Facilitating Resilience in the Face of Poverty and Hardship: Program Components Having a Positive Impact on Academic Success

Michele Einspar, Ed.D.meinspar@mac.com

Learning Outcomes• Risk Factors associated with homelessness• How protective mechanisms ameliorate effects• Program components associated with academic success• Resilience components help students to be successful• How parent education helps children have success in school

Introductions• Districts• School Sites• Community Organizations

Risk Factors-What we Know…• Turn to your partner and talk about some of the risk factors

you know that are associated with homelessness• Risk Factors: • Transportation, dropping out, admin. Igorance, intolerance,

fees, school system, nutrition services, credits, no parent participation, drugs, food, mental health issues, feelings of safety at home school, deportation, immigration policies, school supplies, substance abuse, violence, DV

• The term “at-risk”- focusing on potential for failure- a deficit model.

Risk Factors

Biological Environmental Cumulative

Perinatal stressGenderEthnicityMental health issues Physical health issues 

Domestic violenceFamily instabilityDrug abuseMental health issues with primary caregiverNegative school environmentHigh Mobility

A combination of biological and/or Environmental risk factors that perpetuate more risk factors

A Vicious Cycle: The Function of Risk Factors

What is Resilience?• A student who is resilient is one who, despite adversities and

stress in life, manages to experience success in school and in life

• Process of positive adaptation despite being confronted with adversity

• Dynamic protective mechanisms that can facilitate success• Developed through interaction of the environment, factors

and processes • Process leads to the positive adaptation of exposure to risks,

such as homelessness(Bernard, 1998; Brown, Caston, Bernard, 2001; Doll & Lyon, 1998; Henderson & Milstein, 2003; Luthar, Cicchetti & Becker, 2000; Masten & Coatsworth, 1998; McMillan & Reed, 1993; McMillan & Reed, 1994; Morrison, Brown, D‟Incau, O‟Farrell & Furlong, 2006; Pianta & Walsh, 1998; Wang, Haertel & Walberg, 1996; Wang, Haertal & Walberg, 1998).

Protective Mechanisms

• Lower impact of risk• Maintain a high self-esteem• Create opportunities for success• Eliminate potential negative effects of risk factors• Critical during times of transition• Can direct students onto a positive pathway• Child may be exposed to risk, but armed with protective

mechanisms and positively adapts.

(Doll & Lyon, 1998; Masten, et al., 1990; Pianta & Walsh, 1998; Rutter, 1987).

Image retrieved from: http://www.tularehhsa.org/tasks/sites/default/assets/Image/PublicHealth/Primary_Care_Services/Clinics/immunization.gif

Protective Cycle

Program Components that Facilitate Success• Take a moment and jot down some components in your program

that you know have been successful with your McKinney-Vento Children

• Program Components• Tutoring, after school porgrams, class fees, partnerships without side

entitites, collaboration, proactive measure- school of origin- with registrars- annual training and comunication, program for unaccompanied youth- provide a place to talk ask questions and get linked to resources, life skills for students, consistent place to be, social work support services for students- ind/group counseling, work closely with parents, utlize community resources, family resource center where families can take showers, access internet, clothing food bank, homeless connect fair- haricuts, job aps, birth certificate, ameri corp nccc-residential prorgram ged prep help with housing

Program Components that facilitate success• Forming Meaningful Relationships• Counselors, teachers, peers

• Creating a caring environment • Providing basic needs• Providing transportation• Expedient enrollment• Equal access

• Creating a sense of belonging• Policies facilitate increased access to school and students/families feeling

more welcome in school • Creating community involvement in schools • Collaboration with agencies

• Developing positive family relationships • Parent involvement• Identifying families and educating families about student rights and needs• Providing information and referrals to resources in the community

Meaningful Relationships

• No conditions• Positive• High expectations for success and academic achievement• Counseling focused on social emotional support helps to

establish meaningful relationships• Social workers focused on fostering strengths and adaptive

skills• May lead to increased self-efficacy

Bernard, 1998; Brown, et al., 2001;DeCivita, 2006; Henderson & Milstein, 2003; Jozefowicz-Simbeni & Israel, 2006; Masten & Coatsworth, 1998; McMillan & Reed, 1993; McMillan & Reed, 1994; Morrison, et al., 2006; Wang, et al., 1996; Wang, et al., 1998

Image downloaded from: http://www.tcnj.edu/~hofmann/goals.jpg

Program Implications

• Strategies• Forming new student support groups• Take one on one time to meet and encourage students and

welcome them to the school• Mentoring focused on helping students solve problems

• Components• Give choices• Construct opportunities to succeed• Foster responsibility for self and others

Image downloaded from: http://www.tcnj.edu/~hofmann/goals.jpg

Program component ideas focused on meaningful relationships• Model out of mn. Check and

Connect- dev. mini relationships of trust- checking grades, attendance, discipline

• Career center- connect with students- for extra curricular actitivty, start with the principals- PD up the principals

• Strategies• Forming new student support

groups• Take one on one time to meet

and encourage students and welcome them to the school

• Mentoring focused on helping students solve problems

• Components• Give choices• Construct opportunities to

succeed• Foster responsibility for self

and others

A Caring Environment• Buddy Programs• Providing a place to do homework• Increase access and awareness to resources in the community• Providing school supplies• Sensitive to student needs (understanding the negative

connection with term homeless)

Program Component Ideas for Creating Caring Environments

• Cinderella’s closet for prom• Food pantry at school- each

family gets to take home food every week- delivered to site

• Partnering with local food bank

• Take photos of kids- staff activity- every staff adopts a student- data driven

• Poverty simulations • Ruby Payne -PD• Poverty simulation

• Buddy Programs• Providing a place to do

homework• Increase access and awareness

to resources in the community• Providing school supplies• Sensitive to student needs

(understanding the negative connection with term homeless)

A Sense of Belonging

• Positive school climate- encourages one to one connections with students, teachers and administration• Peer programs designed to help students feel like they are a part

of the school.• Teacher training

• Policy• Affidavits to facilitate prompt school enrollment, support for

transportation, dispute resolution process• Providing shelters with school items (school spirit t-shirts,

prom dress, memory books, graduation invitations) and school communication

• Welcome the parents• Resource center for parents

Program Ideas for Creating a Sense of Belonging• Holiday helpers- parents

volunteer and get gift cards to shop for kids- parents feel involved and kids feel connected to school and parents mentor families going through other situations,

• Positive school climate- encourages one to one connections with students, teachers and administration• Peer programs designed to help

students feel like they are a part of the school.

• Teacher training• Policy• Affidavits to facilitate prompt school

enrollment, support for transportation, dispute resolution process

• Providing shelters with school items (school spirit t-shirts, prom dress, memory books, graduation invitations) and school communication

• Welcome the parents• Resource center for parents

Community Involvement• Coordinated school-linked services • Shared decision making• Collaboration to provide integrated services geared towards

facilitating academic success: housing, health, mental health

Program Ideas for Community Involvement• After school programs service

learning partnerships with community and colleges

• After school tutoring at churches. School buses will transport to site.

• Partnerships with local thrfit stores, backpacks,

• Costco will often donate backpacks and fill backpacksfind out giving cycle

• Walmart- donation drive-• Collaboration with staff to provide

for extracurriculuar activities• Social networking with churches,

rotary- facebook page where teachers can share needs ,

• Swift resource.com

• Coordinated school-linked services • Shared decision making• Collaboration to provide

integrated services geared towards facilitating academic success: housing, health, mental health

Developing Positive Family Relationships• Programs that promote self-efficacy and student success• Resources that improve parent-child relationships: how to talk

with kids about school, budgeting, nutrition, discipline strategies, finding resources within school and community that help with school.

• Family resource centers where parents feel connected to their school

• Connect parents to the teacher • Parent conference to celebrate success and increase awareness

about resources in the community• Knowing the parents’ native language• Focus on family strengths

Three Steps to Success• Get Ready!• What students need to be

ready for school

• Get Set!• How to talk with your child

about school• How to set goals with your

child

• Keep on Going!• How to Reflect and Improve

Goals• Good Study Habits

Program Ideas for Positive Family Involvement

• Parenting with love and logic• Parent advocates about rights

under IDEA, • Split conference times, • Multi cultural piece and

demongraphics culture of different families,

• Provide food at events

Program Implications• Principal’s role in the school• Program duration and depth• Meaningful relationships• Focus on advocacy

• Positive Family Programs• Enrichment and Strengths• Growth mindset

Web of Protection

Questions to Consider • Take parent teacher

conferences to the commnity• How can you involve principals

in your district?• How can you improve the

depth of your program?• How can you direct your

program to focus on strengths?

Resilience education is the key to ending the cycle of homelessness