Don't just sit me in a room all day with nothing to do and expect my behavior to change! Integrating social-emotional learning into an in-school suspension classroom.
ABSTRACT SUMMARY
This interactive presentation will demonstrate the need for more school-based health centers to establish a positive working relationship with the school disciplinarians, in order to evoke change in student’s behavior. The Real Education About Life (REAL) Program is a program targeted at working with students in the in-school suspension classroom following a rule infraction. The program has helped SBHC staff identify some of the highest risk students and has given the students an opportunity to learn how to change their behaviors. A detailed description of the program will be provided.
ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION
Pushing students out of school due to disciplinary issues is public health concern nationwide. Schools should be a place where students feel safe and are not pushed out because of minor disciplinary issues. There has been a negative trend in involving the police to arrest students, for what otherwise could be handled within the school setting. Instead of helping students, many schools across the nation, particularly in urban and impoverished areas are contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline by suspending students, referring them to local law enforcement, and even referring students to court for truancy related matters. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), school disciplinary policies disproportionately affect African American students with a staggering number of 31% making up school-related arrests and being three times more likely than white students to be suspended or expelled. Furthermore, research has shown that students who are suspended at least once are at a higher risk of dropping out of school.
School-based health centers can play an important role in addressing many of these disciplinary issues and concerns by integrating programs and offering mental health services to students as an alternative to suspensions and expulsions. This presentation will help explore ways in which SBHCs can integrate mental health services for students with the most disruptive behaviors in the school. As a recipient of the New Direction Grant, this has afforded Loyola’s SBHC with an opportunity to create a program in the dedicated in-school suspension classroom at Proviso East High School. In establishing the program, careful consideration was given to the availability of both the mental health staff as well as the school staff who would be present and participate in the program. An in-school suspension processing form was developed and has been instrumental in identifying students who could benefit from additional mental health services. The Real Education About Life (REAL) program was developed over the summer with collaboration from the school administrators.
It is important that mental health staff integrate themselves into the everyday lives of the students at their respective SBHCs. If you are not visible in the building, you are doing a disservice to the students. Although some may think that aligning with the disciplinary system that is so broken, makes the SBHC “look bad”, our school health center has had the opposite experience and many of the students feel even more comfortable talking with the LCSW because she is not employed by the school district. There are a number of students who have been referred to the program, who now have a closer relationship with the mental health provider in the building and have sought out guidance and assistance from the SBHC and LCSW. The students have benefited from the program and have been given the opportunity to tell their side of the story, while also taking responsibility for their actions. Often times, students feel like they are not being heard. The LCSW has effectively shown and communicated with the students that someone does care about them and that with the appropriate guidance and assistance, changes can be made. This presentation will demonstrate that SBHCs can have a positive effect on school discipline reform by integrating restorative and skill building practices into an in-school suspension classroom. Additionally, this presentation will review the “How to Guide” that was created as a result of the New Directions Grant, will explore all of the barriers, will discuss lessons learned, and will facilitate a discussion around how the program can be duplicated in other school-based health centers across the nation.
PRESENTER(S)
NAME: Adriane Van Zwoll MJ, MSW, BSW, BA ORGANIZATION: Loyola University Chicago: School of Nursing
AUDIENCE
ADMINISTRATORS: Y
PRIMARY HEALTH: Y
MENTALHEALTH: N
ORGANIZATIONAL: Y
PUBLIC HEALTH: Y
EDUCATION: Y
YOUTH: N
Technical
issues should be directed to Deirdre Taylor via email: dtaylor@sbh4all.org
or Telephone: (202) 638-5872, ext. 204
