Whole Child Education

I saw Social Services almost as much as I saw my mother, who was always drunk. Her best friends, alcohol and money, were always there for her. She spent so much time with them, she couldn't raise my little sister and me. Social Services always came to talk to me at school. They asked questions about my family. My response? A lie, always. —Karen Kaldenbach, 18-year-old high school senior in Arlington County, Va.

So begins Jay Mathews's Washington Post column published earlier this week. Mathews describes the national debate over how best to improve schools, with some saying the focus should be on improving teaching and others countering that teachers cannot possibly reach kids who are hungry, sick, or without the necessary supports at home. He uses Karen Kaldenbach's story to suggest that the answer isn't an either/or proposition. Instead, he writes, "only a deft mix of great teaching and energetic social services can do the job, particularly for children in the deepest trouble."

In Kaldenbach's case, her foster mom, federal student aid policy, a state and university program to help high school students become the first in their families to go to college, and local teachers and counselors together have made the difference. The senior is heading to George Mason University, and she has earned awards and scholarships along the way.

Tune in to next week's Whole Child Podcast to learn more about how schools and communities can partner to meet the needs of the whole child.

How has your school worked with community organizations, health groups, and other service providers to comprehensively support students? Do you have an example of how a coordinated web of services has helped a child you know?

Join us Thursday, June 4, to hear how schools and communities can partner together to meet the needs of the whole child. We know that children grow physically, socially, emotionally, ethically, expressively, and intellectually within networks of families, schools, neighborhoods, communities, and our larger society. And we know schools alone can't meet the needs of each child. So why not bring everyone to the table?

June's Whole Child Podcast: Changing the Conversation About Education will feature Jane Quinn, assistant executive director for community schools at the Children's Aid Society. Jane will share the work of the society's 21 community schools in New York City and how the school and community partnerships have produced results for students, families, and the community. Eileen Santiago, principal of Thomas Edison Elementary School in Port Chester, N.Y., will share how partnering to address students' overall social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs has resulted in improved learning for thousands of Thomas Edison students.

Download the June Whole Child Podcast Thursday, June 4, to hear more from our guests about coordinating and collaborating to meet the needs of the whole child.

Tell us how your school and community are partnering to meet the needs of the whole child.

The National PTA recently signed on as a Whole Child Partner, joining more than 40 other partner organizations that represent a broad swath of the education, arts, and health and wellness fields.

Here at the Whole Child Blog, we feel our partnership with the PTA is significant because the Whole Child Initiative is grounded in the belief that responsibility for educating and supporting the whole child neither starts nor stops at the schoolhouse door. That means businesses, community agencies, policymakers, and families must align with schools to provide conditions that support learning for each student. In short, educators can't do it alone.

Moreover, outside of educators, parents are the single largest group visiting this Web site. More than 40 percent of our online visitors identify themselves as parents, a percentage that has steadily grown since we launched this site just over two years ago. To meet the needs of these parents, we will post critical PTA resources on this site. Meanwhile, the PTA will distribute information about the Whole Child Initiative to every attendee at their June Annual Conference.

Educators: Does your school encourage and support parent involvement beyond the typical opportunities for parent-teacher conferences and field trip chaperoning?

Parents: Do you feel welcome to contribute at your child's school in ways that significantly shape the climate and curriculum?

We're here to help! Making the Case for Educating the Whole Child succinctly outlines research and education policies and practices that ensure students are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. Use this document to help you and your colleagues, community members, and family make the case for why we need to educate the whole child now—before it's too late—with policymakers and media.

As you make the case, share your strategies, tips, and stories with us in the comments below. No matter how large or small, share what you are hearing, seeing, and experiencing. We look forward to hearing from you!

Do you know a stellar school counselor who's running a comprehensive, data-driven program?

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA), a whole child partner, is seeking nominations for its School Counselor of the Year awards program. This program brings up to 10 finalists and their nominators to Washington, D.C., in late January 2010, where they will participate in a congressional briefing, meet their members of Congress, and be honored at the School Counselor of the Year Gala. From these 10 finalists, one school counselor of the year will be selected. Nominations are due July 17, 2009.

Nominate online today!

After you've submitted your nomination, get to know 2009 School Counselor of the Year Julie Hartline and other school counselors at ASCAway, ASCA's podcast home for issues, trends, and interviews.

The education blogosphere lit up this week with debate over results of a new study on the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ). The HCZ contains a school—The Promise Academy—but also provides extensive social services and community programs. (ASCD's Educational Leadership magazine recently reviewed a book on the HCZ, Whatever It Takes).

The Harvard study, Are High-Quality Schools Enough to Close the Achievement Gap?, looked at the impact the Promise Academy had on test scores, both against students within the HCZ who did not attend the Promise Academy, and against students taking the state test overall. Promise Academy students did significantly better than their peers who did not attend and also made large strides in closing the persistent racial achievement gap.

The flashpoint for all the discussion was a New York Times column by David Brooks. Brooks interpreted the study to be a victory for the "schools-alone" approach of school reform. Many observers vociferously objected to this take; in a post titled "David Brooks in Opposite Land," Learning First Alliance's Claus Von Zastrow wrote:

Did Brooks really just argue that the Harlem Children's Zone's success supports the schools alone approach championed by "reformers"? That's like arguing that the Surgeon General's reports discredit the link between smoking and cancer.

As just about everyone knows, the Harlem Children's Zone combines education, social services and community programs to improve the odds for children and youth in Harlem--It's an odd poster child for Brooks's argument.

Over at The Quick and the Ed, Chad Aldeman chimed in with some in-depth analysis of the numbers:

The siblings of Promise Academy students do achieve slightly higher than their peers and miss fewer days of school, but these effects are nowhere near the ones observed in the Promise Academy students. There must be something about the combination of services and schooling to account for such differences. 

David Brooks has a political agenda and only 750 words to write about it, so he takes these findings and runs with them. He sees the school as the one extra element and takes that to mean that the school is what made the difference. He might be right, but in the process he ignores the possibility that the combination of intense services and intense schooling made the difference. 

It makes sense that kids who are given such holistic support—in and out of school—show higher achievement. What conclusions do you draw from this new data, and how should it inform educators and policymakers going forward?

It's back, and better than ever! The Secondary School Innovation Fund Act, introduced this month by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA), is one of ASCD's top legislative priorities. The association helped craft the original version of the bill, then known as the GRADUATES Act, and will continue to work with members of Congress to build support for its enactment.

This legislation would provide competitive grants to states and districts for innovative models and programs that improve middle and high school student achievement and prepare students for success in postsecondary education and the workforce. Specifically it would

• Expand on the success of emerging models like multiple pathways to graduation, early college high schools and dual enrollment, and early warning intervention systems.
• Support a variety of secondary school strategies such as personalization, improved transitions and alignment, expanded learning time, postsecondary and work-based learning opportunities, and a rigorous curriculum aligned with postsecondary education and the workforce.
• Provide resources for high-quality research and evaluation to ensure funding is leveraged for programs with a proven track record in raising student achievement.

President Obama has said, "Dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself; it's quitting on your country." Indeed, over one million students drop out of high school each year, jeopardizing their futures and costing our economy billions of dollars in lost wages. This legislation will help to stem the flow of high school dropouts by implementing scalable innovation that benefits all students.

Take Action!

Please send a message to your senators and representative encouraging them to support the Secondary School Innovation Fund Act or thanking them for cosponsoring it.

To help raise awareness about the need for innovative high school redesign, please share this video with your colleagues and friends. Then, ask them to contact their members of Congress.

It's been repeated so often it's become axiomatic: our high schoolers aren't getting enough sleep, which has negative consequences when they get to school in the morning. But how much sleep are they really getting?

A new study in the April issue of the Journal of School Health surveyed a random sample of 384 high school students from three schools in the Midwest, asking how much sleep they were getting and what influence they felt on days following less-than-adequate sleep. A whopping 91.9 percent responded that they got less than or equal to nine hours of sleep, which the study defined as inadequate. The most common effects of this, according to the students, were feeling tired during the day, lower grades, and an increase in stress.

The study points to the implementation of later start times in Minneapolis Public School District as one response to the issue, an acknowledgement that teenagers aren't prone to early bedtimes. But this step is difficult and controversial in many communities due in part to its affect on after-school activities, such as intramural sports.

What can be done to address the needs of sleepy teens?

We're winding down the week here at the Whole Child Blog and want to share a great two-minute video about 21st century schooling and curricula that was created by an Iowa State University educational administration master's student, Steven Hopper:

To Meet the Demands of a New Age from Steven H on Vimeo.

To Meet the Demands of a New Age from Steven H on Vimeo.

What did you think of the video? Share your comments below, or send Steven a message on the Dangerously Irrelevant Blog. Do more by checking out resources related to creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and other 21st century skills and starting a conversation in your community about how your students are meeting the demands of a new age.

ASCD's new report, "Planning the Possible: How Schools Can Use Stimulus Dollars for Lasting Impact," informs educators about the ins and outs of the stimulus package, including how the funding is to be used. It also describes how sustained, capacity-building professional development can elevate teacher effectiveness and improve student achievement, making it a smart use of stimulus dollars. The report answers questions like

• How is the stimulus funding being distributed?
• For each distribution "bucket," what are the potential uses for funds?
• How much money will each state get?
• What are the stipulations about how funds can't be used?
• What are the spending deadlines?
• Why invest in professional development, and what are the features of effective PD?

Here at the Whole Child Blog, we believe districts and schools that engage in consistent and coordinated planning for the use of their stimulus funding can help ensure that each student is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. We also believe an emphasis on the whole child is imperative to student achievement and even more critical in times of economic stress.

Check out ASCD's other ARRA resources.

How is your district or school planning to use its stimulus dollars? Do you have ideas for smart and efficient uses of stimulus funds that will support the whole child?