McConnell SR, McEvoy MA, Peterson C, Ostrosky M, Chandler LK, Spicuzza RJ, Skellenger A, Creighton M, Favazza PC. Relative effects of interventions supporting the social competence of young children with disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. 1999;19(2):75-91.\n- Fantuzzo J, Manz P, Atkins M, Meyers R. Peer-mediated treatment of socially withdrawn maltreated preschool children: Cultivating natural community resources. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 2005;34(2):320-325.\n- Webster-Stratton C, Reid J, Hammond M. Social skills and problem-solving training for children with early-onset conduct problems: Who benefits? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 2001;42(7):943-952.\n- Vo AK, Sutherland KS, Conroy MA. Best in class: A classroom‐based model for ameliorating problem behavior in early childhood settings. Psychology in the Schools, 2012;49(5),402-415.\nHow to cite this article:\nKalvin C, Bierman KL, Erath SA. Prevention and Intervention Programs Promoting Positive Peer Relations in Early Childhood. In: Tremblay RE, Boivin M, Peters RDeV, eds. Boivin M, topic ed. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development [online]. http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/peer-relations/according-experts/prevention-and-intervention-programs-promoting-positive-peer. Updated April 2015. Accessed June 18, 2018."

"The Ready, Set, Play! Social Enrichment Program is based on the I Learn Through Play™ curriculum developed by Shirley Aninias. I Learn Through Play™ is designed to teach play skills in a group setting by providing visual tools that support the foundation of play and social skills, repetition, reinforcement, frequent opportunities to practice specific skills and multiple opportunities to generalize skills. We believe that social skills instruction needs to be guided in a systematic hierarchy at an early age in order to establish a foundation for them to build upon. The program is also tailored to enhance a child’s cognitive, social/emotional and communication skills by incorporating a fun multi-sensory approach to learning.\nIn our experience some programs do not concentrate on teaching and developing group play skills. They expect them to learn it incidentally. As a result, when children are presented with an opportunity to engage in a group activities they exhibit difficulties participating appropriately spontaneously. This is often due to a lack of exposure to structured group play. Our experience shows that with an educational plan tailored to the child’s needs, they can learn the skills necessary to participate in group play without reservation. Group play is a highly effective way for children to learn and master social skills.\n- Visuals tools that support the foundation of play and social skills\n- Repetition, reinforcement and consistency to acquire the skills\n- Frequent opportunities to practice specific skills\n- Multiple opportunities to generalize skills\nThe I Learn Though Play™ social curriculum is tailored to improve the following areas:\n- Eye contact\n- Responding to name\n- Following directions\n- Increase affect\n- Joining in/Initiating play\n- Sharing an experience about what she/he sees or likes\n- Sharing/turn taking\n- Navigating social situations\n- Negotiating a peer conflict/compromising\n- Sense of proximity when speaking\n- Interacting with others\n- Monitoring own behavior\n- Acknowledging and responding to others\n- Sustaining on topic\n- Appropriate volume\n- Improving frustration tolerance\n- Coping with changes in routine\n- Spatial awareness\n- Using emotions to effectively communicate needs appropriately\n- Negotiating a peer conflict\n- Reacting appropriately to others when things do not go their way\n- Understanding non-verbal cues\n- Facial expressions\n- Body language\n- Using and understanding emotions\n- Showing compassion\n- Recognizing friendships\n- Sustaining friends\n- There are 8 students, 1 teacher and 2 assistants in each class.\n- The Social Enrichment Program is comprised of 1 senior special education teacher, and 2 assistants.\n- Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT’s) and special instructors, and other related outside service providers are welcome to “push in” their services (hours must be approved by the director.)\n- We follow the Léman Manhattan Preparatory School calendar.\n- Parent training and collaboration with your child’s providers is an important component of our program. (It is highly recommended that we work together to ensure your child reaches his or her fullest potential).\n- Children usually first acquire the target social skills at Ready, Set, Play! Once they have learned specific skills it is important that it is generalized in other settings, with other people, and in different contexts.\n- For these skills to carryover, it is imperative that all the providers on the team coordinate to ensure that the learned skills are generalized across settings."

"Pragmatics and Social Skills\nAt the Fremantle LDC it is recognised that children with DLD typically experience difficulty in developing age appropriate play and socialisation skills due to their language disorder.\nAs play and social skills are such a vital area to both the successful language and general development of the child, the Fremantle LDC has developed specific play and social skills assessment processes and programs that teach strategies and skills in identified areas of need.\nThe Fun Friends Program is implemented in all year 1 and 2 classes and the Friends for Life Program is implemented across year 3 classes. These programs have shown to help children develop emotionally and socially and teach emotional resilience through a variety of practical and useful strategies.\nThe Friends for Life program is specifically targeted at the LDC speech and language impaired year 3 students as they prepare to return to their home school. This is often an anxious time for students who can find it difficult to communicate and express their fears.\nThrough this program of weekly lessons, children learn to deal with anxieties, are presented with interactive social skills and are helped to identify appropriate role models and peer support networks.\nTwo parent workshops are provided at each site so parents can support and encourage their child during the transition to the new school.\nA whole school focus on Values and the language of Virtues is implemented as an effective program to support the development of resilience.\nTeachers assess and program for students’ Play and Social Skills using the assessment and planning documents, anecdotal notes, checklists and observations in a range of classroom and social environments.\nThe language of emotions is explicity taught along with the social skills strategies outlined in Connect for Kids Programs. Parent workshops and information sessions are provided to develop their awareness and understanding of the impact of speech and language difficulties on social skill development.\nThe Fremantle LDC has a strong NO Bullying Policy that incorporates the strategies taught in the social skills programs.\nJoint Action Routines\nThe FLDC use Joint Action Routines to support students in the early years to develop the skills of social play with their peers. A Joint Action Routine is a powerful teaching tool for children with communication disorders. The term describes a play routine in which two or more children (child/adult, child/child) engage in a meaningful activity together wherein communication patterns are taught and rehearsed. The routines are:\n- generally based on familiar experiences such as going shopping, visiting the doctor, getting ready for school, having lunch at a café or buying a pet.\n- there is an expectation that each partner will participate in specified actions and communicative responses within a logical sequence based on a unifying theme.\n- the routines must require participants to interact and negotiate within the context provided. They generally involve two settings which require the participants to move between scenarios.\n- scripts are designed to provide opportunities for turn taking and allow for planned repetition and builds on strengths and skills gained in previous scenarios.\n- ultimately the children are encouraged to transfer their developing play skills to other scenarios and to generalise across different play environments.\nIn 2012, Fremantle LDC began the implementation of KidsMatter Primary, a mental health and wellbeing framework proven to make a positive difference to the lives of Australian children. KidsMatter Primary provides the methods, tools and support to help schools work with parents and carers, health services and the wider community to nurture happy, balanced kids.\nThrough KidsMatter Primary, schools undertake a two to three year cyclical process in which they plan and take action to be a positive community – one that is founded on respectful relationships and a sense of belonging and inclusion, and that promotes:\n- social and emotional learning (including evidence-based social and emotional learning programs)\n- working authentically with parents, carers and families\n- Support for students who may be experiencing mental health difficulties\nFollowing an introductory session outlining the programme, a KidsMatter Action Team was formed that includes staff from all three sites as well as our school chaplain and a parent representative. The Action Team attended two days of Professional Development, to provide them with the tools and skills to provide ongoing professional development on the KidsMatter framework to all staff within the school. Component 1 covers the importance of building a Positive School Community through:\n- developing a sense of Belonging and Connectedness in families, students and staff.\n- ensuring Collaboration occurs between families, students and staff and,\n- enhancing Inclusivity of all families, students and staff.\nInformation gathered from staff and families will be used to create a Mental Health Map of our school as well as an Action Plan to address any identified areas of need and support areas of strength. It is planned that the school will continue to implement the other components over the next three years."

"Pragmatics and Social Skills\nAt the Fremantle LDC it is recognised that children with DLD typically experience difficulty in developing age appropriate play and socialisation skills due to their language disorder.\nAs play and social skills are such a vital area to both the successful language and general development of the child, the Fremantle LDC has developed specific play and social skills assessment processes and programs that teach strategies and skills in identified areas of need.\nThe Fun Friends Program is implemented in all year 1 and 2 classes and the Friends for Life Program is implemented across year 3 classes. These programs have shown to help children develop emotionally and socially and teach emotional resilience through a variety of practical and useful strategies.\nThe Friends for Life program is specifically targeted at the LDC speech and language impaired year 3 students as they prepare to return to their home school. This is often an anxious time for students who can find it difficult to communicate and express their fears.\nThrough this program of weekly lessons, children learn to deal with anxieties, are presented with interactive social skills and are helped to identify appropriate role models and peer support networks.\nTwo parent workshops are provided at each site so parents can support and encourage their child during the transition to the new school.\nA whole school focus on Values and the language of Virtues is implemented as an effective program to support the development of resilience.\nTeachers assess and program for students’ Play and Social Skills using the assessment and planning documents, anecdotal notes, checklists and observations in a range of classroom and social environments.\nThe language of emotions is explicity taught along with the social skills strategies outlined in Connect for Kids Programs. Parent workshops and information sessions are provided to develop their awareness and understanding of the impact of speech and language difficulties on social skill development.\nThe Fremantle LDC has a strong NO Bullying Policy that incorporates the strategies taught in the social skills programs.\nJoint Action Routines\nThe FLDC use Joint Action Routines to support students in the early years to develop the skills of social play with their peers. A Joint Action Routine is a powerful teaching tool for children with communication disorders. The term describes a play routine in which two or more children (child/adult, child/child) engage in a meaningful activity together wherein communication patterns are taught and rehearsed. The routines are:\n- generally based on familiar experiences such as going shopping, visiting the doctor, getting ready for school, having lunch at a café or buying a pet.\n- there is an expectation that each partner will participate in specified actions and communicative responses within a logical sequence based on a unifying theme.\n- the routines must require participants to interact and negotiate within the context provided. They generally involve two settings which require the participants to move between scenarios.\n- scripts are designed to provide opportunities for turn taking and allow for planned repetition and builds on strengths and skills gained in previous scenarios.\n- ultimately the children are encouraged to transfer their developing play skills to other scenarios and to generalise across different play environments.\nIn 2012, Fremantle LDC began the implementation of KidsMatter Primary, a mental health and wellbeing framework proven to make a positive difference to the lives of Australian children. KidsMatter Primary provides the methods, tools and support to help schools work with parents and carers, health services and the wider community to nurture happy, balanced kids.\nThrough KidsMatter Primary, schools undertake a two to three year cyclical process in which they plan and take action to be a positive community – one that is founded on respectful relationships and a sense of belonging and inclusion, and that promotes:\n- social and emotional learning (including evidence-based social and emotional learning programs)\n- working authentically with parents, carers and families\n- Support for students who may be experiencing mental health difficulties\nFollowing an introductory session outlining the programme, a KidsMatter Action Team was formed that includes staff from all three sites as well as our school chaplain and a parent representative. The Action Team attended two days of Professional Development, to provide them with the tools and skills to provide ongoing professional development on the KidsMatter framework to all staff within the school. Component 1 covers the importance of building a Positive School Community through:\n- developing a sense of Belonging and Connectedness in families, students and staff.\n- ensuring Collaboration occurs between families, students and staff and,\n- enhancing Inclusivity of all families, students and staff.\nInformation gathered from staff and families will be used to create a Mental Health Map of our school as well as an Action Plan to address any identified areas of need and support areas of strength. It is planned that the school will continue to implement the other components over the next three years."

"Social Emotional Learning\nSocial Emotional Learning (SEL)\nFerndale Schools, like our communities, are diverse. When we interview alumni, the most frequently cited aspect of their education that helped them succeed is the range of human experiences and perspectives among their peers. Our students are multicultural and multilingual, coming from diverse social and economic backgrounds. This is increasingly representative of the real world. Serving this diverse student body means adapting our educational model to a spectrum of students with different ways of engaging in learning, different levels of academic performance, and different motivations for behaving positively. One of the most useful tools we have developed for overcoming these challenges is our Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) framework. SEL provides a foundation for safe and positive learning, and enhances every student’s ability to succeed in school, in a career, and in life.\nContinue Reading about Ferndale SEL...\nSEL is rooted in our ‘whole child’ philosophy. What does it mean to educate the whole child? It starts with recognizing that learning is about more than reading, writing, and arith-metic. Ferndale Schools teachers and administrators are dedicated to educating and nurturing the entire child so each student grows into a purposeful, lifelong learner. Our talented educators have developed a guiding framework that is integrated into the classroom every day. This framework teaches social and emotional development skills and the benefits are clear: academic achievement increases, students feel more confident, and teachers have more time to teach.\nOur K-5 Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) framework teaches children to acknowledge, understand, and regulate their emotions so that they know how to respond to life’s daily ups and downs. Each student learns that every brain has both an ‘emotional’ and a ‘thinking’ response to challenges and problems. They learn how their emotions trigger their brain to work before they are in control. Then, they are taught skills to manage these emotions, including how to set achievable goals and how to show empathy for themselves and others. This helps them to build supportive relationships and make responsible decisions. And the curriculum is spiraling, meaning that the different aspects are reinforced through circular repetition. As each student begins to better understand and integrate the principles and procedures, they are presented with new opportunities to use those skills and to teach their classmates how to use them as well. K-5 teachers at our upper and lower elementary schools use the SEL framework to guide their classroom through techniques and activities that strengthen student relationships and behavior. The result is a stronger sense of community and a place where all children can and want to learn.\nSocialization and relationship building continue to be key areas of children’s lives as they transition into adolescence. At the secondary level, we have designed a curriculum to support this stage of development, including Impact Hour. Impact Hour is a daily class in which students learn ‘soft skills.’ Soft skills are those desirable qualities that apply across a variety of jobs and life situations—traits such as integrity, communication, courtesy, responsibility, professionalism, flexibility, and teamwork. In order to support college or career readiness, our students strengthen these skills while learning to manage time better and meet deadlines. They also are encouraged to develop strategies to deal with setbacks and build on their ability to get along with each other. Students develop soft skills and begin to understand their importance through socialization, learning core values, attitudes, and actions with their teachers and peers. By adding this important curriculum element for our secondary students, we are empowering them with essential practices needed for success after graduation.\nFerndale Schools has been at the forefront of the movement toward SEL for years and has been recognized by both the State of Michigan and national organizations for its SEL curriculum. The American Institute of Research has also visited Ferndale to learn about our approach as it supports districts throughout the country in their own efforts to match our success. Many of our neighboring school districts have also requested training from our staff in the Ferndale SEL curriculum. This interest is a testament to the incredible work done by our staff in their continued focus on educating the whole child.\nSocial and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitutudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy towards others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. (Casel, 2017)\nSEL is not a program or method, but rather coordinating framework embedded into schoolwide practices and policies. Understanding the impact that social emotional learning has on the adult, child and environment - it is a driver to provide a safe welcoming environment for everyone.\nOur social and emotional learning plan focuses on five core competencies that support everyone to be able to navigate their daily life with both their heart and mind:\n- Self awareness\n- self management\n- social awareness\n- relationship skills\n- responsible decision making\nAs children go through Ferndale Schools they will continue to gain a clear understanding of the specific competencies that will support them now and in the future.\nThe emotional brain responds to an event more quickly than the thinking brain, so the goal is to be able to recognize, understand and regulate that emotional response first so your thinking brain can engage and control your response.\nFirst, A Story\n“I’m so STUPID!!!” Anton cried in frustration, throwing the box of crayons across the room.\nUpset by his outburst (but not surprised because it happened a lot), his friend and next door neighbor Sarah asked him, “What are you trying to draw, Anton? Can I help?”\n“No! You can’t help! I’ll never learn to draw a bird. NEVER! I just can’t draw! That’s it!”\nCalmly, Sarah walked over to her Saturday playgroup bucket and brought it to the table. She began bringing out pieces of paper, one by one, laying them in a row facing Anton. Through his fingers, Anton peeked at what Sarah had brought over. “You kept all my stupid bird drawings? Are you trying to make me feel bad? Look at them! They’re so ugly! It’s like a 5 year old drew them instead of an 8 year old! Put them away!” Crossing his arms on the desk, he slammed his head down and started howling.\n“Anton.” No response but the crying. “Anton!...ANTON! THESE AREN’T YOURS! THEY’RE MINE!”\nThere was silence for a few seconds, and then Anton raised his head, peering suspiciously at the drawings. “No way. These aren’t yours. You’ve ALWAYS been great at art time.”\n“No, I haven’t, and yes, they ARE mine. See? This one is from our first day of playgroup this year. Here’s the next week, the next week, and here’s today’s. Look at the wings. That’s what I’ve been trying to make better since the beginning of the year. See how much better they are today?”\nAnton studied the drawings, and then looked confusedly up at Sarah. “You only worked on the wings? But the whole drawing is better.”\n“Well, thanks, but I think the wings just make the whole bird look better. I just picked that one thing to work on every week, and every week I got a little better.”\n“But the first week’s picture is horrible. Sorry, that wasn’t very nice. What I mean is, this week’s wing is so much better. How did you do that?”\n“I dunno. I just tried to do it a little different every week until something worked. You can always get better at things.”\n“Well, maybe YOU can. I can’t. I just can’t draw.”\nAnton snapped his head up, shocked at this statement from his usually kind friend.\n“You can’t, if you think you can’t. If you think you can, you’ll get better. That’s what I did. I really thought that I could draw a better bird. So I did.”\nThoughtfully, Anton looked at his bird drawing. He glanced over at Sarah’s drawings, and then back at his own. Quietly, he stood up, retrieved his thrown crayon box, and came back to the table. “What do you think I should work on?”\n“I think you could start with the head. See here? It looks like the beak might be in the wrong place, and that makes the whole head look weird.”\nAnton stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth, a signal that he was concentrating hard. He put his crayon to the paper and began to draw.\nSarah watched him quietly, and then looked at her and Anton’s moms sitting at the kitchen table, listening to the conversation. Anton’s mom looked shocked, but Sarah’s mom was giving Sarah a proud, but knowing, smile.\n“What. Just. Happened?” Anton’s mother asked.\n“SEL just happened,” Sarah’s mother responded.\n“Sarah’s grade at Ferndale Upper Elementary is on Growth Mindset in their Social-Emotional Learning curriculum this week. Since she’s in 3rd grade, she’s learned about it every year, though, so this year is really just a review and working on some more advanced habits of mind.”\n“What’s Growth Mindset?”\n“How about if I let Sarah tell you? Hey, Sarah - could you come here for a minute?”\nModule One - Creating A School Family\nModule Two - Brain States\nModule Three - Growth Mindset\nModule Four - Executive Functioning\nModule Five - Mindfulness\nModule Six - Character & Values\nAfter Sarah returned to drawing, her mom admitted, “I have to say, I was skeptical when I first heard about SEL. I thought it was fluff to take up the day. But when Sarah’s thought processes started changing in first grade, I began to realize that the SEL curriculum was making some positive changes. Sarah used to get as frustrated as Anton does when she couldn’t do something.”\n“No way. Not the Sarah I know!” Anton’s mother said incredulously.\n“Oh, yes. Before you guys moved in next door, she melted down almost every day at school. She would give up and throw herself around, and she thought she was bad at everything. Now, she realizes that she can get better at things if she keeps trying. That’s Growth Mindset.”\n“Anton doesn’t believe that about himself. How do I teach him?”\n“I just build at home upon the things that her teachers do in the classroom. You’ll have to ask them what they do specifically.”\n“But we don’t go to Ferndale Schools. And I don’t think there’s anything like that at our elementary school.”\nSarah’s mom looked at Anton’s. “It’s not too late, you know. He could always transfer.”\nWhat is Taught\nFrom Module 1\nTeachers teach children skills and techniques for maintaining/restoring composure, identifying emotions, keeping a positive mindset, and performing rituals, and being assertive.\nFrom Module 2\nStudents will learn how their emotions actually change the way their brain works in the moment. They will learn to restore executive function through safety and connection.\nFrom Module 3\nBy developing a growth mindset, students learn not to be discouraged by struggle or feel powerless. Instead, they will recognize it as a chance to grow their intelligence and expand their skill set.\nFrom Module 4\nStudents will will practice organization, planning and impulse control, and develop working memory and flexible thinking.\nFrom Module 5\nLearning Mindfulness skills empower students to bringing one's attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment. This “presence” leads to less reactivity, less stress, less anxiety throughout life.\nFrom Module 6\nStudents are encouraged to develop their individuality guided by their own character and values of kindness, empathy and respect.\nHow It Is Taught\nSEL is embedded into the daily structure in many different ways. At the K-5 level, students participate in a daily 'Morning Meeting' where students learn specific skills through teacher read alouds, videos, music and other sensory based activities. At the secondary level, Grades 6 - 12 students participate in a daily class titled Impact Hour at FMS/FHS and College Prep Course at UHS. During this designated class, students learn and have open dialogue about specific soft skills. Impact Hour is also a mentoring type classroom where students have the same Impact Hour teacher throughout the years so they have a mentor who can continue to check in and support each student.\nIn addition to the specific daily structures, it's important to note that SEL is embedded into the culture, climate and structures in each school. From the daily announcements to district character quotes shared, a wide range of specific activities are integrated to support student success."

"Photos: Students in Ferndale Public Schools, a 2019 Innovative District. (Courtesy of Ferndale Public Schools)\nWe often hear that social-emotional learning (SEL) encompasses the “soft skills” students need to develop. In Ferndale, we don’t believe they are the soft skills students need, but the essential skills. We know that when we focus on the whole child, teach social and emotional skills, and intentionally provide a safe, positive climate where our students feel more confident and accepted, teachers have more time to support learning and academic achievement increases.\nWhy We Prioritized SEL in Our Schools\nIn 2012, Ferndale Public Schools went through a restructuring process to provide equitable learning opportunities for all students. During this process, it was clear we had pockets of excellence around SEL but a fragmented approach from class to class and school to school. With this in mind, we set off to develop and implement an intentionally integrated approach to social, emotional, and academic development districtwide.\nOur systematic districtwide plan is based on five key competencies:\n- Social awareness\n- Relationship skills\n- Responsible decision making\nThe Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) states that SEL is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.\nAt the early childhood and elementary level, we developed six modules that provide teachers with specific skills, activities, and structures to teach, embed, and use each day. At the beginning of the school year, our first module is “Creating a School Family.” For six weeks, teachers must establish a strong sense of belonging, acceptance, and understanding with their students—an understanding that as a class family, we will collectively learn, succeed, and work together.\nThe “learning plan” modules that follow specifically teach our students about the brain states, growth mindset, executive function skills, mindfulness, and characters or values. The learning plan is the core of our work and leads to building a true sense of ownership, trust, and strong relationships. Each year, the SEL committee updates the modules based on new learning and ideas.\nAt the secondary level, we added a “seventh-hour” class for students that we call “Impact Hour/CPC,” with the latter standing for College Prep Course. This time is dedicated to conversations essential to building trust, mutual respect, and a connection to school and life. Throughout the year, students have the same Impact Hour/CPC teacher. The Impact Hour mirrors the modules at the elementary level. We also have student representatives on our secondary SEL committees, which has further added student voices to the development of our activities, providing important ideas and leveraging student ownership.\nWhere Do We Go From Here?\nOur district is on the right path by putting SEL at the core of our practices, but we recognize there is so much more to do! This shift in practice has led to more recognition of the importance of relationships, a greater understanding of diverse backgrounds and experiences (not only of our students but also of our staff!), and more honest conversations among school leaders and faculty on what types of adult learning are necessary to continue fostering a true, equitable environment.\nAs we continue to strengthen our work and teach essential skills to students, our focus on learning about neuroscience, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed practices, and restorative efforts has made us as adults more conscious of our words, actions, and understanding of others, and more aware of the importance of our recognition, understanding, and intentions. When adults begin to have internal shifts in their thinking and behaviors, the heavy lifting can begin to occur with workaround-implicit bias, inequities, access, meaningful participation, and other large-scale practices that in time will lead to true culturally sustaining practices that support each and every student.\nOne of our favorite sayings is, Cognitive functions are built on emotional platforms. We are proud of the Ferndale School Family for putting our beliefs into action and knowing what’s best for our students.\nThe views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.\nFerndale Public Schools was an Innovative District at ICLE’S 2019 Model Schools Conference. Join more than 5,000 educators in 100+ sessions at MSC 2020 in Orlando, Florida, from June 28–July 1, 2020, where you can learn how to connect with courage to drive innovation and change in your school or district.\nBe the first to read the latest from Shaped."

"Effective Practices : Community Life\nAnnual Meetings and Events\nCommunity Life Section 1\n1. What are the meetings and events that are held at your school on an annual basis to which the entire school community is invited? Describe each event/meeting, state its primary purpose, and name the group or body at the school with responsibility for the meeting/event.\n2. How effectively do these events and meetings work to create a feeling of community in the school?\n3. Are there school wide events or meetings that were held in the past few years that have now been discontinued? What led your school to stop these meetings, and have you been satisfied with the results of that decision?\n4. How are these events and meetings communicated to the parent body? What percent of the parent body typically attends each function?\n5. Describe the key elements of your school’s philosophy in relation to your annual meetings and events.\n6. What about your annual meetings and events is particularly effective?\n7. If there were something that you could change in relation to your school’s annual meetings and events, what would it be and why?\nWhat are the meetings and events that are held at your school on an annual basis to which the entire school community is invited? Describe each event/meeting, state its primary purpose, and name the group or body at the school with responsibility for the meeting/event.\nWaldorf education uses the strength of regular rhythms to good effect in the classroom, and utilizes this same approach to build a strong community of adults to surround and support the children. When Waldorf schools are asked which events are held on an annual basis there are very clear similarities in approach and purpose that are seen in all school communities.\nBack to School\nSchools hold several events at the beginning of the school year to engage new parents and to call on the strength of parents who have been involved for a longer time. These back to school events include a back to school meeting, the Rose Ceremony, and a welcome tea or coffee.\nThe back to school meeting is sponsored by the Parent Association or the Board of Trustees, and is often a joint venture of these two groups. Sometimes the purpose of these events is purely social community building, and the event may feature a pot luck dinner with desserts provided by the Parent Association. At some schools the meal is provided by the Parent Association, and baby sitting is provided for school age children so that it is easy for parents to attend. A feature of these events is introductions of the various leadership bodies at the school and their members.\nMore typical is a meeting with the purpose of welcoming new parents and faculty, and providing introductions to the leadership bodies at the school. The purpose of these meetings is to encourage participation in the life of the school, and often these meetings have a number of information tables, each manned by representatives of the various committees at the school in which parent participation is encouraged. The various committees share information about their work and their goals for the year, and there is often an effort to recruit new members. These meetings often begin with a more formal meeting-style presentation, and then break into an open session where parents can drop by the various tables to learn more while sampling desserts provided by the school. One school shared that it has been very successful in gaining interest in the committee work of the school by asking each committee to offer a fabulous dessert at their table to share with parents as they stop by to learn about the committee work. There is great competition between the various committees to offer truly outstanding desserts so that parents stop to chat at several tables while enjoying a sweet ending to their day.\nThe Rose Ceremony is the traditional event for the first day of school in Waldorf schools around the world. At this special ceremony the new first graders are welcomed into the lower school, and are presented a Rose by a special friend in the 8th grade (or 12th grade in schools with a high school). At one time these events were held as assemblies for students only, but more and more schools have begun to open these touching ceremonies up to the larger community. The Rose Ceremony is a faculty sponsored event.\nThe first day of school is also marked by a welcome tea or coffee in many schools. It is often scheduled to coincide with the Rose Ceremony, and allows parents to reconnect with each other and the school after a summer’s absence. It is usually the Parent Council that sponsors the welcome teas.\nMost schools report that their Board of Trustees hold two meetings a year to which all parents are invited. One is usually held in the fall, and focuses on some of the exciting issues and thorny challenges that lie ahead for the school. These meetings may include a session for parents to provide input as part of a strategic planning process, or may be filled with information about the work underway as the school grows and develops. The second session is held early in the spring. At times these meetings focus on the school’s plans for the coming year, the budget and changes to tuition. At other times these are town hall style meetings at which parents are able to ask questions and share concerns on a variety of issues on their minds, and receive answers from Board members and members of other leadership bodies.\nSchools often have an annual event each year that is purely social in nature; these events are sponsored by the school’s Parent Council. Typical of these is a back to school barn dance, a gathering with an old time country music feel. The event is for the whole family, and begins with a potluck supper, followed by the dance. Schools report that these events are also open to alumni, and that many families return to school for this special event.\nAnother social event offered by a school is a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the Parent Council with the intention that everyone has someone with whom to celebrate Thanksgiving. Another school holds a Spiral of Lights Festival at Advent or during the winter break. This event is also a potluck dinner, followed by seasonal songs and an opportunity to walk a candlelit spiral of greens. The event is intended to remind all participants that just as the plant world rests and develops inner resources during the winter months so that it can burst forth with renewed vigor in the spring, so too the human being is nourished by a time of quiet contemplation and inner growth during the short days and long evenings of winter.\nSchools typically hold one large fundraiser a year. At some schools the event is an annual auction, a gala evening with presentations by performing artists in he community, and both silent and live auction offered for consideration. Other schools report they have enjoyed both good times and good returns from their annual golf tournament. One school reported it had had success with an annual giving kick off party, an adult evening to socialize and hear about the campaign. Food and entertainment are provided at a fun location with the benefit of building community while sowing the seeds of support for the annual campaign. At some schools one of the annual fairs is also structured as a fundraiser. Major events such as auctions and golf tournaments are typically coordinated by the school’s development office; fairs are most commonly organized by the school’s Parent Association.\nMost schools host both a winter and a spring fair. Typically one of these fairs has a focus on community building, while the second one is structured to be a fund raiser. Schools report that the winter fair is often a holiday market, with vendors offering seasonal gift items and the school store providing many Waldorf oriented toys and crafts for holiday gift giving.\nOne school described its event this way:\n“The Holiday Fair began as a holiday market. It is now a two day event with a Friday night adult-only social with fine desserts, coffee, musical offerings by parents, a tree lighting ceremony and then a dance. The vendors and School Store is set up, as well as a silent auction and a children’s raffle. The Fair begins the next day at ten with the addition of children’s activities, a puppet show, a lunch & student entertainment, as well as tree sales and results of the auction and raffle.”\nThe spring fair is often held in conjunction with May Day, and features maypole dances by each class as well as an opportunity for community members to join in the fun. There are often crafts for the children and activities such as floral wreath making for adults. Activities include hair braiding, old fashioned games and strawberry shortcake making. Often vendors are in attendance, and the event is open to the larger community.\nAssemblies and Festivals\nSchools typically hold a few all school assemblies each year. Often these occur the last day of school before winter and spring break, and again on the last day of school. Attendance at these events is very strong, as parents love to come see their children perform selected offerings from the curriculum.\nThe festivals at Waldorf schools include Michaelmas and Martinmas. Michaelmas is often quite involved, with every class having a role of some sort. The highlight is a Michaelmas play put on by several grades, and featuring the tale of Saint George and the dragon. There is often a pot luck lunch at this festival, followed by a community work day in the afternoon. Martinmas is usually a smaller festival, with the young grades making lanterns and touring through the campus or the neighborhood around the school. Older classes make bread and soup, while others serve the meal around a bonfire (weather permitting). Another event frequently occurring is a Pumpkin Patch. The common elements in each of these events are its spiritual basis and the intent to inform and build community between parents and teachers.\nAnother common event with a spiritual basis is the offering of one or more of the Oberuffer plays during the Christmas holiday. Often the faculty of the school will offer the Shepherds’ Play and the Paradise Play to the community. In some schools these presentations are augmented by the offering of the Three Kings’ Play by the 12th grade students. Assemblies and festivals are coordinated by the faculty.\nConcerts and Performances\nConcerts, plays and other student presentations are regular features of the Waldorf school year. There are typically concerts in the fall and in the spring by various instrumental music ensembles, and classes present plays from the curriculum at various times throughout the year. A highlight is the end of the year plays offered by the 8th and 12th grade students.\nAnother regularly occurring performance is Grandparents Day. Grandparents and special friends are invited to a special assembly held in their honor, and each class presents selections from the curriculum prior to inviting the grandparents back to their classrooms to view displays of student artwork and main lesson books. This event is held at various times in the school year. One school holds the event in conjunction with Michaelmas. Another schedules it in conjunction with the spring fair and the 8th grade class play. Yet another schedules it on the last day prior to the recess held in February for teachers’ conference week.\nThe 12th and 8th grade graduation ceremonies close the school year. They are an opportunity to mark the students’ and teachers’ accomplishments at this important milestone, and are well attended by the school community. Schools with both an 8th and 12th grade report that the 8th grade graduation is typically a smaller celebration of transition, while the 12th grade graduation is a major event for the community as it celebrates its students and sends them out into the world.\nHow effectively do these events and meetings work to create a feeling of community in the school?\nAll of the schools in the study found that the collective impact of all the various events and activities described above has a very positive effect on building and sustaining a sense of community among the adults at the school.\nSeveral schools noted that the assemblies, festivals, concerts and other events which focus on the children were the most well attended and most effective in terms of building community. Meetings with more of a business tone such as Board sponsored state of the school meetings are less “warm and fuzzy”, and are harder to get joyful participation. However, these meetings are viewed as an important part of the schools’ annual rhythm and schools continue to search for the best way to maximize the human connections at these gatherings. As one school noted, “When we miss creating a feeling of community at a meeting, it is often because we run out of time and don’t provide enough opportunities to hear from members of the community or to get back to people that have shared their ideas and perspectives.\nThe importance of the social element was underscored by another school which noted that when pedagogical and social elements (alumni presentations, biographies of a few Waldorf teachers, or wine, cheese and some fabulous desserts) are a part of a meeting, attendance increases and the positive feelings generated among the participants are noticeable.\nAre there school wide events or meetings that were held in the past few years that have now been discontinued? What led your school to stop these meetings, and have you been satisfied with the results of that decision?\nSchools often change the frequency, timing or approach to the various meetings and events held each year. The challenge is to balance tradition and rhythm with the need to keep things fresh and inspiring. The amount of human energy required to stage the variety of events and meetings at a Waldorf school is significant, and this can lead schools to changes as well.\nOne school made the decision to alternate the years in which they staged a Pumpkin Path and the Shepherd’s Play. These events occurred in fairly close proximity and were both sponsored by the faculty, creating an unmanageable drain on the teacher’s forces just prior to the holiday season.\nAnother school noted that its school picnic had been replaced with a barn dance. This was done because the social events needed to be kept in tune with the interests and needs of the parents. The same school noted that it held a biannual auction for many years, but over time this event seemed to no longer serve the needs of the parent community. The event has since been replaced by a golf tournament, which seems to better match the interests of the parent body. Similarly, one school reported that it had held an annual budget meeting that had been very well attended as tuition increases had been quite high for a period of time. Over time the financial situation at the school stabilized, tuition increases and the budget became fairly predictable, and attendance dropped to the point where the meeting is no longer held.\nAt times a special need or project may require additional meetings for a period. One school noted that during the time it was planning for a move to a new location and for a period following the relocation it was necessary to hold four general parent meetings a year. Once the school had been comfortably settled in its new home for a period of time the special purpose that drove the high number of meetings was gone, the school reduced the number of general parent meetings to twice a year.\nOther events are less obviously tied to the seasonal calendar, and the best timing for those events is less clear. One school has struggled with the best timing for its annual state of the school meeting, and has alternated between holding it early in the year as a kick off and holding it in the spring as a part of the school’s budgeting and planning cycle. Although the school has tried both approaches, neither seems to necessarily be better than the other.\nAnother school traditionally included a community potluck luncheon for the parents as part of its festival celebrations. However, teachers reported that it was increasingly difficult to hold the children’s attention after lunch on these special days, and the decision was made to move the festival celebration earlier in the day and then to dismiss school early on those days. This eliminated the parent potluck, a change that was felt as a social loss by many.\nHow are these events and meetings communicated to the parent body? What percent of the parent body typically attends each function?\nThe school’s annual calendar and the weekly bulletin are the primary vehicles for alerting parents to the various events and activities at the school. Often times the school newsletter will feature a two week calendar at the top of the page with all of the important upcoming events.\nThe notification of special all school meetings is usually supplemented by a separate letter or postcard that goes out in the mail. Postcards are also frequently used for cultural events such as special performances and lectures. Major fundraising events such as auctions and golf tournaments typically use a separate high quality invitation.\nSchool web sites are also becoming an increasingly effective means of giving parents current information about upcoming events, and are a convenient place to check for details such as the exact time and location on campus for an event or meeting. Room reps are also using email more frequently to pass along this sort of information, rather than using the telephone trees that were so widely used in the past.\nEvery school noted that events such as festivals, assemblies, and performances by the children have the very highest attendance of any activity at the school, reaching virtually 100%. Similar attendance levels are seen at class parent evenings. Fairs and major social events such as the annual barn dance are also well attended, with 70% or more of the community in attendance. Other meetings which are open to the entire community are of interest to a smaller group of parents and are less well attended, but important to hold nonetheless. For example, only 20% of the families might choose to attend a back to school general parent meeting, but attendance is high among new families and the value of the event is high for those who attend.\nDescribe the key elements of your school’s philosophy in relation to your annual meetings and events.\nThe school is a whole school community, and all areas of the school must work together in partnership to effectively educate the children. All of these events have the effect of working to bring the school together. The events give us a common understanding of the impulse of Waldorf education, particularly through the festival celebrations.\nThe school tries to be open and up front about the issues it is grappling with.\nWe try to make the events fun. The social aspect is very important at the school.\nWe try to make sure that meetings are well planned, and that they start and end on time.\nA point is made to have virtually all faculty members present at meetings and events. This is an important aspect of the faculty’s role.\nWe try to make all of our meetings interactive in some way, using breakout groups and other small group activity to create active participation.\nWe try to balance the various all school meetings and events throughout the year. We are conscious of not overtaxing the community, having too many events in close succession, and of having too many similar events one after the other. We have a good balance between events designed to entertain, as work days at the school, and to inform.\nIn addition to the basic events described above special meetings will be held as needed. For example, there were several meetings scheduled one year around a reorganization of the office and several more a few years ago when the five year plan was completed.\nOur focus is on inclusion and education.\nIt is important to embrace a diversity of views. Try to find out what people are thinking and work with these ideas so they can be brought into the decision process. Embrace conflict. People are amazed and pleased when they see that a school can handle and work effectively with this kind of pressure and inclusion.\nHave something social in every meeting. Perhaps begin with a song or a verse, a biography question, or provide an opportunity for people to speak with the person next to them for two or three minutes.\nDon’t be afraid to repeat the basics. It’s amazing what people don’t know despite our best efforts to communicate and provide information.\nHaving things well organized and clear is essential to a productive meeting. Be well organized, publish agendas, and start and end on time. People don’t want to come if they can’t count on us to do what we’ve promised.\nWe like to include teachers in our meetings. It’s wonderful when they can do or share something - lead a song, tell a story, or present an artistic exercise.\nAll of our events strive to be consistent with our values. For example, the Holiday Fair de-emphasizes commercialism and emphasizes time together and the beauty of the season. We strive to give people a glimpse of who we are as a school - our love of children, the use of age appropriate activities, no media, wholesome foods, and beauty.\nWhat about your annual meetings and events is particularly effective?\nThe sum of our annual meetings and events gives most parents ample opportunity to connect with the school community and volunteer their time to a measure that they wish.\nThe school is sure to share the presentation between enough people so that the meeting doesn’t feel like a monologue by one person.\nIt’s important to have an interactive portion to each meeting.\nIt’s important to be very organized and yet be able to be really responsive in the moment at our meetings.\nCookies and drinks are always provided at the end of meetings so that they can end on time and yet people who wish to can stay and continue their conversations.\nWe have a good balance of sharing the students’ work and involving parents in the work of the school and in giving information.\nThe festivals and assemblies really build the community, and help people see beyond their own child and his or her class.\nThe mix of social and business aspects at the general parent meetings works very well.\nThe moment that children are involved or there is a group of parents who are very enthusiastic the event is a success.\nThe trick is to find a balance between establishing traditions that people look forward to and ensuring that events do not become stale because they are repeated just for tradition’s sake.\nThe community building aspect of these events is their most effective aspect. There is a really good spirit about the events. People feel good about the events and about the school after they’ve worked on them and after they’ve attended.\nIf there were something that you could change in relation to your school’s annual meetings and events, what would it be and why?\nFestivals in particular are in transition at our school. We value the spiritual significance of these events, but it is hard to get people to rally to make them happen, on the one hand, and there is not the heart to scale back/simplify on the other. I would like to see us be more open to parent help with the creation and running of festivals. Our middle age leaning faculty simply don’t have the stamina or willingness to “do it all” any more.The meetings that work best are the ones in which we make time to break into small groups and then come back together to share as a large group. This allows a greater opportunity for people to be heard, to learn something and to incorporate new ideas.\nThe quality of the meeting facilitation is critical. We need someone to facilitate important meetings so that we stick to the agenda and achieve the desired results.\nWe need to review our meetings and make sure that we are offering things that are really helpful for parents and that build community. Things have been working well, and we need to make sure that we don’t get too comfortable.\nThe beginning of the year meeting still needs work. It is expensive and still doesn’t draw everyone in.\nOur general parent meetings could still be better attended. We have not found the magic for making this happen.\nIt would be good for the class teachers to be more involved in inviting parents. This took place in the early days of the school, and could make a great difference in attendance.\nThe annual Board meeting at which the Board is reaffirmed is just a formality. There is an opportunity to do a more thorough review in the context of this meeting and to gain valuable perspectives through our time together at this meeting.\nIt is not quite clear as to who owns the general parent meetings. Is it the responsibility of the Parent Association or the faculty? This is a reflection of a larger question living in the community about the role of the parent.\nIt would be great to bring in more volunteers to support these events. We don’t want to keep turning to the same people year after year, and allow them to exhaust themselves in service to the school."

"According to David N. Roach, Co- Founder, The Familyhood Connection Inc, “Healthy Economics,” is an inter-generational approach of increasing sustainability from within a community by utilizing schools as centers for development.\nHealthy Economics defines the school in every community as the nucleus of that communities development.\nHealthy Economics, through its four programs, divides the school into three main organizations and collaborates them to operate a school garden, farmers market and grocery store on school sites.\nA brief description of how they work together, to advance a community towards Familyhood is below. (the order could vary in different school sites).\nMany schools do not have these three basic organizations functioning on school campuses: Student Government Association (SGA), Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and Alumni Association (AA).\nSome schools have a strong PTA and some no PTA at all.\nIs this fair for the students?\nIs education equal, one school has a Student Government Association on campus that enables students hands on leadership training, cooperative learning, etc, and another school no Student Government at all?\nThe Friends of School Program motto is “every school will have a functioning Student Government Association, Parent Teacher Association and Alumni Association.”\nOnce the school has these three functioning on campus, #Familyhood promotes them to collaborate, This collaboration is called “The Intergenerational Enterprise.”\n“Intergenerational represents students, parents, alumni working together.\n“Enterprise” represents The Mo’ Better Food Program, which says’ every school will have a garden, a farmers market and a grocery store.\n#Familyhood promotes The Intergenerational Enterprise to start/operate these food related enterprises.\nHow does this all begin one may ask?\nIt begins with The 1st Saturdays Program.\n1st Saturdays is the official monthly volunteer/recruitment day to support the above agenda.\nThe Steps are:\n1. Register to be “a friend of a school” at “Friends of school .org”\n2. Assuming you are approved (no legal issues, etc) “the friend” gains the support of the school’s Principal to enable “the friend” to recruit members to join each of the three main organizations (SGA, PTA, ALUMNI).\n3. The Principal (School Administration) marks the the school calendar with “SAVE THE DATES” – 1st Saturdays -monthly volunteer/ recruitment day.\n4. “The Friend” promotes 1st Saturdays for these organizations or “interested individuals” to meet and volunteer at the school once a month.\n5. During the 1st Saturdays event, if the school has a functioning Student Government Association and/or Parent Teacher Association and/or Alumni Association, organizations updates from representatives are part of the 1st Saturdays agenda.\nIf the school does not have any or all of the above organizations, then 1st Saturdays assists in recruiting members to join any of these organizations for the school.\nIn addition to hearing updates from these organizations, Healthy Economics promotes these organizations to collaborate under the title of The Inter-generational Enterprise.\nThe Inter-generational Enterprise plans/operates “healthy activities” such as planning/working the school garden, planning/working the schools farmers market and expanding the school’s capacity to eventually having a school based grocery store on campus.\nThis collaboration, The Inter-generational Enterprise which consists of a body of students, parents, alumni and community partners, meeting every 1st Saturdays of the month with plans of hosting a school garden, farmers market and grocery store, as mentioned above, is what Healthy Economics defines as a community heading towards Familyhood.\nFamilyhood is a self sustaining society that lives in peace and harmony and one word to describe the strategies of Healthy Economics."

"Annotation from the Connection Collection\nYou are viewing a record from the Connection Collection, a searchable annotated bibliography database. It links you with research-based information that you can use to connect schools, families, and communities.\n|Title:||High school outreach and family involvement|\n|Author:||Simon, B. S.|\n|Resource Type:||Journal Article|\nSocial Psychology of Education, 7(2)|\n|Literature type:||Research and Evaluation|\nWhen high schools reach out to families, are parents more likely to support their teenagers as learners? This research examines whether high school outreach programs can help sustain family partnerships that tend to decline as students transition from middle to high school. Predictors of parental involvement in various partnership activities at the high school level are examined. Analyses indicated significant relationships among several school outreach activities and a variety of parent involvement measures. Results indicated that high school outreach programs significantly and positively predicted parent involvement in a variety of learning-at-home, parenting, and volunteering activities, regardless of the students' background and achievement. School contacts concerning postsecondary planning, as well as other outreach measures, had a positive influence on parents' reports of college-planning discussions. Analyses also showed that school outreach to parents regarding how to assist students with homework positively and significantly predicted how often parents worked with their children on homework. This study examined individual-level reports from parents concerning their perceptions of school outreach and of their own involvement. Analyses were conducted on data collected from a sample of 11,348 parents of twelfth graders who were participating in the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88). The socioeconomic status, family structure, gender, and race/ethnicity demographics of the sample were similar to the average for all twelfth graders participating in the NELS: 88 study. Results suggest that high schools are able to facilitate parental involvement in student learning, and they may accomplish this goal especially well when the organized activities align with the goals for the student. This study intends to address gaps in research that has generally ignored the relationship between high schools' outreach and families' involvement practices. Some of the findings indicated weak relationships that may be attributable to the NELS: 88 data and could be strengthened in future research through the inclusion of data regarding outreach program quality and frequency of parental involvement. Future research, including randomized controlled trials, should focus on determining causal relationships between family involvement and high school performance indicators.\nSuggested Citation Style:\n- Simon, B. S. (2004). High school outreach and family involvement. Social Psychology of Education, 7(2), 185-209."

"1. What is the I Can Do It! program?\nThe I Can Do It! Program (ICDI), released through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (Administration for Community Living), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, is a voluntary school-based physical activity program designed to provide access, facilitate, and encourage opportunities for students with disabilities to be physically active for 60 minutes a day. The program also focuses on educating students to practice healthy nutritional habits.\n2. Does the activity need to be 60 consecutive minutes?\nNo. This can be accomplished by accumulating the 60 minutes through physical education, adapted physical education, recess, classroom physical activity breaks, active transport to and from school, and extracurricular activities, including a variety of club and sport activities.\n3. Why is it important for schools to implement the I Can Do It!\nThere are almost 7 million students with disabilities that go to public schools alone! With limited resources for out of school physical activity for youth and children with disabilities it’s important that schools provide access and opportunity through a variety of activities.\n4. How is the program implemented?\nICDI was developed as a year-long program, in 8 week intervals throughout the school year. Although we want our students with disabilities to be physically active every day, in order to get recognition, the students must participate in an accumulation of 60 minutes a day, 5 days per week for a minimum of 8 weeks.\n5. Who at the school site administers the program?\nICDI can be administered by the physical education teacher, adapted physical education teacher, special education/classroom teacher, or any school staff member that works with the students during the school day. All they have to do is check off the box on the PALA+ log on the days the students meet the 60 minutes of physical activity to help them track their daily progress. The program lead also educates on healthy nutritional habits.\n6. What is the recognition?\nThe individual recognition centers around the student receiving the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) for participating in 60 minutes a day, 5 days per week, for 8 week intervals. The awards recognition ceremony can be performed in a class setting or school wide awards ceremony at the end of the school year. If a school district adopts the program, then a district award ceremony focusing around ICDI can be coordinated at the end of the school year at one location.\n7. Is the I Can Do It! program only for public schools?\nNo. ICDI can easily be implemented in any K-12 setting, Public Schools, Private Schools, Charter Schools, etc.\n8. Is there a cost?\nNo. ICDI is voluntary and free.\n9. Why is this important?\nWe know that healthy and fit students are better learners who are more likely to thrive in school and in life. Studies on the health and fitness of children and youth with disabilities show that many do not get enough exercise or have healthy eating habits. For this reason we are hopeful that every school district across the U.S. will offer the program to all students with disabilities in all schools.\n10. Where can I get additional information?\nYou can find the full manual and PALA+ log at https://acl.gov/programs/health-wellness/icdi\n11. Who should I contact if I have additional questions or want to get started?\nPlease contact Dr. Jayne Greenberg, Program Manager, at Jayne.Greenberg@hhs.gov, or 202 768-3557."

"School Inclusion Program\n\"At CASP we believe that for a school inclusion program to succeed, there must be teamwork among the students with different abilities, their classmates, their regular school teachers, the inclusion specialists and parents.\"\nWho is it aimed at?\nThe CASP School Inclusion Program is aimed at children and youths with different abilities (autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or developmental delay) from 3 to 16 years who have the skills required to be included full-time in a regular education school classroom that matches their chronological age.\nStudents who do not yet meet all the requirements for a full-time school inclusion can be included in specific activities, attending the Part-time School Inclusion Program (see below).\nWhat does it include?\n- The inclusion of a student with different abilities in a regular school, where he can participate in all activities, like any other classmate.\n- All students start out by attending classes at CASP to prepare them for inclusion. When assessments indicate they are ready, they are included in regular schools chosen by their parents.\n- Generally only one student with different abilities is included per regular school classroom.\n- While they are included in a regular school, students, along with their parents, attend weekly training sessions at CASP.\n- CASP Specialists make adjustments according to the abilities and priorities of each student to facilitate inclusion. These can be curricular, procedural, of assessment, of materials, and environmental.\n- CASP Specialists identify \"tutor friends\" or classmates of our student with different abilities who become their friends and provide support.\n- School Inclusion includes consulting and training for the regular school teacher and the classmates during observation visits performed by CASP Specialists every 2 weeks, and which may become more frequent if necessary.\n- Special meetings are held periodically for the \"team\" made up of the student's family, regular school teachers and CASP Specialists, to go over the student's progress.\n- Families participate in all the activities of the Family Training Program.\n- In addition to participating in physical education and sports, all of our students participate in the Extracurricular Activities Program, which includes Ballet, Theatre, Therapeutic horseback riding, English Classes, Computer Classes and Day Trips.\nWhat does the Part-time School Inclusion Program include?\n- Students are included part-time and only in specific activities. Some examples of activities include physical education, art, various workshops, etc..\n- The Part-time School Inclusion Program is a group program (usually 3 to 5 students at a time) where the students attend regular school activities alongside a CASP Specialist.\nWhy is the School Inclusion Program unique?\n- The CASP School Inclusion Program started in 1982.\n- Each year, we include full-time over 50 children and youths in 41 regular education schools (elementary, primary and secondary) and we include part-time over 30 children and youth in 4 regular schools.\n- 5 training sessions are scheduled throughout the year to all regular education schools participating in the School Inclusion Program: 3 of which are designed for teachers, with topics chosen by them, and 2 for the classmate (\"Tutor Friend Gatherings\").\n- List of regular education schools participating in the School Inclusion Program (in Spanish)."

"Educational Therapy for the Gifted:\nThe Chicago Approach\nby Leland K. Baska\nClick for printer-ready Educational\nTherapy for the Gifted: The Chicago Approach\nWhile all mental health professionals who work for schools would like to\nprovide unconditional assistance in meeting their client's needs, the job\ndescription for such individuals in public schools often interferes with a\nstrict adherence to this practice. Case loads are heavy, and the roles to be\nperformed many. What kind of counseling, then, can be delivered in a public\nIt would seem that the essence of what schools are about, educational\ntherapy, should be the focus of the service. Emphasis on placement, support,\nencouragement, and development of the breadth and depth of the child's potential\nis that which the school can best deliver while using the counselor as advocate\nand confidante for the child. Knowing how and when to refer the child's problems\nto outside resources and finding the right educational milieu in which the\nchild's potential will flourish are no small accomplishments in that setting.\nThe gifted child, in particular, by virtue of high educational potential, is\nbest suited to this type of educational therapy and perhaps best able to develop\ncognitive strategies for making informed choices that will result in better\nThe Chicago Model of Educational Therapy\nThe Chicago Public Schools have developed and expanded a multi-dimensional\napproach for meeting the needs of its gifted population. Central to its\noperation is a strong counseling component, carried out by full-time trained\npersonnel in the areas of school psychology and social work who provide\none-to-one services to gifted students and their families upon request.\nIn addition to the central counseling thrust, over 400 programs ranging from\nkindergarten to college are offered to those children identified as gifted from\nthe 429,000 students in the system. Four full-time coordinators, along with\neight pupil personnel staff members, assist local schools in developing such\ngifted programs through inservice training and information sharing relative to\nidentification, administrative arrangements, curriculum, and evaluation. The\ngifted staff is clustered by specialty in four regional offices throughout the\ncity so that a full range of services can be provided in a given geographical\narea, from program development to individual testing to family counseling.\nSocial workers and psychologists in these regional offices receive and follow\nup on referrals from other social workers and psychologists in the system as\nwell as parents, administrators, and teachers in local schools. Types of service\nprovided by this team include:\n- Individual and group testing with follow-up assessment of appropriate\n- Consultation on, and monitoring of, identification procedures for all\ngifted programs in the system.\n- Development of Individual Educational Programs (IEP's) for selected\n- Provision for educational program intervention.\n- Individual or group counseling for gifted children whose emotional\nproblems are interfering with their social or academic adjustment.\n- Consultation with parents of gifted children.\n- Consultation with school administrators and teachers on affective\ndevelopment issues as they may relate to the education of gifted students.\n- Provision of liaison services to community agencies.\nChicago Gifted Program Prototypes\nThe educational options provided by the Chicago gifted program include many\nprototypes in respect to grouping and program focus. Full-day gifted magnet\nschools in which children are selected from several districts for homogenous\ngrouping are one such prototype. The focus of these programs is breadth and\ndepth in core content areas while offering special language, science, art, and\nlogic courses for further enrichment. Admission is based on achievement scores\nat the 90th percentile and intelligence test data either from individual or\nAll-city programs in local museums constitute a learning laboratory of\nunlimited resources for high school students with access to libraries,\ncollections, documents, workshops, and the expertise of the professional staff.\nThese also include the study of the museum itself as an institution and its\ngoals as a community facility. Students meet one afternoon a week and receive\nacademic credit for their participation. Selection is made on the basis of\nprincipal and teacher recommendations, application essay, and standardized test\ndata. Museology programs are conducted at such Chicago landmarks as the Art\nInstitute, Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, and the Chicago\nOther all-city programs include band and orchestra, an all-city chorus, and a\nradio broadcasting program, \"Spotlight on the Gifted,\" which features selected\nprograms and topics about the Chicago Gifted Program.\nLocal elementary school programs offer a number of program options in which\ninservice, curriculum, and materials are closely defined for the subject. These\ninclude: Junior Great Books; Unified Mathematics; Man: A Course of Study;\nIntroductory Physical Science; Philosophy for Children; and the Story Workshop.\nBy combining grades 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8, comprehensive gifted centers have\nbeen created in some of the larger schools that allow for all-day homogeneous\ngrouping of gifted students within a school. Advanced placement courses and\nseveral humanities programs are included as part of the high school curriculum,\nand recently Chicago has added the International Baccalaureate program to its\nofferings at selected sites.\nMost individual local school programs grew out of local school needs and\ninterests, with a teacher willing to develop a proposal and an administrator who\nwould help implement a gifted program. Writing, art, and various other topics\nare included among these.\nA counseling component is included as a standard part of each school's\nprogram for implementation by the teacher. Thus, summer inservice programs for\nteachers include considerable discussion of general characteristics of gifted\nstudents and case examples of counseling strategies that have proven successful.\nSocial workers and psychologists also serve children in these programs as well\nas others who are referred. The development of counseling models that can be\nimplemented by teachers has been effective in bringing service to more students.\nUniversity based programs are offered to junior-high-age students who have\nmet a minimum score criterion on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), given in\nthe spring to all students in the system who are at the 95th percentile or\nhigher on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), mathematics or verbal sections.\nThese programs are offered on school time once a week at three universities in\nthe city: Chicago State University, Loyola University, and the University of\nIllinois, Circle Campus. The content offered includes Latin, creative writing,\nIn local schools without special programs much of the educational therapy for\nthe gifted may take the form of recreating the best aspects of the one-room\nschoolhouse. Flexible programming of children at their functional levels has\nlong been a successful strategy for schools to attempt to meet the needs of the\ngifted. For the low incidence, highly gifted child this may take the form of\nearly enrollment in high school, college courses, or other adaptations.\nBeyond educational therapy offered by placement in one of the gifted programs\ndescribed, additional needs are frequently addressed through a specific\ncounseling program. This includes individual counseling around particular\nproblems and group counseling in gifted magnet programs. Educational tutoring\nhas also been an effective tool.\nThe following two individual cases of gifted children illustrate the\napproaches taken by the Chicago Gifted Program personnel to meet the needs of\nindividual gifted students who might otherwise be lost in a large system.\nChild A is bright but has few special opportunities in his school or\ncommunity, a rather lackluster academic performance, and few friends among his\npeers. He was 12 years old and about to enter 8th grade in an inner city school\nthat had a gifted art program but no academic one. He was from a single parent\nfamily with a severely retarded aunt also in the mother's care. An older sister\nhad entered a state university the year prior and the resources of the family\nwere limited, though the mother was active in school organizations and showed\ndetermination and persistence when it came to the education of her children.\nThis young man showed cognitive strengths on the Stanford-Binet while\nachievement scores in reading and spelling were only at grade level. Computation\nskills for math were at 7th grade level. Against a backdrop of 138 IQ, it seemed\nthat some form of tutoring or special program would be necessary to bring skill\ndevelopment into line with his potential. The usual strategy would be to find a\nteacher or advocate for the child in the school who is familiar with the\ndynamics and resources within the faculty. In this case, no such advocate was\nfound so the psychologist for gifted programs assumed the task.\nTutoring in math was scheduled on a one hour a week basis using the\nprogrammed instructional material from Educulture, Inc. Topics of polynomial\narithmetic and factoring in algebra are handled in such a way that the child can\ndevelop skill by moving through the audio tape and text at his own pace with\nminimal knowledge of math demanded of the counselor or person who assists him.\nThe plan was to develop a background of skills for high school algebra\nwhile meeting with and encouraging his teachers to enrich his course of study.\nThe mother was encouraged to apply for scholarships for the boy through A Better\nChance (ABC) Foundation. Child A is now on scholarship at an Eastern prep school\nand a member of the honor society there.\nChild B exemplifies the low incidence, highly gifted child and the extreme\nmeasures that must be considered for appropriate programming. He was referred at\nage 11 as the result of an individual examination by a local school\npsychologist. The IQ estimate was 165+ on the Stanford-Binet. All achievements\nwere at the 12th grade level on the Peabody Individual Achievemnt Test (PIAT),\nand the child had consistently been at the 99th percentile on yearly\nChild B came from a family that valued education and provided many early\nexperiences with formal learning within the home setting. Both parents and an\nolder sibling offered various forms of academic stimulation. The school\nprincipal was sensitive to the boy's high ability, but also more concerned with\n\"evening out\" his ability; thus, child B took social science offerings through\nthe early enrollment program at the local high school even though his tested\nstrength was math. He was encouraged to take additional advanced courses at that\nhigh school and a university which he did at an \"A\" proficiency level.\nAt the completion of 8th grade, he took the pre-calculus sequence at an\nEastern university so that he could enroll in Advanced Placement Calculus as a\nfreshman. Having completed 12 hours of high school work including AP English and\nChemistry, he was unable to enter the university of his choice since the minimum\nage admission is 15 years, but he was accepted at another university this summer\nfor further work. He will petition for his high school diploma after a\nsuccessful semester in college.\nCounseling consisted of making the parents aware of a variety of options\nand acting as a buffer with administrators to ensure his appropriate progression\nthrough the system. Individual opportunities emerged for the child out of a\npersistent nature and the strong support of the family unit.\nThe Chicago Public Schools provide a counseling component in their gifted\nprogram that acts as a centerpiece to program development at many levels. While\nproviding services to schools on a variety of issues, full-time psychologists\nand social workers also provide individual assistance to identified gifted\nchildren needing special provisions. Such specialized services also seek to\nencourage teachers to work on counseling needs of the gifted in individual\nPractical Guide To Counseling the Gifted in a School Setting, Joyce Van\nTassel-Baska, Ed., The Council for Exceptional Children, Reston, VA, 1983."

"The Northwest School Division # 203, Student Services Department, is committed to providing comprehensive support to all students in the least restrictive environment possible. It is our belief that these services and supports can be provided through school based learning teams. This model focuses on nurturing student diversity and meeting special learning needs. It places as much responsibility and accountability as possible with school personnel.\nThe Student Services Department recognizes diversity in our schools and classrooms and accepts that all students are unique with specific needs and abilities and are affected by a variety of physical, social and cultural factors. We strive to support and foster an inclusive school environment that is supportive, caring and responsive. We offer a continuum of services within the regular classroom, school and community using a team approach.\nHow does the Student Support Services process work?The Student Support Services team works closely with students, families, school-based staff and outside agencies in a team approach to provide the best education possible for all students.\nStudents are usually referred to the Student Support Services team through their school.\nWho makes up the Student Support Services team?\nAt the school level, students are supported by the classroom teacher, student support services teacher, school administrators and other support staff.\nParents and guardians play an important role in this process. As part of the student services team, parents help the team to identify goals for the child and the supports that may be required.\nThese goals become part of the student’s Inclusion and Intervention Plan (IIP).\nStudent support services teachers (SSSTs) are a critical part of the school team that supports student needs. The SSST supports classroom teachers by: providing consultation and co-planning, providing direct instruction to support individual students or small groups, and by working within the school Response to Intervention (RTI) model to provide interventions.\nAdditional supports for students are provided using a needs-based model that is comprised of three-tiers: responsive instruction and interventions at a classroom level, or school-wide; targeted and group interventions; and intensive individual interventions.\nWhile we recognize that universal classroom practices will meet the needs of most students, some students will require short-term, targeted supports in order to be successful. A small number of students may require intensive supports, which are provided through a wide variety of services, depending on the particular student.\nFor more information about Intensive Supports please visit the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education webpage.\nCounsellors focus on the personal, emotional and social needs of students. Counsellors meet with students one-on-one or in small groups during the school day, and privacy is ensured so students feel comfortable.\nDiscussions between Counsellers and students are confidential, but the Counsellor will work with parents and teachers to develop plans for meeting a student’s needs. Counselling referrals can be made by principals, teachers, parents, and other agencies, or students can self-refer.\nCounsellors may also give classroom presentations and provide support to a school dealing with a crisis or stressful situation.\nNWSD Counsellors do not provide counselling for adults or families, but will help to connect families with other agencies and professionals if needed.\nEducational Psychologists (Ed. Psych.) work with individual students to measure their abilities in several developmental areas. The specific assessments used will vary depening on the needs of the student.\nSome of the areas that may be covered in the assessments include: cognitive ability or thinking and reasoning skills (also known as IQ), and academic skills, such as reading, writing and mathematics.\nA student’s behaviour may also be assessed, which includes observing the student in the classroom and having teachers and parents/guardians fill out behavioural checklists. This information is used to better understand the student’s overall strengths and needs.\nRecommendations are developed from the results of the assessments and discussed with the student’s teachers and parents/guardians.\nIf needed, the Ed. Psych. can assist families in connecting with other agencies and professionals.\nAn Occupational Therapist (OT) is concerned with a person’s ability to carry out age appropriate daily activities, including: self-care skills, play skills and school skills.\nIn the school system, the OT assesses students who have physical and/or sensory-based challenges, developmental needs, and/or learning difficulties. The OT works with the student to perform age appropriate activities and meet developmentally appropriate goals. The work done in the school will help the student participate in activities in the home and community.\n- Communication with school staff and parents/guardians, and programming for students.\n- Activities to improve posture, movement skills, eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and self-care abilities.\n- Providing adaptations to an activity or environment to allow all students to participate at their current level.\nSpeech Language Pathologists\nA Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) is concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of communication challenges in the areas of speech, language, voice and fluency.\nAn SLP will meet individually with a student to complete a variety of specch and language tests, depending on the nature and intensity of need. Additional information may be requested from classroom teachers and parents, or obtained through direct information or observations.\n- Based on assessment results the SLP will make treatment recommendations regarding speech, language, voice and fluency that will help students to:\n- Learn to say speech sounds correctly;\n- Understand what they hear, see and read;\n- Express themselves in whatever way they are able (spoken or written word, sign language, symbol systems; technical aids);\n- Improve grammar, vocabulary, conversation, story-telling and social skills;\n- Use appropriate pitch, volume and vocal quality;\n- Develop more fluent speech.\nRecommendations may include that the student work individually, in a small group, or the SLP may provide a whole class lesson. Suggestions may be provided to teachers and parents to help the student as he/she learns new skills.\nStudent Services Administration\nThe Student Services Department is overseen by the Superintendent of Student Services, who works closely with the Coordinator of Student Services to supervise the program offerings and staff that make up the Student Services team. The Administrative Support person for Student Services provides clerical assistance to the department."

"The Northwest School Division # 203, Student Services Department, is committed to providing comprehensive support to all students in the least restrictive environment possible. It is our belief that these services and supports can be provided through school based learning teams. This model focuses on nurturing student diversity and meeting special learning needs. It places as much responsibility and accountability as possible with school personnel.\nThe Student Services Department recognizes diversity in our schools and classrooms and accepts that all students are unique with specific needs and abilities and are affected by a variety of physical, social and cultural factors. We strive to support and foster an inclusive school environment that is supportive, caring and responsive. We offer a continuum of services within the regular classroom, school and community using a team approach.\nHow does the Student Support Services process work?The Student Support Services team works closely with students, families, school-based staff and outside agencies in a team approach to provide the best education possible for all students.\nStudents are usually referred to the Student Support Services team through their school.\nWho makes up the Student Support Services team?\nAt the school level, students are supported by the classroom teacher, student support services teacher, school administrators and other support staff.\nParents and guardians play an important role in this process. As part of the student services team, parents help the team to identify goals for the child and the supports that may be required.\nThese goals become part of the student’s Inclusion and Intervention Plan (IIP).\nStudent support services teachers (SSSTs) are a critical part of the school team that supports student needs. The SSST supports classroom teachers by: providing consultation and co-planning, providing direct instruction to support individual students or small groups, and by working within the school Response to Intervention (RTI) model to provide interventions.\nAdditional supports for students are provided using a needs-based model that is comprised of three-tiers: responsive instruction and interventions at a classroom level, or school-wide; targeted and group interventions; and intensive individual interventions.\nWhile we recognize that universal classroom practices will meet the needs of most students, some students will require short-term, targeted supports in order to be successful. A small number of students may require intensive supports, which are provided through a wide variety of services, depending on the particular student.\nFor more information about Intensive Supports please visit the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education webpage.\nCounsellors focus on the personal, emotional and social needs of students. Counsellors meet with students one-on-one or in small groups during the school day, and privacy is ensured so students feel comfortable.\nDiscussions between Counsellers and students are confidential, but the Counsellor will work with parents and teachers to develop plans for meeting a student’s needs. Counselling referrals can be made by principals, teachers, parents, and other agencies, or students can self-refer.\nCounsellors may also give classroom presentations and provide support to a school dealing with a crisis or stressful situation.\nNWSD Counsellors do not provide counselling for adults or families, but will help to connect families with other agencies and professionals if needed.\nEducational Psychologists (Ed. Psych.) work with individual students to measure their abilities in several developmental areas. The specific assessments used will vary depening on the needs of the student.\nSome of the areas that may be covered in the assessments include: cognitive ability or thinking and reasoning skills (also known as IQ), and academic skills, such as reading, writing and mathematics.\nA student’s behaviour may also be assessed, which includes observing the student in the classroom and having teachers and parents/guardians fill out behavioural checklists. This information is used to better understand the student’s overall strengths and needs.\nRecommendations are developed from the results of the assessments and discussed with the student’s teachers and parents/guardians.\nIf needed, the Ed. Psych. can assist families in connecting with other agencies and professionals.\nAn Occupational Therapist (OT) is concerned with a person’s ability to carry out age appropriate daily activities, including: self-care skills, play skills and school skills.\nIn the school system, the OT assesses students who have physical and/or sensory-based challenges, developmental needs, and/or learning difficulties. The OT works with the student to perform age appropriate activities and meet developmentally appropriate goals. The work done in the school will help the student participate in activities in the home and community.\n- Communication with school staff and parents/guardians, and programming for students.\n- Activities to improve posture, movement skills, eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, and self-care abilities.\n- Providing adaptations to an activity or environment to allow all students to participate at their current level.\nSpeech Language Pathologists\nA Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) is concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of communication challenges in the areas of speech, language, voice and fluency.\nAn SLP will meet individually with a student to complete a variety of specch and language tests, depending on the nature and intensity of need. Additional information may be requested from classroom teachers and parents, or obtained through direct information or observations.\n- Based on assessment results the SLP will make treatment recommendations regarding speech, language, voice and fluency that will help students to:\n- Learn to say speech sounds correctly;\n- Understand what they hear, see and read;\n- Express themselves in whatever way they are able (spoken or written word, sign language, symbol systems; technical aids);\n- Improve grammar, vocabulary, conversation, story-telling and social skills;\n- Use appropriate pitch, volume and vocal quality;\n- Develop more fluent speech.\nRecommendations may include that the student work individually, in a small group, or the SLP may provide a whole class lesson. Suggestions may be provided to teachers and parents to help the student as he/she learns new skills.\nStudent Services Administration\nThe Student Services Department is overseen by the Superintendent of Student Services, who works closely with the Coordinator of Student Services to supervise the program offerings and staff that make up the Student Services team. The Administrative Support person for Student Services provides clerical assistance to the department."

"THE INTENSIFICATION OF EXISTING SERVICES (TIES) PROJECT (2005-2013)\nThe TIES project focuses on providing additional and targeted supports to a particular school for a period of time. The services provided included academic remediation, family support, and creative therapy interventions. TIES has been implemented in selected FSSTT schools for a period of one school year. Schools that have been involved include Thorndale Elementary, Purcell Academy, Riverview Elementary, St. Lawrence Elementary Junior and Senior Campuses, Orchard Elementary and Springdale Elementary.\nWHO IS THE FSSTT?\nThe inter-disciplinary team consists of a Child Development Specialist, three Behavioural Consultants, an Art Therapist, a Drama/Dance Therapist, a Youth Outreach Consultant, as well as the part-time services of a psychiatrist, psychiatric consultant and psychologist.\nA full-time FSSTT Technician works in each of the 18 schools as a member of the school resource team and is supported by the inter-disciplinary team described above.\nThe philosophy underlying the team’s approach is to consider all who are involved in the referred student’s life to be a contributing member and part of the intervention plan. Thus, administrators, classroom teachers, resource teachers and the non-teaching professionals from within the school milieu (e.g. psychologists) and health and social services (e.g. social workers) are also invited to engage in a collaborative problem-solving model to understand the child’s difficulties and create an intervention plan.\nWHAT ARE THE INTERVENTIONS?\nInterventions take various forms and include:\nØ On site daily pro-active interventions by the FSSTT Technician\nØ Skill development groups\nØ Collaboration with the school’s resource team\nØ Various consultations with the inter-disciplinary team as a whole\nØ Referral for family and/or student psychiatric assessment, where appropriate\nAlthough the FSSTT is affiliated formally with 18 of the LBPSB schools, consultative services are available to other schools within the LBPSB, upon request. Since 1995, over 700 school-based consultations have taken place.\nYOUTH OUTREACH SERVICE\nIn 2012, the Youth Outreach Service became a part of the FSSTT. This service was created to re-engage students at risk of dropping out by providing support to schools, students and families at critical points in their schooling. High school teams identify those students who are not attending school on a regular basis and for whom alternative strategies need to be explored. Thus, the FSSTT Youth Outreach Consultant works with all LBPSB high schools.\nYouth Outreach Services can include:\nØ Working with the student and the family to develop and implement a plan to re-engage the student in school\nØ Collaborating with the school team to explore alternative strategies\nØ Acting as a liaison between the student, family and school team\nØ Facilitating successful transitions from one school or program, to another\nØ Collaborating with community partners to provide additional support services to students and their families, as required\nThe Youth Outreach Consultant also works in close collaboration with the Continuing Education Transition Consultant in order to ensure a successful transition for students from the Youth to the Adult sector.\nWHAT FEEDBACK HAS THERE BEEN?\nThe FSSTT has been in operation since 1995. In the beginning years, each person (teacher, administrator, family, FSSTT team member) who was involved in the pilot project was asked to provide feedback and recommendations. This feedback was reviewed, and many positive suggestions for improvement were implemented.\nMore recently, the FSSTT was included in the national School-Based Mental Health and Substance Abuse (SBMHSA) Project, an initiative launched by a consortium of partners associated with The Ontario Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). The CHEO team collected examples of best practices of school-based mental health initiatives in place across Canada and the FSSTT was included in this list.\nIn 2014, the FSSTT was recognized by the Quebec English School Boards Association with an Excellence in Education award. This award celebrated the work that the FSSTT accomplished in bridging public education and the community.\nThe effectiveness of the FSSTT model as a means of supporting inclusive practices for children with emotional and behavioral needs has been extensively investigated by researchers at McGill University, Montreal Children’s Hospital, Concordia University, and the LBPSB. A series of research grants offered by the Ministry of Education and other granting agencies have enabled these researchers to study the impact of the FSSTT services on community schools. The results of these studies have been presented at local, national and international conferences, as well as published in academic journals. A list of these publications is available, upon request.\nProfessional development is the cornerstone of the FSSTT’s approach. Every consultation about a student is viewed as an opportunity to learn about the nature of the child’s difficulties and develop interventions that focus on finding the strengths in the child, family and school that can enhance the child’s development. Present models of professional development include:\nFSSTT Lecture Series\nSince 1996, the FSSTT has hosted an evening Lecture Series on children’s mental health which is open to all staff of the Lester B. Pearson School Board. To date, over 80 presentations have been given by psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals on an array of topics which have included disorders such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addictions, and post-traumatic stress, as well as prevention and resilience-building. These lectures are well-attended and survey data collected after each lecture indicate this is a valued form of professional development.\nSince 2003, the FSSTT has produced a bilingual newsletter, Connections/Branchez-vous, that is distributed several times a year to all teachers and staff of the LBPSB. Each edition focuses on various topics relating to social emotional learning and also serves as a resource for mental health activities and initiatives.\nInternship in Child Psychiatry\nFrom the inception of the FSSTT, the Montreal Children’s Hospital’s (MCH) Psychiatry Department has offered an internship opportunity to FSSTT Technicians working for the LBPSB. Over the course of a school year, these paraprofessionals complete a one day a week placement as a member of a child psychiatry team at the MCH. The intern gains experience in observing and participating in family psychiatric assessments, which also serves to enhance understanding of the health services network at the school level.\nWorkshops for Educators\nTeam members have provided numerous professional development sessions to teachers, daycare educators, integration aides and technicians on a variety of topics related to youth mental health. While most of this professional development has been conducted within the LBPSB, the FSSTT has also presented at conferences involving other school board personnel as well as at local universities such as McGill and Concordia.\nThe FSSTT was recognized for its contribution to the school board and their communities by the Quebec English School Boards Association. The Award of Excellence was presented to the FSSTT in the category of Community Engagement, in May 2014.\nUpdated: July, 2015"

"What is Integrated Services?\nIntegrated Services addresses the special education and related services needs for students with disabilities identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004).\nWe have two different integrated services programs here at Wellington Middle School.\nMulti-categorical: This program provides services to students with mild to moderate disabilities under many different categories of disability.\nIntegrated Learning Support (ILS): This program provides services to students with significant support needs.\nAt Wellington Middle School we strongly believe in inclusion. Inclusion means that students are placed in classrooms with general education peers to the highest degree possible based on their individual needs. There are many benefits to being an inclusive program including: all teachers differentiate instruction to meet all students needs regardless of ability level, reducing stigma and building relationships, high expectations for all students, and has positive effects for all students in the classroom. This diagram gives a great visual of what inclusion looks like in a classroom and that is what we are striving for here at WMS!\nSince we are an inclusive school many of our students services are provided in a co-taught setting. This generally looks like two teachers in the classroom, a content specialist and a special education teacher or para. Both teachers are equally responsible for the class but have special skills that they are the experts in. There are many benefits to co-teaching when it is done well. These include: More one on one interactions for students, all students access general education curriculum, all students access specialized instruction, increases student independence, and teachers build off of their own strengths and weaknesses as they work together.\nDifferent models of co-teaching are shown in the diagram below:\nYour student will experience these different styles of co-teaching, sometimes even within one class period.\nThe special education teachers role in a co-teaching model includes several key parts to support students with disabilities. These include: differentiate instruction, ensure accommodations are in place, provide specialized instruction, and advocating for student needs. The special education teacher also supports learning and instruction of all students in the classroom.\nThe expectations for co-teaching are that teachers collaborate and plan together during common plan periods, teachers communicate openly with each other, and both teachers are equally valued and respected in the classroom. Co-teaching relationships take time to develop but once they are established it creates an open and inviting learning space for all students\nOur integrated services department works hard to develop positive relationships with families. We work as a team to help students grow and obtain skills that are really challenging. We value open communication between teachers and family. Case managers are your go to contact with the school and we have worked hard to get creative at solving problems. If you need anything please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can help us out too! Help make sure your student gets to school when they are able. Attendance is so important for your student being able to make growth. We also will hold IEP meetings annually and re-evaluations every three years. Your input at these meetings is invaluable! No one knows your student better than you. In middle school we start to work hard to include students in their IEP meetings as well so that they can start to understand and advocate for what they need to be successful.\nWe will leave you with the Wellington Middle School integrated services team mission. Help every student obtain the academic, social/emotional, and life skills they need to be successful in whatever they desire to do once they are out of school."

"Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) – School Nurse\nThe school LVN identifies and treats health disorders among students and provides instruction in the\nmaintenance of good health and disease prevention. The employee must evaluate the physical conditions of\nstudents and refer students to appropriate resources as needed. Decisions made by this employee require\ndiscretionary judgment and analysis. Errors may not be easily discernible and may result in serious impact on\nthe individual child and others. The work of this employee is seldom reviewed while in progress and is\nperformed under general supervision.\nEssential Duties and Responsibilities:\n• Develops policies, procedures and work standards for school health program.\n• Monitors compliance of school health program with federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies.\n• Initiates program changes as needed.\n• Manages program allotment efficiently.\n• Prepares health reports for supervisor, board of education and health department.\n• Collaborates with other child-support agencies in designing and providing a school health program.\n• Negotiates professional and medical services essential to the school health program.\n• Provides first aid care and medically prescribed services.\n• Maintains security of school health supplies.\n• Instructs students in health education according to the state curriculum (K-12).\n• Serves as a resource person on health issues.\n• Provides staff development on health-related topics for school staff and volunteers.\n• Screens and conducts health appraisals for students and staff.\n• Provides follow-up evaluations on students as required.\n• Recommends corrective action where problems are identified.\n• Conducts home visits when appropriate.\n• Corresponds with parents on health needs of children.\n• Records immunizations, health findings, and other relevant health data.\n• Considerable knowledge of medical disorders and treatment.\n• Considerable knowledge of child growth and development.\n• Working knowledge of public health problems and procedures for treatment in coordination with other health\nand social service agencies.\n• Working knowledge of Federal, State, and Local laws and regulations affecting the delivery of school health\n• Some knowledge of the school organization and the community served.\n• Ability to identify abnormal growth and development and symptoms of disease.\n• Ability to coordinate and facilitate services between the school, local health agency, and other community\n• Ability to develop and maintain health records on students.\n• Ability to develop positive working relationships.\n• Other duties as assigned\n• Current nursing license for the state in which the nurse practices.\n• Full command, verbal and written, of the English language.\n• Current Health Certificate (if applicable).\n• Current PPD or Chest X-Ray.\n• One year prior professional nursing experience within the last three.\n• Current BLS card.\n• Successful completion of screening tests for the clinical specialty area(s) in which the nurse practices with a\nscore of 80% or greater\n• Cell Staff background screening\nPlease call 855-561-1715 or email email@example.com for immediate consideration."

"Health and Medical Care\nOur Own English High School, Sharjah(Girls) has efficient health care facility that refers to need based comprehensive services rendered to students, teachers and other personnel in school to promote and protect their health, prevent and control diseases and maintain good health. The School has three well-equipped health units manned by two qualified General Practitioners and seven nurses.\nWe serve to:\n- Ensure access to primary health care.\n- Provide a system for dealing with crisis medical situations.\n- Provide screening and referral for health conditions, physical and mental health assessment and referral for care; promote a healthy school environment.\n- Provide systems for identification and solution of students’ health and educational problems.\n- Develop and implement health care plans for students with special health care needs.\n- Provide comprehensive and appropriate health education, health counseling, health education policy and procedure of health or education to guide the development and delivery of health services.\n- Ensure mandated screenings, such as vision, hearing, and immunization status, and provide immunizations at school for grade 1 to 11 students.\n- Conduct physical exams for students / Good to lose Program for obese students, wellness programs, physical fitness screenings, provide nutritional counseling, conduct health risk appraisals to determine life-style practices, injury prevention and control of diseases.\n- Provide a healthful and safe school environment that facilitates learning.\n- Administer first aid\n- Administer medication and monitor vital signs\n- Provide other primary health care services for school employees\nStudents undergo regular growth assessments medical check-ups, and a health record is maintained for each student. While routine first aid is administered by the units, any emergency is referred to the nearby Al Qassimi Hospital.\nThe Department of Health and Medical Services provides the necessary immunization to the students as per recommended by MOHAP.\nA copy of the child's Vaccination Card/Copy of the Medical Record from the previous school must be attached to the Medical Dossier duly filled in by the parent and submitted to the Registrar at the time of admission."

"You wouldn’t want to go out in a rainstorm without an umbrella. Why would you allow your school system to be exposed and unprotected because of out-of-date\npolicies? It is the role of the school board to ensure comprehensive policies are in place to guide the school system and school operations.\nSetting policy is the school board's primary function. Policies must be fair and reasonable and must be developed in accordance with state and federal laws, case law and sound business practices.\nDeveloping and maintaining legally sound, practical policies are top priorities for school boards. The Alabama Association of School Boards assists members with user friendly, cost-effective policy services. Our package of policy services help boards craft and maintain policies that are pragmatic, fair and developed in accordance with current state and federal laws, regulations, administrative directives, court decisions, education policy research and sound business practices. Avoid the headaches. Save money and time.\nHow AASB Helps\nAASB assists school boards in developing legally sound, practical policies in four useful ways:"

"Policies help define rules, regulations, procedures and protocols for schools. All of these are necessary to help a school run smoothly and safely and ensure that students receive a quality education.\nSchools have policies for several reasons. Policies establish rules and regulations to guide acceptable behavior and ensure that the school environment is safe for students, teachers and school staff. School policies also help create a productive learning environment.\nRules and Regulations\nIn order for rules and regulations to be in place and enforced, policies are created, often by the local school board. Having these policies in place means there are determined procedures for how school operations are handled, down to every minute detail, so that educators, staff and students know what is expected and can act accordingly. This saves time, prevents confusion and unifies the school.\nSafe Learning Environments\nStudents, teachers and staff members deserve to feel physically and psychologically secure in their environment. In order to create this environment, policies are created and instated that establish safety standards for the physical environment and mental state of students and staff. This is done by creating policies such as fire drills, anti-bullying policies and mental health guidelines.\nSetting Goals and Establishing Productivity\nIn order for an institution to encourage higher learning, policies must be in place that establish goals as set forth by the school board. These policies establish standards and help hold schools and educators accountable to the public. This is important for relating education to the community and making it responsible to the larger world. Accountability through the use of goal-oriented policies ensures that students are receiving a valuable education.\nPolicies are important because they help a school establish rules and procedures and create standards of quality for learning and safety, as well as expectations and accountability. Without these, schools would lack the structure and function necessary to provide the educational needs of students. Ultimately, policies are necessary to the success and safety of a school."

"Safety and Discipline\nThe New York City Department of Education is committed to ensuring that our schools provide a safe and orderly environment in which teaching and learning take place each day. Safe, supportive school environments depend on students, staff and parents demonstrating mutual respect.\nOffice of Safety and Youth Development\nThe Office of Safety and Youth Development works directly with schools and support staff to provide a range of supports to establish and maintain safe and orderly schools and to promote positive school climate and culture.\nThe Citywide Standards of Intervention and Discipline Measures\nAll members of the school community - students, staff and parents - must know and understand the standards of behavior which all students are expected to live up to and the consequences if these standards are not met.\nThe Citywide Standards of Intervention and Discipline Measures (the Discipline Code) provides a description of conduct that does not meet the standards of behavior expected of students in the New York City public schools. It includes a range of guidance interventions and a range of permissible disciplinary and intervention measures which schools may use to address misbehavior. Also included is the Bill of Students Rights and Responsibilities. The Standards apply to all students, including those with disabilities.\nSchool Safety and Emergency Readiness\nThe maintenance of order and security in and around public schools is essential to creating learning environments to which students can meet high academic standards, educators can teach towards those standards, and parents can be assured that their children are learning in a safe and positive school setting. Learn more about Emergency Readiness.\nNew York State law requires every school district to develop a comprehensive district-wide safety plan. Read the the New York City District-wide School Safety Plan and the Parent Guide to School Safety and Emergency Preparedness."

"An inclusive school culture and school policy requires a whole-school approach. The Index for Inclusion (2011) offers clear indicators of this culture and policy and supports schools in their self-review of these aspects.\nAccording to the European Toolkit for Schools, an inclusive school culture and school policy requires a whole-school approach.\n“The whole-school approach Involves addressing the needs of learners, staff and the wider community, not only within the curriculum, but across the whole-school and learning environment. It implies collective and collaborative action in and by a school community to improve student learning, behaviour and wellbeing, and the conditions that support these.” (UNESCO)\nThis approach sees schools as collaborative learning environments. The whole school community including parents and families, together with external stakeholders, take responsibility for helping all pupils to develop in the best possible way. In doing so, The Whole School Approach from Ireland is seen as a way of developing a corporate culture based on shared values and vision, creating an inter-professional approach to supporting the needs of pupils and improving engagement in collective and individual reflection. These initiatives are developed and implemented in cooperation with other education sectors and cooperation partners. Indicators of whether an inclusive school culture and policy is being developed are listed under A and B. By policy we mean the national policy strategies, the regional policy with cooperation partners and the policy in the school.\nAn inclusive culture is a place and context where all teachers, pupils and other staff can find community in the concept of diversity. There must be an infusion of diversity practices throughout the educational institution. The school must create an inclusive culture with inclusive values and norms, and an open climate in which all pupils are welcome (Emmers et al., 2017).\nThe Index of Inclusion (2009) is a model listing indicators for creating inclusive cultures, policies and practices. For this question in our Guide for coaches, we focus on culture and policy.\n2. Establishing inclusive values where\nThe 'Index for Inclusion: developing learning and participation in schools' (2011) is a set of materials to support the self-review of all aspects of a school, including activities in playgrounds, staff rooms and classrooms and in the communities and environment around the school. It encourages all staff, parents/caretakers and children to contribute to an inclusive development plan and put it into practice. The three dimensions are one of the cornerstones the project is based on. In order to realize inclusive education, there must be a certain sense of urgency at the following levels: practice, culture and policy (see index of inclusion Booth and Ainscow, 2011; Emmers et al., 2017).\nThe Index of Inclusion (2011) lists the following indicators for developing an inclusive school policy:\n2. Actively securing diversity\nBy having a questionnaire filled in by several people from the same school, it is possible to find out how inclusive the school policy is."

"Creating “Safe” Classrooms is a Process: 5 Tips to Get Started\nIn my years as an educator and mentor in university teacher education programs, I have heard new teachers proclaim on numerous occasions that their future classrooms will be “safe” spaces for students to thrive.\nSafe from judgement. Safe from name calling. Safe from assault . . . Safe from all harm.\nWhile I understand the intention behind these sentiments from well-meaning and enthusiastic new teachers, I am well aware of what a lofty goal this is to achieve. In fact, I would argue that it is impossible to guarantee the safety of every student at any one time as we can never fully know the degree in which a person feels safe. Rather, safety is a subjective experience that is influenced by a number of factors including complex social interactions and relational dynamics amongst individuals.\nSafety is particularly problematic considering the epidemic of discrimination and violence that takes place in all schools around the world.\nIncidents of harm can happen in the shadows of the school where adult eyes do not see or in texts or on social media where only young people venture. Harm can take the shape of a joke or manifest slowly like mold in a petri dish. It can also be overt and aggressive for all to see. Regardless, “harm”, in its many forms, is pervasive. It erodes school environments by fragmenting the classroom community, destroying relationships, and creating a general distrust of individuals, which leads to students being uncomfortable or afraid to be at school. When students feel unsafe in the classroom, learning is impacted.\nThere are numerous teacher tips, strategies, programs, and initiatives recommended to create “safe” school spaces, which have varying degrees of success. What is clear is that there is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach, and “safety” is not established through a few community building games or a one-off workshop. Instead, a school on the path of creating a positive, welcoming, and inclusive space that is mostly safe for its community members requires time and patience (it can take years), consistency (it is a process that must be attended to), and the commitment of everyone involved (aka “whole school approach”).\nI believe safe schools initiatives must be specifically developed for individual learning spaces in order to be effective. In other words, each school is its own microcosm within the greater education system, with specific strengths, weaknesses, and needs. Initiatives must look at all aspects of the school structure and systems for improvements to occur. With that said, there are things that teachers can do at any time to work towards classroom safety for their students. Here are five tips to get you started.\nLanguage: Establish inclusive and caring language that everyone in the classroom uses consistently. This can be talked about as a class so students understand what inclusive language sounds like and feels like. You can create a word and statement wall with examples such as “Thank you,” “Please,” “You’re welcome,” “I’m sorry,” “I appreciate your help,” “It was not my intention to make you feel left out,” “I feel hurt when you don’t listen,” and so forth. This type of language encourages students to acknowledge each other, take responsibility for their words or actions, and express how they feel using “I” sentences.\n- Communication: Practice communication skills where students learn to use inclusive and caring language effectively along with active listening, emotional control, paraphrasing, non-verbal communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and so forth. These skills are best learned through “doing,” which invites students to practice through community building exercises, drama games, partner work, sharing circles and the like. Communication must be taught and practiced throughout one's lifetime. Therefore, it is something that needs to be integrated into the school day.\n- Sharing: Offer time each day for students to get to know each other and develop relationships built on trust and respect through sharing. This may include sharing a favourite moment from the day, how they are feeling about a lesson, or something they are grateful for. Sharing circles can also be used to talk about and resolve conflicts. One of the most effective ways to do this is through a circle process where each individual has the opportunity to speak openly and be heard by their classmates. Sharing circles can include the use of a talking piece - an item such as a stick or rock that is used specifically to guide dialogue. The person holding the talking piece has permission to speak and everyone else in the circle is expected to listen. Sharing helps students to bond, develop empathy for one another, and create a community that is welcoming and inclusive.\n- Conflict: Provide opportunities for students to explore various aspects of conflict through the curriculum. This might include discussing a character in a book and how they handle conflict positively or negatively. It might include looking at how conflict is reflected in history, nature, or through mathematical problems. Invite students to take part in drama exercises to explore emotions that arise in conflict, ways to problem-solve a conflictual issue, or recreate a conflict in a story to come up with a different end result. The more students are given examples of conflicts, the more they can develop perspective and critical thinking skills.\n- Discipline: Make disciplinary decisions reflect student behaviour. If a student breaks something, they repair or replace it. If they hurt someone with their words, they reflect and rebuild trust. Students do not need to be shamed, blamed, or punished for their actions regardless of how harmful they may be. There are many reasons why students act out in negative ways. Instead, let students know that every choice has a consequence from which they can learn. Paraphrasing Maya Angelou, “When you know better, you do better.”\nWhat other tips do you have for creating a “safe” classroom space? Let us know in the comments below. You can also read Creating Safe Spaces: What It Means and Why It Matters.\n__________________________Traci L. Scheepstra, Ph.D., is the CEO/Founder of Embodied Learnings. Read HERE to learn more about her work in education."

"Samoa needs to promote a safe and nurturing learning environment that fosters a sense of belonging and positivity for students.\nTo do so, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture now has a policy to provide guidance for all schools on promoting a safe, respectful and supportive school environment.\nThe policy is guided by the vision that all Samoan schools are to be safe, violence free, supportive and respectful teaching and learning communities.\n“The right to education, right to respect, equality and fairness, a right to a safe teaching and learning environment, good quality education and others are guiding principles that encompass the importance of student and staff well being for effective teaching and learning in all school settings” the policy reads.\nIt has been developed to assist Samoan school communities.\n“Much has been said about developing safe schools and eradicating corporal punishment which has been a widely-used behaviour management strategy in our education system for as long as I can remember,” the Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, Loau Keneti Sio stated.\n“At the same time, other types of violence in schools have raised concerns for teachers, parents, caregivers, different organisations and institutions that work with our education system.\n“Whatever forms it takes, the unsafe nature of behaviour in schools puts stress on young people and impacts their learning.\n“It creates an unhealthy atmosphere resulting in mistrust, withdrawal, low self esteem, anxiety and isolation and increase absenteeism and academic failure to name a few.\nThe policy provides a vision, guiding principles, responsibilities of teachers and support staff/teachers, students, school leaders, families, communities and M.E.S.C.\n“The National Safe School Policy and its supporting National Safe Schools Guidelines apply to all students, teachers, and staff members in all school settings.” the policy reads.\nBased on the above guiding principles, it is critical for school communities to set the expectations to ensure the school setting caters for the social, emotional and physical safety of everyone through engaging and respecting all students, staff and families.\nTherefore, students, families and school staff must work together to develop and live a shared school vision and model and nurture the attitudes that highlight the benefits from learning.”\nInternationally, the effort to develop a positive culture in schools is a major emphasis in neighbouring countries such as Australia and New Zealand where the focus is all for schools to be safe and supportive, and place an importance on school being respectful teaching and learning environment and communities.\n“Feeling safe is the key contributing factor to a sense of belonging which can allow learning to thrive,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake.\n“In order to achieve their full potential, our young people deserve a safe and supportive learning environment which nurtures and maintains a positive approach for nurturing them through all levels of education.\n“Research shows that creating a safe inclusive and healthy learning environment not only increases learning but can be a catalyst for creating non-violent communities.\nFor now, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development and the Police are responsible for ensuring that the responsibilities in promoting safe schools are fulfilled, and schools conduct appropriate procedures in accordance with the policy, guidelines and laws."

"- Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets ®\nSearch Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets® are concrete, common sense, positive experiences and qualities essential to raising successful young people. These assets have the power during critical adolescent years to influence choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible adults.\nProtective Schools Model\nEveryday interactions and activities at school can make a tremendous difference in students’ academic and social success. A school can be a powerful protective influence in the lives of its students, providing a positive environment that supports student academic and social growth. The Protective Schools Model identifies ten characteristics of schools shown to link prevention and resiliency factors with academic success.\nPositive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Arizona The Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports of Arizona group (formerly the Arizona Behavioral Initiative) was developed to address the issue of safe schools, and is a collaborative effort between the Arizona Department of Education, Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University, and is supported by the Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports at the University of Oregon, The primary purpose of PBISAz is to establish a comprehensive and focused statewide effort to improve the capacity of educators, administrators and education professionals to address their specific school discipline needs and enable the development of positive teaching and learning environments."

"The mission of the Arizona Department of Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students, is to provide support to schools and LEAs so that every student can experience a safe, healthy, and supportive learning environment, including focusing on students physical and mental health, and safety.\nA safe, healthy, and supportive school environment is the product of a school’s attention to fostering safety; promoting a supportive academic, disciplinary, and physical environment; and encouraging and maintaining respectful, trusting, and caring relationships throughout the school community, focusing on the fostering of positive conditions, climate, and culture, including family and community engagement.\nSafe & Healthy Students Resources\n- Social Emotional Learning\nThe Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines social and emotional learning (SEL) as “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions”.\n- From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope\nRecommendations from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development- The Aspen Institute National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development was created to engage and energize communities in re-envisioning learning to encompass its social, emotional, and cognitive dimensions so that all children can succeed in school, careers, and life. The Commission’s work has drawn on research and promising practices to recommend how to make all these dimensions of learning part of the fabric of every school and community.\n- Federal Commission on School Safety, Comprehensive Resource Guide for Keeping Students, Teachers Safe at School\nA report created by the Federal Commission on School Safety (Commission) detailing 93 best practices and policy recommendations for improving safety at schools across the country.\n- U.S. Department of Education- School Climate and Discipline\nTeachers and students deserve school environments that are safe, supportive, and conducive to teaching and learning. Creating a supportive school climate—and decreasing suspensions and expulsions—requires close attention to the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all students.\n- Stop Bullying.gov\nTeach kids how to identify bullying and how to stand up to it safely.\n- The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Framework Tool\nThe Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Framework tool helps you and your partners understand and plan a comprehensive approach to mental health promotion and youth violence prevention.\n- A Comprehensive Technical Package for the Prevention of Youth Violence and Associated Risk Behaviors\nThis technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent youth violence and its consequences.\nPhysical Education and Health Resources\n- Physical Education is a school-based instructional opportunity for students to gain the necessary skills and knowledge for lifelong participation in physical activity. Physical education is characterized by a planned, sequential K-12 curriculum (course of study) that provides cognitive content and learning experiences in a variety of activity areas. Quality physical education programs assist students in achieving the national standards for K-12 physical education. The outcome of an effective physical education program is a physically literate individual who has the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. Effective Physical Education Teachers base their teaching on the Arizona standards for K-12 Physical Education in order to provide students with a foundation of skills and knowledge that can apply to many activities so that students are willing, able, and interested in seeking lifetime enjoyment of physical activity.\n- Health Education provides students with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for making health-promoting decisions, achieving health literacy, adopting health-enhancing behaviors, and promoting the health of others. Comprehensive school health education includes courses of study (curricula) for students in Pre-K through grade 12 that address a variety of topics such as alcohol and other drug use and abuse, healthy eating/nutrition, mental and emotional health, personal health and wellness, physical activity, safety and injury prevention, sexual health, tobacco use, and violence prevention.\n- Physical Activity in childhood and adolescence is important for promoting lifelong health and well-being and preventing various health conditions. Schools are in a unique position to help children and adolescents get the nationally recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day.\n- Recess is “a regularly scheduled period in the school day for physical activity and play that is monitored by trained staff or volunteers”. During recess, students are encouraged to be physically active and engaged with their peers in activities of their choice, at all grade levels, kindergarten through 12th grade.\nSupporting National Organizations\n- Federal Office of Safe and Healthy Students (OSHS)\nOSHS is committed to serving States and school communities by providing resources, direct support, and technical assistance on topics that affect the well-being, health and safety of our nation’s young people.\n- The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)\nCASEL collaborates with leading experts and support districts, schools, and states nationwide to drive research, guide practice, and inform policy.\n- National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments\nThe National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments offers information and technical assistance to States, districts, schools, institutions of higher learning, and communities focused on improving student supports and academic enrichment.\n- Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)\nASCD empowers educators to achieve excellence in learning, teaching, and leading so that every child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.\n- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Healthy Schools (CDC)\nCDC Healthy Schools works with states, school systems, communities, and national partners to prevent chronic disease and promote the health and well-being of children and adolescents in schools.\n- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)\nThe Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.\n- Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America)\nis the nation’s largest membership organization of health and physical education professionals that provides programs, resources and advocacy to support health and physical educators at every level, from preschool to university graduate programs.\nSupporting ADE Programs\n- School Health and Safety- Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention– PROJECT AWARE\nProject AWARE supports the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan of activities, services, and strategies to decrease youth violence and support the healthy development of school-aged youth.\n- School Health and Safety Programs– a quick search of ADE’s School Health and Safety Programs."

"The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has released its Child Safeguarding Framework which outlines the Department’s principles, policies and procedures for staff and contracted service providers to safeguard children who receive its services.\nThe Department recognises that children are inherently vulnerable and the Framework is designed to provide consistency of services and care to children in immigration programs, including those in the immigration detention network.\nThe Framework will be supported by staff who are appropriately trained to deal with child specific incidents, and through better coordination, they will be placed in the safest possible environment.\nPrinciples of protecting and safeguarding children\nSafeguarding children in accordance with relevant domestic and international child protection standards is part of the Department’s priority. These guiding principles inform all aspects of the Department’s work, including the actions of all people who may come into contact with children in the delivery of immigration programmes.\nWhat are the Department’s child safeguarding principles?\nRecognising that children are inherently vulnerable, the following principles guide the Department’s actions and attitudes and form the basis of the Department’s child safeguarding culture.\n1. The Department promotes a strong, open and proactive culture that encourages awareness of child protection and well-being and does not tolerate child abuse.\n2. Children and their families are included in decision making, where possible.\n3. The safety and well-being of children is the shared responsibility of their parents and families. The Department works to support their self-agency in parenting.\n4. The Department and its contracted service providers collaborate to manage the safeguarding and well-being of children in their programmes.\n5. All children, their families and carers understand and are aware of safe and accessible mechanisms to report any complaints, concerns or allegations of child abuse.\n6. The welfare of a child who has, or alleged to have, been abused is a primary consideration in decision making.\n7. All child protection and well-being incidents, allegations and complaints are responded to, and reported, consistent with state and territory legislation and internal departmental reporting requirements. All incidents are managed in a timely and effective manner, ensuring appropriate\nsupport is provided to all parties in accordance with the triple track approach.\n8. The Department ensures appropriate care and welfare arrangements are in place for unaccompanied minors who arrive in Australia without a parent or legal guardian.\n9. The Department and its contracted service providers keep accurate and accountable records to support child safeguarding.\nFurther information is available on the Department’s website."

"Recognised Entities are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations funded by Child Safety Services to provide culturally appropriate and family advice regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.\nThe law says that Child Safety Services has to ask the Recognised Entities to participate in key decisions made about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.\nExamples include decisions made about:\n- investigations and assessments\n- case plans\n- contact with family members\n- placements and carers\n- young people’s participation in recreational activities.\nIt is important to remember that, even though they are independent, the Recognised Entities main job is to help Child Safety Services and the Childrens Court to make better decisions by taking cultural matters into account. Child Safety Services is their client, not the child or the family and it is not the main role of the Recognised Entity to provide support to the child or the family.\nYou can expect the recognised entity to:\n- give you a copy of any material that they are handing up to the Magistrate before court commences\n- talk to you and ask you whether you have any concerns, particularly about cultural issues or potential kinship carers, and\n- be transparent and honest about the advice or position that they are taking.\nThe Recognised Entity may also be able to recommend organisations that can provide culturally appropriate support for you and your family."

"- Aboriginal peoples\n- Departmental legislative framework\n- Freedom of information, open government and privacy\n- Key strategies and plans\n- Social Media\nChildren and Young People\nChildren and Young People Policy\nDHS recognises children and young people are valued citizens and that the future of South Australia is linked to their wellbeing. It is vital to South Australia that all children and young people have the chance to thrive.\nWe want each child and young person to:\n- be safe from harm\n- do well at all levels of learning and to have skills for life\n- enjoy a healthy lifestyle\n- be active citizens who have a voice and influence.\nThese outcomes are set out in the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017.\nEvery person in South Australia must protect and promote these outcomes for children and young people.\nDHS supports children and young people to feel:\n- respected, and\n- encouraged to reach their individual potential.\nDHS powers and responsibilities\nThe department has certain powers and responsibilities around the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. We take these powers seriously and will provide early intervention when there is a risk that children and young people will be harmed.\nDHS is a key partner in the South Australian Government’s Child and Family Support System (CFSS) reform activities.\nWe educate our staff\nWe continue to develop a culture in the department where the protection and support of children and young people is key. We make all staff, including new hires, aware of their responsibilities in this area.\nDHS ensures staff include child safety and protection all aspects of their work. Everyone must follow the:\n- Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy\n- Working with Children and Young People Code of Conduct.\nProtection and support of children and young people is part of:\n- DHS screening processes\n- recruitment and selection\n- regular compliance reviews.\nThis is our responsibility as set out in the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016. It is one of the ways we support the provision of child-safe environments.\nMany of our staff are ‘mandated notifiers’. This means if they suspect risk or harm to a child or young person, which they identify while performing their duties with DHS, they must report it.\nReceive this information in other formats\nDocuments provided here can be provided in other formats. Email us to request alternative formats.\nFeedback and helplines\nIf you believe that someone working for DHS has broken the Working with Children and Young People Code of Conduct, you can send us feedback or complaints.\nIf you believe a child or young person is at risk of harm, phone the Child Abuse Report Line on 13 14 78.\nYou may also seek support from:\n- Kids Help Line. Phone 1800 55 1800\n- Lifeline. Phone 131 114\n- Youth Help Line. Phone 1300 13 17 19\n- Parent Help Line. Phone 1300 364 100\nDHS is responsible for administering:\n- the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016\n- relevant sections of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017."

"Safe & Healthy Schools\nLast updated: July 29, 2020\nB.C. schools work to develop positive and welcoming cultures and are committed to providing good environments for learning.\nSchools work to prevent problems through community building, fostering respect, inclusion, fairness and equity. Each school:\n- Sets, communicates and reinforces clear expectations of acceptable conduct\n- Teaches, models and encourages socially responsible behaviour\n- Works to solve problems peacefully\n- Places high value on diversity and defending human rights\nHandling Medical Conditions, Reactions & Pandemics\nUtilizing the mandated policies in place helps maximize the nutritional daily standards for students. Find out how to offer healthy food and drink options for selling or vending at your school.\nGuidelines at a Glance Brochure:\n- Guidelines for Food & Beverage Sales in B.C. Schools At-a-Glance (PDF)\n- Lignes Directrices Sur La Vente D’aliments Et De Boissons Dans Les Écoles De La C.-B. Version abrégée (PDF)\nComplete Guidelines for Food and Drink Sales:\nerase is all about building safe and caring school communities. This includes empowering students, parents, educators and the community partners who support them to get help with challenges, report concerns to schools, and learn about complex issues facing students"

"Safe Spaces to Learn and Grow\nWellington Exempted Village Schools believe in providing school-wide systems of support that include strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments.\nA continuum of positive behavior supports for all students is implemented in areas including the classroom and non-classroom settings (such as hallways, buses, and restrooms). Abundant student-led activities helps these positive cultures to flourish, including:\n- High school clubs such as National Honor Society, Friends of Rachel’s and Rachel's Challenge, Student Council, Future Farmers of America, Anime Club, Civil War History Club, SADD, and Drama Club\n- Positive Behavior Intervention Supports implementation in all schools\n- Dynamic Duke award for students K-8\n- Student of the Month character recognition K-12\n- OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program in all schools\n- McCormick Middle School honors local veterans each year\n- D.A.R.E. Officer (Drug Abuse Resistance Education program) presence in all schools to support students and reinforce making good decisions\nDid You Know?\nThe national Rachel's Challenge program visits middle and high schools supporting its mission of making schools safer, more connected places where bullying and violence are replaced with kindness and respect; and where learning and teaching are awakened to their fullest potential."

"Educational Coaching & VCE Coaching\nEducational coaching sessions run as individually tailored 50 minute sessions for primary and secondary school students. At least 6 sessions are recommended as well as review sessions per month or per term, depending on your child’s needs.\nEducational Coaching helps students to:\n- Set goals\n- Get organised and manage their time\n- Learn study skills and techniques\n- Manage stress\n- Prepare for exams\n- Deal with VCE\nThe sessions may also include strategies on friendships, bullying and social skills or managing anxiety, depression and relaxation techniques. It all depends on what your child needs.\nHelping your child to understand how he or she learns can also improve levels of motivation, decrease levels of frustration and anxiety, and encourage self-acceptance and awareness. This can be done through conducting an Educational Assessment prior to Educational Coaching sessions.\nPlease refer to Fees & Rebates for more information regarding Educational Coaching Sessions.\nSchool Meetings & Visits\nSPACES conduct on-site meetings and visits at schools. We work collaboratively with teachers, integration aides, school principals and parents to develop solutions, which will assist your child to learn and to participate more fully in school activities.\nSchool meetings are usually arranged after an Educational Assessment has been conducted with your child. This assessment can be conducted at school if necessary or in the SPACES consulting rooms.\nSchool meetings generally include::\n- Interpretation of your child’s learning profile; strengths and weaknesses\n- Reporting on your child’s academic abilities and performance levels\n- Outlining the educational recommendations and how to implement them in the classroom\n- Creating Individual Learning Plans and setting up review meetings\nSchool visits usually include a classroom observation and discussion with staff at the school or centre about their perspective on the child’s issues. Levels of attention, peer interaction and positive or disruptive behaviours are recorded. In addition, the learning environment, the classroom layout and the child-teacher interaction is observed.\nSchool meetings and observations provide an opportunity to further develop strategies to assist the child in the school setting. Strategies may include recommendations on:\n- Working memory\n- Auditory processing and giving directions\n- Giving directions\n- Behaviour modification strategies\n- Giftedness in the classroom\n- Social skill programs and ideas\n- Transitioning issues\n- Environmental recommendations (e.g. helpful seating arrangements in the room)\n- Programs and activities which strengthen the child’s skills in particular areas\nTogether, these contribute to a range of supports to assist the child’s academic, social and emotional wellbeing.\nPlease refer to Fees & Rebates for more information regarding School Meetings & Visits.\nTraining For School Staff\nInformation to come"