Commission on Ferguson USA Racism/Unrest Calls for Whole Child, Safe, Healthy, Community Schools9/30/2015 This week saw several news stories on the report of the Commission investigating the shooting of black teenager Michael Brown. The report of the commission, which includes the word "unflinching", recommends that a whole child approach and a revamped school system be included in a focus on youth at the center of the reforms. The school-related actions include; reforming school discipline, providing support services to disadvantaged youth, ending childhood hunger, and several other measures to promote wellness and personal development. Note: In 2010 ISHN worked with the Community Schools movement to develop a consensus statement/adapted approach to schools in disadvantaged communities in high resource countries. Racism and other forms of discrimination were included as one of the many challenges but we also worked from a strength-based viewpoint and identified over 20 programs that can be part of these efforts. We released it at the 2010 School Health Symposium in Geneva. Read more >> (An item from the ISHN Member information service)
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(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #4, 2015 of The Journal of Primary Prevention describes how adding a food co-op component to a healthy nutrition and physical activity program in schools serving disadvantaged communities can be effective. "The purpose of this study was to conduct a pilot feasibility evaluation of Brighter Bites, a school-based food co-op to provide access to fresh F&V and nutrition education to low-income children and their families. Brighter Bites is a 16-week school-based food co-op consisting of: (1) Weekly distribution of 50–60 servings of fresh F&V; (2) Weekly bilingual parent handouts and recipe demonstrations; and (3) implementing CATCH, a coordinated school health program in schools. Process data using parent surveys, teacher surveys, attendance logs, and produce cost data were used to determine feasibility and acceptability of program. Participants received on average 61 servings of F&V weekly for 16 weeks at the cost of $4.31/family/week. Results showed significant increases in child reported self-efficacy, outcome expectations and attitudes towards consuming F&V (p < 0.05). We found significant increases in child exposure to F&V and child preference of various F&V from baseline to post-intervention (p < 0.05). Parent surveys showed significant improvements in mealtime practices at home: decrease in children eating while watching TV, increase in eating dinner with the family, less fast food, less sugary drinks with meals, more children asking for F&V as snacks. Process data showed 98 % retention rate and high parent acceptability of program components. Brighter Bites is a promising strategy to increase F&V access and education in low-income populations using existing infrastructure of schools and food banks." Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #6, 2013 of the H=Journal of Extension reports on a partnership program involving Extension programs (rural community development organizations) and local schools to encourage rural students to attend college. The article reports that "Rural high school graduates are less likely to graduate from college than their urban counterparts, mostly because they are less likely to attend college. Creating a climate of success for rural youth in Northwest Ohio is the goal of the College Readiness for Rural Youth initiative. Due to the large geographic area targeted, Extension has engaged collaborating partners to develop and facilitate "bridging" programs to support academic success and transitions to college for rural youth in the region". The program has linked the College Readiness for Rural Youth program with the OSU Extension program entitled Real Money—Real World (RMRW). RMRW is a successful financial literacy program 4-H professionals use in Ohio in partnership with local schools. The article concludes that "This program serves as an "on the ground" approach to developing the skills and abilities necessary for youth planning to enter post-secondary education to succeed at a higher level. The support and guidance through this bridge program has built the foundation needed to allow for students to envision college opportunity as an attainable goal. The approach is adaptable to fit the needs and demographics of diverse youth groups." Read more>>
The Capacity Challenge:What It Takes for State Education Agencies to Support School Improvement12/27/2013 (From the Education Commission of the US) Do state education agencies (SEAs) have the capacity to deepen their work improving outcomes for students? The answer from a long list of policy advocates and observers is “no”—or at least not without significant changes to the way they currently function. This project sought to more systematically examine SEAs’ existing capacities to understand the seriousness of the problem and the strategies state chiefs are using to confront it. The 10 states we analyzed represent a variety of approaches and political contexts for the work of reform, as well as varied records on student achievement. For each of these states, we asked: • What are the primary obstacles that inhibit SEAs from supporting school and district improvement? and • What levers can chiefs utilize to transform their agencies into more effective drivers of reform? Read More>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #3, 2013 of the Journal on Emotional and Behavioral Disorders delves into the impact of lower socio-economic status (SES) on child development. The authors identify small but significant, and likely modifiable facts that affect literacy and language, aggression, and internalizing behaviours including depression. They suggest that "Given the small observed associations, policy makers and programmers may focus interventions on family and community factors that contribute to child and adolescent developmental outcomes across the socioeconomic spectrum". Read more>>
(An item from ISHN Member information service) Adequately preparing teachers to teach in urban schools is an ageless challenge for teacher education programs. An article in Issue #1, 2013 of Education & Urban Society offers some insights into the qualities that need to be promoted among teachers aspiring or assigned to work in those schools. The fact that a minority of these new teachers felt ready to "make it their own" practice is revealing. The authors note that "This replication study represents an analysis of 47 exit portfolios of students enrolled in an urban teacher education program. Portfolios were analyzed to determine the degree to which students integrated concepts related to teaching in urban schools: asset/deficit perspectives, connections with families, social justice, high expectations for student learning, and contextualized teaching and learning. The portfolios fall into three groups along a continuum from “awareness” to “trying things out” to “making it their own.” With 30%, 51%, and 19% falling into each group respectively, the data are interpreted in relationship to faculty development and the challenges of scaffolding preservice teachers" Read more>
An item from ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #2, 2012 of The School Community Journal helps us to shed misconceptions about the service needs of high risk families living in small, rural towns. The study "examines the process of planning and implementing a needs assessment for a rural school serving low-income students. It illustrates how needs assessments necessarily reflect the planners’ assumptions about at-risk families. Caseworkers interviewed 13 at-risk and 16 not-at-risk families. Rather than finding the need for improved delivery of services that is commonly reported, especially in urban areas, what families most sought was respect. In addition, teachers and parents held different perspectives on many issues, and a successful project would need to address those differences directly. Read more.
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