Teaching
Broken
Hearts
Casey Bertram, M.Ed.
Principal, Hawthorne Elementary
E-Mail: casey.bertram@bsd7.org
Cell: 406-600-2281
Agenda:
1. What you see isn’t always what it seemsChanging Perspective
1. Does No Child Left Behind leave these kids
behind? -Entry Plans, Communication,
School Culture, and Classroom Activities
2. Digging deeper into behavioral challenges
Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS)
Format:
1. Examples / Case Studies
*Disclaimer
2. Handouts/Slides – (E-Mail)
casey.bertram@bsd7.org
Generalizations and Focus
Non-Traditional Students:
Foreign and Domestic Adoption, Foster Care, Immigrant, Migrant
My Generalizations:
•Montana Schools are more familiar with and have more skills, tools, and
experience to work with immigrant and migrant children (ELL, ESL, LEP)
•There are some assumptions in place and prevalent misinformation related to
educating students from foreign/domestic adoption or foster care backgrounds
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“Why does that kid act that way….the rest of the kids in that great family don’t act that way”
“Those kids are just like our LEP kids….once they learn the language and culture they are good to
go”
“Wow….what a lucky kid”
Focus: Foreign/Domestic Adoption and Foster Care (Tremendous Challenge)
Repeated Theme!
What You
See Isn’t
Always
What It
Seems
What You See Isn’t Always What It Seems
Traditional Approach to Misbehavior
•Attention
Attention
•Control
Choice
•Skill Deficits
Skill Building
YES…….BUT
School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions &
Supports (PBIS) (RTI)(MTSS)
YES…….BUT
These Kids Have Different Needs!
Food
Water
Safety
Clothing
Shelter
Property
Sleep
Family
Stability
Health
Trauma
Seven Core Issues In Adoption
These seven core issues, as explained by The Center for Adoption
Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) in the publication, “7 Core Issues in
Adoption,” include:
1.Loss
2.Rejection
3.Guilt/Shame
4.Grief
5.Identity
6.Intimacy
7.Mastery/Control
Seven Core Issues In Adoption Cont.
The core issues related to adoption may become more intense when one or more
member of the adoption triad (adoptee, adoptive parent, and birthparent) reaches a
milestone, such as:
•Discovering physical differences.
•Understanding relinquishment.
•Learning about reproduction.
•Entering school (people asking questions).
•Celebrating birthdays.
•Visiting a doctor.
•Completing school assignments.
•Reaching adolescence.
•Dating.
•Leaving home.
•Getting married.
•Giving birth.
•Times of loss or change.
There’s More To The Story!
*Why might this be happening?
*What in their past might be
impacting current behavior?
*Digging Deeper
*First Impression – Probably Wrong
M. (Property – Fairness)
Materialistic/Spoiled
A. (Food - Stealing)
Punitive/SRO
S. (Trust - Sabotage Relationships) Mean Spirited
S. (Control – Unstructured =Behavior) ADHD/Naughty
T. (Trust – Sabotage Relationships)
Bad Father
Solution
Does No Child Left
Behind leave these
kids behind?
-Entry Plans,
Communication,
School Culture, and
Classroom Activities
Does No Child Left Behind
Leave These Kids Behind?
Answer: Sometimes
Why: Communication between family and school in terms of goals
and priorities isn’t clear
Differing Priorities and Perspectives
Parent: First year home primary goal is to establish a loving bond
within family to set up later success in social, behavioral, and
academic areas (Family)
School: First year home is to surround the family with early
intervention services to help student “catch up” ASAP (Academic)
**IMPORTANCE OF ENTRY PLANS**
** Family Trumps Academics!**
(M’s Story)
Does No Child Left Behind
Leave These Kids Behind?
-Robust Resources
-MTSS
-Special Education – Blurred Lines –
Early Intervention
-Academic Performance Engines
-Access to Specialists – SLP, OT, PT
-Evaluations
(J’s Story)
-Issues are complex
-Potential for unintentional
consequences
- Looks like a duck, talks like
a duck gone wrong (ADHD,
LD, ED)
Through The Lens
Adoption, Foster Care, Immigrant, Migrant
IEFA
Cultural Sensitivity, Bias, Stereotypes, Background Knowledge, Cultural
Celebrations, Curriculum Integration, Professional Development
B.E.L.T. Model
For Talking About Family Formation in Schools
Parents and Schools as Partners!
B = Bias
We all have them; positive, negative, conscious, unconscious (Recognition/Awareness)
E = Environment
Help teachers build classrooms that support all kinds of families, family formations,
races, cultures, and choices (Books)
L = Language
Share Positive Adoption Language
T = Teach the Teachers
Teachers truly want what is best for kids. Give teachers the resources and information
necessary for them to embrace your child’s situation….They need the whole story!
Adoption Parenting Jean MacLeod and Sheena Macrae, PhD
B.E.L.T. Model Cont.
For Talking About Family Formation in Schools
Parents and Schools as Partners!
Parent Do’s For Working With Schools
•Do focus on inclusion (include your child’s needs in the broader
scope of family formation)
•Do the work for them
•Do believe teachers want success for every student
•Do recognize teachers are not experts in family formation
•Do provide suggestions for alternative and inclusive spins on
projects
•Do check you own biases at the door
•Do consider your child’s needs in the mix (Talks/Presentations)
•Do call in experts when necessary
•Do Have Fun and Enjoy the Process!
PDF
Problematic Projects
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‘Bring a Baby Picture’ Assignments
Family Tree Assignments
Family History Assignments
Genetic History Assignments
Cultural or Ethnic Heritage Assignments
Create a Timeline of the Student’s Life
Superstar, VIP, Student-of-the-Week Projects
Inclusive Spins On Projects
The solution generally involves broadening the scope of
the assignment by offering students wider choices
It is helpful to keep in mind the goals of the assignment
and different ways to reach those goals, rather than
emphasizing that all students’ end products be the
same
Teachers are Differentiation Experts!! Communicate 
Problematic Projects Example
Create a Timeline of the Student’s Life
Problem: A child and his parents may have little or no
information about his early milestones. Another child may
wonder if she needs to include private information like
the dates of relinquishment, foster care stays, and adoption
finalization.
Solution: Do not require that the timeline begin from the
child’s birth, just that it cover a period of time. Alternatively,
allow children to create a timeline for a historical or fictional
character
Positive Adoption Language “Top Five”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Instead of ‘natural or ‘real’ mother/father/parents/family,
use ‘birth’ or ‘biological’. Adoptive children and parents
consider their relationship and their family to be real.
Instead of ‘adoptive’ mom/dad/parents/family, just use
mom/dad/parents/family, unless it is relevant to add
‘adoptive’.
Instead of ‘your own’, say ‘birth’ or ‘biological’ child.
Adopted children are ‘our own’
The phrase ‘was adopted’ is preferable to ‘is adopted’.
Avoid ‘Adopt-a-Animal/Highway/Family’. These terms imply
that adoption means paying money for
something/someone, and belittles the lifelong bond
between parent and child. When possible, try to use
‘Sponsor-a-Highway’, etc.
W.I.S.E Up Program
1. Helps students realize they are “WISER” than their peers about
adoption. Experts!
2. Helps student evaluate who is asking and what their motivation/s
may be
3. Helps students evaluate how they feel about the question/s
Gives Them Power To Control The Situation
W = Walk Away
I = It’s Private
S = Share something about my adoption story
E = Educate others about adoption
Center For Adoption Support And Education
http://www.adoptionsupport.org/pub/WISEUpeducators.php
Digging Deeper Into
Behavioral Challenges
– Collaborative
Problem Solving (CPS)
Digging Deeper Into Behavioral Challenges –
Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS)
Developed by Dr. Ross Greene
www.livesinthebalance.org
Common Points of View
“He just want the attention”
“She is making bad choices”
“They have a bad attitude”
“He just wants his own way”
Philosophy Behind CPS Model
• “If kids could do well they would do well”- If
the student had the skills to exhibit adaptive
behavior, he wouldn’t be exhibiting challenging
behavior
• “Behind every challenge behavior is an
unsolved problem and a lagging skill”
Three Options for Unmet Expectations
There are three ways in which adults try to
solve problems (unmet expectations) with
kids:
o Plan A (impose teacher/principal will)
o Plan C (temporarily dropping
problems)
o Plan B (that's the one you want to
get really good at).
Identify Unsolved Problems & Lagging Skills
• Identify the unsolved problem(s)
• Shifting from one specific task to another
• Getting started on/completing class assignments
• Hypothesize what lagging skill(s) is contributing to the
unsolved problem
• Difficulty handling transitions, shifting from one
mindset or task to another
• Difficulty persisting on challenging or tedious tasks
• A tool to assist this process is the Assessment of
Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems (ALSUP)
• Can’t fix everything at once- will need to prioritize
problems
ALSUP
Collaborative Problem Solving (Plan B)
• Once lagging skills and unsolved problem are
identified, it is time to begin CPS with the
student
3 ingredients to the process:
1. Empathy Step- This is where you gather
information so as to clarify the student’s
concern or perspective on the unsolved
problem
2. Define the Problem Step- Here, the teacher
communicates their concerns or perspective on
the unsolved problem.
3. The Invitation Step- Student and teacher
brainstorm solutions to address the concerns
Plan B
Flowchart
Final Notes - CPS
• Plan B works best when it is proactive- don’t
wait until the problem behavior is occurring to
have the discussion
• There is often no quick fix to helping students
with challenging behaviors- often the first
solution you agree to won’t fix the problem
BILL OF RIGHTS FOR BEHAVIORALLY CHALLENGING KIDS
Behaviorally challenging kids have the right:
- To have their behavioral challenges understood as a form of developmental
delay in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and
problem-solving.
- To have people -- parents, teachers, mental health clinicians, doctors,
coaches...everyone -- understand that challenging behavior is no less a form
of developmental delay than delays in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and
is deserving of the same compassion and approach as are applied to these
other cognitive delays.
- Not to be misunderstood as bratty, spoiled, manipulative, attentionseeking, coercive, limit-testing, controlling, or unmotivated.
- To have adults understand that challenging behavior occurs in response to
specific unsolved problems -- homework, screen time, teeth brushing,
clothing choices, sibling interactions, and so forth -- and that these unsolved
problems are usually highly predictable and can therefore be solved
proactively.
- To have adults understand that the primary goal of intervention is to
collaboratively solve these problems in a way that is realistic and mutually
satisfactory so that they don't precipitate challenging behavior any more.
BILL OF RIGHTS FOR BEHAVIORALLY CHALLENGING KIDS
- To have adults (and classmates) understand that time-outs, detentions,
suspensions, expulsion, and isolation do not solve problems or "build
character" but rather often make things worse.
- To have adults take a genuine interest in their concerns or perspectives,
and to have those concerns and perspectives viewed as legitimate,
important, and worth listening to and clarifying.
- To have adults in their lives who do not resort to physical intervention and
are knowledgeable about and proficient in other means of solving problems.
- To have adults who understand that solving problems collaboratively -rather than insisting on blind adherence to authority -- is what prepares kids
for the demands they will face in the real world.
- To have adults understand that blind obedience to authority is dangerous,
and that life in the real world requires expressing one's concerns, listening to
the concerns of others, and working toward mutually satisfactory solutions.
Agenda:
1. What you see isn’t always what it seemsChanging Perspective
1. Does No Child Left Behind leave these kids
behind? -Entry Plans, Communication,
School Culture, and Classroom Activities
2. Digging deeper into behavioral challenges
Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS)
Conclusion
“I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the
classroom. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a
tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture
or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations,
it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a
child humanized or de-humanized.” - Dr. Haim Ginott
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Slow Reader
Stubborn
Impulsive
Self-Centered
Tangents
Constant Blurter
Struggles with peers
Principals Kid
Helicopter Mom
Go Mend Some Hearts!
Teaching
Broken
Hearts
Casey Bertram, M.Ed.
Principal, Hawthorne Elementary
E-Mail: casey.bertram@bsd7.org
Cell: 406-600-2281