SchoolBased Efforts A Plan to Support AtRisk Youth

School-Based Efforts: A Plan to Support At-Risk Youth Lisa Davis EDU 644: Child & Family Welfare Instructor Spencer December 20, 2015

Introduction As a councilor new to the school district I wanted to introduce myself and share with you research I have done regarding children, young and older teens that fall in to the category of “atrisk”. This presentation will provide factors that put certain children in to that category, behaviors that extend from being at risk and things the school, it’s staff and the community can do to help these children

At-Risk Youth Factors that put youth in the at risk category: • Individual Risk Factors • History of violent victimization • Attention deficits, hyperactivity or learning disorders • History of early aggressive behavior • Involvement with drugs, alcohol or tobacco • Low IQ • Poor behavioral control • Deficits in social cognitive or information-processing abilities • High emotional distress • History of treatment for emotional problems • Antisocial beliefs and attitudes • Exposure to violence and conflict in the family (www. cdc. org) Serving At Risk Youth (www. schoolengagement. org)

At Risk Factors Continued • Family Risk Factors • Authoritarian childrearing attitudes • Harsh, lax or inconsistent disciplinary practices • Low parental involvement • Low emotional attachment to parents or caregivers • Low parental education and income • Parental substance abuse or criminality • Poor family functioning • Poor monitoring and supervision of children (cdc. org) Serving At Risk Youth (www. schoolengagement. org)

At Risk Factors Continued • • Peer and Social Risk Factors Association with delinquent peers Involvement in gangs Social rejection by peers Lack of involvement in conventional activities Poor academic performance Low commitment to school and school failure • Community Risk Factors • Diminished economic opportunities • High concentrations of poor residents • High level of transiency • High level of family disruption • Low levels of community participation • Socially disorganized neighborhoods (cdc. org) Serving At Risk Youth (www. schoolengagement. org)

Effects and Implications associated with being at-risk Drug, alcohol and tobacco use Criminal behavior including theft and property damage Violence Sexual behavior Becoming a gang member Homelessness Depression/suicidal Loss/gain weight (www. cdc. gov/Features/YRBS/) (www. schoolengagement. org/)

Potential short- and long-term implications of these behaviors Becoming dependent on drugs and/or alcohol use which could lead to dealing drugs, prostitution, crime, diseases like Hepatitis, HIV/Aids, teen pregnancy, school drop out, low paying or no job potential due to lack of qualifications, being abused or becoming the abuser, time in jail and/or ultimately death. At Risk Youth and Truancy (schoolengagement. org) Adolescent Positive and Negative Behavior and the impact on the Transition to Adulthood (www. deepblue. lib. umich. edu)

Solutions - Create a Framework • Making sure that there are “services to help you develop and evaluate student support programs that fit your local strengths, needs, context and budget” (schoolengagement. org). This goes with providing students with a curriculum that is delivered to meet the learning needs of each child and the support groups and the tools to help them master skills and move forward to accomplishing reachable goals that have been set. • Know as much about each of the students as possible so that the classroom reflects something of each child and is warm, welcoming and a safe environment where the child feels free to learn as much as they can without any outside factors getting in the way. • Classroom management and building relationships. Research indicates that teachers' actions in their classrooms have twice as much impact on student achievement as assessment policies, community involvement, or staff collegiality (www. amle. org). This clearly includes teachers being role models and building a positive relationship with the students

Solutions: Integrating a Framework “The Three As of School Engagement: Attendance, Attachment and Achievement. ” Building and environment that is supportive, that engages the children in learning, has consequence for lack of attendance and hold the students accountable in a firm but caring way (www. schoolengagement. org) Program Development – “conduct needs assessments, share research on best practices, provide examples of programs with similar goals that have been successful elsewhere, Identify and recruit community partners, facilitate meetings throughout the development and early implementation phases of your program and lay the groundwork for an evaluation that will meet funders’ requirements and help you improve your performance” (schoolengagement. org/school-engagement-services/dropout-prevention) Parent, Family and Community Involvement in Education When schools, parents, families and communities work together to support learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enroll in higher level programs (www. nea. org)

Participant Activity Each member of the audience will break in to small groups and be given a card with a scenario on it. After acting out the short scenario each member will take a role of either the child, teacher, community member, parent, etc. and give their feedback on how they felt during the scenario and what they think would be a possible solution.

References: http: //schoolengagement. org/school-engagement-services/dropout-prevention https: //www. amle. org/Browseby. Topic/Whats. New/WNDet/Tab. Id/270/Art. MID/888/Ar ticle. ID/129/Classroom-Management-Strategies-for-Difficult-Students. aspx http: //www. nea. org/assets/docs/PB 11_Parent. Involvement 08. pdf http: //schoolengagement. org/school-engagement-services/at-risk-youth Adolescent Positive and Negative Behavior and the impact on the Transition to A adulthood http: //deepblue. lib. umich. edu/bitstream/handle/2027. 42/85281/khlavaty. pdf? seque nce=1 CDC Releases 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Results http: //www. cdc. gov/Features/YRBS/