Supporting Students to Success!
A Student Services Symposium - 2010
Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, in partnership with the Center for Schools and Communities
On Monday, May 17, 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sponsored a one-day symposium entitled "Supporting Students to Success". This was the fifth annual event to support Pennsylvania’s schools in the development of effective strategies to help students reach their educational and career goals.
The 2010 symposium focused on components integral to developing resilience to enable each student to grow into an inspired, productive, fulfilled life-long learner and to become a responsible citizen. The sessions, presented by national, state and local experts, explored best practices around:
- Research and strategies that demonstrate how young people can transform risk and adversity into healthy development and school and life success.
- Effective strategies for effective programs and services to better serve students at risk.
- Strategies for how schools and stakeholder groups can work together to improve outcomes for children and youth.
- Social-emotional learning as an essential part of education.
The keynote speaker was Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Cofounder and President of the Center for Social and Emotional Education located in New York, NY. Dr. Cohen is an Adjunct Professor in Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University; an Adjunct Professor in Education at the School of Professional Studies, City University of New York; and a practicing clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst.
Dr. Cohen has worked in and with K-12 schools for over thirty years as a teacher, program developer, school psychologist, consultant, psycho-educational diagnostician and mental health provider. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the City University of New York and completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychology at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center as well as at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He founded and directs the Teachers College Press Social Emotional Learning series, which is published in partnership with the Collaborative for Academic, Social Emotional Learning. He has authored over 60 articles, chapters and books related to Social Emotional Learning.
Dr. Cohen has consulted to scores of schools, districts and State Departments of Education interested in furthering social, emotional, ethical and academic education and positive school climate in America, Switzerland, Israel, and Scandinavia.
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Download the Symposium agenda booklet (PDF format) |
Symposium Proceedings
Presentation slides and other materials are being made available from this page in PDF format.
Additionally, a number of the sessions were recorded and the full-length audio recordings are available from this site in MP3 format.
Listen at your desk using your computer's media player such as Windows Media Player, Real Player or Quicktime or download to your favorite portable MP3 player to listen on the go.
Keynote Presentation: Measuring and Improving School Climate: A School Improvement Strategy that Supports the Whole Child and the Whole School Community
Presenter: Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Cofounder and President, Center for Social and Emotional Education, New York, NY
In his keynote address “Measuring and Improving School Climate: A School Improvement Strategy that Supports the Whole Child and the Whole School Community,” Dr. Cohen spoke about components of current school climate theory and research and policy guidelines that integrate research from school reform, social emotional learning, character education, community schools, risk prevention and health/mental health promotion; and practice guidelines that support school communities actualizing school climate standards. He also described the tasks and challenges related to the implementation of school climate standards that enable students, parents/guardians and school personnel learning and working together to create safer, more supportive and engaging schools.
Runtime: 1:08:18
Presentation Slides: Measuring and Improving School Climate (PDF format)
Handout: Measuring and Improving School Climate (PDF format)
Increasing Student Voice in School Reform and Practice: Building Partnerships, Improving Outcomes
Presenters: Nijmie Dzurinko, Executive Director, Philadelphia Student Union, Philadelphia, PA; Dana Mitra, Associate Professor, Penn State University, State College, PA; Koby Murphy, Alumni, Philadelphia Student Union, Philadelphia, PA
This panel workshop provided suggestions for increasing student voice in order to improve positive youth development outcomes and enhance school reform efforts; and to describe a youth-led summit through which students set the stage for re-engagement at their schools.
Audio Recording (file size: 67 MB, runtime: 1:13:13)
Presentation Slides: Increasing Student Voice in School Reform and Practice: Building Partnerships, Improving Outcomes (PDF format)
Connecting the Dots: Resiliency, Social-Emotional Learning and School Climate Standards
Presenters: Robert Akers, Special Projects Director, Center for Schools and Communities, Pennsylvania Department of Education, Harrisburg, PA; Caryn Carr, Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education, Harrisburg, PA; Jonathan Cohen, President, Center for Social and Emotional Education, New York, NY; Joe Loccisano, Student Assistance Program Coordinator, Pennsylvania Department of Education, Harrisburg, PA; Regina Palubinsky, Special Assistant to the Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Education, Harrisburg, PA
In this workshop, panelists provided an introduction to student and educator resiliency as it relates to social-emotional learning and school climate and their impact on students’ academic achievement. Information was also shared regarding Pennsylvania’s current development of school climate and interpersonal standards and they fit in with the standards-aligned system.
Audio Recording (file size: 71.8 MB, runtime: 1:18:27)
Presentation Slides:
School Climate Standards (Carr) (PDF format)
Connecting the Dots: Resiliency, Social-Emotional Learning, and School Climate Standards (Loccisano) (PDF format)
International Education: Implementing Global Learning in the 21st Century
Presenters: Jurate Krokys, Chief Executive Officer/Founding Principal, Independence Charter School, Philadelphia, PA; Shazia Waters, Program Officer, Pennsylvania Department of Education, Harrisburg, PA
Presenters provided information about a comprehensive strategy to integrate international education in schools, strengthen the development of global skills in core academic areas, and advocate for fostering an environment for a creative, multicultural and multilingual 21st Century workforce.
Audio Recording (file size: 48.7 MB, runtime: 53:16)
Presentation Slides: International Education: Implementing Global Learning in the 21st Century (PDF format)
Best Practices and Necessary Components for an Effective Student Services Program
Moderator: Robert Cormany, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association of Pupil Services Administrators, Carlisle, PA
Panelists: Adrienne Scurry, Dean of Family Support, PA Virtual Charter School, Norristown, PA; Paula Wagner, Director of Pupil Services, Great Valley School District, Malvern, PA
In this session, two schools chosen to receive the 2010 Award of Excellence in Student Services shared information about the development and implementation of a comprehensive student services program, including strategies to sustain these services which support student success.
Audio Recording (file size: 49.2 MB, runtime: 53:47)
Presentation Slides:
Implementing Chapter 12 & Family Support Services at Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School (Scurry) (PDF format)
Great Valley School District: Best Practices (Wagner) (PDF format)
Academic Success in Unexpected Schools: How It’s Being Done
Presenter: Karin Chenoweth, Senior Writer, The Education Trust, Washington, DC
Participants in this session learned about the characteristics of high performing schools in high poverty and/or high minority areas and explored what makes these schools different from other schools.
Audio Recording (file size: 80.1 MB, runtime: 1:27:32)
Presentation Slides: How It's Being Done: Urgent Lessons from Unexpected Schools (PDF format)
Addressing the Abuse in Teen Relationships
Presenter: Lisa Brito Greene, Training and Technical Assistance Manager, Youth Initiative, National Center for Victims of Crime, Washington, DC
Participants in this session learned how to make the connection between adolescent development and teens’ vulnerability to victimization and strategies for supporting middle and high school victims of interpersonal violence.
Audio Recording (file size: 69.6 MB, runtime: 1:16:03)