Tagged With "California Surgeon General"
Blog Post
A Landmark Lawsuit Aimed to Fix Special Ed for California's Black Students. It Didn't. [kqed.org]
By Lee Romney, KQED, October 18, 2019 Darryl Lester was at his mom’s place in Tacoma, Washington, when a letter he’d been waiting for arrived in the mail. At 40, he was destitute, in pain and out of work. The letter delivered good news: Lester would be getting disability benefits after blowing out his back in a sheet metal accident. But he crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. Why? Because he couldn’t read it. From first through seventh grades, Lester had attended three public schools in...
Blog Post
ACEs Science in Education: The Next Big Challenge is Systems Change #ACEsCon2018
One of the first sessions of the 2018 ACEs Conference: Action to Access discussed the barriers and opportunities for increasing access in the field of education. The main question was: "How can one achieve systematic changes within the field of education?" The session was moderated by Michelle Flowers, a passionate advocate, and the principal of Kinney High in Rancho Cordova, CA, which is part of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. It included a dynamic and diverse panel of education...
Blog Post
An Epic Battle for Public Education: A Front Line View
As one single example of one key complexity (there are many others), children in our Public School classrooms have massive rates of trauma, described by a U.S. Department of Justice report as an “epidemic” and by past Surgeon Generals as “national crisis.”
The Center for Disease Control(CDC) says it is critical to understan
Blog Post
As Its Homeless Student Population Surges, Perkins K-8 Is Learning to Adapt [voiceofsandiego.org]
At one point last school year, homeless students made up a third of the Barrio Logan school’s total enrollment. Fernando Hernandez, the principal at Perkins K-8, makes sure his middle school teachers don’t put too much weight on homework. Hernandez caps the percentage of grades drawn from homework at 15 percent, which he says is lower than many middle schools. Though many schools and parents across the country have argued in recent years that schools should de-emphasize homework, Hernandez...
Blog Post
Peek Inside a Classroom: Jose
Photo credit Max Klingensmith at flickr . Jose was one of the calmest, quietest, most peaceful boys in the classroom. The kind of boy everybody loves. ...
Blog Post
Program offers hundreds of young men, boys safe space to heal from ACEs
Dennis McCollins recounts some of the experiences that caused him to harden against the world as a teenager. “There were times I went to more funerals than birthdays,” says McCollins, who is the clinical director of the School Based Health Center at Greenwood Academy in Richmond, Calif. And it took its toll: “I spent time homeless. I got expelled [from school]. I was so angry and upset and mad,” he says. Dennis McCollins Then a man that he met when he was sent to Job Corps as a teen turned...
Blog Post
Defending Childhood
Common Sense Millions of injured children whose pleas are not being heard are waiting at the intersection of the “Defending Childhood” Report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Congress’s rewrite...
Blog Post
“Disgraceful” Disparities In School Discipline Funnel Kids Into Justice System [witnessla.com]
By Taylor Walker, Witness LA, November 11, 2019 Research and the national conversation around racial disparities in school discipline have largely remained focused on the outsized disparate treatment that black students receive when compared with their white peers. Yet Native American youth face much the same disciplinary treatment in schools that black students do, according to a report from San Diego State University and Sacramento Native American Higher Education Collaborative (SNAHEC)...
Blog Post
Hearing to be held this week on education and trauma in House of Representatives Ed and Labor subcommittee
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California Surgeon General, will be the lead witness in a hearing on trauma-informed practices in education on Wednesday, Sept. 11 in the House of Representatives Education and Labor Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education. The hearing is titled "The Importance of Trauma-Informed Practices in Education to Assist Students Impacted by Gun Violence and Other Adversities." Other witnesses include I ngrida Barker, Ed.D. , Associate...
Blog Post
How to Keep Children's Stress From Turning Into Trauma [nytimes.com]
By Stacy Steinberg, The New York Times, May 7, 2020 Children may be processing the disruptions in their lives right now in ways the adults around them do not expect: acting out, regressing, retreating or even seeming surprisingly content. Parents need to know that all of this is normal, experts say, and there are some things we can do to help. “Our natural response to scary things is biologically to release stress hormones,” said Dr. Nadine Burke Harris , a pediatrician and surgeon general...
Blog Post
In School Suspensions the Answer to School Discipline? Not Necessarily, Experts Say [edsource.org]
By Carolyn Jones, EdSource, October 29, 2019 More California schools are allowing disruptive students to serve suspensions on campus instead of sending them home. But experts said educators need to provide those students with high-quality behavior counseling for that approach to be successful. Schools throughout the state have embraced in-school suspensions in recent years, as studies have shown that traditional out-of-school suspensions can hurt students’ academic performance and actually...
Blog Post
Interactive Map: California's chronically absent students in 2017-18 and video [EdSource.org]
By Yuxuan Xie a nd Daniel J. Willis , EdSource.org View EdSource's interactive map showing the chronic absenteeism rates for school districts across California. The highest rates are clustered in rural areas. To see the interactive map, go to: https://edsource.org/2019/interactive-map-californias-chronically-absent-students-in-2017-18/613074 And here is an accompanying video: Take a journey into rural Butte County, California where districts are confronting high rates of students missing...
Blog Post
Sesame Street's Traumatic Experiences Website / First 5 CA Care, Cope Connect Resource
Thanks to Alejandra Labrado from First 5 Sacramento for providing the links to these resources! Sesame Street's Traumatic Experiences: https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/traumatic-experiences/ When a child endures a traumatic experience, the whole family feels the impact. But adults hold the power to help lessen its effects. Several factors can change the course of kids’ lives: feeling seen and heard by a caring adult, being patiently taught coping strategies and...
Blog Post
Native American Students Suspended at Higher Rates Than Peers. New Report Looks at Solutions [desertsun.com]
By Risa Johnson, Palm Springs Desert Sun, September 30, 2019 Native American students in California's public schools face higher-than-average suspension rates, according to a new report. A joint effort between California State University, San Diego, and the Sacramento Native American Higher Education Collaborative, the report outlines what it calls troubling trends regarding how school administrators discipline students. Racial disparities in school discipline, particularly for African...
Blog Post
New Resource Guide for Child Sexual Abuse/Exploitation Prevention
Greetings, ACN Community! I wanted to share this fantastic new resource guide developed by one of the work groups from the Georgia Statewide Human Trafficking Task Force. This guide provides background on best practice, principles of prevention, identifying resources for the classroom, developing a prevention plan, age appropriate teaching suggestions, analysis of specific programs, and guidelines for implementation and evaluation. It is really quite thorough and is full of excellent ideas...
Blog Post
No More 'At-Risk' Students in California [insidehighered.com]
By Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed, November 5, 2019 A decades-long effort to change how educators talk about students facing economic or social challenges has been backed by California lawmakers. A bill to remove references to “at-risk youth” and replace the term with “at-promise youth” in California’s Education Code and Penal Code was approved by California governor Gavin Newsom in mid-October. The California Education Code is a collection of laws primarily applying to public K-12...
Blog Post
Nowhere to Hide the Elephant in the [Class]room
Developmental trauma changes the architecture of the physical brain, ability to learn and social behavior. It impacts two out of three children, but I didn’t even know what it was…
Blog Post
Black students and families need more support — and they need it now. An unprecedented coalition dives in with a new LAUSD task force. [laschoolreport.com]
An unprecedented coalition of community members, educators, parents, and students at LA Unified have convened a new task force to urgently address why African-American youth continue to have the lowest test scores and why black students and families continue to feel ignored by the education system. Black students persist in having LA Unified’s highest rates of dropouts and suspensions. They are most likely to be identified as needing special education services, and they are least likely to...
Blog Post
Burnout Risk for In-Prison Educators Could Jeopardize Programs for Incarcerated Students
Sustaining Futures will strengthen education programs for incarcerated individuals by training California Community College faculty and staff on trauma and resilience.
Blog Post
California Advocates Celebrate as Governor Signs Law to Address Overuse of Suspensions in Schools! [fixschooldiscipline.com]
By Fix School Discipline, September 16, 2019 SB 419 will help keep students in school, increase student success, and increase high school graduation Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to eliminate suspensions for minor misbehaviors and protect California students from discriminatory and harmful school climates. Under Senate Bill 419, which was introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), school districts will no longer be permitted to use defiance or disruption, as justification...
Blog Post
California may start next school year sooner if coronavirus is under control [sfchronicle.com]
By Alexei Koseff, San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 2020 California schools could reopen this summer to help make up for a “learning loss” that early closures forced by the coronavirus pandemic caused this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday. Schools typically start the academic year in mid- to late August, but the governor said that might be moved up to as early as July if the pandemic is under control. “We recognize there has been a learning loss,” Newsom said at a news conference. “We...
Blog Post
California Plans to End 'Lunch Shaming' That Guarantees Meals for All Students [usatoday.com]
By Joshua Bote, USA Today, October 14, 2019 A bill signed Saturday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to cut the recent trend in schools of "lunch shaming." SB 265, which was originally introduced by California state Sen. Robert Hertzberg, will require that all public school students have a "state reimbursable" meal provided by the school "even if their parent or guardian has unpaid meal fees." It amends the Child Hunger Prevention and Fair Treatment Act of 2017, which previously stated...
Blog Post
California Plans to End 'Lunch Shaming' That Guarantees Meals for All Students [usatoday.com]
By Joshua Bote, USA Today, October 14, 2019 A bill signed Saturday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to cut the recent trend in schools of "lunch shaming." SB 265, which was originally introduced by California state Sen. Robert Hertzberg, will require that all public school students have a "state reimbursable" meal provided by the school "even if their parent or guardian has unpaid meal fees." It amends the Child Hunger Prevention and Fair Treatment Act of 2017, which previously stated...
Blog Post
California's First Surgeon General: Screen Every Student for Childhood Trauma [nbcnews.com]
By Patrice Gaines, NBC News, October 11, 2019 Dr. Nadine Burke Harris has an ambitious dream: screen every student for childhood trauma before entering school. "A school nurse would also get a note from a physician that says: 'Here is the care plan for this child's toxic stress. And this is how it shows up,'" said Burke Harris, who was appointed California's first surgeon general in January. "It could be it shows up in tummy aches. Or it's impulse control and behavior, and we offer a care...
Blog Post
California schools can no longer suspend K-8 students for using phones. Will this help or hurt learning?
By NINA AGRAWAL, SONALI KOHLI, OCT. 1, 2019, LA Times In middle school, Anthony Avila would stand up in class, talk to friends when he wasn’t supposed to and sling his legs across a second chair. His disruptive behavior got him sent to the office a lot, where he would sit in silence, often stewing. In high school, Avila’s math teacher used another tactic. She kept him in class when he acted up and opened her room early so they could talk. When other teachers still sent him to the office, the...
Blog Post
California Schools Will Not Reopen This Year Due to Coronavirus, Superintendent Says [sfchronicle.com]
By Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, March 31, 2020 California schools will be unable to reopen this year given current safety concerns and ongoing social distancing, the state superintendent told county officials Tuesday. The letter, obtained by The Chronicle, was not a directive, but rather an acknowledgment that the still growing coronvirus crisis will mean schools must stay shuttered. While classrooms will remain closed, education will continue, Superintendent of Public Instruction...
Blog Post
Chicago schools chief asks Congress for more federal help to address childhood trauma (chalkbeat.org)
Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson traveled to Washington, D.C., Wednesday to deliver a testimony to a House committee about the district’s struggle against forces like poverty and gun violence that affect how students learn and behave in the classroom. The latest police statistics show Chicago crime is down compared with last year, including shootings and murders. But despite the trend, violence still wracks the lives of many Chicagoans, especially youth. Jackson made the point, as did...
Blog Post
Kaiser Permanente Seeks to Address Trauma in 25,000 Schools by 2023 [modernhealthcare.com]
By Steven Ross Johnson, Modern Healthcare, December 12, 2019 Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente on Thursday expanded its multi-year effort to provide tens of thousands of schools across the country with resources to help students and staff members cope with trauma and stress. The Resilience in School Environments, or RISE, project, will reach at least 25,000 schools by 2023, Kaiser said, as it provides mental health and wellness support to staff and students. The initiative began in 2017 to...
Blog Post
L.A. Unified's Ban on Willful Defiance Suspensions, Six Years Later [edsource.org]
By Carolyn Jones, EdSource, December 13, 2019 Long before California banned suspensions for “willful defiance” or disruption of school activities in K-8 classrooms, Los Angeles Unified embarked on an even more ambitious goal: eliminate defiance suspensions entirely. Six years after it implemented the policy, L.A. Unified officials, advocates and students say they’ve seen dramatic improvements in campus culture at many schools, providing lessons for California as it attempts to reshape school...
Blog Post
The Relentless School Nurse: The Day the School Nurse Went to Capitol Hill
I am sharing my remarks from the press conference held by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood to bring attention to the impact of gun violence in schools. We are asking for the Senate to bring the Background Check Bill to the floor for a vote. Democracy is built on the voice of “The People” and yesterday, I had the ultimate privilege of being one of the voices. I spoke on behalf of school nurses across our country who are managing the aftermath of school shootings or the stress of active shooter...
Comment
Re: Burnout Risk for In-Prison Educators Could Jeopardize Programs for Incarcerated Students
How can I learn more about the Communities of Practice trainings in San Diego: where, when?
Comment
Re: Burnout Risk for In-Prison Educators Could Jeopardize Programs for Incarcerated Students
Dr. Felitti, thank you, I have replied directly to your query.
Comment
Re: California's First Surgeon General: Screen Every Student for Childhood Trauma [nbcnews.com]
MN has required developmental screening for all 3-4-year-olds that is funded through the State, and implemented at the local level by the school districts, who utilize an interdisciplinary team of health care and educators. I have often thought that we could leverage this existing practice to better understand which children have experienced childhood trauma. This would give the receiving schools an opportunity to look at incoming classes of Kindergartners and better prepare their staff and...
Blog Post
We need to prepare for the mental health impact of coronavirus on kids [latimes.com]
By Sonali Kohli, Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2020 Four-year-olds have playdates through closed windows, sliding their toy cars in unison on either side of the glass. A high school student worries about his mother going to work in a food-packing warehouse, at risk for contracting COVID-19. Another teen says “there is nothing to look forward to,” as he tries to avoid sliding into depression. Worried parents are calling school district hotlines seeking help for their troubled children. Experts...
Blog Post
What Happens When Schools Close for the Academic Year? tcpress.com]
By Karen Gross, Teachers College Press, March 20, 2020 Just as we are hearing about positive research efforts to combat the coronavirus in the relative near term, we are learning that some statewide school systems may stay closed through the end of the 2019–2020 school year. As of this writing, one state—Kansas—has affirmatively closed all its schools until the next academic year. Other states will likely follow in the coming days, including California, Arizona and Texas. The critical...
Comment
Re: California may start next school year sooner if coronavirus is under control [sfchronicle.com]
This could be problematic. I am sure that parents and the public in general will love the idea. But it assumes that teachers, staff and administration have not been working since the closure began. For most of us, this has meant longer hours and more challenging and frustrating work. The teachers especially will need a break. If they don't get one, we will have numerous issues with staff. Furthermore, teachers in California are not 12 month employees. Those who receive 12 month checks do so...
Comment
Re: No More 'At-Risk' Students in California [insidehighered.com]
I am so glad to see this! we have some more work to do. The most stigmatizing language we use is in Special Education: Special Day Classes; Mild Moderate and Moderate Severe.... I am not sure what they mean? I would love to work with others to shift this to more of a Growth Mindset!
Blog Post
Alternative schools' 'relentless' fight to keep track of students during pandemic [edsource.org]
By Carolyn Jones, EdSource, August 6, 2020 When Amistad continuation high school closed its campus in March due to the pandemic, the staff went into overdrive to stay in touch with students. They called all 205. If a student’s phone was disconnected, they went to the student’s house. If no one answered, they asked neighbors. “The effort was relentless,” said David Gustafson, principal of the public school in Indio, near Palm Springs, that serves students who’ve been expelled or are at risk...
Blog Post
Trauma is 'Written Into Our Bodies' - but Educators Can Help [edutopia.org]
By Stephen Merrill, Edutopia, September 11, 2020 Some of the first adorable patients to trickle into Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’s pediatric clinic when it opened in 2007—long before she was named the first surgeon general of California—were referred by teachers and principals. Sitting in her examination rooms back then, in one of San Francisco’s poorest neighborhoods, Burke Harris knew almost immediately that something was amiss. Her young patients arrived with tentative diagnoses of...
Blog Post
Teaching with purpose: ACEs aware, healing-informed.
Listening to the voices from current classrooms, the social-emotional needs that students are coming into classrooms are intense and demonstrate the importance of additional commitments for well-being and self-care. Schools and communities must recognize that teachers have ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) too. Similarly, they enter the profession as “wounded healers," being charged with filling needy hearts with hope. The levels of toxic stress and compassion fatigue are increasing...
Blog Post
America’s Students Need Us More Than Ever (thriveglobal.com)
As many of our nation’s young people returned to school campuses to reconnect with teachers, coaches, and classmates this fall we rejoiced in their voices and comradery from the bus stops, classrooms, and playgrounds. These sounds take on a greater meaning as we reflect on the significant learning and relational losses that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on students globally. With the recent declaration from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent...
Blog Post
January 13 Webinar: Learn How to Increase Mental Health Support for Students in Schools
There is national consensus on the youth mental health crisis. In October the American Academy of Pediatrics, AACP and CHA d eclared a national youth mental crisis followed by the US Surgeon General issuing a n advisory to respond to this public health emergency. Partnering with schools is key to any scalable solution to address the youth mental health crisis. Authors of th e recently rel eased guide, School Mental Health 101: A Primer for Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans and school mental health...
Blog Post
Black youth face rising rates of depression, anxiety, suicide [edsource.org]
By Carolyn Jones, Photo: Alison Yin/EdSource, EdSource, January 25, 2022 N early everyone has experienced a degree of anxiety or depression due to the pandemic. But for young Black people also confronting persistent racism and ever-widening inequities, the current moment has led to an acute crisis in mental health. The suicide rate among Black youth, which for years trailed that of Asian and white students, has doubled since 2014 is now twice the statewide average, far exceeding all other...
Blog Post
Suspensions, Expulsions or Arrests of Students at School. There’s Still Time to Fix That [the74million.org]
By Richard Mendel, Photo: Getty Images, The 74, March 29, 2022 T he COVID-19 pandemic has been a nightmare for teenagers. The U.S. surgeon general and the American Academy of Pediatrics recently declared a nationwide adolescent mental health crisis, as did the president of the United States . Academic achievement tests show wholesale learning loss. School attendance has plummeted. And these difficulties are being felt most among students who were already behind before COVID — youth of color,...
Blog Post
Celebrating Teachers and Raising Awareness of Mental Wellness
Educators are modern day superheroes! As parents, we give our most precious asset, our children, to these individuals and ask them to help shape and mold them into the human beings they will become. There is no more important job on this planet. Every day should be a celebration of the essential role teachers play in the lives of our children to guide them on their path to flourishing. Teachers, we salute you, especially during Teacher Appreciation Week , May 2-6. We celebrated educators,...
Blog Post
Upcoming 6/9 Webinar and New Report and Brief: Community Strategies to Address California’s Digital Divide and Its Impact on Children and Families
PACEs Connection and the Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative, a project of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) have developed two new resources, “Community Strategies to Address California’s Digital Divide and Its Impact on Children and Families” Report and the “Digital Divide Brief: Community Strategies to Address California’s Digital Divide and Its Impact on Children and Families”