Building Cultures of Hope in High-Poverty and Trauma-Impacted Schools

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

Emily L. Gibson, Bend-La Pine SchoolsFollow
Robert D. Barr, Boise State UniversityFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Bend-La Pine Schools

Second Presenter's Institution

Boise State University

Third Presenter's Institution

NA

Fourth Presenter's Institution

NA

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Location

Session 2 (Scarbrough 1)

Strand #1

Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Academic Achievement & School Leadership

Relevance

This proposal relates to the Heart strand by emphasizing social-emotional assets that help students-at-risk combat learned helplessness and an external locus of control which can often interfere with student success. Based on research in Title I schools across the country, this proposal shares the "added value" of school cultures that emphasize optimism, belonging, pride, and purpose.

This proposal relates to the Head strand through sharing resources which help school staffs grow student resilience, close achievement gaps, and increase success for all students and especially for students impacted by poverty and trauma.

Brief Program Description

Effective high-poverty schools address the challenges of students' learned helplessness and an eternal locus of control by surrounding students with optimism and high expectations. In this session, participants will learn how schools use surveys and staff collaboration to reveal staff perceptions and beliefs, monitor school culture, and help students develop essential social-emotional assets important for success in school and life: Optimism, Belonging, Pride, and Purpose.

Summary

The strongest predictor of success in school and beyond is not SAT scores or IQ--it is the level of hope and optimism held by students. As documented in schools across the country, high-performing, high-poverty schools that emphasize key social-emotional assets are more successful in closing achievement gaps and maintaining this progress over time. Research supports what successful educators have long felt important: for children impacted by poverty, relationships, hope, and optimism are as important for their success as curriculum, effective instruction and even student ability. The conditions of poverty, especially generational poverty, often lead to despair and a learned helplessness that can result in students simply “giving up” on learning in schools Successful schools address the challenges of students' learned helplessness and sense of an eternal locus of control by surrounding students with an atmosphere of optimism and high expectations, or a “Culture of Hope.” Research increasingly supports the importance of social/emotional learning and the critical value of relationships and belonging in our public schools. In this session, participants will learn about the background research supporting the Culture of Hope and gain a solid understanding of the importance of school culture in the effective education of students impacted by poverty and trauma. Participants will complete a survey and participate in conversations to illustrate how staff perceptions and beliefs can influence a school's effectiveness. In the process, participants will learn specific strategies for helping students develop the essential “seeds of hope”: optimism, belonging, pride, and purpose. All will walk away with a plan for next-steps in implementing a Culture of Hope and the resources to do so, including surveys for staff and students and articles to share with key stakeholders.

Evidence

This presentation documents research and practice in high-poverty, high-performing schools, based on over a decade of on-the-ground research in Title I schools throughout the nation. This work is captured in a book published by a major education publishing house.. Specifically, the Culture of Hope relates to school culture, resilience, and social-emotional learning. Since publication, the authors have worked with schools across the country to implement Cultures of Hope and reinforce practices that already support students' social-emotional learning. The authors have continued to revise/update their work with the Culture of Hope, as the field of social-emotional learning, trauma, and resilience is continually expanding.

Biographical Sketch

Bob Barr is the former Dean of Education atOregonStateUniversityand former Dean atBoiseStateUniversitywhere he helped start the university’s first doctoral program and a new Center for School Improvement. He has authored/coauthored 12 books focused on successful high-poverty schools and school improvement. He has worked and researched in schools in over 40 states and continues to serve as a consultant to high-poverty schools and university research centers across the nation.

Emily Gibson is currently a Social-Emotional Learning Specialist in a high-poverty school in Central Oregon, implementing a Culture of Hope and trauma-informed practices. She has taught elementary and middle school for over 20 years, provided professional development for K-12 teachers in writing, SRSD, and differentiated instruction, and founded a charter school site for youth-at-risk. Since earning her doctorate in school improvement from Boise State University, Emily has worked as an instructional coach in high-poverty schools in the Pacific northwest.

Keyword Descriptors

Hope, Trauma-informed practice, poverty, social-emotional learning, school culture, resilience, school-improvement, high-performing/high-poverty schools

Presentation Year

2019

Start Date

3-4-2019 1:15 PM

End Date

3-4-2019 2:30 PM

Recommended Citation

Gibson, Emily L. and Barr, Robert D., "Building Cultures of Hope in High-Poverty and Trauma-Impacted Schools" (2019). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 12.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2019/2019/12