1. Strategies in the field - MASC March 10, Boston College Lynch School of Education’s Center for Optimized Student Support

2. Out-of-school factors impact achievement

3. What we know
The science of learning is also the science of human development.
The science of human development is also the science of poverty and adversity.
The science of poverty and adversity is also the science of hope.
There is hope for all students when they get the resources and supports they need to be ready to learn.
We are learning from a mounting body of evidence how to do this effectively and cost-efficiently.

4. Understanding why: Learning
Learning is a complex process involving many parts of the brain that influence each other
Prefrontal cortex = executive functioning and self regulation
Hippocampus = contributes to learning and memory
Amygdala = emotional regulation and reactivity

5. Understanding why: Development
The brain is built through the process of human development
Development is impacted by (1) genetics and (2) environment and experience
It occurs over time, with the years between 0-12 as most formative
It occurs across multiple domains simultaneously, so social emotional or language development can impact cognitive development
Development, and readiness to learn, can be impacted by experiences
Including “risk” and “protective” factors

6. Understanding why: Poverty
The experience of poverty and adversity can impact brain development and readiness to learn in two principle ways:
A scarcity of developmentally stimulating and supportive resources
Lack of books, exposure to rich vocabulary, enrichment activities, play, sports, arts, or supportive relationships
Stressors both immediate and distant
Experiencing adversity and trauma, chaotic living conditions, parent mental health issues, unsafe neighborhoods
Persistent Stress Changes Brain Architecture
Dearing 2008

7. Adversity impacts brains, bodies, emotions, and readiness to learn
Notes:
“When the brain is subjected to prolonged and repeated stress, the hippocampus has difficulty converting working memory into long-term storage of information, thereby interfering with the ability to learn.”
“When the amygdala is activated for long periods of time, it can alter signaling to the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, derailing the learning process.”
“Under prolonged exposure to stress, signaling between brain centers can be altered, disrupting the prefrontal cortex as it manages the brain’s stress response.”

8. What does this mean for Massachusetts’ children?

9. Number of Children Living at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Line in MA

10. Poverty in Massachusetts is growing, deepening, and distributing

11. Number of Homeless Students in MA

12. Changing demographics…
The proportion of Latino children in MA grew from 12% to17% over the last decade.
The proportion of children in immigrant families has increased from 21% to 28% from
In 2014, MA schools educated 31,000 more students who speak a language other than English at home than they did in 2004.

13. …and rising need Currently, 31% of students are overweight or obese.
Between 13% and 20% of children are diagnosed with a mental health disorder.
Children living in lower income families are more likely to experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which are potentially traumatic experiences that can interfere with healthy development.
Children in lower income families are more likely to have uncorrected visual impairment, untreated dental caries, poorly managed asthma, or be diagnosed with a learning disability or ADHD.
Calls from schools to out-of-school support teams and area hospitals are increasing

14. 45 percent of all children in MA schools are “high needs.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Selected Populations Report,
Definition of High Needs: The new high needs group is an unduplicated count of all students in a school or district belonging to at least one of the following individual subgroups: students with disabilities, English language learners (ELL) and former ELL students, or low income students (eligible for free/reduced price school lunch). For a school to be considered to be making progress toward narrowing proficiency gaps, the cumulative PPI for both the "all students" group and high needs students must be 75 or higher. See

15. Achievement for low-income students is incremental or stalled
8th Grade MCAS
8th Grade NAEP
68% are not proficient in Mathematics
37% are not proficient in English
Over the 8 years between , the proficiency gap between low-income students and the state average narrowed by only 5% in English and 3% in Mathematics
FRL eligible students are 25 points lower than their non-eligible peers in Reading
32 points lower in Mathematics
Gap unchanged since in Reading, in Mathematics
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Spring 2014 MCAS Tests: Summary of State Results, p and Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, The Nation’s Report Card, Mathematics 2013 Snapshot Report for Massachusetts, Grade 8, Public Schools and 2015 Reading State Snapshot Report for Massachusetts, Grade 8, Public Schools

16. What can we do?

17. Massachusetts is already doing a lot
MA DESE Strategic priority to “support the social, emotional, and health needs of students and families.”
Safe and Supportive Schools
Social Emotional Learning
Anti-Bullying
Response to intervention
Massachusetts Tiered Student Supports
Early Warning Indicator Systems
Wraparound Zone Initiative
Systems for Student Success
Partnerships
Early Education and B-3
…to name a few

18. What’s happening at BC

20. Science + Planning +

21. = Practice

22. Close 2/3 of Achievement Gap on Math MCAS

23. Close Half of Achievement Gap on ELA MCAS for ELL Students

24. City Connects students are less likely to drop out of high school
15.2%
Students who were enrolled in a City Connects school starting in kindergarten have about 50% lower odds of dropping out of high school than students who were also enrolled in Boston Public Schools in elementary school but who were never enrolled in City Connects. The comparison dropout rate in this analysis is lower than the actual Boston Public Schools dropout rate because it includes only students who were in BPS in elementary school. When we add students who entered BPS after elementary school, the comparison rate changes to about 18%, which is still lower than many urban districts nationwide. If an entire district cohort of 5,000 students were to experience the dropout rate of students previously enrolled in City Connects, we estimate that about 358 fewer students in that cohort would drop out of high school. 8%

25. Dropout rates for sub-groups

26. City Connects students have lower probability of chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism defined as absent 10% or more days per year *
*Students leave City Connects after grade 5

27. 4Cs: Principles of effective practice
Customized
individualized
universal
Coordinated
intentional
organized
Comprehensive
whole child
multi-tiered
Continuous
systemic
accountable

28. Key

29. Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University

30. Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University

31. Current landscape

32. Transformed

33. Return on Investment A Columbia University study validates a unique approach to helping schools tap community resources
Factoring in costs of City Connects and services
Factoring in costs of City Connects only

34. Gateway City leaders
Call to:
“Create the backbone infrastructure for systemic solutions” to link and coordinate school- and community-based resources (p. 33).

35. Mission: to develop a statewide infrastructure to facilitate local integration of education with social services, youth development, health and mental health resources for children and families.
Learn from City Connects and others in the field
Leverage expertise of statewide Advisory Board
Create infrastructure adaptable to both K-12 and early childhood
Focus on policy, communications, and implementation
If we can figure out how to do this in Massachusetts, it can be replicated in states across the nation