How do we create a school community in which at-risk students feel supported and can easily access the supports they need to be successful?
As educators, we are passionate about helping all students to be able to find skills and success in the school environment and beyond. All students deserve the chance to be understood and learn in an environment that is conducive to their learning. While some students may naturally engage at school, others may struggle to find their place and their education may suffer. These struggling students are generally referred to as at-risk students. At-risk can be difficult to identify as there are a variety of issues that go into a student being classified as at-risk. However, it is generally accepted that an at-risk student is a student who has their education adversely affected and may be in danger of not completing school. Some of the factors that could contribute to a student becoming at-risk are serious health issues, poverty, transiency, disciplinary trouble, and learning disabilities ("At-Risk", 2014). While these are not the only factors, it is clear that there are many things that can put a student at-risk. Because of the myriad of factors contributing to at-risk status, it is important that every part of the school community be involved in helping at-risk students get what they need to find learning success. From the school district level to the teacher in the classroom, it is vital that everyone work together and find ways to support our students. As Rita Pierson encourages in her TED Talk, “every kid needs a champion” (Pierson, 2013). Every member of the community could be that champion and so, as Chief Sitting Bull says, “let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.”
School District Initiatives
All Canadian school districts have a responsibility to provide students with a safe and caring environment through which they will receive a strong education (MB School Board Association, 2016). This responsibility encompasses all students,but may especially require targeted interventions for at-risk students. At-risk students are more likely to feel detached from school and have a much greater chance of dropping out before graduation (Smith et al, 2008). School districts have created programs designed to help at-risk youth develop feelings of success and a connection to their school. This connection between students and their school allows even the most vulnerable youth to report better health, above average marks, and engage in fewer risky activities than youth who are less connected (Smith et al, 2008). Four common school district initiatives that create this connection are programs for mentoring, school breakfasts, after school activities, and alternative education. Mentor Program Mentor programs, such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, have been implemented in many schools across Canada. These programs involve connecting at-risk students to a positive role model from their community (Rodríguez-Plana, 2014). Mentors work with students on developing trust, leadership skills, and the self-confidence to make important decisions. They may also provide guidance when faced with a problem or simply provide a listening ear. Experts agree that at-risk youth benefit the most from mentoring programs when compared to their peers. Youth must feel a strong connection to their mentor to benefit fully from the mentorship program (Rodríguez-Plana, 2014). Mentoring not only allows at-risk youth to develop stronger social skills and a greater connection to themselves, but they also showed improved literacy skills and a higher level of self esteem. This positive outlook both within oneself and towards the school will allow at-risk youth to feel more supported by their school district and feel greater success in their educational journey. Breakfast Program Another program designed and promoted by school districts to help at-risk youth is the Breakfast Program. Breakfast Club Canada currently provides more than 1000 schools across Canada with a nutritious breakfast each school morning. At-risk students are less likely to eat breakfast at home, causing them to come to school hungry and not ready to learn. (Breakfast Club Canada, 2016). Providing students with a nutritious meal at the beginning of the day improves their academic performance, engagement, and overall attendance (Bulaja, 2012). As Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs explains, students are only able to achieve their full potential once their physiological needs are met (Martin & Joomis, 2007). Physiological needs are considered the basic needs for survival: food, water, and shelter. Students cannot think about anything else if one of these basic needs are missing. “Free and reduced breakfast programs have been implemented in schools to help students meet some of their physiological needs” (Martin & Joomis, 2007). In-school breakfast programs can also help families save money and take some of the financial stress away for at-risk students. School districts can improve attendance, academic achievement, and lower stress for at-risk youth simply by providing a free breakfast program in their schools. After School Programming At-risk students may come from homes where their parents are working late into the evening, leaving them home alone for many hours after school. After school programs funded by school districts can provide a safe haven for at-risk youth. These programs give students a safe and productive way to spend their time when the school day is over and their parents are still at work. Music classes, sports teams, and drama groups are just a few examples of programs that students can participate in. These activities provide youth with a place where they can express themselves and receive guidance when engaging in social and community activities (Kremer et al, 2015). At-risk youth can choose a program they are interested in or passionate about. When at-risk youth enrol in these positive programs, they are less likely to participate in deviant or risky behaviour (Kremer et al, 2015). Certain after school programs may require transportation that some parents are unable to provide. School districts may fund the transportation to and from these activities to ensure all youth have the opportunity to attend. When high quality afterschool programs are offered, they can generate positive outcomes for youth including improved academic performance, classroom behaviour, health, and nutrition (Kremer et al, 2015). Alternative Education Programs Mainstream school settings sometimes do not allow for all students to thrive and feel successful, education is sometimes not “one-size fits all” solution. Many school districts offer a range of alternative education programs aimed at serving both the academic and non-academic needs of these students (Smith et al, 2008). Nontraditional educational programs may be held in a different location from the high school, offer evening classes, or provide childcare during class time. They provide a flexible school schedule and a total commitment to the success of each student (Cash, 2004). At risk students are more likely to drop out of mainstream high school programs. These students drop out of traditional schooling programs for a variety of reasons including family problems, being disengaged from their school, or competing responsibilities such as child care (Smith et al, 2008). Alternative education programs are created by school districts to re-engage students and allow them an education despite other challenges in their life. Courses are often self paced, allowing students the flexibility to complete assignments as their other duties allow. These nontraditional programs often have a lower teacher-student ratio which allows teachers to build stronger connections with their students and gain a deeper understanding of what those students are dealing with inside and outside of the classroom walls. Summary School districts have initiated many different programs in attempt to revitalize hope and cultural connection while fostering academic success for at-risk youth. Mentoring, free breakfast, after school activities, and alternative education can help at-risk students feel supported and successful. Schools play a pivotal role in assisting youth to overcome many of the challenges in their lives (Smith et al, 2008). School districts have a responsibility to all students, especially those who are considered at-risk.
Creating an Environment of Inclusion for At-Risk Students
Creating a sense of belonging for at-risk students in school is extremely important as it gives them the opportunity to see success. “When a school redefines its culture by building a vision and commitment on the part of the whole school community that is based on these three critical factors of resilience, it has the power to serve as a "protective shield" for all students and a beacon of light for youth from troubled homes and impoverished communities.” (Fostering Resilience in Children. ERIC Digest, August 1995). Building positive relationships, having high expectations and goals, and getting students involved in school and community activities sets a strong foundation for inclusion and students to feel safe and cared for. Having these foundations in place will allow students to flourish academically and socially. “When we find ourselves in situations where we are the out-group or in an environment in which we feel like an outsider, we use our mental energy to monitor for threats, leaving fewer resources for high cognitive processes. When students feel as if they don’t belong in a school setting, the cognitive energy that should be used on social engagement and learning is being used to scan for group barriers, discrimination and stereotypes.” ( Laldin, 2016) Creating a sense of belonging for these students will allow them to focus their cognitive energy in a positive manner that will allow them to feel success. Strategies to Create an Inclusive Environment First impressions matter to all students, parents and community members. From the moment a student approaches a school they start to feel whether or not they have a sense of belonging. Creating a positive atmosphere for a school is a very important first step to school wide inclusion. Students need to feel safe and cared for to succeed. To set up an inclusive atmosphere that supports students the following can be done: welcome greetings at the bus and front door of a school, positive welcoming staff in the office, teachers greeting students at their door, student work displayed on walls, and participate in activities like den challenges, class challenges, intramurals, cross-graded mentorship throughout the school. To get a sense of belonging in your school Hopkins (2005) states “if any principal wants to know how their building “feels” to a visitor or caller, they should send a friend or neighbor into the school, or have them call on the phone. Then gather feedback about how that person was treated.” This would be very valuable information to setting the foundation of a safe and caring site. To allow for at-risk students to be successful they need to be in an environment they feel safe in and feel they can meet the expectations. The curriculum needs to be relevant to the student needs and life, uses students strengths to promote self-esteem, encourage and facilitate activities outside of the classroom. As Railsback (2004) indicated in her work, schools that do personalize and create smaller learning groups have higher attendance and lower dropout rates. Students are less likely to do things that could threaten their bond to the school community. (Every Student Counts: Keeping Kids in School Report, 2014). Set goals that can be achievable through intrinsic reward rather than extrinsic. Work with the students one on one so they feel valued and are not afraid to share their thoughts. If they are motivated from within they will be much likelier to succeed in the future. Positive Relationships Teachers have the best intentions to make students feel welcome but often in this busy environment we neglect those students that are at-risk. Many times at-risk students are the kids that are sent in the hall, sent to the office, receive a detention or suspension, have poor attendance or ultimately get expelled. What are the reasons that they have these behaviours or act certain ways in the first place? Have they always had this problem? How is their environment outside of school affecting their in school behavior? Are they a new student to the school or have they gone to the same school their entire lives? At-Risk students need relationships that are both caring and stable. Creating time so that they can build a sense of trust and communicate the complexity of their lives including frustrations, successes, etc is very important. Sense of Belonging “Positive relationships between students and school staff can lead to the school community becoming a source of security, stability and support for all students.” (MindMatters, Relationships and Belonging, 1.4). Relationships are not only built in the classroom they are all over the school with all staff and students. Derek Peterson’s research finds that “every child/youth needs to have and maintain at least five positive, caring adults (anchors) in his or her life who have and communicate high expectations for them.” Schools are set up to provide the anchor for students. Students need the security and safety that a school provides in order for them to flourish. Some examples of this may be clubs at lunchtime, students union, sports team, intramurals, in school mentorship programs, and Healthy Youth Relationships. “Students won't confer trust to an adult based on his or her role as a counselor, psychologist, or social worker. We have to earn it by building a relationship.” (Elias, 2009). High Expectations “Schools that establish high expectations for all youth--and give them the support necessary to achieve them--have high rates of academic success. They also have lower rates of problem behaviors such as dropping out, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, and delinquency than other schools”. (Rutter et al., 1979) Clearly outlining expectations for students opens the door for communication and relationship building. Giving students guidance, responsibility and believing that they will achieve the high expectations provides them with structure and assurance that they can achieve. We are in a new era of teaching which allows for inquiry based learning; this would be a huge benefit to those students and allow them to see their true potential leading them to have less behavioural issues or drop out. “Meaningful Student Involvement is the process of engaging students in every facet of the educational process for the purpose of strengthening their commitment to education, community and democracy.” (Fletcher, pg 5). Student involvement in all school activities increases a student's sense of belonging, responsibility, connectedness, efficacy and accountability within the school. Students who are involved are more likely to graduate and build strong relationships that guide them. Attainable Goals Students may have unrealistic career and personal goals based on everyone else in the class. Once we have established a caring relationship, students are much for open to hearing realistic and attainable career, personal and educational goals. The goals still need to challenge the students however they do need to be attainable to ensure the student see success. Goals that are set to be reached with some effort will help motivate the student. Involvement in the School and Community Students who are at-risk would benefit from being involved with the school and community. “Particularly for students who are in disadvantaged circumstances, spending time in engaging settings both in school and after school is important. After-school settings linked to the school as well as community programs -- such as Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and faith-based youth groups -- provide more chances for students to build positive relationships with caring adults and, potentially, supportive peers.” (Elias, 2009). I have notice this past year that trying to engage students and have them become involved in the school clubs have made a huge impact and reduced students coming to the office time and time again. If you help them build positive relationships they gain a sense of trust and sense of belonging. Government believes that there should be a mentorship program in the schools. This would enable students “foster a shared understanding and respect and can help bridge gaps between contemporary values and traditional customs and habits. Mentors are the role models and teachers that we need to help shape an inclusive and civic society.” (Why the Government Should Be Investing in Youth Mentorship Programs, 2017). Summary At-risk students need extra time, attention and a feeling of trust. In order to create a sense of belonging for them time is needed to build a relationship in which they feel they can speak freely. Building a sense of trust is key to allowing the student to talk about their life both in school and out of school, begin to work on their cognition, and not have the fight or flight mentality. Taking the time to build this will only help both the student and yourself in the future when ensuring they are meeting all of their goals and expectations. Our goal as teacher is to see each child succeed to their true potential. It may take time but you never know what that child can accomplish if you never create that sense of belonging it them. As educators we cannot take this lightly and need to empower each other and students everyday to be the best they can be.
Parent Engagement
“Successful parent involvement can be defined as the active, ongoing participation of a parent or primary caregiver in the education of his or her child.” ("Getting Parents Involved in Schools", 2017). It is this kind of involvement, where the communication is ongoing and reciprocal, in which parents are seen as partners and leaders, not merely clients (Ferlazzo, 2017). If the goal is student engagement and academic achievement, especially for those students who are at-risk, it is vital that the relationship be built between home and school. This relationship between parent and school must be actively sought out and developed into a trust relationship, one where parents can co-construct, and therefore co-own, the strategies being implemented at school (The Transatlantic Forum on Inclusive Early Years 3th Forum, 2014). When parents co-own the responsibility for ensuring at-risk students stay engaged at school, research shows that this involvement is associated with higher student achievement outcomes (Jeynes, 2005). So the questions then is, how can schools make these parent connections so that we can support at-risk students? Strategies for Engaging Parents in Education When implementing ways in which parents can gain both information and access (The Transatlantic Forum on Inclusive Early Years 3th Forum, 2014), it is important to keep in mind that the goal is always empowering parents. Teachers can only influence about one third of the factors affecting education, therefore we need parents to be on-board to help reach the other two thirds (Ferlazzo, 2017). Regular Communication Encompassing all methods of communication is the central truth that, whatever the method, communication with parents must be regular to build a relationship (DreamBox Learning, 2017). Teachers need to be communicating about general information, as well as child-specific communication. With regards to general information, there are many ways that teachers and the school community can communicate to parents. Utilizing social media (i.e., Twitter, Facebook) can help distribute information to parents, and can also be a way of generating discussion around a specific school topic (i.e., asking for input about snack day options) (Welham, 2017). Teacher and/or school blogs are another way to allow parents to engage with the happenings at school (Welham, 2017). Class/school newsletters and class/school websites are also great ways to provide information about school. With regards to child specific information, it is important to build that trust relationship and communicate in a way that honours parents (more on that later). This may include face to face meetings, phone calls, texts, messaging through classroom apps such as SeeSaw, Class Dojo, Remind, or perhaps even home visits. Ultimately, parents are the experts on their children and schools need to reach out to parents and ask for their help (Welham, 2017). Volunteer Opportunities Volunteering is a unique way for parents to be a team member in the education of their child. Teachers and schools should provide volunteer opportunities for parents in a myriad of different areas to further link home and school together (DreamBox Learning, 2017). When organizing parent volunteers, it is important to be clear about how parents can help at school right from the start (Rabadi, 2017). It is also important to provide parents with multiple ways to volunteer. For some parents, volunteering in the classroom is an incredible way to find connections between home and school. For other parents, volunteering might look like making a batch of playdough for the classroom or sitting on an after school committee. The central goal of volunteering should be that parents feel connected to the school and can support their at-risk student to find and build connections, too. Homework Connections While there is much debate over homework, if we look at homework through the lens of engaging parents to support at-risk students, interactive homework would be recommended (DreamBox Learning, 2017). This would be homework that allows parent and student to sit side by side and learn together. Teachers could also reach out to parents by providing homework help videos that talk parents through how to approach a concept (Welham, 2017). While it is not recommended that homework be for parents to teach their child, many parents would feel more comfortable in a supporting role if they understood the concepts being addressed. One way to make connecting over homework seamless is to use the Google Classroom. This site allows teachers to post materials and students and their parents can interact with the material. Honour Parents Showing parents that they are important and valuable is a vital component to engaging parents to support their at-risk students (Carroll, 2013). Teachers should make the first move to reach out to parents and should do their best to accommodate parents (i.e., home visits, language translation, respecting cultural differences) whenever possible (Rabadi, 2017). Teachers need to search and find the common ground on which to build a parent-school relationship (Graham, n.d.) and it needs to be a priority to help parents to find the best ways to help their children (Hall, 2013). Accessible Team Meetings When parents are invited to come in to talk about their child, it is possible that they will be sitting around a table with multiple professionals and reviewing testing results that are filled with educational jargon. If we want parents to be an active team member in supporting their at-risk student, we need to make these team meeting accessible for parents. This could mean considering any or all of the following: time of day, language presented, previous relationships built, summary of findings provided to parent, make it clear that a parent can bring a support person to the meeting, reducing “eduspeak” and clarifying terms and concepts, location of the meeting. Parent Training We never know what the backgrounds and bias of the parent are. Therefore, we need to provide every opportunities to uncover the possible mysteries of education for the parents. We need to give the parents multiple opportunities to learn skills that they may not have or to hear about systems and supports that they may previously have been unaware. This could happen through: seminars (classroom or whole-school), providing links to community agencies (Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers/Sisters, YMCA), conducting parent lunch-and-learns, starting school wide initiatives (such as Math Night or Book Tasting events), and committees (such as Parent Council, Safe Schools). Summary Every child being taught is worthy of honour and respect (Hall, 2013) but many at-risk students don’t believe they are included in this statement. By engaging parents and including them as a vital member of the school team, at-risk students can begin to see that everyone is working together because we all value them and their success.
Building Teacher Competency New educators emerge from university with a broad range of skills and enthusiastically start their teaching career, but are quickly faced with the realization that deeper knowledge in supporting at-risk students is needed. Akin and Neuman’s (2013) research revealed that most pre-service training programs do not adequately prepare teachers to handle the issues arising from students with complex needs and see proactive collaboration as the cornerstone to success. While analyzing elements that contribute to optimal student outcomes, Cunningham and Gordeiro discovered that teachers are the “single most important factor in determining student success in school.” (2003, p. 49). Collaborative Planning Collaborative planning moves a team from reactive to proactive support, while fostering camaraderie and shared values between the members (Taylor,M) . One strategy to build teacher competency and shared vision is to engage in professional development as a team, such as using the Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (PBIS) model. PBIS provides a framework to create school-wide change that benefits all students and staff. The foundation of PBIS is the gathering of teachers and administration to refine the school’s shared vision and establish school-wide behavioral expectations; 3-5 expectations that are positively stated and easy to remember. Together, the team crafts rubrics for the common areas and classrooms in order to help teach students what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to follow the school-wide expectations. Participating in the collaboration, teachers benefit from learning new strategies and fostering partnerships with colleagues. At-risk students as a whole are discussed in the process and through that, a new understanding of how they are often affected by external factors that impact their behaviour. Hoffman (2016) found that through these important discussions, teachers were able to shift their mindset of seeing a child’s behaviour as being obstinate and premeditated, to looking for and dealing with the reasons behind the behavior, which in turn caused a significant reduction in teacher stress levels and increased the empathy and connection with the student. Behavioural expectations Once school-wide behavioral expectations are established, the teaching team moves forward to discuss how, when and where the expectations will be taught and reinforced. A cornerstone of PBIS is the consistent and collaborative efforts of the whole staff in focusing on positive behaviour. The team then decides how they will recognize and celebrate student success, as well as which challenging behaviours will be dealt with in-class and those that require an immediate trip to the office. Safety Plans are established for at-risk students with challenging behavior that focus on proactive de-escalation strategies and how the student will re-integrate post incident. Engagement in the development of student-centered safety plans fosters a better understanding for all team members of individual student needs and specialized support strategies. Professional Development Teacher competency is further enhanced when professional development includes a focus on social-emotional strategies. Elias et al. (1997) defined social emotional learning as teaching the core skills of: developing and maintaining positive relationships, perspective taking and resolving conflict, setting and achieving personal goals, understanding emotions and developing a plan to regulate one’s own emotional state. Students with complex support needs often have what Dr. Ross Greene calls, “lagging skills” in their social-emotional development and has developed a “Lagging Skills Inventory” for teachers to identify key areas of focus (Greene, p. 4). Along with the strategies that Dr. Ross Greene has developed, teachers can also enrich their practice by considering the Zones of Regulation curriculum by Leah M. Kuypers and MindUp curriculum by the Hawn Foundation. Working together, school teams throughout North America have used the Zones of Regulation and MindUp curriculum, first as a book study to build common knowledge, then as the framework for a two-year inquiry study that is focusing on the connection between social-emotional learning and its effect on school performance for at-risk students. School-wide use of common goals and strategies has created a positive and predictable environment of learning for all students. John O’Brien, a proponent of person-centered planning stated that, “investing some time in clarifying purpose, and creative problem solving and mutual support to challenge stuckness and console defeats seems to me an important part of the process of opening up to new opportunities” (2016, p.263) Summary Through the establishment of school-wide goals and expectations using Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support and the development of essential social-emotional learning skills that are consistently taught throughout the school, at-risk students can feel supported and engaged. Conclusion At-risk students need to feel supported and believe that they are capable of achieving success within their school. Without these supports, at-risk youth are in danger of dropping out of school before graduation (“At-Risk”, 2014). It takes an entire community to create this positive environment. School districts, teachers, and parents must work together to ensure at-risk students receive the supports they need to be successful. Without these supports, at-risk youth may never attain the education they deserve.
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