Addressing Poverty, Children’s Mental Health, and Classroom Behavior; Coming Together in an Alternative Education Setting

Format

Individual Presentation

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

• Jim C. Taylor Mr., Advanced Behavioral CounselorsFollow
• Tammy Davis, Bulloch County SchoolsFollow
• Tim Rountree Mr., Bulloch County SchoolsFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Advanced Behavioral Counselors

First Presenter’s Email Address

JIMMYT.DIVE@GMAIL.COM

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Jim Taylor is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst with over 25 years of experience working in classroom settings as a behavioral consultant to schools from the Barbados to Michigan, and as past director of Autism and behavior treatment programs across Florida and Georgia. He has over two hundred and fifty workshops and presentations to his name to include Keynote Speaker at Children Mental Health Conferences. Mr. Taylor has overseen a mentoring program on the streets of Statesboro for 10 years and has worked with children’s mental health organizations across the Eastern United States as a consultant working to strengthen academic and behavioral services to those children diagnosed with Autism and those who are behaviorally challenged.

Second Presenter's Institution

Bulloch County Schools

Second Presenter’s Email Address

tdavis@bullochschools.org

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Tammy Davis is currently in her 33rd year in Education having worked 4 years in Cobb County and the remaining 29 years in Bulloch County. Throughout the years, Ms. Davis has taught grades 6-8 and in every subject area. She obtained her BSEd in Middle Grades at Georgia Southern University, her MEd in Adult Education at Central Michigan University and her SEd in Teacher Leadership from Walden University. She has served as a Mentor to Pre-Service teachers and educators early in their careers. She has had the pleasure of working on the Leadership Team, Safety Committee, School Council, Leadership Interview Team and developing a School Within A School model for students who were considered most challenging in academics and behavior. She currently works at Langston Chapel Middle School as a STEM Teacher and Mentor. Ms. Davis is also a member of the NYAR Planning Council.

Third Presenter's Institution

Bulloch County Schools

Third Presenter’s Email Address

trountree@bullochschools.org

Third Presenter's Brief Biography

Tim Rountree has dedicated 28 years to the field of education, with 26 of those years spent in Bulloch County. His career began with two years as a special education teacher in Emanuel County, followed by eight years teaching middle school English Language Arts, social studies, and math. He served as an assistant principal at an elementary school for three years before taking on his current role as Administrator of the Transitions Learning Center, Bulloch County's alternative school, where he has spent 15 impactful years. Tim earned his Bachelor's degree from Georgia Southern University, a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Central Michigan University, and a Specialist degree in Administration and Supervision from Lincoln Memorial University. He is also an active board member for the Georgia Association of Alternative Education and currently serves as a site administrator for Coastal Plains High School.

Submitter

I am submitting this proposal as one of the presenter(s)

Location

Scarbrough 1

Strand #1

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Strand #2

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

“HEAD and HEART”: Fostering social and emotional skills and the social climate for all children and youth as a way to decrease classroom problem behavior and increase educational success. This presentation will explore how educators can develop and enhance educational objectives and interventions in ways that will maximize learning for all children and youth.

Brief Program Description

This presentation examines the relationship between poverty, children’s mental health, and education. We will review existing literature and practices designed to address these issues both in and out of the classroom and discuss how recent advances in behavioral interventions and educational approaches can change the future of our 'at risk' youth. Participants will discuss how early intervention with 'at risk' youth can increase graduation rates and affect the community in a positive manner.

Summary

Addressing Poverty, Children’s Mental Health, and Classroom Problem Behavior; Coming Together in Alternative Education Setting. This is a powerful presentation on the effects of student home environment on classroom behavior and how educational success is affected by factors to include your living environment, culture, and school itself. Alternative high schools assist youth who have school performance, behavioral, emotional, or learning problems by helping them to focus on educational goals in an environment that meets their needs, helps keep them from dropping out of school, and serves the community's interest in seeing them complete high school successfully (National Crime Prevention Council). This presentation will focus on how we as educators, family and community can work together to establish systems to maximize student success. We know that kids living in poverty are 4 times more likely to drop out of school, 4 times more likely to have serious mental health issues and 5 times more likely to go to jail; let’s change those statistics. This presentation will examine those interventions directed at improving student behavior through culturally aliened classroom interventions, increasing parent and community involvement, and an alternative education approach. We will examine the components of successful alternative education. We will examine present school policies and interventions that may inhibit the educational progress of at-risk students as well as review partnerships that can be established between educators, parents and community that can strengthen appropriate student behavior. Finally, the audience will participate in a group discussion of how they can facilitate a change in methods and approaches presently used to address the issues that occur when the street meets the classroom.

Evidence

Children who grow up in impoverished families face more barriers to education than others. The supporting research and literature are too numerous to cite, however from ‘Alliance for Excellent Education’ there is a clear relationship between the lack of a high school and secondary education and violent crime in the United States and from the University of Michigan comes research demonstrating a relationship between an increase in school funding and a reduction in crime. Information linking the street with the classroom come from “Reduction of School Violence”, B. Johns, V. Carr, www.behavioradvisor.com/streetwise.html, Additional references include: The Impact of Positive Relationships on Mental Health and Well-being, October 16, 2023, https://www.child-focus.org/news/the-impact-of-positive-relationships-on-mental-health-and-well-being/. “The Handbook of Classroom Management”, www.psychologytoday.comrg, https://www.nimh.nih.gov , “Strategy: Alternative High Schools” from National Crime Prevention Council and much much more.

Learning Objective 1

1. Participants will be able to leave this presentation with knowledge of the relationship between poverty, mental health, and education.

Learning Objective 2

2. Participants will be able to understand how an alternative educational approach can maximize educational success.

Learning Objective 3

3. Participants will be able to learn how to come together as an education community to minimize the effects of poverty on our children’s education and maximize graduation rates.

Keyword Descriptors

Poverty, Individualized Approaches, Behavior Interventions, Alternative Education, Culture

Presentation Year

2026

Start Date

3-2-2026 1:00 PM

End Date

3-2-2026 2:15 PM

Recommended Citation

Taylor, Jim C. Mr.; Davis, Tammy; and Rountree, Tim Mr., "Addressing Poverty, Children’s Mental Health, and Classroom Behavior; Coming Together in an Alternative Education Setting" (2026). National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference. 16.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2026/2026/16