Tagged With "free lunches"
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2019 Beyond Paper Tigers Conference Series - Why Take Course One and Course Two?
Community Resilience Initiative is officially launching a new series of blog posts, building to our 2019 Beyond Paper Tigers conference on June 25th - 27th. We’ll cover a range of topics relevant to conference material, events, and inspirations. In addition to the regular conference, CRI is offering two training add-on options on Tuesday June 25, 2019 prior to the conference: Resilience-Based Trainings, Course One and Two . https://criresilient.org/beyon...re-conference-event/ “A group of...
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Middle school tackles everybody's trauma; result is calmer, happier kids, teachers and big drop in suspensions
6 th grader Cayla White (right) helps lead class meditation with Niroga Institute’s Lauren Banister/ photos by Laurie Udesky During the 2014/2015 school year, things were looking grim at Park Middle School in Antioch, CA. At the time, staff couldn’t corral student disruptions. Teacher morale was plummeting. By the end of February 2015, 192 kids of the 997 students had been suspended -- 19.2 percent of the student population. “I was watching really good people burning out from the [teaching]...
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A Primary-School Classroom for a New Public-School Majority [TheAtlantic.com]
AS OF 2014, U.S. PUBLIC SCHOOLS REACHED A MAJOR MILESTONE: More than half (51%) of public school students were children of color and/or came from low-income families (qualify for a reduced or free school lunch). That shift represented a clear turning point toward greater diversity in America’s public schools and the need for a corresponding diversity of approaches in the nation’s classrooms. What is at stake if that need is left unmet? For one, resources: Students of color are more likely to...
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An imperative for those in "towers" to connect with the realities of trauma in schools
Boosting SEL in K-12's "Ivory Towers" Educational Leadership October 2018 | Volume 76 | Number 2 The Promise of Social-Emotional Learning Those of us in administration must lift our "social awareness" by getting closer to schools and the people inside them. The superintendent's leadership team for the district where I was working had just finished its Monday morning meeting. One member of that team stopped as he passed by my cubicle to view the large poster I'd recently hung up. It displayed...
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Announcing CRI's Newest Trainings- July and September!
CRI is excited to announce new trainings! We will have online trainings in July, and an in-person training in September. July Online Trainings CRI Course 1 LIVE WEBCAST: Trauma-Informed Training A dynamic 2 part six-hour LIVE WEBCAST course, Course 1 introduces CRI’s capacity-building framework for building resilience, KISS. Knowledge, Insight, Strategies and Structure describes our community’s learning and movement from theory to practice and how to implement evidence-based strategies into...
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Appalachia’s Front Porch Network Is a Lifeline (yesmagazine.org)
More than half of all children in Appalachian Ohio receive free or reduced-price lunch , as reported by the Ohio PTA in 2013. At some elementary schools, the participation rate is almost 75% . In many cases, food distributed to Appalachian children at school feeds a family; thanks to programs such as Blessings in a Backpack, some children go home for the weekends with backpacks of shelf-stable food like canned tuna and peanut butter, designed to help out the whole household. School bus...
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Oregon State educators visit Cherokee Point Elementary in San Diego
Cherokee Point Elementary in City Heights (San Diego Unified School District) hosted 12 educators from Oregon on Friday, March 11th. The superintendents, principals and teachers spent the day with Principal Godwin Higa and Resource Specialist Patty Wallach to talk about the school becoming trauma informed, and how it functions. They visited classrooms and had lunch with the students, then met with Dr. Audrey Hokoda, Child, Development Department, San Diego State University and Dana Brown to...
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Parent, Educator, and Student Resources - FREE
We have started, and are adding to daily, a free resource page for teachers, educators, parents, and students. It is filled with activities, educational & behavioral resources, and more. These are gathered from around the internet and my own stuff as well. We are offering daily tips, tools, and projects through our FB page linked here . The big message is all about Collective Resilience - Together We Rise. Be sure to like our FB pageso you can get notified when we put new stuff up!
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Poet Linda McCarriston Reads “Hotel Nights With My Mother” (www.billmoyers.com/vimeo) & Note
I used to hate summers and holidays as a kid because it meant too much time at home and too much time, unstructured, with people who weren't safe. For me, that was my biological father, my first step-father and two step-siblings and I didn't hate long breaks and time away from school. I loved September and when Christmas break was over. This isn't a post about what happened to me as a kid. It's a reminder for teachers that home can be hard and what you do, allow, see and witness, even...
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Positive Childhood Experiences May Buffer Against Health Effects Of Adverse Ones [npr.org]
By Selena Simmons-Duffin, National Public Radio, September 9, 2019 Plenty of research shows that adverse childhood experiences can lead to depression and other health problems later in life. But researcher Christina Bethell wondered whether positive experiences in childhood could counter that. Her research comes from a personal place. In the 1970s, in a low-income housing complex in Los Angeles, Bethell had a tough childhood. Sometimes she didn't have money for lunch. Sometimes, when a free...
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Puppy love on campus helping kids cope with daily stress [CabinetReport.com]
Students stressed out over impending college acceptance and rejection letters drop by a teacher’s class to spend time brushing the therapy dog in her class just to calm their nerves. At another campus, a first grader practices reading aloud while absentmindedly playing with the ears of a therapy dog that visits his class once a week. Man’s best friend is playing an increasingly important role in maintaining student mental health as more becomes required of students to succeed academically.
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Could Parkland Shooting Be Prevented? Yes, and Runcie Knew How
School safety, negligence documentation, and a need for a school reform My name is Natalia Garceau. For nine years, I’ve been working at a center similar to the one where Nikolas Cruz was sent to after his expulsion from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. You won’t hear anything from the teachers who work at such centers because they are afraid to lose their jobs and to be taken to court. They have families to feed. By contract, we are not allowed to speak with media about anything...
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CRI Course 1: Trauma-Informed Training Webcast!
CRI Course 1: Trauma-Informed Training Webcast! Date: February 26, 2019 Time: 8am - 3pm Pacific Time A dynamic six-hour WEBCAST course, Course 1 introduces CRI’s capacity-building framework for building resilience, KISS. Knowledge, Insight, Strategies and Structure describes our community’s learning and movement from theory to practice and how to implement evidence-based strategies into action. The training includes three groups of topics: the NEAR sciences , a cluster of emerging scientific...
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Data exclusive: With California school bonds, the rich get richer and the poor, not so much (calmatters.org)
Wealthy communities have been reaping far more local bond money than poorer districts, amplifying existing inequities for the state’s public-school students, CALmatters education reporter Ricardo Cano reports . He tells a story of two schools: At Hilmar Unified, in a Merced County, 60 percent of the district’s 2,400 students last year were on free or reduced-cost lunch. Hilmar voters have passed one local bond in 20 years, worth $2 million, or $838 per pupil. Voters in Beverly Hills Unified,...
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Dear Teacher
Dear Teacher I remember you and I would imagine you remember me well. I am your student. We have shared space for many years yet have never come to know one another. Although I have known you over twenty years and spent more time with you than even my closest friends and family, our relationship has remained transactional, tense, contentious and at times violent. We have cursed, threatened and insulted each other, I have thrown chairs and spat at you and you have restrained me multiple...
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Does Mindfulness Actually Work in Schools? (theatlantic.com)
A research team in Chicago has spent a year studying whether students who are taught to be in touch with their emotions do better academically. And they say the initial results are promising. Perhaps counterintuitively, when kids take a break from a classroom lesson on the solar system to spend a quiet moment alone watching a three-minute nature video, or participate in a teacher-guided breathing exercise with their class after lunch, they seem to become better overall students. That’s...
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During COVID-19, how does a trauma-informed school pivot to distance learning?
Antioch Middle School seventh-grader Alyssia Garcia was accustomed to scanning the cafeteria during lunch for kids who might need her assistance. “I’d look for kids who looked sad, kids who were sitting alone, kids who looked angry,” says Garcia, a peer advocate at her school. Alyssia Garcia When she’d spot students sitting alone or looking sad, she’d approach them and ease into conversation. “If it’s a sad person, I’ll try to cheer them up or ask them what the problem is,” she says. “If...
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Encinitas Farm to School Program Provides Students with Lunch and Learning (livewellsd.org)
The Encinitas Union School District's Farm Lab and Nutrition Program have teamed up to bring healthier fare to its students. The District has been successfully operating its Farm to School program since 2013 and secured its organic certification in 2016, making it the first certified organic school district in the country to grow for its own lunch program! The Farm to School Program harvested 5000 pounds of produce and enough lettuce each week to supply all nine daily salad bars in the...
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FREE MASTER CLASS FOR EDUCATORS:
FREE MASTER CLASS FOR EDUCATORS: "The Top 10 Truths Every Teacher Needs to Know About Trauma" This 60-minute Master Class is an opportunity for teachers to take their FIRST STEP into becoming "trauma-informed." Learn how trauma impacts your students' brains, bodies and behavior, and the approaches that can make your job easier and less overwhelming! TUESDAY, May 7th @1pm (PST) - ONLINE Certificate of Attendance available for attendees Link for Deets: https://www.traumacamp.com/masterclass...
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Free Resource: A Children's Book to Help Understand Social Distancing
Here's a link to the book I wrote to help kids understand social distancing and express their own emotions. This is really important or things stay bottled up inside. It is now in video version; podcast and ebook are coming. Feel free to forward to others -- kids of all ages across the nation and the globe.Reprint the link. Do an article on it. Share with friends. Circulate it. Tweet it. Free resource. Bottom line: make it viral. The cover is attached!!! I hope it helps. Navigating emotions...
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Free Webinar on Using Creative Expression to Build Resiliency in Elementary Aged Kids
Join us for a free webinar that focuses on creative expression and how it helps kids with high ACE's scores develop coping mechanisms and build SEL skills.
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“Handle with Care” ~ West Virginia (WV) Center for Children’s Justice & WV State Police
The West Virginia Defending Childhood Initiative, commonly referred to as Handle With Care, is tailored to reflect the needs and issues affecting children in West Virginia. The Initiative, a result of a collaborative effort of key stakeholders and partners, builds upon the success of proven programs throughout the country. The goal of the Initiative is to prevent children's exposure to trauma and violence, mitigate negative affects experienced by children's exposure to trauma, and to...
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High schooler's "Sit With Us" app tackles lunchtime bullying (cbs.com)
Our series "A More Perfect Union" aims to show that what unites us as Americans is far greater than what divides us. In this installment we introduce you to a young woman taking on bullying – one cafeteria at a time. "I was ostracized by everyone. I ate lunch alone every day. I was pushed into lockers. I was sent threatening emails," said high school senior Natalie Hampton of California. "I was physically attacked three times in two weeks and I came home sobbing with bleeding red scratch...
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How Being Part of a 'House' Within a School Helps Students Gain A Sense of Belonging (kqed.org)
Sept. 30, 2016 was a big day for Lake Canyon Elementary. Students, teachers, and staff arrived at the Galt, California, school wearing white shirts and before long were sent to stand by one of six large cardboard boxes. After a drum roll, cannons sprayed confetti over each cluster of students. The color matched one of six new banners, like the orange one reading “Sebete” and featuring a bear meant to symbolize courage. As music played, the boxes were ripped open to reveal matching T-shirts.
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How Daily Farm Work and Outdoor Projects Make Learning in High School Better for Teens (kqed.org)
Called the Telstar Freshman Academy, or TFA, it involves all its district’s ninth graders in a hands-on learning method that uses outdoor-based projects and community-building activities as ways to teach across several disciplines. The program is aimed at helping students feel connected to each other and their community in a place where — as in so many rural areas hit hard by the opioid epidemic and the 2008 recession — connectedness and a shared sense of purpose have been in short supply.
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How Facial Expressions of Adults Affect Children
Karen Murphy, who is principal at Free Orchards Elementary School where I work, is a champion of trauma awareness and is working hard to lead our school in the direction of trauma sensitive practices -and away from the policies & procedures that have historically made well-intentioned school districts part of the "pipeline to prison". One of her sayings is "fix yer face", which means simply to put a warm expression on your face, consciously and regularly.
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How kids learn resilience [theatlantic.com]
In 2013, for the first time, a majority of public-school students in this country—51 percent, to be precise—fell below the federal government’s low-income cutoff, meaning they were eligible for a free or subsidized school lunch. It was a powerful symbolic moment—an inescapable reminder that the challenge of teaching low-income children has become the central issue in American education. The truth, as many American teachers know firsthand, is that low-income children can be harder to educate...
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How Social Studies Can Help Young Kids Make Sense of the World (kqed.org)
On a rainy Saturday morning this spring, 40 teachers and school administrators sat on folding chairs in the basement of a Brooklyn school for an all-day workshop on how to talk about race in the classroom. Organized by Border Crossers, a nonprofit group that trains teachers, administrators and parents how to explore race and racism, the event was led by trainers Ana Duque and Ben Howort, both former teachers. The workshop began with a discussion of racism from both historical and current...
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How to Make the Benefits of a School Garden Meaningful in a Child's Life (kqed.org)
Amid the litany of education reforms that emphasize innovation and new methods, school gardens stand out as a low-tech change. In an era where kids' lives are more sedentary, and where childhood obesity has risen dramatically, gardens support and encourage healthful eating as a key component of children's physical wellbeing, which can aid their academic and social success, too. And as the consequences of food deserts and poor nutrition on life outcomes become starker, advocates say that...
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If we want better school outcomes let's pay attention to Iowa [StateofOpportunity.Michiganradio.org]
One kid’s trauma can be a lot to handle . Managing a whole school of kids who have been traumatized can seem insurmountable. These kids are more likely to act out in class, have attendance problems, and get lower grades...
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Integrating ACEs science and trauma informed practices in your school district - what role does the administrator play?
Schools are the best opportunity to address ACEs on a large scale. Other than time at home, school is the place where children spend the majority of their time. And if a child's home life is full of strife, school might be the only place where the child feels safe. ACEs are common, and yet, it can be difficult to know which students need extra support. And rather than create additional programs that single out anyone or any group of students, and potentially having students fall through the...
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School Lunch at 9am?
While we know that the national school lunch program is an essential part of students functioning, wellbeing, and achievement, the reality is that many schools serve lunch before 11 and even as early as 9 am (shout out to the 2 local Junior Highs in my childhood neighborhood in Queens, NY). Why this is nuts is a no brainer but as one student puts it: “It is way too early. People that have lunch periods at that time get hungry later on in the day which decreases our focus in classes,” says...
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Schools Are Shaming Kids Who Can't Afford Lunch, but There Are Ways to Stop It [nationswell.com]
By Monica Humphries, Nationswell, August 14, 2019 IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN JUST A BAN ON LUNCH SHAMING. AS SCHOOLS STRUGGLE TO FEED CHILDREN WITHOUT PLUMMETING INTO DEBT, LEGISLATORS AND ORGANIZATIONS ARE LOOKING AT SOLUTIONS. Stephanie Woodard still remembers the weight of a roll of pennies in her pocket, hoping it would be enough to pay for lunch. The professional learning specialist for Fort Bend International School District recalls sneaking into her father’s bedroom and digging...
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Schools find one simple answer to attendance problem: washing machines (today.com)
Two school districts have found that the secret to raising attendance rates in schools in low-income areas could be as simple as providing laundry machines. "One of my students had just sort of withdrawn from school completely," Alison Guernsey, a seventh grade English teacher in Fairfield, California, told TODAY Parents. "After we started the program, he was more excited about coming, and he started to be actively engaged in class. He didn't feel like an outsider anymore," she said. At...
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Schools resolve conflicts by getting kids to talk things out (pbs.org)
Schools across the country are moving away from an era of zero-tolerance policies and shifting toward methods that involve restorative justice, encouraging students to resolve their differences by talking to each other rather than resorting to violence. In New York City, five schools that have implemented this system are already seeing results. NewsHour Weekend's Megan Thompson reports. In a 9th grade civics class in Brooklyn, New York, Erica Wright is encouraging students to talk to each...
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Serving School Meals in Challenging Times [stateofchildhoodobesity.org]
By State of Childhood Obesity, April 14, 2020 Millions of kids across the country rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition. More than 30 million kids, the majority of whom are growing up in families with low incomes, eat school breakfast and lunch every day. The new coronavirus has presented unprecedented challenges to the school meal programs. While people often think of healthcare professionals as emergency personnel and first responders, school district food service...
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Simple Tips for Boosting Teacher Resilience (edutopia.org)
Try these quick and easy ways to build resilience and relieve stress. STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING DAILY STRESS Sing a song. Perhaps during your morning shower or while you’re driving to school, belt out a high-energy song that you find empowering. My latest favorite is Pink’s “ I Am Here .” This tactic works because it makes you use your full lung capacity, and breathing deep is energizing—and there’s research on the positive impact of listening to music. Time needed: four minutes. Eat a handful...
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Sonoma County Trauma-Informed Teaching: Knowing our Students' Stories and Fostering Resilience
Sonoma County Office of Education published this bulletin that provides an overview of ACEs science, trauma in Sonoma County, trauma-informed teaching strategies, and building resilience for teachers and students. It's attached to this post, and also available for download in this group's resources for download section.
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Temporary Free Access to Paediatrics & Child Health (PCH) articles (Oxford Academic)
Temporary free access to highly cited articles making an impact in Paediatrics & Child Health ( PCH ) has just been opened up by Oxford Academic. If you're a research hoarder like me, you'll want to check this out. https://academic.oup.com/pch/pages/highly_cited_articles
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The Absence of Punishment in Our Schools
Where to begin... My heart is full of hope and joy as I watch the trauma-informed schools movement swell across our nation and planet. The science of ACEs is mind-bending to say the least and we are now able to open up a much deeper dialogue about human behavior and health. Ultimately this work is about healing… All. Of. Us. A new consciousness is taking root around ending the “us vs them” construct. The idea is growing that we’re all on this journey together and that no matter where our...
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Mich. Kids are Going to School Traumatized - and Teachers Lack Training, Resources to Help [freep.com]
By Rochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press, December 15, 2019 One wintry Tuesday morning, as Tavia Redmond welcomed her third-grade students to class, she asked young Michael why he had missed school the day before. “He told me that the reason he wasn’t here was because he was dead,” she recalled. “I said, ‘Well, you couldn’t have been dead and be back today.’ He said: ‘I was dead. I died over the weekend.’ ” Later, Redmond learned that Michael's older brother had tried to kill himself — again.
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Michigan Trauma Informed Education
We are working with PESI, a leader in professional development, to offer a full day training in trauma informed education. This content follows the content of our book on Supporting and Educating Traumatized Students. We will be in Michigan April 19, (Sterling Heights) 20, (LIvonia) and 21 (Ann Arbor) See the attached brochure If this goes well they will continue to offer this next year. Hope to see you there
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Miscounting Poor Students [usnews.com]
THE NUMBER OF POOR students enrolled in a particular school or living in a certain school district is one of the most important education data points that exists, and the stakes are high for getting the count right. The figures are used to direct billions of dollars in federal and state aid, and they're a pillar of K-12 accountability systems that ensure disadvantaged students are keeping up with their wealthier peers. But the method that's traditionally used to track them – how many...
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Modernizing Career and Technical Education (edutopia.org)
“Young people used to follow a path right out of school to the factory with just a little bit of job training, [but] those jobs are not there anymore,” said Neil Ridley, director of the State Initiative at Georgetown University’s Center for Education and the Workforce . “High school shouldn’t be seen as just a pipeline anymore; it’s a building block.” Sprawled across 65 sun-drenched acres, Skyline High School is an anomaly in the relatively affluent and white neighborhood where it resides.
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Ms. Jen's Level 1 Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training: July 15-17, 2018
Ms. Jen Alexander, experienced teacher, school counselor, author, presenter, and leader in the movement to create trauma-sensitive schools will hold her first ever Level 1 Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training this summer in scenic Cedar Falls, Iowa. Dates are Sunday, July 15 thru Tuesday, July 17, 2018 with the main training event taking place on Monday, July 16. Ms. Jen's new book for educators on the topic of creating trauma-sensitive schools will be published by Brookes in Baltimore, and...
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New Strategies for Measuring Poverty in Schools [future-ed.org]
For decades, the federal Free and Reduced-Price Lunch (FRL) program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been used as a proxy to identify economically disadvantaged students. Participation in that program has been limited to students from low-income families, defined as those earning below 185 percent of the federal poverty line. FRL has been widely used in state school funding formulas and accountability systems to identify at-risk children. But in 2010 Congress enacted two changes...
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New York City has the biggest school system in the country. It just made lunch free. (upworthy.com)
At a Sept. 6 press conference, Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina announced that the city's "Free School Lunch for All" program, currently available to 75% of New York City public school students, will be made available to every student in the system beginning this academic year. "Free School Lunch for All will provide financial relief to families and ensure all students are receiving nutritious meals so that they can succeed in the classroom and beyond," Farina said. New York City joins...
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New York public schools to have 'Meatless Mondays' starting this fall (cnn.com)
Students often joke about the "mystery meat" in their school lunches. Well for kids in New York City, there won't be any mystery at all, at least on Mondays. That's because all public schools in New York will have "Meatless Mondays" in the 2019-2020 school year. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced the new meal program Monday. Meatless Mondays, which will provide students with all-vegetarian breakfast and lunch offerings, is being expanded citywide from a pilot program that was tried out...
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Not All Fun And Games: New Guidelines Urge Schools To Rethink Recess [NPR.org]
What's the best time for students to have recess? Before lunch, or after? What happens if it rains? If students are misbehaving, is it a good idea to punish them by making them sit out recess? Those are just a few of the issues addressed in new guidelines designed to help schools have good recess. The recommendations come from a group called SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) America and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recess might seem simple — just open...
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Nursing Summit on ACES - April 12 in New York State (Incl. School Nurses)
This full-day program is presented by the Catskill Hudson Area Health Education Center's Nursing Workforce Development Workgroup in coordination with leadership of State University of New York - Delhi School of Nursing. The purpose of this program is to provide an educational forum for practicing nurses and school nurses to discuss Adverse Childhood Experiences and the potential effects they can contribute to long-term, adverse health-related issues. The NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing...