Leading out the gifts of the whole child

Leading out the gifts of the whole child – Roundtable Discussion

Saturday, April 12, 2003

CEJJES Institute, Pomona, NY

The following are the thoughts and opinions expressed by the participants who attended a Roundtable Discussion held at the CEJJES Institute on Saturday, April 12, 2003 *. The discussion was led by Dr. Margaret Morgan Lawrence.

1. What problems do schools face in leading out children's gifts?

· Schools are focused on the negative instead of the child's strengths.

· Children are not treated as individuals and are segregated by category.

· Schools have low expectation for children.

· Schools are l not following protocol of looking at the whole child and communicating with parents before a situation becomes a crisis.

2. How do parents, teachers, administrators and mental health professionals collaborate in positive assessments of children?

· Parents have to be proactive to be sure that children are being properly assessed.

· The administrators must have a vision that is a strength- based assessment of the children. The Hilltop School was mentioned as an example of a school with this vision.

· In their assessment, schools should follow the child (throughout their years in the school) and consider the whole child.

· Faculty and administrators must expect something from the children.

· Collaboration is difficult due to the limitations schools are experiencing such as: the lost of experienced teachers, the lost of a knowledge base when experienced teachers leave, the inability of schools to invest teachers time in learning skills that are needed to conduct proper assessments, the lost of flexibility due to schools compliance with the Leave No Child Behind Act.

3. Is the school team collaborating to find out what the children need?

· Parents find that regardless of collaboration in assessments, the school is too quick to medicate children and the school often disapproves of parents who are unwilling to medicate their children.

· Medication can be a viable strategy.

· There is a price for the child to pay for being on medication. Examples cited describe the physical toll on children's bodies.

· The determination to medicate is suggested by the school too often.

4. What could be the cause of increased numbers of special needs children?

· Schools have expressed that high numbers of special needs children are entering kindergarten. Social service agencies have expressed that they are overwhelmed with special needs children.

· Family and community events are being used as informal venues to draw out families and children experiencing trauma. Rockland 21^st Century Collaborative for Youth and Children has seen that school districts define the parameters of the Resource Centers in order to meet children's needs.

Closing Remarks

We are experiencing something in our society that is leading to increasing numbers of children who are suffering. We need to look at what is happening with adults and families to understand what is happening with the children. Schools may use community resources, such as Rockland 21^st Century Collaborative For Youth and Children to help. (We can be hopeful about the future) and there can be progress towards responding to the whole child.

Next Time

At our next discussion, we will build upon the thoughts and ideas we discussed today and showcase best practices, programs that are working to successfully reach the children.

* Information in parenthesis was added to the notes to describe the context in which the statement was made.