From smhp at ucla.edu Tue Jul 1 07:59:41 2008 From: smhp at ucla.edu (SMHP) Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:59:41 -0700 Subject: [mentalhealth-l] ENEWS: July, 2008 (Vol. 12 #10) Message-ID: <200807011459.m61ExjwO023074@mail.ucla.edu> [] July, 2008 (Vol. 12 #10) ENEWS is one of the many resources provided by the School Mental Health Project/ Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA. This electronic newsletter is sent to those concerned with enhancing policies, programs, and practices related to addressing barriers to student learning and to promoting mental health in schools. For more on what our federally supported national Center offers, see http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu <><><><<><><><> We encourage you to forward this to others. If you have been forwarded this ENEWS and want to sign up to receive it directly, please let us know. Contact smhp at ucla.edu <><><><><><><> WHAT'S HERE THIS MONTH **Emerging Issue >Where Do the Presidential and Congressional Candidates Stand on Improving Federal Educational Policy? **News from around the country **Recent publications relevant to >Children's mental and physical health >Family, school & community >Policy, systems, law, ethics, finances & statistics **This month's focus for school to address barriers to learning >July ? Using "Down Time" to plan better ways to work together in providing learning supports **Other helpful Internet resources **Links to >Upcoming initiatives, conferences & workshops >Calls for grant proposals, presentations & papers >Training and job opportunities **UCLA Center update **Comments, requests, information, questions from the field <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> EMERGING ISSUE >>Where Do the Presidential and Congressional Candidates Stand on Improving Federal Educational Policy? Recent reports stress that the November election provides a forum for discussion of major concerns related to improving schools. However, a sampling of candidate websites suggests the emphasis continues to be on tinkering with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act rather than advocating for major transformations to improve public education. A great many lessons have been learned over the last 20+ years. However, the main focus of most candidates remains on ways to improve school accountability, as if measuring outcomes was sufficient to address the many social and economic barriers to learning and teaching that contribute to the dropout rate and so many other challenges faced by schools (and students and their families). Should the candidates be focusing more on fundamental ways federal educational policy needs to be shifted? If so, how can this matter be elevated as a higher priority for campaign discussion? Send your comments to ltaylor at ucla.edu ; they will be synthesized and shared with colleagues and campaign offices. **NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY >STANDING UP FOR THE CHILDREN New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and the Rev. Al Sharpton are co-chairmen of a new national effort to push education issues from the periphery to the center of the 2008 presidential campaign. The Education Equity Project will challenge the presumptive presidential nominees to treat the failure of schools to educate black and Latino children as the overriding civil rights issue of the 21st century. 6/12/08. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/11/AR2008061103844.html >STUDENTS LIKELY TO FAIL HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM CAN BE IDENTIFIED AS EARLY AS 4TH GRADE A recent report calls into question the effectiveness of aiming significant efforts and tens of millions of dollars at struggling high school seniors and older students. However, Assemblyman Pedro Nava who has proposed legislation to tutor seniors cautions: "We shouldn't be put in a position where we are pitting the outcomes of seniors against the future of preschoolers." He stressed that "Inherent in the conclusion of the report is that education needs help at all levels." 6/11/08 Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-exitexam11-2008jun11,0,4079490.story >MORE ABOUT DROPOUTS >>Dropout Rates at Crisis Levels Dropout rates for minority students, especially Native American, are at crisis levels in Alaska and five other Northwest states. A panel of experts told educators after years of talking about how students need to be properly prepared for school, it's time for schools to start preparing for students. Poverty seems directly tied to graduation rates. 6/1/08. Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/education/story/422977.html >>Dropouts Give Reasons Fewer students would drop out of high school if they took classes they found relevant, had help developing career goals and had strong relationships with adults they see as role models, according to a poll of 500 young adults in Michigan. The solution lies inside schools and communities. 5/30/08. Detroit Free Press. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080530/NEWS05/805300373/1007/NEWS05 >>Oregon's Small-school Experiment Slow to See Results Oregon's highly touted small high schools are graduating their first class of students who spent all four years in intimate academies intended to revolutionize the big American high school. Backers of small schools heralded the academies as the best way to curb high dropout rates, forge connections to keep teenagers on track and prepare every graduate for college. Four years into that effort, however, Oregon's small schools have yet to deliver on those promises. Instead, their statistics look a lot like results from the lumbering, impersonal high schools they are supposed to replace. Lots of students quit, and most of the graduates aren't ready for the rigors of college. 6/8/08. The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/education/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1212800118116920.xml&coll=7 >MORE ABOUT NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND >>More Schools to Face Law's Consequences Nearly 11,000 schools, or a little more than 10% of all public schools have missed their state-set progress goals and are taking corrective steps. That number has been rising slowly and is expected to grow at a faster clip over the next few years. School districts are going to have trouble finding the money and personnel to make the required changes. School budgets nationwide are facing cuts because of the downturn in the economy. 5/20/08. Associated Press. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-05-20-1201779722_x.htm >>No Child Left Behind: Doomed to Fail? In the view of many educators, the NCLB law's 2014 goal ? which calls for all public school students in grades 4 through 8 to be achieving at grade level in reading and math? is something no educational system anywhere on earth has ever accomplished. Even more unrealistic: every kid (except for 3% with serious handicaps) is supposed to be achieving on grade level every year. This flies in the face of research showing that children start off in difference places academically and grow at different rates. 6/8/08. Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1812758,00.html >>Mandated Tutoring Not Helping MD, VA scores Free tutoring that federal law prescribes to help students at struggling schools has yielded little or no positive effect on student test scores in Virginia, Maryland and several other states according, to early evaluations. In the 2006-07 school year, $595 million went to the fast-growing industry of for-profit and nonprofit tutoring providers. In Virginia, researchers found that those who were tutored did no better than their peers. Studies in TN, AL, GA, MI and KY also showed that the mandated tutoring didn't bump up test scores. 6/13/08. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/12/AR2008061203681.html @#@#@# "Teachers hate NCLB because they feel like they've been picked on. ... Vilifying teachers and saying we are going to shame them was not the right approach. ... The problems lingered ... and there's so much anger that it [the law] may not be fixable.... Pinning all our hopes on schools will never change the odds for kids." Susan Neuman, Asst. Secretary in the U.S. Dept. of Education 2001-03 @#@#@#@# <><><><><><><><><><> Note: Each week the Center highlights newsworthy stories online at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/whatsnew/newsitems.htm Also access other news stories relevant to improving mental health in schools through links at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/whatsnew/linstolatest.htm <><><><><><><><><><> RECENT PUBLICATIONS (IN PRINT AND ON THE WEB) *Children's Mental and Physical Health >Children and disasters: Understanding vulnerability, developing capacities, and promoting resilience (2008) L. Peek. Children, Youth & the Environment, 18(1) 1-29. Http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/ >Bullying perspectives among rural youth: A mixed methods approach (2008) J. Kulig, et al., Rural Remote Health, 8(2) 923. http://www.rrh.org.au/articles/showarticlenew.asp?ArticleID=923 >Homophobia and bullying: Addressing research gaps. Special Issue of School Psychology Review. June 2008. >Preventing youth suicide in rural America (2008) Suicide Prevention Resource Center and State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association. http://www.sprc.org/library/ruralyouth.pdf >Caregiver ? Child: Mutual influences on mental health (2008) J. Walker, et al., Focal Point: Research, Policy, and Practice in Children's Mental Health, 22(2) http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/pgFPS08TOC.php >Transition assistance to youth with mental health needs. (2008) http://www.ncwd-youth.info/assets/reports/mental_health_case_study_report.pdf *Family, school & community >Building the future of family involvement (2008) S. Bouffard & H. Weiss. Harvard Family Research Project's Evaluation Exchange, 14. Http://www.hfrp.org >Kinship care offers better outcomes for children than foster care (2008) http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/162.6.550 >Collaborative school planning and active schools: A case study of Lee county, Florida (2008). E. Lee, et al., Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law, 33(3) 595-615. Http://jhppl.dukejournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/33/3/595 >Life without lockdown: Do peaceful schools require high-profile policing (2008) J. Beam, et al., Voices in Urban Education (19) http://www.annenberginstitute.org/VUE/spring08/Beam.php >Neighborhoods, Communities and Youth (2008) Special issue of The Prevention Researcher, 15(12). http://www.tpronline.org/issue.cfm/Neighborhood_Communities_and_Youth >Moral dimensions of education decisions (2008) A. Etzioni, The School Administrator. http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/yrbss07_mmwr.pdf *Policy, systems, law, ethics, finances & statistics >A Broader, Bolder Approach to Education (6/20/08) Economic Policy Institute http://www.boldapproach.org/bold_approach_full_statement.pdf >The transformation of great American school districts: How big cities are reshaping public education. (2008) Edited by Boyd, Kerchener, & Blyth and published by Harvard Education Press. >Youth risk behavior surveillance ? United States, 2007. D. Eaton, et al., Released 6/8/08) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5704al.htm?s_cid=ss5704al_e >State implementation of evidence-based practice for youths (2008) E. Bruns, et al., Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(4) 369-373; 47(5) 499-504. Summarized at http://datatrends.fmhi.usf.edu/summary_151.pdf >The individual-level and societal-level effects of mental disorders on earnings in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (2008) R. Kessler, et al., American Journal of Psychiatry (5/08). Http://www.nih.gov/news/health/may2008/nimh-07.htm >The Condition of Education 2008, National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe >High-achieving students in the era of No Child Left Behind (2008) A. Duffett, et al., Fordham Institute. Http://www.edexcellence.net/detail/news.cfm?news_id=732&id-92 <><><><><><><><><><> Note: The Quick Find online clearinghouse at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu is updated regularly with new reports and publications such as those listed above. Currently there are over 130 alphabetized topic pages with direct links to Center materials and to other online resources and related centers. Let us know about publications and reports that should be included in this dedicated online clearinghouse. Ltaylor at ucla.edu <><><><><><><><><><> @#@#@#@# "It is not sufficient to accept small islands of excellence in our urban school districts. We must have the will as a society to ensure that every student, no matter where he is born, what color she is, or what parents he or she has can have access to the high-quality teachers and quality choices all children deserve. This is how we must define ourselves as a nation." Andres Alonso, CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools @#@#@#@# **THIS MONTH'S FOCUS FOR SCHOOLS TO ADDRESS BARRIERS TO LEARNING >July ? Using Summer "Down Time" to plan better ways to work with colleagues in addressing barriers to learning and teaching and developing a comprehensive system of learning supports Metaphorically speaking, we all can resonate to A.A. Milne's description of Winnie the Pooh.: "Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it." Summer is a time to stop bumping our heads (e.g., focusing mainly on what to do with growing numbers of students identified as problems). The time can be better used to plan ways to move beyond case by case analyses and look at data that can clarify high frequency, common problems. Analysis of such data can be used to establish new directions and priorities for strategically developing approaches that will facilitate significant school improvement. Minimally, this summer is a time to rethink the best way to use the resources that are left after budget cuts and to do so in ways that will work best for the most students. Strategy meetings with key leaders and colleagues to share and analyze the most relevant data for your setting can enable you to kick off the new school year by rolling out new ways to address barriers to learning and teaching. Optimally, this can lead to development of mechanisms (leadership, resource-oriented teams, work groups) for designing prototypes of comprehensive systems of learning supports and developing strategic implementation plans that account for systemic changes. An example of using the summer to work toward new directions was recently shared with us by a leader for learning supports in a state department of education. She related the following: "The Department of Education has established a Learning Supports team of six individuals. We will be working on a long-term Learning Supports plan for the Department of Education in the coming weeks. This past year we have also convened a multi-disciplinary group, the Resource Management Leadership Team, that has been completing significant work and planning in the areas of Academic, Social/Emotional/Behavior, and Mental Health. One of the things that is really important to us is modeling here at the state Department of Education what we expect the regional support units and districts to be doing. If we are asking them to include community, youth, and parent representation, then we have that expectation for our work at the state level. If we expect them to map and integrate resources, then we need to be doing that work here." To help guide design efforts for schools, districts, regional support units, or state departments of education, the following resources are available: >>Frameworks for Systemic Transformation of Student and Learning Supports ? http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/systemic/frameworksforsystemictransformation.pdf >>Steps and Tools to Guide Planning and Implementation of a Comprehensive System to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching -- http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/stepsandtoolstoguideplanning.pdf >>Resource Oriented Teams: Key Infrastructure Mechanisms for Enhancing Education Supports ? http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/Report/resource_oriented_teams.pdf >>About Infrastructure Mechanisms for a Comprehensive Learning Support Component ? http://www.smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/infrastructure/infra_mechanisms.pdf >>Developing Resource-Oriented Mechanisms to Enhance Learning Supports ? http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/contedu/developing_resource_oriented-mechanisms.pdf **If you know of anyone who is doing such planning and could use our Center's assistance in moving forward, please let us know. Ltaylor at ucla.edu <><><><><><><><><><> Note: In planning for next year, a major focus should be on anticipating major concerns that arise over the course of the school year. Such concerns provide natural opportunities to address potential barriers to learning and teaching in ways that support the school's mission. As a guide, see the "calendar" of monthly concerns and themes by clicking on "Ideas for Enhancing Support at Your School this Month" which is on the Center's home page at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu <><><><><><><><><><> @#@#@#@# While silos are important if you are storing corn, they are hardly ever helpful when you are addressing the wide range of barriers that keep all students from succeeding in school. @#@#@#@# **OTHER HELPFUL INTERNET RESOURCES >Coping with a disaster or traumatic event - http://www.bt.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/ >Community collaboratives addressing youth gangs: Interim findings from the Gang Reduction Program. (2008) - http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411692 >Prior knowledge of potential school-based violence - http://ustreas.gov/usss/ntac/bystander_study.pdf >Direct from the Field: A guide to bullying prevention, Commonwealth of MA. - http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/com_health/violence/bullying_prevent_guide.pdf >Evidence-based programs to prevent children from entering and remaining in the child welfare system (2008) Washington State Institute for Public Policy - http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/08-05-3902.pdf >Parental perceptions of urban schools (2008) National School Boards Association - http://nsba.org/SecondaryMenu/CUBE/Publications/CUBEResearchReports/WhatWeThink/WhatWeThink.aspx >"Who is this kid?" To help parents grasp teen behavior and connect with their kids (2008) - http://www.drugfree.org >U. S. Department of Education: Mentoring Resource Center - http://www.edmentoring.org >Character Education and Civic Engagement Technical Assistance Center - http://www.cetac.org/ >Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center - http://rems.ed.gov/index.cfm @#@#@#@#@# "The best way out is always through." Helen Keller @#@#@#@# **LINKS TO >Upcoming Initiatives, Conferences & Workshops. Http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/upconf.htm >Calls for Grant Proposals, Presentations & Papers. Http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/upcall.htm >Training and Job Opportunities. Http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/job.htm Information on each of these is updated on an ongoing basis on our website. Just click on the indicated URL. If you would like to add information on these, please send it to ltaylor at ucla.edu **UCLA CENTER ?? BRIEF UPDATE For the latest information on Center resources and activities, go to http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu and click on What's New Highlighted below are a few items ?? all documents cited are online to make them immediately accessible at no cost and with no restrictions on use. >Resources for the National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support A new strand for the initiative is focused on: Enhancing preparation Programs for School Personnel in Keeping with New Directions for Addressing Barriers to Learning and Teaching. The aim of this strand is to increase the attention of those responsible for the pre- and inservice preparation of teachers, student support staff, administrators, etc. with respect to development of classroom and school-wide systemic approaches for addressing barriers. >>In late June, the Center hosted a Leadership Institute on this topic bringing together education faculty from 20 colleges and universities in Southern California to share perspectives on the problems, solutions, and next steps. A synthesis report is being prepared to share the information. If you think this strand is one in which leaders for personnel preparation in your locale would be interested, let us know. (Contact: Ltaylor at ucla.edu ) >>Relatedly, the lead article in the upcoming Summer quarterly journal/newsletter explores Personnel Development for Education: Does the Process Enhance How Schools Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching? >>Also, with respect to this strand, we have just revised the continuing education document: Enhancing Classroom Approaches for Addressing Barriers to Learning: Classroom-Focused Enabling. Module I provides a big picture framework for understanding barriers to learning and how school reforms need to expand in order to effectively address such barriers. Modules II focuses on classroom practices to engage and re-engage students in classroom learning. Module III explores the roles teachers need to play in ensuring their school develops a comprehensive approach to addressing barriers to learning. http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/contedu/cfe.pdf >A Few Other New and Updated Resources >>Now online: Revised Fostering School, Family, and Community Involvement - This Center prepared guide is one of five newly revised guidebooks for creating safer schools and communities produced by The Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence at the George Washington University and the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. See http://www.hamfish.org for a link to this document and the other four. >>"Best practices in the use of resource teams to enhance learning supports" (2008) by the Center co-directors. In A. Thomas & J,. Grimes (Eds), Best practices in school psychology ? V. National Association of School Psychologists. >>School improvement: A systemic view of what's missing and what to do about it by the Center co-directors. In B. Despres (Ed.), Systems thinkers in action: A field guide for effective change leadership in education. Rowman & Littlefield Education For more information on the UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools, go to the website at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu or contact Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor, Co-directors at the School Mental Health Project/Center for Mental Health in Schools, UCLA, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563. Phone (310) 825-3634. Toll Free (866) 846-4843; Fax (310) 206-8716; Email: smhp. at ucla.edu <><><><><><><><> Check out our sister center, Center for School Mental Health at http://csmh.umaryland.edu or contact Mark Weist, Director, CSMH, University of Maryland at Baltimore, Department of Psychiatry, 737 W. Lombard St. 4th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. Toll Free (888) 706-0980. Email: csmh at psych.umaryland.edu <><><><><><><><> @#@#@# "Living in the past has one thing in it's favor ? it's cheaper." Kelly's observation, in Murphy's Law @#@#@#@# **COMMENTS, REQUESTS, INFO, QUESTIONS FROM THE FIELD >Regarding last month's emerging issue: How best to convey where a specific approach fits into the many efforts to enable students to have an equal opportunity to succeed at school? <><><><><><> >>A colleague shared a matrix as "an alternative frame of reference" related to improving schools or any institutional/social setting. (1) The matrix columns are labeled "Improvement Focus" (i.e., principal target of issue to be resolved). The four column headings are: (a) People, (b) Place, (c) Services, (d) Combination (2) The matrix rows are labeled: "Perspective." There are three rows: (a) Strategic, (b) Operational, (c) Synchronized As examples of how to map programs using the matrix, he offers the following: > prevention is a strategic perspective that focuses on people and services; > intervention is an operational perspective that focuses on people and services; > PBS is a synchronized perspective focused on people; > lateral and vertical inter-agency formalized collaborations and cooperative agreements is a synchronized perspective focused on services; > Learning Supports is a synchronized perspective focused on a combination of people, place, and services. (He notes: "Learning Supports seems like an easy concept to comprehend, but a concise and terse description and explanation would improve clarity.") <><><><><><> We have been asked to share the following: >>"Struggling students need all the support they can get, as well as being afforded the dignity and opportunity to have a voice in the nature and evaluation of their treatment. Along these lines, ...see my chapter [cited below] in the Best Practices in School Psychology (Volume collection). I would greatly appreciate the ... review of this information (with special attention to the Outcome and Session Ratings Scales that provide a practical vehicle for integrating ?consumer feedback' into the mental health service delivery process in schools. My agenda is very simple ? I simply want to ?spread the word' about these respectful, empirically sound measures in the hopes of giving consumers (including young people) a greater voice in their own mental health services. The chapter citation is: Murphy, J. J. (2008). Best practices in conducting brief counseling with students. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology (5th ed.) (pp. 1439-1456). Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists." >>"I have recently illustrated and self-published a children's book based on one approach to dealing with bullies. This book is a great tool for opening up discussion on an issue that needs to be addressed by may be difficult to start. Our goal is to have this book in all elementary schools in the country. Http://www.myspace.com/timmythefish2007 ########################################### THIS IS THE END OF THIS ISSUE OF E-NEWS See below for source identifying information Who Are We? Under the auspices of the School Mental Health Project in the Department of Psychology at UCLA, the national Center for Mental Health in Schools was established in 1995. The Project and Center are co-directed by Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor. The UCLA Center is one of two national centers first funded in October,1995, by the Office of Adolescent Health, Maternal and Child Health Bureau(Title V, Social Security Act), Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (Project #U45MC00175). In open competition, both Centers were refunded in 2000 for a second 5 year cycle with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Mental Health Services joining HRSA as a co-funder. In 2005 after open competition, both Centers were funded for a third five year cycle. (In this cycle, SAMHSA joined HRSA as a co-funder only for the first year.) As sister Centers, the Center at UCLA and the one at the University of Maryland focus on advancing efforts to enhance how schools address mental health and psychosocial concerns. A description and evaluation of the Center's work and impact is available at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu For more information about the Center or about ENEWS, contact Center Coordinator Perry Nelson or Center Co-Directors Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor at: UCLA School Mental Health Project/Center for Mental Health in Schools Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563 Phone (310) 825-3634; Toll Free (866) 846-4843; Fax (310) 206-8716; email: smhp at ucla.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/mentalhealth-l/attachments/20080701/f6a84a47/attachment-0001.htm -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 13f99e7c.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 30639 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/mentalhealth-l/attachments/20080701/f6a84a47/attachment-0001.jpg From smhp at ucla.edu Wed Jul 9 08:18:00 2008 From: smhp at ucla.edu (SMHP) Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:18:00 -0700 Subject: [mentalhealth-l] Summer, 2008 Journal/Newsletter from the UCLA Center Message-ID: <200807091522.m69FMb0h013048@mail.ucla.edu> ADDRESSING BARRIERS TO LEARNING Summer, 2008 Journal/Newsletter from the UCLA Center >It's attached to this email in a PDF format and the contents are highlighted below.. >And, along with all past editions, this issue is on our website (in PDF format) at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/news.htm <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Please forward this to anyone you think might be interested. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> This special edition focuses on: *Personnel Development for Education: Does the Process Enhance How Schools Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching? To complement the above discussion, there is a brief article on: *School Improvement & Personnel Development: Fully Addressing Barriers to Learning and Teaching is Essential And, see the section on Center News for information on: **Some major resources for enhancing school improvement and personnel development from the perspective of addressing barriers to learning. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> If this was forwarded to you, you can receive future copies of the journal/newsletter directly by sending an email to smhp at ucla.edu to provide us with your contact information. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Finally, indicate below if you are interested in the listed and/or other possibilities for networking/sharing/learning with respect to enhancing how personnel development for education focuses on addressing barriers to learning and teaching. Check off any of the following that are a good match with your interests: ____receiving regular information about the matters discussed in the newsletter ____being part of a national listserv connecting professionals concerned with these matters ____convening a leadership institute focused on these matters ____having a further in-depth interchange with our Center about these matters. Other ideas: Also, if you know of any personnel preparation programs that are already focusing on addressing barriers to learning and teaching in a comprehensive, multifaceted, and integrated way, please let us know so that we can contact them and let others know about them. Just send your responses back to us by replying to this email. School Mental Health Project/ Center for Mental Health in Schools UCLA Dept. of Psychology Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563 (310) 825-3634 / Toll Free: (866) 846-4843 / Fax: (310) 206-8716 Email: smhp at ucla.edu Web: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/mentalhealth-l/attachments/20080709/86de78c8/attachment-0001.htm -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: summer08 newsletter.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 495884 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/mentalhealth-l/attachments/20080709/86de78c8/attachment-0001.pdf From smhp at ucla.edu Wed Jul 16 08:08:39 2008 From: smhp at ucla.edu (SMHP) Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:08:39 -0700 Subject: [mentalhealth-l] Update National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support Message-ID: <200807161508.m6GF8hrm029230@mail.ucla.edu> July, 2008 From: Howard Adelman & Linda Taylor Co-Directors of the Center at UCLA Re: Update National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support New: HIGHER EDUCATION INITIATIVE As schools, districts, and state departments around the country grapple to prevent and ameliorate the many barriers to effective learning and teaching, there is a growing need to transform policy and practice related to school improvement and personnel development. In this context, a frequently asked question is: How are pre-service preparation programs for teachers, support staff, and administrators focusing on addressing barriers to learning and teaching? With a view to clarifying implications for policy and practice related to the National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support, our Center has begun to focus on this matter. To anchor our efforts in the reality of current personnel preparation programs, we are initiating a series of Leadership Institutes for representatives from university departments of education. The first of these was held on Friday, June 27, 2008. Attached is a report entitled: Preparing All Education Personnel to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching. The report is designed both to provide a general conceptual overview and a snapshot of practice considerations and concerns. It begins by reiterating the case for why it is essential to fundamentally and systemically transform how schools (working with families and communities) address barriers to learning and teaching. This is followed by a discussion of the general challenges confronting personnel development for education. Then, we provide a synthesis of findings gleaned from the Leadership Institute our Center conducted in June 2008 for representatives from university departments of education. (The Appendix to the attached report includes the invitation letter, agenda, and participant list.) Participants at the Institute were presented an overview of the need to enhance personnel preparation for addressing barriers to learning and teaching, and then they discussed and provided input on (1) implications for school improvement and thus for pre- and inservice personnel preparation programs and (2) how personnel preparation programs can deal with such implications. Throughout, the report offers major implications for transforming personnel preparation for teachers, student support staff, administrators, and other stakeholders involved in addressing barriers to learning and teaching. Our intent is to use this report as the beginning of a higher education initiative across the country designed to stimulate discussion, sharing, learning, and systemic changes related to how personnel preparation focuses on addressing barriers to learning and teaching. To this end, we have attached a brief response form. Please take a few minutes to return it to us. We hope you will forward the report to colleagues to stimulate widespread discussion about these important matters. (The response form also invites you to indicate any other folks to whom you think we should send the report.) We look forward to continuing to work with you in the best interests of children, their families, neighborhoods, and schools. The report also is online at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/preparingall.pdf <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> *ABOUT THE NATIONAL INITIATIVE: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SUPPORT For details about the National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support, go to - http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/summit2002/ndannouncement.htm A brief overview is provided below: In 2002, our Center at UCLA launched the National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support. We began with a national Summit and followed this (in 2003) with several regional Summits to raise awareness and create readiness for change. In 2003 we also began a targeted set of state Summits (these have occurred in 13 states to date) Then, in 2005, we added strategies not only to enhance dissemination but to encourage and support diffusion as we provide indepth follow up for those places indicating readiness to move forward in developing a comprehensive new directions approach. To date, this work has included providing (1) Leadership Institutes for district teams and (2) onsite capacity building with specific state departments of education and districts. In 2006, encouraged by the growing success of the New Directions initiative, the Center at UCLA established a public-private collaboration with Scholastic, Inc. as part of Scholastic's Community Affairs Rebuilding for Learning initiative. In 2007 and the first part of 2008, Scholastic has been (1) preparing a handbook based on our work related to addressing barriers to learning and teaching and re-engaging students and (2) developing a special website. In the last part of 2008, we will begin to conduct a series of Leadership Institutes beginning in the Gulf states and also for national and state superintendents/administrators associations, Council of Chief State School Officers, etc. Over 2007 and 2008, we increased our outreach to district superintendents/leaders and began to focus on higher education's role in personnel preparation for educators. Superintendents Initiative. With respect to district leaders, widespread outreach mailings were sent including a range of brief resources and with follow up materials sent to those who responded. As of August, 2008, the focus on connecting with superintendents will be expanded into a formal Superintendents Initiative. The initiative will be inaugurated with national distribution of a Center report entitled: Transforming School Improvement to Develop a Comprehensive System of Learning Supports: What District Superintendents Say They Need to Move Forward. Higher Education Initiative. With respect to higher education's role in personnel preparation for educators, July 2008 inaugurated a Higher Education Initiative. This began with a first Leadership Institute for Higher Education Personnel Preparation and with the national distribution of the report entitled: Preparing All Education Personnel to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching. In addition to policy makers, a key audience for this report is deans, department chairs, and faculty in personnel preparation and leadership programs, district personnel responsible orientation/induction, inservice, and continuing education. Each year, the Center has continued to produce resources and tools for those ready to move in New Directions for Student Support (e.g., see the online toolkit at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/summit2002/resourceaids.htm ) <><><><><><><><><><><><> School Mental Health Project/ Center for Mental Health in Schools UCLA Dept. of Psychology Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563 (310) 825-3634 / Toll Free: (866) 846-4843 / Fax: (310) 206-8716 Email: smhp at ucla.edu Web: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/mentalhealth-l/attachments/20080716/eb878f8a/attachment-0001.htm -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: response form.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 17728 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/mentalhealth-l/attachments/20080716/eb878f8a/attachment-0002.pdf -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Report 08.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 182937 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/mentalhealth-l/attachments/20080716/eb878f8a/attachment-0003.pdf From smhp at ucla.edu Thu Jul 31 10:08:25 2008 From: smhp at ucla.edu (SMHP) Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:08:25 -0700 Subject: [mentalhealth-l] ENEWS: August, 2008 (Vol. 12 #11) Message-ID: <200808011503.m71F3jmi019447@mail.ucla.edu> [] August, 2008 (Vol. 12 #11) ENEWS is one of the many resources provided by the School Mental Health Project/ Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA. This electronic newsletter is sent to those concerned with enhancing policies, programs, and practices related to addressing barriers to student learning and to promoting mental health in schools. For more on what our federally supported national Center offers, see http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu <><><><<><><><> We encourage you to forward this to others. If you have been forwarded this ENEWS and want to sign up to receive it directly, please let us know. Contact smhp at ucla.edu <><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> WHAT'S HERE THIS MONTH **Emerging Issue >Needed: Greater Emphasis in Personnel Preparation for Educators on Addressing Barriers to Learning and Teaching **News from around the country **Recent publications relevant to >Children's mental and physical health >Family, school & community >Policy, systems, law, ethics, finances & statistics **This month's focus for school to address barriers to learning >August ? Welcoming & Supporting New Staff ? A Major Step in Countering Burnout **Other helpful Internet resources **Links to >Upcoming initiatives, conferences & workshops >Calls for grant proposals, presentations & papers >Training and job opportunities **UCLA Center update **Comments, requests, information, questions from the field <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> EMERGING ISSUE >Needed: Greater Emphasis in Personnel Preparation for Educators on Addressing Barriers to Learning and Teaching As recently reported in Education Week, Pennsylvania's Secretary of Education, Gerald L. Zahorchak, argues that state departments of education are the key actors in setting school leadership policy. Yet few of them have offered adequate support to principals in addressing the new school challenges. He suggests several options for states, including setting standards for school leaders and establishing new training requirements. While few will argue with the need to rethink personnel preparation to better meet the many challenges confronting public education, quite controversial are the matters of what should change and who should guide the changes. For more on this, see the recent Center report: Preparing All Education Personnel to Address Barriers to Learning & Teaching at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/preparingall.pdf What's your view on the need to enhance the focus on addressing barriers to learning and teaching in the preparation of teachers, support staff, and administrators? Send your comments to Ltaylor at ucla.edu <><><><><><><><><><><> ** NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY >SCHOOLS FEEL BUDGET PINCH Slashed funding and rising costs are forcing school districts to cut back, even close down. Budget shortfalls are resulting in locked-up schools, flurries of pink slips, empty shelves where new books and computers should be. Schools, like other sectors, are caught between skyrocketing prices and dried-up funding streams. 6/24/08. The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0625/p01s01-usgn.html >THE RENEWED FOCUS ON DROPOUTS As more accurate data are accruing on the dropout rate across the country (see example below), there are increasing reports indicating that policy makers are beginning to attend to many of the factors that lead to students leaving school and to the personal and societal impact. >>CA. HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATE FAR HIGHER THAN EXPECTED California's first true count of high school dropouts shows that one in four kids quit school last year, which is fare more than state educators estimated before they began using a new student tracking system. The statewide 24% dropout rate also shows African American and Latino students leaving school at much higher rates than other ethnic groups: 42% of black students and 30% of Latinos quit high school last year. 7/17/08. San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/17/BAS311QATI.DTL&hw=California+Dropout+rate&sn=003&sc=621 >>BRINGING POTENTIAL DROPOUTS BACK FROM THE BRINK To improve their dropout numbers, districts are taking aggressive steps to keep students in the classroom. These include mentoring programs to help students most at risk of dropout out, identifying children as young as elementary age who are not attending school and may be at risk of dropping out in later years, small alternative programs for students identified as academically at risk because of truancy or disciplinary issues. 6/29/08. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/29dropoutli.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=BRINGING%20POTENTIAL%20DROPOUTS%20BACK%20FROM%20THE%20BRINK&st=cse&oref=slogin >>KANSAS ENCOURAGES EDUCATION THROUGH COLLABORATION "What we need is a strategic group to focus on how to get it right now, to take that 3 year old through graduate school, make sure we link what's happening in schools with real skills." Gov. Kathleen Sebelius The Kansas P-20 Education Council [pre-school through graduate school] is a multi-agency coalition that will align all of the state's educational institutions and decrease the number of students who are "dropping out, falling out or checking out along the way." 7/3/08. http://www.ktka.com/news/2008/jul/03/sebelius_encourages_education_through_collaboratio/ >>CAREER PROGRAMS STRESS COLLEGE TOO A new kind of high school program known as a career academy has proliferated, especially in low-income districts. A long-term and rigorous evaluation of nine career academies has found that eight years after graduation, participants had significantly higher employment and earnings than similar students in a control group. 6/26/08 The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/education/26careers.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=CAREER%20PROGRAMS%20STRESS%20COLLEGE%20TOO&st=cse&oref=slogin >>TO AVOID STUDENT TURNOVER, PARENTS GET RENT HELP In some of Flint's elementary schools, half or more of the students change in the course of a school year. The moves are usually linked to low, unstable incomes. The resulting classroom turmoil led the Michigan State Department of Human Services to start an unusual experiment, paying some parents $100 a month in rent subsidies to help them stay put?a rare effort to address the damaging turnover directly. 6/24/08 The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/us/24move.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=TO%20AVOID%20STUDENT%20TURNOVER,%20PARENTS%20GET%20RENT%20HELP&st=cse&oref=slogin @#@#@# Student to Teacher: If you didn't make so many rules, there wouldn't be so many for me to break! @#@#@#@# <><><><><><><><><><> Note: Each week the Center highlights newsworthy stories online at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/whatsnew/newsitems.htm Also access other news stories relevant to improving mental health in schools through links at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/whatsnew/linkstolatest.htm <><><><><><><><><><> RECENT PUBLICATIONS (IN PRINT AND ON THE WEB) *Children's Mental and Physical Health >Social and interpersonal factors relating to adolescent suicidality: A review of the literature. (2008) C. King & C. Merchant. Archives of Suicide Research, 12(3) 181-196. Http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13811118.html >Young adults with serious mental illness: Some states and federal agencies are taking steps to address their transition challenges (2008) United States Government Accountability Office. GAO-08-678. http://searching.gao.gov/query.html?charset=iso-8859-1&ql=&rf=2&qt=GAO-08-678 >Addressing self-injury in the school setting (2008) S. Shapiro. Journal of School Nursing, 24(3) 124-130. http://www.allenpress.com/pdf/scnu_24_305_124_130.pdf >Does chronic classroom peer rejection predict the development of children's classroom participation during the grade school years? (2008) G. Ladd, et al. Child Development, 78(4) 1001-1015. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/search/allsearch?mode=viewselected&product=journal&ID=120775718&view_selected.x=74&view_selected.y=7 >Relationship of anger, stress, and coping with school connectedness in fourth grade children. (2008). M. Rice, et al., Journal of School Health, 78(3) 149-156. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6628/is_200803/ai_n26544063?tag=artBody;col1 >Suicide awareness training for faculty and staff: A training model for school counselors. (2008) M. Gibbons, et al., Professional School Counseling, 11(4) 272-276. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Suicide+awareness+training+for+faculty+and+staff:+a+training+model...-a0178348232 *Family, school & community >The School Climate Challenge: Narrowing the Gap Between School Climate Research and School Climate Policy, Practice Guidelines and Teacher Education Policy. ? White paper prepared by the Center for Social and Emotional Education (CSEE) and the Education Commission of the States? National Center for Learning and Citizenship http://csee.net/climate/aboutcsee/school_climate_challenge.pdf >Adolescents in transition: School and family characteristics in the development of violent behaviors entering high schools. (2008) A. Frey, et al., Child Psychiatry and Human Development ePub. Http://www.springerlink.com/content/1573-3327/ >Best practices to address community gang problems: OJJDP's comprehensive gang model (2008) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/222799.pdf >Partnerships in character education state pilot projects, 1995-2001: Lessons learned. (2008) U. S. Department of Education. Http://www.ed.gov/programs/charactered/lessons.pdf >Creating a community coalition to address violence (2008) J. Hawkins, et al., Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 29(7) 755-765. Http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/01612840.asp >Using local data to explore the experiences and needs of children of incarcerated parents (2008) D. Brazzell. Urban Institute. Http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411698 >A new safety net for low income families (2008) S. Zedlewski, et al., Urban Institute. Http://www.urban.org/projects/newsafetynet/ *Policy, systems, law, ethics, finances & statistics >School-based service utilization among urban children with early onset educational and mental health problems: The squeaky wheel phenomenon. (208) C. Bradshaw, et al., School Psychology Quarterly 23(2) 169-186. Http://apa.org/journals/spq >Capacity building: Sustaining urban secondary schools as resilient self-renewing organization in the face of standardized educational reform (2008) C. Giles. The Urban Review 40(2) 137-162. http://www.springerlink.com/content/v16340664j235482/ >Diagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability: United States, 2004-2006. (2008) P. Pastor & C. Reuben. National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Health Statistics 10(237). Http://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/adhd-add/tb/10242 >America's children in brief: Key national indicators of well-being, 2008. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. Http://www.childstats.gov/ >Kids count 2008 data book. Annie E. Casey Foundation. Http://www.kidscount.org/datacenter/databook.jsp >From Research to Policy (2008) F. Hess. American School Board Journal, 196(8) 38-41. <><><><><><><><><><> Note: The Quick Find online clearinghouse at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu is updated regularly with new reports and publications such as those listed above. Currently there are over 130 alphabetized topic pages with direct links to Center materials and to other online resources and related centers. Let us know about publications and reports that should be included in this dedicated online clearinghouse. Ltaylor at ucla.edu <><><><><><><><><><> @#@#@#@# "Students shouldn't be required to power down to boredom each morning they arrive a school... If we want more students in school, then we must make it a journey, not a treadmill." Sandy Garrett, Oklahoma State School Superintendent @#@#@# **THIS MONTH'S FOCUS FOR SCHOOLS TO ADDRESS BARRIERS TO LEARNING >August ? Welcoming & Supporting New Staff ? A Major Step in Countering Burnout As schools and districts anticipate the beginning of a new school year, mobilizing returning staff to welcome and support newcomers is an essential ingredient for school improvement. Using first contacts to build networks for support and collaboration is an opportunity not to be missed. While schools are doing better in providing welcoming and supports for new students and their families, the needs of new staff still tend to be given short shrift. New staff include those who are new to the profession (new teachers, new student support staff, new administrators), those new to the district, and those who are new at each school. As stressed by those concerned with teacher burnout and dropout: "Proper placement and sound supports for [newcomers] need to be in place as they continue to hone their knowledge and skills. If they continue to work without a net, they will likely turn away from the profession or be less effective than we need them to be, regardless of the quality of their preparation." [From Lessons Learned: New teachers talk about their jobs, challenges, and long range plans 2008. http://www.publicagenda.org/reports/lessons-learned-issue-no-3-new-teachers-talk-about-their-jobs-challenges-and-long-range-plans] Our Summer quarterly journal/newsletter deals with this in the context of personnel development (http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/Newsletter/summer08.pdf ) as does our recent Center Report entitled: Preparing All Education Personnel to Address Barriers to Learning & Teaching (http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/preparingall.pdf ). In these documents, we pose a number of questions designed to guide efforts to plan capacity building and support for new staff. For example, we suggest the need to ask: What mechanisms and programs are needed to welcome and support new staff? to provide professional and personal support and guidance to enable new staff to function effectively? And, if the answers are that existing efforts are inadequate, then these must be an expanded focus for school improvement policy and practices. Other Center resources that may be helpful: >Is the School Year Off to a Good Start? Online at Http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/goodstart.pdf This document stresses: "Another school year begins, and the intent is to increase achievement, close the achievement gap, reduce student (and staff) dropouts, ensure schools are safe, enhance well-being, and much more. With these goals in mind, this is the time to review school improvement action plans with an eye to whether what is planned is sufficient and how well plans are being implemented. In doing so, it is especially important to do the review through the lenses of: ensuring all students have an equal opportunity to succeed at school; addressing barriers to learning and teaching; and engaging and re-engaging students in classroom instruction. Using these lenses, consider the following five major concerns that require particular attention at the beginning of a school year. A quick monitoring will indicate how well a school is attending to each." >In the Quick Find online clearinghouse, see menu topic Burnout Prevention ? http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/burnout.htm This resource provides links to Center documents, including >>School Staff Burnout Prevention (a quick training aid) **If you have processes in place to welcome new staff and form support networks for all staff, let us know so we can share your work with others. Ltaylor at ucla.edu <><><><><><><><><><> Note: In planning for the year, a major focus should be on anticipating major concerns that arise over the course of the school year. Such concerns provide natural opportunities to address potential barriers to learning and teaching in ways that support the school's mission. As a guide, see the "calendar" of monthly concerns and themes by clicking on "Ideas for Enhancing Support at Your School this Month" which is on the Center's home page at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu <><><><><><><><><><> @#@#@#@#@# "You know you're in trouble when you start counting the days left in the school year and it is only September." @#@#@#@# **OTHER HELPFUL INTERNET RESOURCES > NEW: SAMHSA has launched a new Homelessness Resource Center Web Site http://homeless.samhsa.gov/Default.aspx > Children's perspectives of their mental health services. Data Trends #158 http://www.rtc.pdx.edu > Parents talk about raising children in today's America http://www.publicagenda.org/reports/lot-easier-said-done > Sustainability Planning Information Resource Center http://www.financeproject.org/index.cfm?page=28 > Demographics Fact Sheet on Adolescents and Young Adults http://nahic.ucsf.edu/index.php/data/article/briefs_fact_sheets/ > Helping Young Offenders Return to Communities http://www.samhsa.gov/samhsa_news/volumeXVI_3/article1.htm > Measuring Poverty in the United States http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_825.html > Highly mobile children: Addressing educational challenges http://www.serve.org/nche/ibt/educ_mobile.php > Inspire: Creating opportunities for young people to change their world http://www.inspireusafoundation.org > Screening and assessing immigrant and refugee youth in school based mental health programs http://healthinschools.org > Protective Schools: Safe & Healthy Environments http://www.protectiveschools.org/ > Colocating health services: A way to improve coordination of children's health care http://www.commonwealthfund.org/usr_doc/ginsburg_colocation_issue_brief.pdf?section=4039 > How State Education Agencies can Bolster School Improvement http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/csrqi/symposium.pdf > National School Climate Center http://nscc.csee.net/ Note: For a wide range of relevant websites, see our Gateway to a World of Resources at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/gateway/gateway_sites.htm @#@#@#@# "No problem is so formidable that you can't walk away from it." Charles Schulz @#@#@@# **LINKS TO >Upcoming Initiatives, Conferences & Workshops http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/upconf.htm >Calls for Grant Proposals, Presentations & Papers http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/upcall.htm >Training and Job Opportunities http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/job.htm Information of each of these is updated on an ongoing basis on our website. Just click on the indicated URL. If you would like to add information on these, please send it to ltaylor at ucla.edu <><><><><><><><><><> **UCLA CENTER ? BRIEF UPDATE For the latest information on Center resources and activities, go to http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu and click on What's New Highlighted below are a few items ? all documents cited are online to make them immediately accessible at no cost and with no restrictions on use. >Summer Journal The lead article in the Summer quarterly journal/newsletter explores Personnel Development for Education: Does the Process Enhance How Schools Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching? A related article focuses on: School Improvement & Personnel Development: Fully Addressing Barriers to Learning and Teaching is Essential. Online at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/Newsletter/summer08.pdf >Higher Education Initiative Focused on Personnel Preparation The Summer journal provided a kickoff for a higher education initiative focused on personnel preparation for education with a view to enhancing the focus on addressing barriers to learning and enhancing healthy development (with obvious implications for advancing mental health in schools). As schools, districts, and state departments around the country grapple to prevent and ameliorate the many barriers to effective learning and teaching, there is a growing need to transform policy and practice related to school improvement and personnel development. In this context, a frequently asked question is: How are pre-service preparation programs for teachers, support staff, and administrators focusing on addressing barriers to learning and teaching? With a view to clarifying implications for policy and practice related to the National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support, our Center has begun to focus on this matter. To anchor our efforts in the reality of current personnel preparation programs, we are initiating a series of Leadership Institutes for representatives from university departments of education. The first of these was held on Friday, June 27, 2008. The report from this meeting is online. See Preparing All Education Personnel to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/preparingall.pdf . The report is designed both to provide a general conceptual overview and a snapshot of practice considerations and concerns. It begins by reiterating the case for why it is essential to fundamentally and systemically transform how schools (working with families and communities) address barriers to learning and teaching. This is followed by a discussion of the general challenges confronting personnel development for education. Then, we provide a synthesis of findings gleaned from the Leadership Institute our Center conducted in June 2008 for representatives from university departments of education. Throughout, the report offers major implications for transforming personnel preparation for teachers, student support staff, administrators, and other stakeholders involved in addressing barriers to learning and teaching. Our intent is to use this report as the beginning of a higher education initiative across the country designed to stimulate discussion, sharing, learning, and systemic changes related to how personnel preparation focuses on addressing barriers to learning and teaching. To this end, we have attached a brief response form. Please take a few minutes to return it to us. We hope you will forward the report to colleagues to stimulate widespread discussion about these important matters. (The response form also invites you to indicate any other folks to whom you think we should send the report.) >Updated Resources The following two documents provide data on the research base supporting the promise of a comprehensive, multifaceted, and cohesive approach to addressing barriers to learning and teaching. The first document is a brief that can readily be shared with policy makers. >>Addressing Barriers to Student Learning & Promoting Health Development: A Usable Research Base. Http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/briefs/barriersbrief.pdf >>A Sampling of Outcome Findings from Interventions Relevant to Addressing Barriers to Learning http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/Sampler/Outcome/outcome.pdf The following two documents provide some guidance for new directions and related staff development: >>Addressing Barriers to Learning: New Directions for Mental Health in Schools http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/contedu/conted.pdf >>Enhancing School Staff Understanding of Mental Health and Psychosocial Concerns: A Guide http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/enhancingschoolstaff.pdf For more information on the UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools, go to the website at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu or contact Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor, Co-directors at the School Mental Health Project/Center for Mental Health in Schools, UCLA, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563. Phone (310) 825-3634. Toll Free (866) 846-4843; Fax (310) 206-8716; Email: smhp. at ucla.edu <><><><><><><><> Check out our sister center, Center for School Mental Health at http://csmh.umaryland.edu or contact Mark Weist, Director, CSMH, University of Maryland at Baltimore, Department of Psychiatry, 737 W. Lombard St. 4th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. Toll Free (888) 706-0980. Email: csmh at psych.umaryland.edu This year the Maryland Center's annual conference will be held September 25-27, 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. The theme for the conference is "School Mental Health for All Students: Building a Shared Agenda for Youth, Families, Schools, and Communities." To register online, go to http://cf.umaryland.edu/csmha/confreg2/. <><><><><><><><> @#@#@@# "Revolutions always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions. Terry Pratchett @#@#@## **COMMENTS, REQUESTS, INFO, QUESTIONS FROM THE FIELD >Regarding last month's emerging issue: Where do the presidential and congressional candidates stand on improving federal educational policy? From a colleague: "Unfortunately, education policy appears to take a back burner to many other policy issues the candidates discuss such as security, defense and the environment. While these are vital issues, education needs to have a more open, specific dialogue. While this burden should lie on the shoulders of the candidates we as educators need to discuss the economic impact of education reform. Cost benefit analysis have been done to some extent in education (I.E. prevention programs, the Perry Pre-School program) but it is not enough to get the attention of policy makers and, more importantly, the electorate. If people knew their rate of return on investing in reform efforts that produced universally accessible, high quality educational programming, they could make a better decision about what programs and policies to support and thus, what to ask candidates." For more on this, see: >Ads hope to inject U. S. School Challenges into White House Race (7/13/08) - http://www.washingtonpost.com >Candidates' K-12 Views Take Shape (7/25/08) Education Week - http://www.edweek.org >Election 2008: Candidates on the Issues: Candidates Differ on Breadth of Education Plans - http://www.npr.org >See the presidential candidates positions on Education at their websites: http://www.johnmccain.com http://www.barackobama.com <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> THIS IS THE END OF THIS ISSUE OF E-NEWS See below for source identifying information Who Are We? Under the auspices of the School Mental Health Project in the Department of Psychology at UCLA, the national Center for Mental Health in Schools was established in 1995. The Project and Center are co-directed by Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor. The UCLA Center is one of two national centers first funded in October,1995, by the Office of Adolescent Health, Maternal and Child Health Bureau(Title V, Social Security Act), Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (Project #U45MC00175). In open competition, both Centers were refunded in 2000 for a second 5 year cycle with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Mental Health Services joining HRSA as a co-funder. In 2005 after open competition, both Centers were funded for a third five year cycle. (In this cycle, SAMHSA joined HRSA as a co-funder only for the first year.) As sister Centers, the Center at UCLA and the one at the University of Maryland focus on advancing efforts to enhance how schools address mental health and psychosocial concerns. A description and evaluation of the Center's work and impact is available at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu For more information about the Center or about ENEWS, contact Center Coordinator Perry Nelson or Center Co-Directors Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor at: UCLA School Mental Health Project/Center for Mental Health in Schools Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563 Phone (310) 825-3634; Toll Free (866) 846-4843; Fax (310) 206-8716; email: smhp at ucla.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.ucla.edu/pipermail/mentalhealth-l/attachments/20080731/f36310d7/attachment-0001.htm -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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