1. Every child has the opportunity for prosperity, success, and upward social mobility that can be achieved through hard work.

2. 67,885 Reports of child abuse and neglect - one report every eight minutes. 11,090 Children who were found to be victims of child abuse or neglect 5545 Victims of abuse and neglect younger than 6 10,500 Children abused by family - usually a parent 54,000 Children without health insurance 13,000 Kids were in foster care at least one day By the Numbers - One Year in Oregon: Although the number of children in foster care in Oregon declined, the state continues to place more children in foster care than most other states in the nation. 8500 Kids in foster care on any given day 13,5000 Children with at least one parent in prison 1104 Cases of child sexual abuse 1:4 Girls who have been sexually molested 1:10 Boys who have been sexually molested Up to 25% Children living with a mentally ill parent

3. How Statistics Affect a Classroom Approx.. number in a classroom Homeless students 2-3 Boys who have been molested 2-3 Girls who have been molested 4-5 Children living in a foster home at least once during the year 2-3 Living in adverse conditions – poverty, drug or alcohol affected, abusive 7-8 Students who will move in/out of the school during the school year 4-5 Living with a mentally ill or incarcerated parent 2-3

5. Many students are not ready to learn, and it is our job to engage them. Seven Engagement Factors 1.Health and Nutrition 2.Vocabulary 3.Effort and Energy 4.Mind-Set 5.Cognitive Capacity 6.Relationships 7.Stress Level

6. Health and Nutrition Creating a highly engaging classroom can help compensate for behavioral and cognitive issues resulting from poor nutrition. Adverse Living SituationsPositive Living Situation More likely to be born with low birth weight. Mothers have appropriate prenatal care. More likely to be obese and have a high carb diet. More likely to eat less, and better quality food. More likely to be exposed to lead and other toxins. Seldom live in dangerous or unhealthy situations. More likely to have mental health issues. Receive needed counseling and treatments.

7. Be aware of nutritional issues for students and the effect on brain development, cognitive ability and behavior. Be a connection to services to assist families. Create an engaging classroom. “What can we do?” Health and Nutrition Creating a highly engaging classroom can help compensate for behavioral and cognitive issues resulting from poor nutrition.

8. Adverse Living SituationsPositive Living Situation Both the quantity and quality of phrases in low income families are significantly lower. 3 year olds add words to their vocabulary at twice the rate of low income 3 year olds. 6 negative interaction for every positive one. Many positive, encouraging words and phrases per hour. Far less experiences, and thereby, diminished vocabulary Many enriching experiences and conversations with adults. Vocabulary Vocabulary is the brain’s toolkit for learning, memory, and cognition. Words help children represent, manipulate and reframe information.

9. Talking to Infants: The Cumulative Effects of Mother’s Speech on Vocabulary of 2-Year-Olds 100-200 Words 800-900 Words Size of Vocabulary in Total Words Age of Child (months) High levels of mother’s speech to infant Low levels of mother’s speech to infant

10. Daily Parent-Child Interactions

11. Purposefully build vocabulary daily, and in context. Build academic vocabulary Expose students to experiences and discuss the experience with appropriate vocabulary. Be aware or the vocabulary discrepancies in your classroom and scaffold for those with lower vocabulary so they don’t tune out the conversation because they don’t understand many of the words. “What can we do?” Vocabulary Toddlers from middle and upper income families use more words talking to their parents than low income mothers use talking to their children.

12. Effort and Energy Teachers are more likely to attribute disengagement of middle income students as “not reaching potential,” while attributing the same behavior for low income students to “laziness.” Adverse Living SituationsPositive Living Situation Chaotic early experience, brain becomes insecure and stressed, inappropriate responses to everyday situations Strong, secure home, positive relationships, children learn healthy responses to everyday situations Acute and chronic stressProtected from stress Physical and emotional abusePositivity and patience Authoritarian householdChoices and decision making Mistrust of adultsTrusting of adults

13. Help students see a viable reason for the “academic game.” Affirm, challenge, and encourage. Learn about student lives and connect with them. Use engaging strategies to draw students into the lesson. “What can we do?” Effort and Energy A student who is not putting in effort is essentially telling you that your teaching is not engaging. Give that same kid an engaging teacher, and a whole new student will emerge.

14. Mind-Set Mindset is a crucial internal attitude about learning. It is a strong predicative factor of academic achievement. Adverse Living SituationsPositive Living Situation Fixed mind-set about learning – “I am what I am.” Growth mind-set about learning- “I can learn and get smarter.” Depression may be displayed as anger Less frustrated about set-backs Teachers may unwittingly reinforce student’s mindset Teacher expects success Appears as though the student doesn’t care or won’t try. Reinforced for effort

15. Mind-Set When students have a positive attitude about their own learning capacity, and when the teacher focuses on growth and change, student engagement increases. Teachers need to be knowledgeable about Mind-set and how to change a student’s mindset from fixed to growth. Teach students about their brain and how dendrites grow with new learning. Use the student’s knowledge of their brain to encourage perseverance Highlight small successes. “What can we do?”

16. Cognitive Capacity Children of poverty are more likely to have low working memory, short attention spans, high levels of distractibility, and difficulty in generating new solutions. Adverse Living SituationsPositive Living Situation Smaller hippocampus (center for learning and memory) Brain benefits from enriched environment Artificially suppressed IQ due to environment. IQ developed and enhanced from an early age

17. Build attention skills Teach problem solving and critical thinking Train working memory Develop processing speed Foster self-control “What can we do?” Cognitive Capacity Children of poverty are more likely to have low working memory, short attention spans, high levels of distractibility, and difficulty in generating new solutions. The mind that is susceptible to adverse environmental effects is equally affected by positive, enriching effects.

18. Relationships Why do difficult students work for some teachers and not others? Because they think the teacher cares. Adverse Living SituationsPositive Living Situation Chaotic early experience, brain becomes insecure and stressed, inappropriate responses to everyday situations Strong, secure home, positive relationships, children learn healthy responses to everyday situations Acute and chronic stressProtected from stress Physical and emotional abusePositivity and patience Authoritarian householdChoices and decision making Mistrust of adultsTrusting of adults

19. “What can we do?” Relationships Parent / Child Interactions: Low Income Families 1 positive : 2 negatives Middle to High Income Families 6 positives : 1 negative Students of poverty want to know who their teacher really is. They want the teacher to connect to their world. Need stronger relationships to increase trust. Won’t / don’t learn from people they don’t like or don’t trust.

20. Stress Level Acute stress is likely to lead to “in- your-face” behaviors. Chronic stress can lead to detachments and hopelessness. Adverse Living SituationsPositive Living Situation Brain responds to adverse conditions by focusing on basic needs, not new learning. Protected from stress and available for learning. More likely to be exposed to domestic violence, disruption and separation. Protected from violent or stressful situations. Stress if often channeled into disruptive behavior More likely to respond appropriately to stressful situations.

21. Realize stress has a physiological effect on students. Teach and practice coping skills. Give students some level of control over their school lives. Teach stress relieving techniques. “What can we do?” Stress Level Stress exerts a relentless, insidious influence on children’s physical, psychological, emotional, and cognitive functioning; areas that affect brain development, academic success, and social competence.

22. Incoming State Boredom Frustration Giddiness Hunger Anger Skepticism Apathy Annoyance Resentment Hopelessness Fear Sleepiness Mischievousness + Teacher Actions = Target State Anticipation Confidence Curiosity Suspense Inquisitiveness Intrigue Expectancy Likelihood of Success

23. Health and Nutrition VocabularyEffort and Energy Mind-SetCognitive Capacity Relation- ships Stress Level Be aware of nutritional issues for students. Purposefully build vocabulary daily, and in context. Help students see a viable reason for the “academic game.” Mind-set and how to change a student’s mindset from fixed to growth. Teach problem solving and critical thinking Students of poverty want to know who their teacher really is. Realize stress has a physiological effect on students. Be a connectio n to services to assist families Build academic vocabulary Affirm, challenge, and encourage. Teach about how the brain grows with new learning. Train working memory & attention skills. They want the teacher to connect to their world. Teach and practice coping skills. Create an engaging classroom. Expose to experiences and discuss appropriate vocabulary. Learn about student lives and connect with them. Use knowledge of their brain to encourage perseverance Develop processing speed Need stronger relationships to increase trust. Give students choices/ control over their lives. Scaffold literature and discussion. Strategies that draw students into the lesson. Highlight small successes. Foster self- control Won’t / don’t learn from people they don’t like / trust. Teach stress relieving techniques.

24. Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind Single sheet summary of high-leverage practices for classroom teachers.

25. Def: Engagement Engagement |enˈgājmənt| ( 1) attracted to the work (2) persist in their work despite challenges and obstacles (3) take pride in the accomplishment

26. Attracted to the work? Engaging Topic Connection to Student Lives Games Novelty Technology Movement Hands On Talking With Each Other Building or Constructing Integration to Other Subjects

27. Persist in their work despite challenges and obstacles.

28. Take pride in the accomplishment.

29. Contact Information Kathy Helgeson Kathy@RogueEd.com www.RogueEd.com 541-601-2453