The Destruction of Our Youth: How Mental and Physical In-Activity Affect Impoverished Students
Format
Poster Presentation
Location
Harborside Center
Strand #1
Mental & Physical Health
Relevance
The proposal relates to strand IV. "Health": Mental and Physical Health. Our proposal addresses the causes and looks at mental health programs as well as programs to promote more physical activity with students. Our proposal also discusses how some of the educational decision made over the years have had an adverse impact on the mental and physical health of student in an impoverished area.
Brief Program Description
Having effective evidence-based programs to promote mental wellness and social-emotional development amongst children in poverty will significantly help children overcome obstacles that could impact them for their entire life. The Destruction of Our Youth: How Mental and Physical In-Activity Affects Impoverished Students (A Roundtable Discussion) will serve as a forum to dissect various factors that influence mental and physical health amongst students in poverty in addition to enlightening and discussing with attendees various programs that will improve these areas.
Summary
It is difficult to provide a detailed definition of “poverty” because situations are different in every country. In general, “poverty is a source of ongoing stress and a threat that leads to malnutrition, social deprivation and educational disadvantage (Sapolsky, 2005). Poverty is associated with an array of problems including low birth weight, infant mortality, contagious diseases, childhood injury and death (Sapolsky, 2005). Poor children are at risk for developmental delays in intellectual and school achievement. More than 15 million children in the United States younger than 18 years live in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). Children who live in poverty often face socio-economic obstacles that impede their rights to have play time as well as increased risk for social, emotional and behavioral health problems, which ultimately affects their social-emotional development. Effective evidenced-based programs have proven to be beneficial to impoverished students. A few of these programs include: Parenting programs for promoting wellness as well as required teacher training in understanding mental health; School-wide approaches to influence school climate (formally and informally). Lastly, this presentation looks to discuss the disappearance of Recess in schools, the decline of students participating in Physical Education and how “extending” the school day into after-school hours impacts extra-curricular activities. This discussion will be focused on current research based on a collaborative effort of four Doctoral graduates from Clark Atlanta University School of Education/Ed Leadership Program. The group has developed a focused topic on a critical issue facing impoverished students all over the nation.
Evidence
The proposal examines effective evidence-based programs such as:
1. Parenting programs that promote wellness;
2. Required teacher training in the areas of mental health;
3. School-wide approaches that influence the culture and climate within schools as well as;
4. How the lack of recess and the decline of Physical Education and extending the school day impacts extra-curricular activities.
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Quail Arnold
Dr. Quail Arnold currently serves as a High School Support Teacher for Gifted Education. This position allows her the opportunity to support teachers and students through professional, curricular, and strategic development. While in this role, Dr. Arnold has coordinated and facilitated several academic enrichment opportunities for gifted high school students such as Georgia Academic Decathlon, The Mary Frasier STEM Conference at the University of Georgia, and XANADU Arts & Sciences Academy. She has also been provided with the opportunity to train teachers who are seeking to become gifted-endorsed in the state of Georgia. Additionally, she has been instrumental in redesigning the high school gifted delivery model offerings in her school district, proving that gifted students need more than just Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate to meet their social, emotional, and academic needs.
Throughout her 11-year career, Dr. Arnold has served in several roles such as curriculum writer, test developer, trainer, instructor, and department chair. She is an advocate for Advanced Academics and believes that all students should have exposure to advanced learning opportunities despite whatever outside challenges they may face. It is this belief that drives her work in gifted education. Dr. Arnold is a 2012 graduate of Clark Atlanta University where she earned her Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership. She earned her Master of Education at Mercer University and her Bachelor of Science in English Education at Georgia Southern University.
Dr. Melissa Eades
Dr. Melissa D. Eades is an educational consultant, keynote speaker and workshop presenter. She currently serves as a High School Administrator in Detroit, MI where she has earned the reputation of being student centered. Dr. Eades has a heart for education and works diligently to provide students with a quality and equitable education. In her current position she is responsible for coordinating curriculum, instruction, assessment and implementing research-based professional development opportunities for teachers. Dr. Eades believes that students will rise to the expectations that teachers set for them. Students need to be challenged in order to grow academically, and socially.
Dr. Eades has made a commitment to her personal professional growth and attended the New and Aspiring School Leaders (ASL) institute at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Academically, she completed her Bachelors of Arts degree in psychology from Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte, NC. She holds a Masters of Arts in Counseling from Michigan State University located in East Lansing, MI and an earned Doctorate in Educational leadership from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA.
Dr. Nicole Gibbs
Dr. Nicole Gibbs currently serves as Vice Provost for Access and Enrollment Services at the University of the Virgin Islands. She provides oversight for the offices of the
Registrar, Admissions, Financial Aid, and Recruitment. She has worked in a variety of
settings and draws on her prior experiences with student affairs and student support
services to work across the university to integrate the recruitment efforts throughout the
institution. Dr. Gibbs established collaborative relationships, which have made
recruitment and retention a University-wide priority. She believes retention and the
nurturing of students is everyone’s job. Since her arrival at the University of the Virgin
Islands, new freshman enrollment has increased by a record 14 % for Fall 2014. Overall, student enrollment has stabilized, where it had been decreasing for the past three years, prior to her arrival. Dr. Gibbs attributes this success to the development of a strategic recruitment plan, a university-wide implementation approach, and a sincere commitment to enhancing recruitment and retention efforts at the University.
Dr. Gibbs has over 12 years of experience in higher education. Previously, she served as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at Broward College, in South Florida. Broward
College has approximately 67,000 students on three campuses. Her focus was to improve the customer service experience, increase enrollment, and retool the orientation program. In addition, she held previous enrollment management and student affairs positions at Georgia Southern University, Columbus State University, Georgia State University, and Ross University. Dr. Gibbs earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Clark Atlanta University, a Masters of Education from Columbus State University, and a Bachelors of Science from Georgia Southern University.
Dr. Edward Williams
Dr. Edward Williams has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Master’s degree in Behavior Disorders, Specialist degree in Educational Leadership as well as a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership, all from Clark Atlanta University.
Currently, Dr. Edward Williams serves as an Assistant Principal at Cascade Elementary School located in Atlanta Georgia. Dr. Williams is currently in his 17th year in education. During his tenure, he has taught as a Severe Emotional Behavior Disorders (SEBD) teacher as well as an Interrelated Special Education Teacher. Dr. Williams also serves on the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators Leadership Advisory Committee for Educational Testing Service (ETS).
Dr. Williams is also the founding partner of the E.A.S.E. Project L.L.C. (Educational Administrators for Strategic Enrichment). Through this consortium it is his desire to travel the globe educating building administrators with current and relevant educational practices
Keyword Descriptors
Mental Health, Physical Activity, Poverty, Socio-economics, Wellness Programs
Presentation Year
2016
Start Date
3-8-2016 4:00 PM
End Date
3-8-2016 5:30 PM
Recommended Citation
Williams, Edward; Arnold, Quail; Gibbs, Nicole; and Eades, Melissa, "The Destruction of Our Youth: How Mental and Physical In-Activity Affect Impoverished Students" (2016). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 112.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2016/2016/112
The Destruction of Our Youth: How Mental and Physical In-Activity Affect Impoverished Students
Harborside Center
Having effective evidence-based programs to promote mental wellness and social-emotional development amongst children in poverty will significantly help children overcome obstacles that could impact them for their entire life. The Destruction of Our Youth: How Mental and Physical In-Activity Affects Impoverished Students (A Roundtable Discussion) will serve as a forum to dissect various factors that influence mental and physical health amongst students in poverty in addition to enlightening and discussing with attendees various programs that will improve these areas.
