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They enroll at 14 and finish by 20. What these students get for their efforts: a diploma, an associate’s degree and the skills to catapult them up the career ladder. P-Tech’s unique model brings together high schools, community colleges and corporate employers who collaborate on the curriculum. Fusing classroom instruction with workplace experience, the program also offers internships and mentoring. Meant to be completed in six years or less, P-Tech was designed by IBM, where nearly all...

Trauma-informed care “shifts the way you look at human problems from ‘what’s wrong with you?’ to ‘what happened to you?’ and ‘how can we help?’” says Sandra L. Bloom, an associate professor of public health at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Much of the research into trauma is based on the landmark 1998 Adverse Childhood Experiences study. Adverse childhood experiences can range from experiencing sexual abuse and violence to witnessing violence or living with someone who is a substance...

(Reuters Health) - - Partnerships between teachers and doctors could help students and school staffers better deal with “toxic stress,” suggests a former teacher turned doctor. Pediatricians can help build resilience in both children and teachers to counter the effects of traumatic childhood experiences, poverty and violence, Dr. Kavitha Selvaraj of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago writes in the journal Pediatrics. “Before I was a pediatrician, I was a teacher, and...

The topic of this blog post is the importance of physical activity for children. In terms of physical activity, I chose to focus on yoga practice for young children. I believe that children are a big part of our society and their health is a reflection of their surroundings, which is why children’s health is so important. I researched three unique and professional studies that show how yoga builds resilience, self-awareness, self-image, self-esteem, quality of life, and dramatically reduces...

School counselors are seeing further concerns underneath Harvey trauma When Tropical Storm Harvey flooded Houston, it was easy to see the effects. First, all the homes damaged or destroyed, and later on financial spreadsheets when the billions in losses that were tallied. However, many Houstonians are dealing with a less obvious effect from the storm on their lives — psychological trauma. “I think it was so immediately relevant to those administrators because they themselves were...

To support students of color, educators must understand the impact of discrimination and racism on mental health. Educators and mental health providers must develop an understanding of how students' racialized experiences affect their mental health. Often, teachers think they are "color-blind," but with professional development, educators can learn to examine their own experiences with race and the subtle ways they may inadvertently reinforce stereotypes. This reflection helps teachers...

Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment without judgment, says Amy L. Eva, an education content specialist for the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California—Berkeley . Over time, individuals develop the ability to detach from whatever they are dealing with so they are not coming down on themselves often, she says. That could be especially important for students who worry about grades. Educators interested in incorporating mindfulness into their high...

Information is everywhere, making it impossible to package. Collaboration and networking underpin life, and constant communication is the norm, even for plants . Each time you check your smart phone you tap into a global brain. And when you finally put down the phone, you shake your head: So much going on . In fact, the tightening weave in the global network means that never has there been an era in human history in which so many people learn together. What will replace the old model? There...

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI — Juan Cloy remembers being suspended when he was at Provine High School in the 1980s. He and several friends got in a fight with some kids from the neighborhood at school. Everyone involved got suspended. Of course, the idea of suspension is for kids to stay home, but none of the boys did. He and his friends went outside and walked around the corner to find the boys they got into a fight with in a car. “One of the kids pulled a gun out on us,” he said. “… [T]here was no...

[Editor's note: This was post on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2017 in the Hutchinson KS ACEs Connection community site. The board of education meeting was on Nov. 23, 2017.] On Monday night the Hutchinson Public Schools Board of Education approved a resolution in support of the district being trauma informed. The board voted 7-0 to "support the training and implementation activities currently addressing the trauma-informed schools’ philosophy and commend the entire staff as they move toward creating...

The days of students sitting in rigid rows at stationary desks may be a thing of the past as Madison area teachers raise money for treadmills, yoga ball chairs and pedal bike desks for their classrooms. Dane County teachers are using DonorsChoose to fund “flexible seating options” that allow students to remain comfortable and mentally engaged while moving their bodies if they need to. This year, “fidget spinner” was the tenth most searched term on Google, referring to the toys some kids like...

While other students in Auburn Junior High School have been bound to their desks Tuesday afternoons this school year, Kristi Newton's health class has been doing yoga. The yoga provides physical exercise but the purpose of the class goes beyond that. Newton began using yoga as a way to cope with the unexpected death of her brother-in-law, Peter Thomson, around four years ago. She eventually thought that since yoga helped her get through her loss, it might be able to help her students deal...