Teaching At-Risk Students

1. Teaching At-Risk Students Identification and Approaches for Starting Out By Alicia Gail Bryant EMG 807 July 2002 Presentation 1

2. Who Is an At-risk Student? • “At-risk” students are those who are very likely to fail or not to graduate from high school. • Demographically, the majority of these students are male, white, low-income, and live in the southern part of the country (although at-risk students come from all walks of life.) They often have learning disabilities or personal situations that take precedence over school.

3. Specifically, These Students Are… • Students with poor home conditions: • Low income homes • Few educational materials available (books, paper, computer, phone, etc. • Often don’t have rich vocabulary and language backgrounds • Little or no healthcare and/or poor nutrition • Little or no support or continuation of learning from school • Disrupted/dysfunctional families • Divorce/death • Abuse • Neglect

4. Students with undesirable personal conditions • Personal or social upheaval (kids experiencing/ poor recovery from personal or social trauma) • Engaging in risky behavior (sex, drugs and alcohol, gangs or social violence) • Externally centered students (those who feel that their life is directed by factors they have no control over – usually as a result of poverty; this can lead to a lack of accountability and/or responsibility in their personalities)

5. Students with inadequate school situations • Have not learned basic skills (especially in reading and math) • Have no accessible avenue to “catch up” when they fall behind • Are expelled, placed in a slow-paced program, held back, special education • Historically blamed for their own failure • Have experienced ineffective teachers

6. Schools that educate high-performing, at-risk students have several things in common: • They religiously use state and local standards to design curriculum and instruction. • They routinely and frequently assess student work in small chunks of content, and use the data to adjust instruction. • Teachers in these schools routinely and frequently assess their own progress using new or experienced teacher standards, as appropriate. • Teachers make time in their classes to instruct students on reading strategies that will increase comprehension in content areas (for example, using advanced organizers to identify key content) and basic math skills, such as basic operations with fractions.

7. They make investments in professional development for teachers that focuses on specific teacher and school needs, such as training on how to structure classrooms for best student performance and how to use real-world math activities to involve students in meaningful problem solving. • Comprehensive and accessible monitoring systems that teachers can use to determine student progress and adjust instructional planning quickly before students lose ground are in place and working. • Parents are involved. This can be difficult, especially with at-risk students. Different areas have differing cultures, so teachers and administration have worked to find out what is needed to get parents interested. Remember, many parents only seem uninterested. They are often uninformed and/or intimidated at their child’s school. This may seem trivial to teachers, but can be very real to a parent that has little education him- or herself!

8. Real consequences exist for the adults in these schools. These are usually state or district systems. • Adults in these schools use assessments to change instruction as needed by the students. They do not use the same lessons year to year, as they do not have the same students year to year. Their lessons and approaches vary to meet the changing needs of kids over time!

9. What developmental needs do middle schoolers, especially at-risk students, have? • Kids at this age need structure and clearly defined limits. They need to feel safe and secure. However, they also need to feel a part of the formulation process, so student input can be very helpful. • Middle school aged children need a variety of activities to meet their remaining concrete learning needs as well as activities that speak to their developing abstract learning skills. Kids are experiencing an “explosion” of learning at this time in their lives! • Students are also becoming aware of themselves and their place in the surrounding world. They are exploring their individuality as well as their place in society, and they need reflective time.

10. Students need to feel capable and successful. Such experiences add to their definition of self. • Kids also need to feel that they make a difference. Having a meaningful place in society also adds to the definition of self. • Social aspects are key for kids this age. They need positive relationships with both adults and peers at this time in their development. • These kids need to MOVE! The quick physical, mental and emotional growth at this time requires activity proceed successfully.

11. What Strategies Can You Use In Your Class To Improve the Performance of At-Risk Kids? • Cooperative learning programs have produced significant results. This can vary from a purchased program to using cooperative learning activities in your classroom on a regular basis. • Real world applications and connections are especially meaningful to at-risk students. This helps students focus on the future and recognize a personal need for learning what is offered in the classroom.

12. What Else Can You Do in Your Classroom to Help These Students Be Successful? • Use your aligned curriculum, assess your students’ work regularly, and evaluate yourself using the teacher standards faithfully! • Organize your class time to include time for strengthening basic skills, such as introducing students to helpful reading strategies or reviewing basic math skills.

13. Seek training on instructional strategies to help kids meet standards. • Monitor and assess students’ learning frequently and regularly to identify any gaps quickly. Use this information to guide instruction. • Do whatever you can to keep parents informed and get them involved! • Create classroom procedures and rules that have real, natural consequences to foster the growth of responsibility and accountability in all students.

14. Allow time in class for discussion and reflection. This helps students reorganize ideas they have stored. • Include activities that include movement. This helps restless, growing bodies perform at optimal levels. • Consider activities that include service or meet a school or community need to address students’ need to play a meaningful role in their environment.

15. What Can You Do To Get Started and See Quick Results? • Together with your team or department, develop two or three initial goals. • Establish activities that will help students meet these goals. • Assess routinely and frequently in small blocks of content. • Meet monthly to review assessment data and adjust instruction to stay on course. • Share ideas that improve the data. • Focus efforts on the kids not meeting the standards.

16. Remember, You Can Make a Difference!! • One year with an ineffective teacher can put a student two years behind. • Two years with an ineffective teacher, and many students will never catch up. • Make sure you are not such a teacher!

17. References • Barr, R. (2002, July 9). Kids in crisis and why they are who they are. Educating Kentucky’s At-Risk Kids: Best Practices for Alternative and Non-Traditional Settings. Conference at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY. • Barr, R. (2002, July 9). Why public schools fail them. Educating Kentucky’s At-Risk Kids: Best Practices for Alternative and Non-Traditional Settings. Conference at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY. • Barr, R. (2002, July8-10). All students learning: Whatever it takes. Educating Kentucky’s At-Risk Kids: Best Practices for Alternative and Non-Traditional Settings. Conference at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY. • Barr, R., and Parrett, W. (2001) Hope fulfilled for at-risk and violent youth (2nd ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon