The role of educational leaders in establishing sound prevention practices

We are all committed to creating safe and drug-free schools. When parents kiss their children goodbye in the morning, they want to know that their children will return safely with them that afternoon. All teachers and principals want to enter their school building every day knowing that it will be a full day for education. All superintendents want the same thing: a safe institution where students, teachers, and principals can get down to business with education. But the reality is that a series of inappropriate, disruptive, and sometimes violent incidents occur annually. Statistics reveal incidents in which teachers were victims, weapons brought to school, and countless acts of bullying, teasing, hazing, and physically non-violent behavior. What drives our children to commit these acts? In truth, we all know the full breadth of the problems our students face on a daily basis. In fact, what affects the student outside of school affects that student, teachers, and administrators inside the school. Here are some statistics:

– 1 in 2 American children will live in a single parent family at some point in childhood.
– 3 out of 5 preschool-age children have their mother in the workforce.
– 1 in 1045 will die with a gun before turning 20 years old.

Clearly enough is happening here to see that, in addition to an academic focus, schools must be attentive to the social and emotional needs of students. We can work with students to help them achieve their academic goals, but if those children cannot cope with the pressures applied by today’s society, they will not achieve academic success. Yet despite all the media hype to the contrary, schools remain the safest place for our children. But it is also true that the violence that afflicts society has slowly infiltrated our schools. In recent years, drastic changes in the family structure, along with other social changes, have led to new challenges. Schools are under pressure to find ways to meet the needs of all children. Parents and other districts have found their voice and are crying for the achievement gap to be closed. Lawmakers have been paying attention and now, more than ever, and states have focused on evaluation and accountability. The work of our schools has become incredibly complex as different stakeholders compete for priority.

A primary goal of the superintendent is to establish a clear vision and direction for the school district. If the vision is derived from the information presented by the various competing groups and is based on scientifically rigorous evidence, then that collective vision will be one that all stakeholders can share. So the guiding question is: given the context in which children come to school, what can schools do to help students develop good social skills so that they can interact in positive ways? In light of the changing economic and social fabric, it is clear that parenting, guidance, and support for adults must come from all facets – home, school, and community – if we are to avoid negative outcomes. Our vision is that a healthy community can collaborate to achieve positive results when guided by the basic principles of academic, social and emotional learning. And we were successful in building partnerships at multiple levels: locally, with the county, and even at the state level. We saw a reduction in disciplinary referrals and the dropout rate. And we achieved an increase in the number of graduates and the number of those going to college. Our goal is to share the ways superintendents can support the creation of safe, supportive, and high-performing schools. While the superintendents had different stories to share, all of their work began with an individual vision that later evolved into a collective and community vision. Core values ​​such as academic, social, and emotional learning are an essential part of the big picture. In the end, what do we hope to achieve? In the short term, we want to ensure that our schools are safe havens in which all students can learn, and this means safe, drug-free, and violence-free schools. But we also cannot lose sight of the fact that, in the long term, over time, the creation of safe and caring school communities must be comprehensive and complete, not simply a complement. We also want to ensure that we develop lifelong learners who, because they are well educated, responsible and respectful, can be active and contributing members of our 21st century global society. The creation of schools and districts focused on academic, social and emotional learning.

What is the best approach to showing the school board that youth are not just a problem, but that youth can make a difference in people’s lives? There is no more important effort than to include young people in all this conversation. One of the things we are doing is creating a more democratic environment, especially in our high schools, but at all levels. I think it starts even at the elementary level. For example, many schools are using class meetings as a way to get young people to express themselves. Adults in our society often think that young people have nothing of value to contribute. Find adults who will lead you to the meeting to talk about the kinds of wonderful things you’ve been doing and to build those partnerships and not give up. Keep coming back to the school board with whatever initiative you want. And keep coming back to managers to show you have something of value to offer. It is key that your voice is not lost in this dialogue. If you want to get the attention of the school board, introduce yourself each time and take the three minutes or allotted time for guests to speak. They won’t want to ignore you, especially when they’re running for re-election. Make an appointment with each member of the school board and visit individually, as they all have office hours. You will have their attention.

The new teachers who arrived are very willing to learn. A superintendent or principal cannot do it alone. There must be teachers in the school who are aligned with these philosophies. Start a pilot program and collect the data, and the data will be very impressive. So the board, other teachers, and the community cannot doubt what the data shows. There are many places to plant those seeds. You have to have perseverance.

As superintendents and administrators we are interested, but we work in a political context. And in fact, there are certain things that we are capable of doing and certain things that we are not. When I was a teacher, I learned from one of my principals the philosophy of “let your fast horses run.” In other words, find the people who are your advocates and let them do the things that they would like to do in terms of socio-emotional programming and other areas in which you want to advance. We are often surprised by the origin of the seeds. We must be open to surprises and look for those people who really care about this, but who may not know how to proceed and encourage them to act.

In this country, one of the most important things we have done is that children must be at school in a safe learning environment. It is the goal of almost every district in the country. If it is the goal, then each superintendent should hold the administration accountable for ensuring that there is substantial progress toward that goal. The principal must also hold the staff accountable. I think we have to start forcing the seeds, not just planting them. Guidance counselors are key to creating a positive climate and culture. They can be instrumental in advancing the district in social emotional learning. While each district uses different approaches, all superintendents share a common vision: to create multiple, system-wide support structures that simultaneously address the academic, social, and emotional needs of all students.