Monitor on Psychology - February 2012 - (Page 49)

risk kids so they really feel like school is the place for them, rather than a place to avoid,” she says. In this era of belt-tightening, the model may also save schools money by streamlining services and using resources more effectively, Adelman adds. Growing support Several states are implementing the model in ways tailored to their circumstances, budget and needs. In Iowa, the learning supports model is being embedded in a federally funded initiative called Iowa Safe and Supportive Schools. That program is providing at-risk schools with $14 million over three years to overhaul their social and academic climates. (Iowa was awarded the money along with 11 other states through a competitive grant process from the Office of Safe and Drug-free Schools). In Louisiana, the model is the basis of an emerging program called the Comprehensive Learning Supports System. Districts that follow the model, like Sabine Parish, draw heavily on the enabling component concept via a statewide blueprint that spells out the ingredients of the model and how to implement it. State education leaders are currently presenting on the model and disseminating it throughout the state, as well as providing in-depth training when districts ask for it, says Louisiana Assistant State Superintendent Donna Nola-Ganey. In Mobile, Ala., the framework received national recognition in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, thanks to a strong learning supports system already in place. Because the district’s support services were so well organized, school personnel were able to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of disaster-affected children and their families, providing them with food, clothing and lodging and setting up provisional schools to help children keep on track with their studies, says Rhonda Neal-Waltman, EdD, then the city’s assistant superintendent of student support services. Examples of how the framework operates include managing cases family by family rather than child by child and requiring all school personnel to pitch in, regardless of position. “I didn’t care what your title was — from A to Z, you were there to help that family,” Neal-Waltman says. The effort grabbed the attention of the children’s educational Suggested reading • Adelman, H.S. & Taylor, L. (2010). Mental health in schools: engaging learners, preventing problems, and improving schools. thousand oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press. • Adelman, H.S., & Taylor, L. (2008). rebuilding for learning: Addressing barriers to learning and teaching and re-engaging students. new York: Scholastic, Inc. (this book is also available on line at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/ rebuild/rebuidlingv11rD28.pdf.) publishing company Scholastic, which donated time, money and materials to spread the word about the enabling component nationwide. In partnership with Adelman and Taylor and the American Association of School Administrators, Scholastic’s community affairs division is also helping to implement the model in four school districts in four states. In addition, the National Association of School Psychologists is promoting the work nationally in several ways. For instance, the group summarized Adelman and Taylor’s work in an advocacy document for educating local, state and national government officials (see http://smhp.psych.ucla. edu/pdfdocs/enhancingtheblueprint.pdf). NASP leaders also met with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to educate him on the model, and sponsored a congressional briefing on learning and social-emotional supports for military, foster and homeless children. “For us, learning supports is really about trying to help folks understand that you don’t think about kids’ social and emotional needs as something you do after you address their academic achievement,” says NASP Past President Kathleen M. Minke, PhD. “If you don’t address their social and emotional needs as part of their whole school experience, you will never get the degree of academic achievement that our nation is seeking through school reform.” School districts that have embraced Adelman and Taylor’s model are excited by its promise and its early results, though it’s not an easy fix. If a district decides to “go all the way” and change its organizational charts to better integrate the enabling component into academics, for instance, it can mean new job titles, new job duties and other shake-ups, Neal-Waltman says. “Did I have people who either had to get used to this change or get off the train?” she says. “Yes, I did.” Though this kind of widespread change is never easy, many hope the model can help stem the tide of high dropout rates, truancy and problem behaviors. Grant Parish, La., Superintendent Sheila Jackson, for example, says she hopes the restructuring can help address students’ aggressive behaviors. “We serve many children of poverty who have been raised to use physical aggression to resolve issues,” she says. “And we’re always being punitive rather than proactive.” She envisions the framework will teach educators more effective ways to help students communicate their needs and problems. “I’m not naïve enough to believe that we can change where they live or the culture they return to each day,” she says, “but we can at least equip them with the skills to manage it better.” Meanwhile, Jackson, of Sabine Parish, says he’s convinced the model will continue to improve children’s psychosocial wellbeing and academic success. “Eventually, we’re going to be No. 1 in our state,” he says. “And when we are, it will be because we’re addressing the needs of the total child.” n Tori DeAngelis is a writer in Syracuse, N.Y. F e b ru a ry 2 0 1 2 • M o n i t o r o n p s y c h o l o g y 49 http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/enhancingtheblueprint.pdf http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/enhancingtheblueprint.pdf http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/rebuild/RebuidlingV11RD28.pdf http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/rebuild/RebuidlingV11RD28.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - February 2012

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012
Letters
President’s column
Contents
From the CEO
APA files two briefs in support of same-sex couples
New registry seeks to understand addiction recovery through ‘crowdsourcing’
APA launches a database of tests and measures
Watch for new member benefit: “APA Access”
Apply now for APA’s Advanced Training Institutes
PsycTHERAPY, APA’s new database, brings therapy demos to life
In Brief
APA scientists help guide tobacco regulation
A-mazing research
‘A machine for jumping to conclusions’
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Righting the imbalance
The beginnings of mental illness
Science Directions
Improving disorder classification, worldwide
Protesting proposed changes to the DSM
Interventions for at-risk students
Harnessing the wisdom of the ages
Anti-bullying efforts ramp up
Hostile hallways
R U friends 4 real?
Support for teachers
Speaking of Education
Record keeping for practitioners
Going green
At the intersection of law and psychology
Division Spotlight
Grants help solve society’s problems
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012

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