ENGAGE!
NEWS FROM
September 15, 2016 - In This Issue:
 
 
We hope your new school year is off to a great start!

It's been a busy summer here at Engaging Schools, with institutes and other professional learning and intensive work by our program staff to provide more resources to meet your needs. Our latest publication, Shifting Gears: Recalibrating Schoolwide Discipline and Student Support, received high praises from school and district leaders as they worked over the summer to plan new ways of addressing discipline that support students and help them get back on track.

We look forward to connecting with you throughout the school year!

Lucy Patton
Engage! Newsletter Editor

Preparing for the New School Year
Engaging Schools collaborated with many schools and districts over the summer to provide professional learning; for example, two sites in Massachusetts. Nicole Frasier (photo) facilitated a session on adolescent development at Leicester Middle School. Lisa Cureton and Michele Tissiere conducted a four-day institute on Schoolwide Discipline and Student Support in Holyoke  for teams from all 11 of the district's schools. We're always inspired by the passion and commitment of teachers and administrators who continue to work on behalf of students during the summer break.

(Photo courtesy Cate Calise, Leicester Public Schools)
  
A Call to Action for
Social and Emotional Learning

Engaging Schools recently joined over 300 other signatories in a Call to Action submitted to the US Department of Education advocating for practices that reach and teach the whole child. See more on this blog post on our website. The Call concluded, "Today too many children are living in what can accurately be described as an epidemic of stress, anxiety, depression, and addiction. Their hunger to learn, to belong, to contribute, and to matter must be met by adults and educators who listen, guide, empower, and inspire. We know so much about how to unlock the dreams of our children and the time is right to equip our schools to try. Nothing less will suffice to meet the great challenges in our nation and in our world."
Teachers as Advocates
A new book from Sonia Nieto

Longtime educator and Engaging Schools Advisory Board member Sonia Nieto's new book, Brooklyn Dreams: My Life in Public Education, tells the story of her life as a student, teacher, and activist. Harvard Education Press says, "the child of Puerto Rican immigrants, Nieto attended New York City public schools, then, as an adult, began teaching at the first bilingual school in New York. Nieto found herself a pivotal figure in many movements in multicultural education, from bilingual education and bilingual teacher education to the introduction of ethnic studies in higher education, and has continued her activism throughout her career.

'These movements have all been extremely meaningful for me individually,' says Nieto, 'but also for the Latino community, for people of color, and for all of us who live in the United States and are concerned about equity in education.'"

In an edition of the "EdCast" , Nieto looks back on formative experiences of her career and reflects on the place of activism and advocacy in the teaching profession.
 
RESEARCH 
ROUNDUP
 
Students' Mindsets are Adaptiv e
 

Two Finnish researchers examined results of previous studies looking at mindsets (implicit beliefs about the nature of one's own intelligence) toward learning. The results, published in the journal Psychology, found that growth-minded individuals have increased ability to rebound from mistakes compared to those with a more fixed mindset.

"Based on our review, it is evident  that students' mindsets are associated with their academic achievement and, crucially, they can be influenced by appropriate interventions. [...] The results suggesting that mindsets are adaptive and can be influenced by interventions are very promising in the context of education. The studies have shown that even very brief intervention including knowledge on the value of effort and the potential for brains to adapt to new information has had a positive influence on students' learning and achievement. These kinds of interventions have a great potential to support learning in both teacher education and in schools. Brief interventions related to different subjects in schools could be performed in every grade-level, which could result in improved academic achievement of students."

Join Engaging Schools at Conferences
in October
Michele Tissiere will present "Recalibrating Schoolwide Discipline to Support a Healthy School Climate" on Oct 12 at the AMLE (Association for Middle Level Education) annual conference in Austin. Participants will explore eight interdependent systems that result in an effective schoolwide discipline model. They will unpack the differences between a punitive and an accountable, restorative model, identify schoolwide initiatives to support a caring climate, and think through some critical tips for recalibrating schoolwide discipline.

Larry Dieringer will present "Shifting to Restorative and Equitable Schoolwide Discipline and Student Support: Creating and Implementing a New District Code of Conduct, Character, and Support" on Oct 29 at the NY State School Boards Association annual conference in Buffalo. 
                             Please Support Engaging Schools! 

Engaging Schools is a nonprofit organization that collaborates with middle and high school educators to create schoolwide communities of learning that integrate academics with social and emotional development. We provide professional learning and publications for instructional practice, classroom management, discipline and student support, postsecondary readiness, and advisory programs - all grounded in the values of equity, community, and democracy. The result: engaging schools where each and every student succeeds and makes positive contributions in school, work, and life.  

We rely on tax-deductible donations from you and others to develop our programs and resources and help us reach more teachers, schools, and young people. Please support our work with a gift today. Thanks!