Whole Child Education

July's Whole Child Podcast will be recorded live at the Healthy School Communities Conference and available for download Friday, July 17. Join us to hear how you can use data to create systemic and sustainable changes. A panel of experts and educators from the United States and Canada will share strategies and stories that will help your school community identify objectives and produce outcomes.

Do you have questions about using data to drive school and community improvement efforts? Leave us a comment or send an e-mail and we will try to include your questions in our discussion.

Today's Supreme Court decision that the strip search of student Savana Redding was a violation of the Fourth Amendment is a clear affirmation of student rights and a stirring lesson about civics, law, and students' constitutional protections.

But it's difficult to call anyone in the particular case of Safford Unified School District v. Redding a winner.

Certainly not the school district officials who have battled this case in court for years and have faced severe public disapproval over their decision to strip-search a 13-year-old girl for prescription-strength ibuprofen.

Not April Redding, Savana's mother, whose trust in school officials was broken after the incident and who has spent the past few years fighting for her daughter's rights in court.

And not Savana Redding, who was so traumatized by her experience that she didn't return to school after the incident and is still dealing with the emotional repercussions. She eventually transferred to other schools but never earned her high school diploma.

ASCD Executive Director Gene Carter says, "We firmly believe this case highlights how intrusive student searches undermine the essential relationship between school personnel and students and their families, which should be built on mutual trust and understanding."

The good news is that the case sets an important and much needed precedent for school officials. Savana Redding says she is pleased with the ruling because she doesn't want other students to go through what she experienced. Experts agree that school officials, formerly given wide latitude to search for contraband in schools, will now have to carefully consider the intrusiveness of their searches and avoid strip searches except for the rarest and most extreme circumstances when the safety of other students and staff is in serious and imminent jeopardy. 

Educators have plenty of disciplinary tools and measures to ensure student safety, as well as an obligation to act well before a strip search would ever be needed. Schools should  

• Prevent behavioral issues by teaching students to make appropriate choices.
• Foster strong, trusting school climates and an open dialogue between students and adults.
• Proactively involve parents and students in determining appropriate and solution-focused disciplinary action.

What do you think about the Supreme Court's decision? How can schools and parents work together to ensure the safety of all students while respecting individual student rights?

On Wednesday, July 1, from 10–11 a.m. eastern time, join a live and virtual showcasing of the School 2.0 website with more than 500 technology resources available to help transform your school's or district's strategic planning, including how it can support an Understanding by Design® classroom. Learn from both ISTE and ASCD how you can connect key Understanding by Design principles with the infusion of technology.

This event is free! Registration is required by June 30. For more information, go to www.iste.org/school.

Register now! (for either on-site or online attendance)

The May issue of the journal Developmental Psychology features a fascinating meta-analysis of the research on parental involvement with early adolescent students. It's no surprise that students supported by parents involved in their education tend to exhibit higher achievement; this study breaks down parental involvement into subtypes to see what actions make the most difference across 50 studies.

The authors of "Parental Involvement in Middle School: A Meta-Analytic Assessment of the Strategies That Promote Achievement" find that involvement described as "academic socialization" has the strongest positive correlation to achievement. They describe this as involvement that "creates an understanding about the purposes, goals, and meaning of academic performance; communicates expectations about involvement; and provides strategies that students can effectively use." 

Other types such as school visits and volunteering were positively correlated with achievement, but less so. Interestingly, helping with homework was the only type not positively related to achievement.

How can schools best work to support parent involvement?

Public School Insights, the blog of the Learning First Alliance, continues to be an excellent source of analysis when it comes to looking at news through a whole child lens. Recently, an Education Week headline read, "NAEP Finds Schools' Offerings in Arts Hold Steady," and the story noted that while there are limitations to the data, the NAEP findings seemed to push back against fears that schools were scaling back arts in the NCLB era.

Claus von Zastrow fills in some additional context: 

Do recent NAEP results showing arts education holding steady in eighth grade suggest that No Child Left Behind has not narrowed the curriculum? Not really.

Most evidence points to a decline in arts education at the elementary level, which the NAEP results don't directly address. (See, for example, the Center on Education Policy's 2008 study on the matter.)

Von Zastrow also points to studies showing the curriculum narrowing in other areas such as foreign language and civics. He views the concerns over curricular narrowing not as a "zero-sum game" pitting some subjects against others, but as an opportunity to explore how best to integrate content across the curriculum.

Is your school narrowing or broadening the content of the curriculum? 

A Portland, Ore., study of the city's high school class of 2004 found that 47 percent of the students dropped out before earning their diplomas and just 21 percent of the city's students who finished 9th grade with five credits or fewer eventually earned a diploma. As a result, Portland spent $1.25 million during the 2007–08 school year on extra help for the 9th graders identified as most likely to struggle. Unfortunately, the effort wasn't too successful; half the students targeted for the assistance failed three or more classes that year.

The Oregonian followed three Portland freshmen over the course of this school year to find out whether the city's redoubled efforts to support struggling 9th graders had an impact.

Sam Steadman dug herself into an early hole by smoking pot and ditching class, but summer school and intensive support classes helped her refocus and ultimately gain two years of reading knowledge and skills. Ivan Haskins-Murphy had trouble paying attention in class but after taking up boxing and eating healthier, he became more focused. Elmer Ayala switched schools midyear; the shorter commute and a supportive new counselor were positive changes.

Some common themes emerged from the three students' stories:

• Personalized instruction and attention works. Knowing that at least one adult in the school cares can make a huge difference.
• Good teachers who are committed, care, and challenge their students are key.
• Relevance is a must. When a kid sees how his A in sports medicine translates into a possible future career as a vet technician, for example, he has a tangible goal to work toward.
• A student's health, family support, and even seemingly minor external factors like the length of a school commute profoundly matter.

What strategies is your school using to support students who have fallen behind? Is the emphasis on drill and kill catch-up, or do the efforts reflect a whole child approach?

Last month, I attended the Education Writers Association annual conference, and it was clear that reporters and the public have a lot of questions about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or stimulus package, and its implications for education. In particular, they want to know how local schools and districts will spend the money to support student achievement.

In anticipation of the tough questions that educators could receive and in recognition that the economy has dramatically reduced the capacity of some schools and districts, ASCD has developed a communications tool kit (PDF) for educators. The tool kit will help educators advocate for the best use of their stimulus funds, highlight the importance of capacity-building professional development, and communicate transparent messages about their fund allocations.

The tool kit, which is aligned with ASCD's Planning the Possible report, includes

• Backgrounders, key messages, and answers to tough questions about the stimulus package, as well as school improvement and capacity-building professional development.
• A sample op-ed about the stimulus and capacity-building professional development that educators can customize and localize.
• A customizable PowerPoint presentation.

Educators have a unique opportunity to drive school improvement with their stimulus dollars, and we are committed to helping you advocate for education policies and practices that are sound, sustainable, and centered on the whole child. Check out all of ASCD's resources related to the stimulus.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a new policy statement in its journal, Pediatrics, "The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children" (hat tip: The Atlantic's Richard Florida). The statement reviews the research base on the impact various community aspects—such as the ability to walk to school, the decisions of where to build schools, and the prevalence of parks—have on students' physical activity. It then makes policy recommendations for pediatricians and policymakers.

One conclusion in the statement is that "changes in policy may help to increase the number of children who are able to walk to school." For educators and parents, it's important to consider the impact you can make in areas like this, even if fundamental changes such as the location of a school or the infrastructure of a neighborhood are too large for you to tackle immediately.

For example, Leadership for Healthy Communities profiled the work of school board member Cynthia Matus Morriss, of Patagonia, Ariz.:

Morriss worked with her board colleagues and the Patagonia Elementary School teachers to implement a walking school bus program.

As a very small, rural school district, many students ride the bus to school. In an innovative approach, the buses now drop the participating children off at Patagonia Town Hall, which is near the center of town. Accompanied by teachers and some community members, students have the opportunity to walk approximately a half mile to school. For students who live near the school, designated meeting points have been set up so they may join the walking school bus at various points along the route. In 2007, the program began with "Walking Wednesdays" and averaged 18 students. Because the program has been so successful during the 2008 school year, it will expand to two days a week.

Through the walking school bus program, students have learned basic safety rules, both for walking and bicycling. Not only do they get exercise, but they also have the opportunity to socialize with each other and the adults along the way. Additionally, more bicycle racks were installed at the school to increase biking to school.

Is your community designed for healthy students? What could be done to improve it?

As part of an initiative to promote civics in K-12 schools, actor Richard Dreyfuss is ... eschewing the word civics? "Call it what it is: political power," says Dreyfuss, according to the Core Knowledge Blog. Dreyfuss developed the idea as part of his recent studies at Oxford University and is clearly passionate about the subject. The blog asks, "Could a little Hollywood star power help further the cause of teaching history and civics?"

We believe civics—er, "political power"—is a vital part of a curriculum that challenges students and prepares them to be engaged citizens. Despite promising signs—according to a recent Pew report, voter participation among young people 18–29 was higher in 2008 than in 2004, 51.1% versus 49.0%—it can be difficult to keep young people engaged, especially in years without historic national elections dominating the news. We're curious to hear what is working in your schools and communities to engage students in this critical topic.

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In this episode of the Whole Child Podcast: Changing the Conversation About Education, we learned 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?

Join us to hear from

• Jane Quinn, Assistant Executive Director for Community Schools at the Children's Aid Society (CAS)—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.

  Extend your learning by reading about CAS' strategies for coordination and integration within Community Schools and principles of effective partnerships.

• Eileen Santiago, principal of Thomas Edison Elementary School in Port Chester, N.Y.—Eileen 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.

  Read about full-service community schools and Thomas Edison Elementary School through articles in ASCD's Educational Leadership magazine and ASCD Executive Director Gene R. Carter's Is It Good for the Kids? column.

Want to learn more? Check out the summer issue of the American Educator, Surrounded by Support: Partnerships between Communities and Schools Connect Students with the Services they Need.

How do your school and community partner to meet the needs of the whole child? Share your thoughts on the Whole Child Blog.