Student Poverty/Trauma Initiative

STUDENT POVERTY/TRAUMA INITIATIVE

ADDRESSING the ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL NEEDS of STUDENTS WHOSE LEARNING is IMPACTED by TRAUMA, POVERTY, or OTHER CAUSES

This “Initiative” focuses specifically on the research-based instructional strategies that:

 every teacher should know about, but few excellent teachers have learned

 benefit ALL students, but are essential for students experiencing trauma

 are also especially effective for high performing students who are often insufficiently challenged and bored in traditional classrooms

 are essential for addressing the needs of students raised in concentrated poverty, whether suffering trauma or otherwise impacted by their environment

 are “learner-centered”

 can be turn-keyed for an entire staff and can be used to engage ALL students

PROGRAM DESIGNERS and FACILITATORS Dan Drmacich was a social studies teacher in the Rochester City School District for 20 years, followed by 23 years as Principal of School Without Walls. He is a free-lance consultant on authentic education reform, Co-Director of the Rochester Learner-Centered Education Network and Chairman of Rochester’s Coalition for Justice in Education.

Don Mesibov has taught middle school English, worked at a school for emotionally disturbed children and founded the Institute for Learning Centered Education which sponsors an annual week-long summer conference on learner centered teaching practices at St. Lawrence University. He has co- authored three books on the practical application of constructivist (learner-centered) strategies and has conducted more than 2,000 well-received workshops on practical strategies for a learner-centered classroom environment.

If each staff member was asked “What is the district’s plan for addressing the impact of trauma and/or poverty on student learning, would they give similar responses?

There are research-based, learner-centered classroom strategies that are easy, and cost-free, to implement of which most good teachers are unaware. This Initiative can achieve significant results for all students in a school or school district, beginning with a minimum amount of time and effort involved for just a few staff members.

GOAL of the Student Poverty/Trauma Initiative: This is an opportunity for a school to collaboratively create and implement a sustained program to address the impact of trauma, whether due to poverty or other causes, and to simultaneously increase the challenges for students with the highest rate of achievement.

OBJECTIVES:  Work with schools, or districts to support the design of a long-range plan to address the unique needs of trauma affected students, many of whom are students, raised in concentrated poverty

 Design a long-range plan that will improve achievement of all students including, but not limited to, high performing students as well as those experiencing trauma from being raised in concentrated poverty

NEED: There is a growing awareness among Monroe County educators, often through awareness and sensitivity forums, that poverty and its trauma-producing conditions, are having a significantly negative impact on students living in such conditions. There is also recognition that trauma affects the learning of many students whose families are economically secure. However, little is being done in many school districts, to help teachers meet the growing academic and social-emotional needs of students whether or not they are raised in poverty. What are the meaningful and significant steps, after awareness and sensitivity, to address this critical reality?

SOLUTION: Every district should have a plan or a system for addressing the needs of students raised in poverty or experiencing trauma for any reason, yet few have a plan of any kind, except to occasionally use one-time presenters or to end teachers to one-day forums.

The Institute for Learning-Centered Education, over the past year, has developed a one year self-sustaining, staff and organization development process to facilitate a school’s efforts to address the impact of trauma on student learning, while simultaneously raising the engagement and achievement levels of all students. A major strength of this plan is that its recommended teaching practices and support systems benefit ALL students; but are essential for students suffering from trauma. Another strength is that it only requires a few teachers for initial participation whom the Institute prepares to become the “turn-key” people in their school or district

NOTE The Institute for Learning Centered Education fee for administering this program, in collaboration with Monroe 1 BOCES, is minimal thus allowing almost all proceeds to be utilized toward the success of the Initiative.

Copyright © November 1, 2016, Institute for Learning Centered Education PROCESS: 1. Each school or district will select a “Student Trauma Initiative Committee,” of 3 to 8 individuals, composed, minimally, of teachers and other staff members. Parent representatives, and students, can also be considered. 2. Institute and Monroe BOCES I facilitators will lead six problem-solving and training sessions with the committee, and be available throughout the year as consultants-on-demand.

GOALS: 1. The facilitators, utilizing the Institute-created booklet, “Support for Students Raised in Concentrated Poverty,” will assist the team in creating a year-long plan that will address a total of eleven initiatives from the booklet to address the needs of students suffering from trauma from being raised in concentrated poverty, and simultaneously ALL other students. 2. The facilitators will also assist the team in designing an evaluation process to assess the results of the plan; specifically, its implementation and impact on students.

COST: $4,500 for a team of three participants, and $800 per each additional participant if the district elects to have more than three. There is no additional fee for work Institute facilitators may do with other members of the staff or educational community upon request of the participants, if the facilitators believe it will support the team’s efforts to implement its plan.