ENGAGE!
NEWS FROM
September 10, 2015 - In This Issue:
Greetings! 

We wish you a positive, productive, and invigorating start to the new school year!

It's been a busy summer at Engaging Schools with institutes, other professional development, and conference presentations. We posted the rest of Larry Dieringer's conversation with Dan Losen of UCLA's Center for Civil Rights Remedies about disproportional school discipline. We hope you'll take a look at their wide-ranging discussion on this critical issue. And we found some new research that (again) demonstrates how essential social and emotional learning is in the lives of students.  
 
We're eagerly anticipating the launch of our new book called Shifting Gears: Recalibrating Schoolwide Discipline and Student Support. We look forward to offering our support and resources to you throughout the school year!
 
All the best,
 
Lucy Patton
Engage! Newsletter Editor
ICYMI:
School Discipline Q & A with Dan Losen and Larry Dieringer

Engaging Schools blog shares wide-ranging conversation on school discipline: the problem and some solutions 

 

We've posted the entire discussion between Engaging Schools Executive Director Larry Dieringer and Dr. Daniel Losen, Director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at The Civil Rights Project at UCLA. Dan is also the author and editor of influential studies and books about school discipline, most recently

Closing the School Discipline Gap: Equitable Remedies for Excessive Exclusion. 

 

Larry and Dan talked about their shared focus on developing and sustaining equitable, supportive, and restorative systems of school discipline in a talk we've posted on our blog.  
A New Resource: Shifting Gears

Coming this Fall!

 
Stay tuned for our newest resource, Shifting Gears: Recalibrating Schoolwide Discipline and Student Support, which will be published soon.

Based on materials that Engaging Schools developed and has used extensively in the field, Shifting Gears fills a critical national need for an effective, equitable approach to issues of discipline and school climate and culture in middle and high schools. Shifting Gears supports school leaders, climate-culture-discipline teams, deans, student support directors, counselors, specialists, and security staff. The book presents an overview of the foundations for a systematic approach to schoolwide discipline and student support, looking at the current school discipline problem, the features of an effective schoolwide discipline and student support system, and the research and theory that underpins our approach.    
 
 
RESEARCH 
ROUNDUP
 
Teaching Social Skills Improves Grades and Lives 
In July, The New York Times published a look at recent research on the value over time of teaching social and emotional skills in school.

The Times states that "these findings add to a growing body of evidence - including long-term studies drawn from data in New Zealand and Britain - that have profound implications for educators. These studies suggest that if we want many more children to lead fulfilling and productive lives, it's not enough for schools to focus exclusively on academics. Indeed, one of the most powerful and cost-effective interventions is to help children develop core social and emotional strengths like self-management, self-awareness and social awareness - strengths that are necessary for students to fully benefit from their education, and succeed in many other areas of life."

The article also takes a look at social-emotional learning programs, including those supported by CASEL (the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) in districts throughout the country. 
Summer Institutes
 
We held several institutes over the summer to help educators prepare for the new school year. Participants in our open-enrollment Cambridge institute gathered at Lesley University in July for four intensive, highly interactive days of learning skills and strategies to provide engaging classroom experiences for their students. One participant commented, "Processing my first year of teaching, especially the moments where I was not the person or teacher I want to be, has been hard. This institute has helped me acknowledge mistakes as well as strengths and begin to look forward to my long teaching career ahead. Thank you so much!"

Keep an eye on future issues of Engage! for announcements of open enrollment institutes and workshops. 
 
                             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!