Podcast library – search by key word – Page 27

Caring for the caring adult – sleep, physical exercise, staying virtually connected and good deeds are all important during the current pandemic

“Do a good deed for someone else. Write a letter, send an email, or FaceTime someone to let them know you are thinking of them, or buy a gift certificate from a local restaurant or store that may be struggling financially to survive in the midst of closures. Such selfless acts are good for the mental health of the giver as well as the recipient, and can help support healthy sleep.” Read full article

Kids knocking over class furniture, hitting others and physically harming self and others – all symptoms of trauma

One Ohio District’s experiences of dealing with student trauma in Early Childhood Education demonstrates how early identification, early intervention and multi-agency treatment programs can work. “Evidence suggests it works: children’s trauma symptoms, including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, are on average reduced by 30 to 50 percent over one school year.” Read full report.

Trauma informed practice must look to individual and systemic causes of trauma

“Without a systemic lens, trauma-informed practice can draw teachers’ attention to the trauma behaviors that students exhibit, potentially pathologizing children for the very behaviors that research on trauma has illuminated and then blaming their families for their trauma. Without a systemic lens, trauma-informed practice promotes solutions that are individually targeted while the trauma that children experience is rooted in systems.” Read full article

Students far more likely to seek mental health treatment at school if at all, US report says, putting schools in underfunded situation

One of the underlying causes of chronic student absenteeism is a mental health crisis. A recent study makes recommendations which include early warning systems in schools and reintegration plans after prolonged absences. ” 1. Have a thorough plan for reintegrating students back into school life following a mental health-related leave of absence;2. Create “early warning” systems through trainings and partnerships that help school staff identify students in need;” Read full article

Wait, what? Now I have to teach attendance too?

Every adult in school plays a role in teaching about attendance. Raising awareness that every school day matters is part of everyone’s task at school. AttendanceWorks has a great resource to infuse attendance into daily instruction. “What does it mean to teach attendance? More than simply taking roll each day. Teaching attendance involves building awareness about how many absences are too many, encouraging students to come to school every day even when it is hard and engaging them once they are in the school building.” Read full article

Positive student relationships with teachers as caring adults improves attendance….even when you don’t “love” every student

Building connections with kids needs to be intentional, takes practice and takes relational skills. It’s not an automatic that you’ll connect with every student. Here are some great suggestions coming from experience in the classroom. “Strong student-teacher relationships, however, are linked to both short-term and long-term improvements on multiple measures: higher student academic engagement, better attendance, better grades, fewer disruptive behaviors and suspensions, and lower school dropout rates. These effects hold true regardless of students’ individual, family, and school backgrounds.” Read full article

Study: Majority of students’ feelings about high school are negative

Small wonder, then, that absenteeism becomes a concern if students don’t want to be at school. A caring adult connected to a student can determine what the causes of negativity are and become an attendance protective factor. “Once the “tired” emotion is addressed, Pringle said, the other negative emotions are likely to fall in line. “Once they are feeling more rested, they will be better able to pay attention, they might be more interested, less bored, and less stressed.” Read full Education Dive article

Students experiencing homelessness are chronically absent from school at a rate at least twice that of the overall student population, and significantly more often than their housed, low-income peers, University of Chicago

The mobility, poverty, and trauma associated with homelessness affects students’ emotional and physical health, hygiene, preparedness for school, transportation options, and other factors that increase absenteeism. Chronic absences increase the likelihood that a student will drop out of high school.[ii] This can perpetuate child and youth homelessness: Homelessness causes students to miss school, which can lead them to drop out, which then makes them 3.5 times more likely to experience homelessness as young adults. Read full article from School House Connection

Principals make a difference and impact improvements in student attendance, new study says

Principals have just as much impact on student attendance as they do student achievement — especially in urban and high-poverty schools where unexcused absence rates can be almost twice as large as those in suburban and rural schools, a new study finds. Read Education Dive article here.