WELCOME DAY TWOPrincipals Institute LA

Today

Explore a variety of resources and practices informed by current best thinking from neuroscience on poverty and the impacts for schools.

Reflect on current beliefs held by leaders, teachers and students that if examined closely may be influenced by this information.

Use the collective wisdom in the room to design the next improvements to the model.

Norms

Have Fun

Honor our Time

Fully Participate

Vegas Rules

SUSTAINING OUR GAINS

WHEN LAST WE MET……

Using DN to Meet Our Educational Challenges

• Two Drivers of Student Success

• Quality of Coursework-Shapes Mind (in part can be measured by grades)

• Quality of supportive and effective adult relationships-Shapes Will (in part can be measured by student surveys)

How Many Students Experience Quality Coursework and Have Quality Adult Relationships Drives School Success

• Each is impacted at whole school, classroom, and individual level-the three tiers DN and the four pillars of TD are designed to support

Diplomas Now Summer Institute | July 8-9, 2013 | Baltimore, Maryland

4 Diagnostic Questions About Students

Question

Are they regularly attending school? If not, why not?

Are they able to focus on schoolwork in school?

Are they productively persistent i.e. trying in an effective manner?

Do they connect school effort to life success?

DN Tools

STF, Teacher Teams + CY + CIS

STF, Success Highways Assessment, CIS

Mastering Middle Grades, Freshmen Seminar + CY

CY Near Peer Relationship, Career Academies, CIS

Diplomas Now Summer Institute | July 8-9, 2013 | Baltimore, Maryland

4 Diagnostic Questions About Classroom Instruction

Questions Which students are missing what

knowledge and skills assumed by grade level content?

Are good lessons being consistently delivered and are students being asked to do quality coursework?

How often do students end the day confused?

Are students completing their class assignments? Are their effective second-chance opportunities for students to avoid failure?

DN Tools

Instructional coaches, PLC’s, TD extra-help labs and catch-up materials

Instructional coaches PLC’s

CY Corps members working with classroom teachers

Teacher Teams, Instructional coaches, CY and CIS

Poverty is the hungry bear who keeps eating our lunch

We Are Learning How Poverty Impacts Academic and Social Behaviors

Kids who grow up in stressful environments find it harder to concentrate, follow directions, rebound from disappointment. This has a direct effect on their school performance.

Exposure to Violence

Residential In-Stability

Hunger and Poor Family Health

Students as Caregivers

The stress and trauma of poverty impact children’s brain development, learning, and behavior.

67 % of pediatric subjects in a low income community experienced one or more ACEs, 12 % experienced four or more. (Burke et al.,2011)

Prolonged, repeated stress and anxiety increases levels of cortisol and diverts brain functioning towards reactive, impulsive areas of the brain (Hackman et al, 2010; Burke et al, 2009)

Research shows a dramatic link between adverse childhood experiences and subsequent learning and behavior problems.

51 % of subjects with four or more ACEs had learning /behavior problems compaired to 3 % with no ACEs.

Over the course of children’s brain development, this results in an underutilized cortez and underdeveloped executive functioning, including attention, self-regulation, working memory, and other capacities critical for learning (Raver et al, 2013, DePrince et al, 2009, DeBellis et al, 2009,

WHAT’S YOUR ACE SCORE?Felitti, V.J., and Anda, R.F., (2009) The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study: Bridging the gapbetween childhood trauma and negative consequences later in life. Retrieved April 11, 2009from http://www. acestudy.org/.

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE DRAFT

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT PATTERNSAdapted from the research of Martin Teicher, MD, Ph.D

NEUTRAL START

BRAINHormones, chemicals & cellular systems prepare for a tough life in an evil world

OUTCOMEIndividual & species survive the worst conditions.

INDIVIDUAL• Edgy• Hot temper• Impulsive• Hyper vigilant• “Brawn over

brains”

BRAINHormones, chemicals & cellular systems prepare for life in a benevolent world

TRAUMATIC STRESS

OUTCOMEIndividual & species live peacefully in good times; vulnerable in poor conditions

INDIVIDUAL• Laid back• Relationship-

oriented• Thinks things

through• “Process over

power”

Dissonance between biological expectations & social reality fuels psychiatric/health disorders

Case Study: Executive Function Problem or Lazy Kid

® In your experience, how do our education systems respond to young people with underdeveloped executive functions?

® How do these systems’ responses work for children and families?

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STATIONS

TIME FOR A BREAK

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES

LUNCH

Assumption for our session

Within this network of school leaders is the collective wisdom to generate what is necessary to take the next steps in model development ( maybe we say next steps in implementation?)

UNDERSTANDING SCIENTIFIC

DISCOVERIES SOMETIMES REQUIRES

UNLEARNING WHAT WE ONCE BELIEVED TO BE

TRUE

On the surface we are able to see what people say and do just as with the iceberg.

Under the surface are the meanings we construct influenced by our values, assumptions, beliefs and identity, some of which are held consciously and others without conscious awareness .

Adaptive Solutions

Technical Challenges

Learning a skill set, process or routine to meet a challenge

Adaptive Challenges

Can only be met by changing our mindset

Require us to interact with our environment and change our behavior in response to that environment

We all have an inner map we use to interpret the worldWe have different levels of capacity to be aware of our own inner map and how we create our experience of life through itWe each have our own inner commitments to our own person priorities aligned to this mapThe inner commitments will override any counter intentions that conflict with themThe hidden commitments are linked to our inner “hidden” perception of our own physical, psychological, social or emotional well being.This hidden commitment is nearly always outside our conscious awareness.The conflict between our hidden commitment and our stated commitments evidences as “resistance” to change.

Kegan and Lahey Immunity to Change

List a commitment to change we are unable to keep

List behaviors what are we doing we doing and what are we not doing to support the commitment

Identify the hidden commitment that has greater priority

Identify the “Big Assumption” that underpins the competing commitment

TABLE GROUP EXAMPLESFollow the four steps for the example provided at your table

® In what ways does the finding that trauma is woven into our bodies and cells challenge our mental models about biology? Behavior? Psychology?

® Collectively, what beliefs may we have educators need to examine in light of this new science?

Area we can influenceMindsets we may want to examine:Leader

Teacher

Student

System

Column One – Identify Commitment

What is the most important thing we need to get better at or change to progress toward our goal of ______________.

We are committed to the importance of______________.

It should “feel” genuine and important.

It should not yet be fully realized…area for growth.

It should be clear how this commitment gets us closer to our goal.

Column Two – Identify Behaviors

What are we doing or not doing that is keeping our commitment from being more fully realized?

List specific behaviors skip rationale for behaviors.

The behaviors should be only those behaviors that work against the commitment.

Behaviors may be for anyone in the group…not necessarily the whole group.

Column Three – Identify the Competing Commitment(s)

If we did the opposite of the behaviors, we fear that……

Draw a line after the fears and write what you believe the competing commitment may be.

We are also committed to……

This commitment will make us uncomfortable and will be clear how it is self protecting.

It illuminates why the countering behaviors “make sense”.

Column Four – Identify the Big Assumption

The “big assumption” is a rule or prediction about what will happen if we act in certain ways.

Take your competing commitment, reverse it and replace it with the words we are committed to..and replace we are committed to …to we assume that…..

We assume that if …… then ______________.

The big assumption shows why the 3rd column commitment feels necessary.

Column One – Identify Commitment

What is the most important thing we need to get better at or change to progress toward our goal of ______________.

We are committed to the importance of______________.

It should “feel” genuine and important.

It should not yet be fully realized…area for growth.

It should be clear how this commitment gets us closer to our goal.

Then what?????

Observe the big assumption in action.

Challenge our big assumpiton.

Student CapacitiesChallenge DN/TD

ApproachCurrent Impacts

Next Improvement (Phase?)

Attendance

Behavior

Course Performance

Teacher CapacitiesChallenge DN/TD

ApproachCurrent Impacts

Next Improvement (Phase?)

Attendance

Behavior

Course Performance

Leadership and Organizational CapacitiesChallenge DN/TD

ApproachCurrent Impacts

Next Improvement (Phase?)

Attendance

Behavior

Course Performance

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The Happiness Advantage

Thank you for ALL you do and safe travels!