School –Based Efforts: A Plan to Support At- Risk Youth

Introduction Name: Barbara Ford Position: Family Advocate Audience: Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustees Purpose: To develop strong partnerships with the school district and families to strengthen the family unit. To provide families with available resources such as parenting classes, counseling and emergency assistance in addition to intervention and referral services for substance abuse and support for the family.

Youth At- Risk Indicators “The term at-risk youth typically implies a future with less than optimal outcomes. Youth are considered at-risk for a number of reasons.”.  Poverty/homelessness or transient  Students with learning disabilities  Family function – Neglected at home or live in stressful environment's  Poor Grades  Substance abuse  Juvenile delinquency  Emotional adjustment – Lack of social or emotional support Levin, Zigmond. and Birch (1986) found that rates of school dropout were significantly higher in youth with learning disabilities than students without disabilities. Research exploring the extent of dropout by students with learning disabilities has found that rates of 33% to 47% are common (Levin et al., 1986; Zigmond & Thornton, 1985).

Behavioral Effects Behaviors Associated with At-Risk Youth  Truancy  Running away  Alcohol & Drug Abuse  Bullying  Fighting  Community acts of violence (Youth At Risk)

Student Academic Ability Short Term & Long Term Implications  Motivations from teachers  Parental Involvement  Intervention from administrators  Tutoring programs  Family Therapy/or individual therapy  Parent Conferences “The Three As of School Engagement: Attendance, Attachment and Achievement.” Kids who attend classes regularly, feel a close relationship with other students and staff in school, and experience feelings of academic success, are far more likely to persist to graduation than those who are missing even one of the As. To that end, we help build and evaluate attendance improvement programs, replace punitive push-out policies with supportive pull-in policies, and create an environment and system of supports conducive to academic achievement for all students. Furthermore, students do better when parents are involved in their education and stress the importance of high school success, so we work to help schools enhance parent engagement as well”.

Creating Community & Family Partnerships “ The National Center for School Engagement mission is to improve school engagement to ensure school success for at-risk youth and their families. School success is defined in terms of high school completion and positive educational outcomes for youth. We help build and evaluate attendance improvement programs, replace punitive push-out policies with supportive pull-in policies, and create an environment and system of supports conducive to academic achievement for all students. Furthermore, students do better when parents are involved in their education and stress the importance of high school success, so we work to help schools enhance parent engagement as well”. National Center for School Engagement National Center for School Engagement 1.Increased family involvement 2.Enhanced community capacity 3.Quality programs

Staff, Community, and Parental support/Involvement “The connection between home and school is an important factor. When families feel disaffected by the school system, they need help to be able to re-engage in the schooling of their child. Schools should encourage parents to be involved with their children’s school life”. 1.Communicating –Two way communication with school and parent 2.Collaboration with the community 3.School Decision Making and Advocacy 4.Volunteering “The importance of parental involvement in schools is well documented. Over 30 years of research shows that one of the most effective ways to increase student achievement is for parents to be actively involved in the education of their children. A 2002 National Education Service study indicates that when parents are involved, students tend to achieve more, regardless of socio-economic status, ethnic/racial background or parents’ educational level”.

Feedback: Group Activity: Roleplaying (Students, parents and administrators) Situation: Family of drug and alcohol abuse and Domestic Violence How can the school district enhance their framework for Students At-Risk? What is your respective? Potential Solutions: Plan of Action: Share Ideas

References Bernard, B., & ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, N.Y. (1997). Turning It Around for All Youth: From Risk to Resilience. ERIC/CUE Digest, Number 126.Retrieved from Morrison, G., & Cosden, M. (1997). Risk, resilience, and adjustment of individuals with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 20, Retrieved from resilience, and adjustment of individuals with learning disabilitieshttp:// National Center for Learning Disabilities (2014). What is IDEA? Retrieved from advocacy/learn-ld-laws/idea/what-is-idea National Center for School Engagement National Center for School Engagement. (n.d.). At-risk youth. Retrieved from National Center for School Engagement. (n.d.). Parental involvement in schools. Retrieved from