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By Cassandra Coburn, The Lancet, August 30, 2019 Finland's educational system is routinely praised as among the best in the world, achieving superb results through methods regarded by other scholastic systems as unorthodox. Among the differences that single it out for praise is the delayed start to education, with compulsory schooling beginning with a pre-primary education for children at 6 years old, and full-time schooling only starting at age 7. In contrast to the battery of tests faced...

By Dwyer Gunn, 5280, September 1, 2019 On a frigid morning this past March, Jo Carrigan, principal of Denver Public Schools’ Doull Elementary School in Harvey Park, stood on a blacktop playground as students streamed into the red brick building. As evidenced by the elaborate hairstyles, shimmery party dresses, and clip-on ties, it was school picture day. Carrigan complimented students on their outfits as she guided them around an icy spot on the pavement. Inside the building, up a flight of...

By Christina Caron and Katherine Zoepf August 22, 2019 In more than 700 communities across the country, teachers are supporting students of all ages — and their parents — outside the classroom. Even for the youngest children, the benefits can be profound. Yumna al-Kashto is only 4, but she’s already had to adapt to lots of changes in her life. She was born in Antakya, Turkey, after intense fighting forced her parents and four older siblings to flee their home in Idlib, the Syrian opposition...

The back-to-school period can mean a stressful transition for students, parents and teachers alike. To help them manage that anxiety, the nonprofit program Y.O.G.A. for Youth is bringing techniques for mindfulness and relaxation to the classroom. Damien Henson of Student Reporting Labs has the story. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/ show/managing-school-stress- by-bringing-yoga-into-the- classroom

By Science Daily, August 26, 2019 Two new studies from MIT suggest that mindfulness -- the practice of focusing one's awareness on the present moment -- can enhance academic performance and mental health in middle schoolers. The researchers found that more mindfulness correlates with better academic performance, fewer suspensions from school, and less stress. "By definition, mindfulness is the ability to focus attention on the present moment, as opposed to being distracted by external things...

By Kathleen Carroll, EdSurge, August 26, 2019 At Harvest Collegiate High School in Manhattan, students know what to do when they face a mysterious math problem. Take a breath, recognize a “maze moment,” and retrace their steps to find an alternative to their temporary dead end. It’s a simple idea: learning as navigation, choosing among concepts and strategies that either pave a path forward or trap you in the puzzle at hand. But these “maze moments” at Harvest, along with a half-dozen other...

By Sarah D. Sparks, Education Week, August 20, 2019 There's never been a clearer scientific picture of the ways damaging experiences and intense, chronic stress can hurt a child's ability to learn in school. But for many schools, the picture of what trauma-sensitive schooling looks like in practice is still developing. "We're in an all-fired hurry because there's this 'trauma' thing and we have to help our kids," said Melissa Sadin, the director of the Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools...

Have you been hearing all the buzz about Dr. Mona Delahooke's new book, Beyond Behaviors ? In my opinion, it’s the best new book of 2019. Dr. Delahooke is a practicing pediatric clinical psychologist of thirty years. She is gaining critical acclaim and grassroots support for challenging the prevalent and pervasive behaviorist bias in schools. As a result, she is an emerging authority in the growing revolution to re-interpret children's misbehavior. She highlights much of the books' content...

Wednesday, August 21st: join Alliance for a Healthier Generation @HealthierGen at 1 PM EST for a special chat  to discuss the findings of our recent SEH market research study and the ways we can best meet the health needs of the #WholeChild —at school, during out-of-school time, and at home.

By The Spokesman-Review, August 15, 2019 When classes start at Logan Elementary later this month, teachers and staff will have just completed new training designed to teach them how to support students affected by adverse childhood experiences thanks to a $35,000 grant from the Hagan Foundation. “They fully funded the entire program,” said Logan Principal Brent Perdue. The new training is the next step in years of studying the problem of childhood trauma and how it affects learning, Perdue...

https://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/this-town-adopted-trauma-informed-care-and-saw-a-decrease-in-crime-and-suspension-rates-20170222?platform=hootsuite According to this map, we need to get the TIC point across to about half the states and the parents and schools in all states.

As a white educator who teaches about mass incarceration, I will not be using ‘When They See Us’ in my classroom. Here’s why—and what I’ll teach instead. For the past several years, I have taught a mass incarceration project in my high school classroom. We examine injustices in our criminal justice system and how they contribute to our nation’s rising incarceration rates. I firmly believe that teaching about mass incarceration is critical because it is part of the ongoing narrative of racial...