[mentalhealth-l] Fall, 2008 Journal/Newsletter from the UCLA Center

[SMHP]

ADDRESSING BARRIERS TO LEARNING

Fall, 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
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     Please forward this to anyone you think might be interested.

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Featured in the current edition are:

**School Dropout Prevention: A Civil Rights and Public Health Imperative

As the true dropout figures emerge across the nation, the crisis 
nature of the problem is apparent. Recent reports indicate that more 
than half a million young people drop out of high school each year, 
and the rate at which they drop out has remained about the same for 
the last 30 years. The data confirm that in far too many school 
districts a majority of students do not have sufficient supports to 
enable them to succeed at school and will not graduate.

Because addressing the problem is both a civil rights and public 
health imperative, policy makers are revisiting the problem of 
preventing school dropouts. Ultimately, as with so many problems in 
our society, decreasing the rate of dropouts could be tremendously 
aided by reducing generational poverty. For the immediate future, 
however, there is a great deal schools and their communities can and 
should do. So, this issue stresses ideas and resources related to 
preventing student dropout.


Related to this is a brief discussion on:
**Focusing on Intrinsic Motivation to Re-engage Students
We also highlight the new practical guide from the US Dept. of Education
**Dropout Prevention Practice Guide
And, see the section on Center News for information on
**New and Updated Resources
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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.

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Finally, indicate below if you are interested in 
networking/sharing/learning with respect to enhancing how schools 
address barriers to learning and teaching (especially psychosocial 
and mental health problems).

Check off any of the following that are a good match with your interests:
____receiving regular information about addressing psychosocial and 
mental health concerns and new directions for learning supports as 
key to school improvement

____being part of a national listserv connecting professionals 
concerned about addressing psychosocial and mental health concerns 
and new directions for learning supports as key to school improvement

____joining the weekly Practitioner Listserv

____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 districts that are developing a 
comprehensive system of learning supports to addressing barriers to 
learning and teaching, 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 
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