National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support
Many activities in addressing barriers to learning and
healthy development of all students are taking place around the country. Much
of this is spearheaded by Dr. Howard Adelman and Dr. Linda Taylor through the National
Initiative: New Directions for Student Support (http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/ and click on
the green button at the top of the web page). Dr. Adelman and Dr. Taylor are
co-directors of the Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA. They were
faculty for the first module in the School Mental Health Training Series
in North Carolina and co-authored the curriculum guide on which the online
course, A Comprehensive Approach
to School Mental Health, is
based.
Below is an e-mail update on what’s happening with the
national initiative. You will find links to documents that describe how some
states are addressing barriers to learning and healthy development.
National Initiative: New Directions for Student Support
Brief Progress Report
(June 6, 2005)
As this school year
ends, it's a good time to reflect on the work that is catapulting a national
initiative for New Directions for Student Support forward.
What's Happened So Far
The Initiative has
contributed in major ways to the growing, widespread appreciation that new
directions for student support is an imperative. As a result of the national
summit in late 2002 and the subsequent three regional and eight statewide
summits that have been convened to date, there is enhanced awareness that
continued tinkering with the status quo will not meet the immense needs
confronting schools as they strive to enable all children and adolescents to
have an equal opportunity to succeed at school. There is deepening
understanding that new directions must be bold, innovative, and comprehensive
if the student support enterprise is no longer to be marginalized in school
policy and practice.
It
is noteworthy that pursuit of comprehensive systemic changes for new directions
became significant agenda items in diverse states and localities across the
country (e.g., in Iowa, Washington, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Texas,
Minnesota, Wisconsin). This was the case even when there had been no state
summit or formal statewide initiative. In states that have convened summits,
networks of stakeholders have been identified who are contributing to the
initiative nationally, and some have begun to generate movement in their own
states and localities. Outreach mailings in these and other states are yielding
new participants in the national network and are identifying next states in
which to pursue statewide summits. And, it is significant that 33 initiative
co-sponsors already have signed on.
Where We're Going
The
work ahead involves continuing to coalesce
stakeholders who are supportive of the National Initiative. It also encompasses
facilitating the efforts of those who want to embrace statewide initiatives,
including new states and states that began the process and have yet to gel.
A few highlights from
around the country:
Hawaii’s
enacted legislation for a Comprehensive Student Support System and the inclusion
of a major focus on Student Support in their school improvement planning guide
- see http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/wheresithappening/hawaii.pdf
California's proposed legislation for a Comprehensive Pupil Learning
Supports System - see http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/summit2002/ab171(1-20-05).pdf
Iowa's design for Systems of Learning Supports developed by the State
Department of Education in Iowa in collaboration with other state agencies -
see http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/iowasystemofsupport.pdf
Multnomah Education Service District Board's policy establishing
"components to address barriers to student learning and enhance healthy
development be fully integrated with efforts to improve instruction and
management/governance for instruction and be pursued as a primary and essential
component of MESD education reforms in classrooms, schools, and consultation/
services to component districts" - see http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/wheresithappening/multnomah.pdf
St. Paul Public School's integration of new directions for student supports
in projects such as the Achievement Plus schools and the Safe Schools/Healthy
Students initiative and the increasing focus on learning supports by the district's
Student Services director and staff (with a special presentation planned for
August, 2005)
Berkeley,
California's move toward a collaborative initiative for school and city to
pursue a comprehensive, multifaceted, initiative to address barriers to student
learning.
Massachusetts State
Dept of Education's development of a Leadership Institute for New Directions
for Student Support (for June, 2005)
Texas' Association of
Secondary School Principals' in their journal the Texas Study of Secondary Education
recently devoted the issue to Changes...Responses...New
Directions in Learning Supports for Students featuring a lead
article by Jane Owen entitled "Learning Supports for Students: An Organizational
Approach"
Texas also is
planning a Leadership Institute for New Directions for Student Support (for
September, 2005)
National Association
of Pupil Services Administrators' continued integration of a major focus on New
Directions for Student Support at its yearly conference (next conference is in
October, 2005); Increasing number of the association's members are joining the
national network and looking toward statewide summits
South Carolina
Regional Conference hosted by Richland County School District One is designed
as an intense training and professional development will focus entirely on
"Removing Barriers from Student Learning" and will feature the New
Directions Initiative as another step in advancing the work in the southeast
region and readying states in the region for statewide summits (September,
2005)
At national, state,
and local levels, network participants are conveying information from the
Initiative to state department and district leaders, to support staff associations conferences, at school boards meetings and
conferences, and more. This has included presentations to the national
conference of school social workers (SSWAA), state associations of
administrators, and superintendents' cabinets. An interesting example of an upcoming
event stems from the work in Berkeley, CA. A school board member there has
organized and will moderate a 2 hour "clinic" at the California
School Board Association conference that will feature the city and school
collaboration for New Directions for Student Support with the city's mayor, the
District superintendent, and the UCLA Center's co-directors presenting.
(December, 2005)
Resources for Moving
the Initiative Forward
In
addition to the many resources prepared by and available at no cost from the
center (see http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/summit2002/resourceaids.htm ), Corwin
Press is publishing this July two books specially designed to advance New
Directions for Student Support. The works are:
>The
implementation guide to student learning supports in the classroom and schoolwide: New directions for addressing barriers to
learning. Corwin Press (2006).
>The school
leader's guide to student learning supports: New directions for addressing
barriers to learning. Corwin Press (2006).
We
anticipate these will be widely disseminated and provide the type of integrated
introduction to new directions to student supports that will give the
Initiative a major boost. And, these two books may be the beginning of a New
Directions' series.
As
the above highlights underscore, the Initiative is continuing to create
readiness in all states, with a strong emphasis on expanding readiness in
states where Summits have been held. Current plans call for the next statewide
Summit to be in Pennsylvania; other states are being identified.
Additional outreach and leadership will be devoted this coming year to
integrating the efforts of the wide range of leaders pursuing policy for MH in
schools.
The
staff at the UCLA Center will continue to provide facilitative support and leadership.
Listservs will be expanded to facilitate communications. Each month the Center
will generate outreach mailings to enhance readiness for and increase awareness
of new directions. Strategic responses will be made to the many requests
for more information and assistance from state and local education agencies and
boards of education seeking to move in new directions. A continuous flow of
policy and program reports, such as the recent analysis of school
improvement planning guides, will be generated.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Howard Adelman & Linda Taylor
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@ucla.edu
Web: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu