How to Build Conditions for
Learning that Contribute to the
Success of All Students
David Osher

Introduction: How Do We Approach the Challenge of
Student Success Through School Improvement

 Academic Press
 Support For Students And Faculty To Meet High
Academic And Behavioral Standards
 Strong Conditions For Learning And Teaching
 Relational Trust
 Sense Of Efficacy & Accountability For All
Students
 Effective Collaboration & Coordination Between
And Among All Stakeholders
 Continuous Quality Improvement (A “Problem
Solving Approach”)
 3-level Approach To Promotion, Prevention And
Intervention

Is the Problem
 The Disruptive Student?
 The School Environment?
 The Community
Environment?
 Some Combination Of The
Above?
 All Of The Above?
Adapted from: Beth Doll, University of Nebraska

Community
School
Where to Intervene?
Family
Teachers
Friends
Classroom
Student

 Low Teacher Efficacy
 Low Teacher Support
 Negative Peer Relationships
 Chaotic Environments
 Poor Instructional And Behavioral Practices

Provide Individualized
Intensive Supports
Provide coordinated, intensive, sustained, culturally competent, individualized, child- and familydriven and focused services and supports that address needs while building assets.
Intervene Early &
Provide Focused
Youth
Development
Activities
Implement strategies and provide supports that address risk factors and build protective factors for students at risk for severe academic or behavioral difficulties.
Build a Schoolwide Foundation
Universal prevention and youth development approaches, caring school climate, positive and proactive approach to discipline, personalized instruction, cultural competence, and strong family involvement.

R is k
 Alienation
 Academic Frustration
 Chaotic Transitions
 Negative Relationships With
Adults And Peers
 Teasing, Bullying, Gangs
 Poor Adult Role Modeling
 Segregation With Antisocial
Peers
 School-driven Mobility &
 Harsh Discipline, Suspension,
Expulsion, Push Out/Drop Out

Example of School Effects: Impact of 1 st
Grade Teachers on Seventh Grade School
Outcomes?
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
58.7
Well-managed standard classroom
Chaotic standard classroom
2.7
The Impact of First Grade Teacher Capacity on 7 th Grade Behavior
(Kellam, Ling, Merisca, Brown, & Ialongo, 1998)

 School Context Accounted For Much Or More
Of The Variation Of Middle School Student’s
Experience Of Emotional Distress Than Family
Context (Resnick Et Al. 1997)
 Teacher Support, Not Parents, Had The
Greatest Impact On School And Class Interest
(Wentzel, 1998)

P ro te c ti o n
 Connection
 Academic Success
 Supported Transitions
 Positive Relationships With
Adults And Peers
 Caring Interactions
 Social Emotional Learning
 Positive Interactions With Prosocial (Not, Anti-social) Peers
 Stability
 Positive Approaches To
Disciplinary Infractions &
 Services And Supports

End of First Grade (1 Year of Intervention)
Peer Rating of Aggression
,00
-,01
-,02
-,03
-,04
-,05
-,06
-,07
-,08
-,09
-,10
Intervention
Children Who Receive PATHS Rate Their Classmates As Significantly
Less Aggressive Than Do Children In Randomized Comparison Classes
Fast Track Study
– 378 Classrooms – 6715 children
CPPRG, 1999 – Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

The Logic of Universal Intervention
 Cannot Identify All Who Are At Risk
 Children Affect Each Other
 No Stigma
 No Self-fulfilling Prophecies
 No Homogenous Grouping
 Per Child Cost Is Less
 Provides A Foundation
All
Universal Interventions

17
 Connection
 Attachment
 Trust
 Care
 Respect
Positive Behavioral
Approaches & Supports
Social Emotional
Learning & Support
Learning Supports
 Effective Pedagogy
 Engagement
 Motivation

All
Some
Few
Conditions for Learning & Teaching Matrix for Needs Assessment, Asset Mapping, & Planning
Safety Support Challenge SEL

Off Track
On Track
On Track to Thrive
Pre-K
Say Yes to Education/AIR Monitoring
System
K-2 3-5 6-8 9-12 13-
16

Find & Address the Root Causes
Pluck the nutritious low hanging fruit!
What can be done to prevent it from happening again?
Huff Osher Consulting, Inc.
21

Think about your school:
 Are you be satisfied with the current level of academic performance?
 Do students have a positive social experience?
 Are all families involved with the school and their child’s learning?
 Does the community support your school?
Huff Osher Consulting, Inc.
 What would you change?
22

Logic Model for Strategic
Change
Assets, Capacities
& Needs
District
School
Students
School Staff
Families
Strategies
District
School
Students
School Staff
Families
Changed:
Capacity
Behavior
School
Students
Staff
Families
Vision
Huff Osher Consulting, Inc.
23

First Working Session
2
Assets,
Capacities,
& Needs
District
School
Students
School Staff
Families
Huff Osher Consulting, Inc.
Strategies
District
School
Students
School Staff
Families
Changed:
Capacity
Behavior
School
Students
Staff
Families
1
Vision
24

Second Working Session
2
Assets,
Capacities,
& Needs
District
School
Students
School Staff
Families
Huff Osher Consulting, Inc.
Strategies
District
School
Students
School Staff
Families
3
Changed:
Capacity
Behavior
School
Students
Staff
Families
1
Vision
25

 Physical Safety
 Little Or No Fighting, Bullying, Crime, Gang
Presence, Or Substance Abuse

 Emotional Safety
 Climate Of Mutual
Respect And Trust
 Students Comfortable
Taking Personal And
Academic Risks

42.9
Source: Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2008;
Kevin Jennings

Jeffrey Sprague

 Pay more attention to problem behavior
 Reduce Opportunities for Engagement
– E.g. wait time
 Increase Monitoring and Supervision
 Restate rules & sanctions
 Refer disruptive students to office
 Suspend
 Expel

Percentage of students responding “Neutral” or “No” to the question:
“Do you feel safe at school?”
Source: Springs, Iannotti, Nansel and Haynie 2007;
Kevin Jennings

12
10
8
6
16
14
4
2
0
The Racial Discipline Disparity:
Disproportionality in Suspension Rates
6
14
4.9
15
6.5
4.8
15
6.8
4.8
Black
Hispanic
White
Asians/Pactific
Islander
American
Indian/Alaska
Native
2002 2004 2006
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights,
Civil Rights Data Collection, 2002, 2004, and 2006.
Anne Gregory

40
30
20
70
60
Percentage of student population who are Black
50
Disturbing School
Weapons
Drugs
Threatening Official
10
0
Black White
South Carolina School Crime Incident Report, 1998-99

Implications of Council of State Governments Texas
Discipline Study
(http://justicecenter.csg.org/resources/juveniles)
 Nearly 60 % suspended or expelled once in middle or high schools
 ~15 percent were suspended or expelled 11 times or more
 Only three percent of the disciplinary actions were for conduct in which state law mandated suspensions and expulsions
 The rest were made at the discretion of school officials primarily in response to violations of local schools’ conduct codes.

Implications of Council of State Governments Texas
Discipline Study
(http://justicecenter.csg.org/resources/juveniles)
 African-American students and those with
EBD were disproportionately disciplined for discretionary actions.
 Schools that had similar characteristics, including the racial composition and economic status of the student body, varied greatly in how frequently they suspended or expelled students.
 Schools that had similar characteristics, including the racial composition and economic status of the student body, varied greatly in how frequently they suspended or expelled students.

Campbell Collaboration Meta-analysis of 44 program evaluations
(Farrington & Ttofi, 2010)
 Overall programs are effective
 Bullying decreased by 20-23%
 Victimization decreased by 17-20%
 Programs worked better:
– In Norway
– With older children



Problems with Overreliance on
Punishment
 Detrimental effects on teacher-student relations
 Modeling: undesirable problem solving
 Reduced motivation to maintain self-control
 Generates student anger
 May result in more problems (Mayer, 1991)
 Truancy, dropout, vandalism, aggression
 Does not teach: Weakens academic achievement
 Limited long term effect on behavior

– Help students accept responsibility?
– Place high value on academic engagement and achievement?
– Teach alternative ways to behave?
– Focus on restoring the environment and social relationships in the school?
40

 Academic Engagement
 Positive Behavioral Supports
 Community Building Approaches
 Social Emotional Learning
 Restorative Justice
 Some Combination of the Above

 Cultural and Linguistic Competency
 Developmentally Appropriate
 Youth Voice and Youth Drivineness
 Ecological
 Data Informed
 Quality of Support and Implementation

PBIS & SEL

 Can in appropriate situations:
– Reduce problem behavior
– Increase academic performance
– Improve perception of school safety
– Reduce teacher stress
44

 PATHS
– Increased self-control, use of social problem-solving & conflict resolution, decreased conduct problems
 Second Step
– Decreased antisocial behavior, resulted in fewer negative behaviors in the classroom, lunchroom, and playground
 Steps to Respect
– Reduced acceptance of bullying, promoted responsibility to help others with bullying problems, more positive social interactions (did not actually reduce bullying overall)
 Caring School Communities (formerly the Child Development
Project)
– Promoted social problem-solving and conflict resolution, democratic values, consideration of others’ needs, and sense of community. Increased spontaneous prosocial behavior and supportive, friendly and helpful behavior; reduced drug and alcohol use

Combining SEL and SW PBS (PBIS & Second
Step)
Academics
Behavior
Management
Implementation
Support
Systems
-Fidelity
-Funding
-Teacher
Wellbeing
Prevention/SEL

 Understand and
Manage Emotions
 Understand and
Manage
Relationships
 Make Responsible
Decisions

 Work Well With Others
 Cooperate As Team Players

 Solve Problems With Persistence And Creativity
 Set And Work Toward Goals
 Make Responsible Decisions In Academic And
Social Settings
 Recognize And Manage Emotions

Self-awareness
Self-management
Social
Emotional
Learning
Responsible decisionmaking
Social awareness Relationship skills
Citation: (2008) CASEL Tool 2 - SEL PowerPoint
Presentation11.ppt slide #4( PowerPoint Presentation entitled “Social and Emotional Learning for School

 Student Self Control
– Attends To Teacher’s Instruction
– Follows Directions
– Controls Temper In Conflict Situations
– Responds Appropriately To Aggression
– Controls Conflict Situations With Adults
 Student Cooperation
(Gresham Et Al. 2000; Kerr & Zigmond, 1986; Lane,
Pierson, & Givner, 2003; Walker Et Al., 1992)

Comparing What Works Clearing House Improvement Indices for 2 Evidence-based Reading and Math Programs with the
Aggregate Improvement Index for all interventions in the
CASEL Meta-Analysis of 207 SEL Programs
23
15
10
5
0
25
20
12
6
11
Little Books:
Reading
Achievement
Everyday
Mathematics: Math
Achievement
SEL Programs
Academic
Performance
SEL Programs Social
Emotional Skills

Greenberg

a Guide for Choosing SEL programs and practices
56

 Skill Building for Both Students and
Teachers
 Generalization: Create opportunities to use these skills throughout the day
 Provide students feedback and recognition for performance
 Provide sufficient Technical Support to teachers
 Integrate into other Academic Subjects
 Involve Parents

 The conscious awareness of emotional states in oneself and others
 The ability to put these feelings into words
 The ability to calm oneself down when feeling highly emotionally aroused
 The ability to plan ahead and consider the effects of your behavior on others
 Developing greater empathy/compassion for others

From PATHS

When you notice upset feelings:
1. STOP and think.
2. Identify the PROBLEM. (collect lots of information)
3. Identify the FEELINGS. (your own and other peoples')
4. Decide on a GOAL.
5. Think of lots of SOLUTIONS.
6. Think about what MIGHT happen next.
7. Choose the BEST solution. (evaluate all the alternatives)
8. Make a PLAN. (think about possible obstacles)
9. TRY your plan.
10. SEE what happens. (evaluate the outcome)
11. TRY another plan or solution if your first one doesn't work.

 Class Meetings
 Cross-Age Buddies Program
 School-wide Activities
 Parent Involvement Activities

based on Caring School Communities
Students learn to take responsibility for their own learning and behavior. They also learn the values of fairness, helpfulness, caring, and respect.
Component
Class
Meetings
How it Works Student Learn
Teachers create an environment in which students’ learning, opinions, and concerns are taken seriously —and in which students participate as valued and influential contributors to the classroom community.
As students learn to listen and talk to each other, they begin building a safe learning environment.

How to set class norms and goals, create plans, make decisions, and solve problems related to classroom life

How to better understand and empathize with other students
Teachers Learn

How to build unity and give students a more meaningful voice in the classroom

Ways to build students’ social skills and commitment to responsibility, helpfulness, and respect

 Circular arrangement that enables all participants to readily see and hear all others
 Open-ended topics and genuine opportunities for students’ ideas to have influence
 Safe, trusting, and reflective processes, with clear ground rules
 Decisions made by consensus where possible

 Build teacher-student and peer relationships within the classroom
 Create a cohesive, caring, and reflective classroom climate
 Teach goal setting, planning, decision making, problem solving, and reflection skills
 Teach the importance of fairness, kindness, and responsibility
 Promote greater understanding of self and others

 Unity-building
 Planning and decision-making
– Academics
– Classroom norms/ procedures
 Check-in
– Consciousness raising
– Progress assessment or celebration
 Problem-solving
– About learning activities
– About classroom norms/ issues

 Pairing of whole classes separated by two or more grade levels
 Teachers assign each older child a younger buddy for the whole semester or year
 Paired classes meet every week or two for interactive academic or recreational activities
 Regular pre-planning and post-reflection within each class

 For older buddies:
– Experience themselves as responsible and caring
– Make social connections and “fit in” in ways they might not with peers
 For younger buddies:
– Build friendship with and feel more comfortable around older children
– Learn from a role model who is only a few years older
 For teachers:
– Collegial work with another teacher
– Gain different view of students

 Adults Listen To Students,
Care About Them And
Treat Them Fairly
 Adults Provide A
Welcoming Environment
For Students

 Teachers Establish A Connection With Students
 Teachers Provide Extra Help When Students Are
Having Trouble Understanding Material
 Teachers Engage Students In The Learning
Process

Headlines from One Comprehensive Review of
“Students Need for Belonging in the School
Community
(Osterman, Review of Educational Research, 2000)
 Positive Relationships With Staff And Peers
Associated With:
– Intrinsic Motivation
– Accept Others Authority While Developing A Strong
Sense Of Identity
– Experience Autonomy
– Accept Responsibility To Regulate Their Own
Emotions
 Experience Of Acceptance Associated With:
– Positive Orientation To School, Class Work, &
Teachers
 Dropouts Feel Estranged From Teachers And Peers
 Belonging ->Engagement ->Achievement

 Adolescent perceptions of connections with teachers predicted academic growth in
Mathematics (Gregory & Weinstein, 2004)
 Students were more likely to perform well on tests when they believe that their teachers care about them (Muller, 2001; Ryan &
Patrick, 2001)
 Teachers who had high-quality relationships with their students had 31% fewer discipline problems, rule violations, and related problems over a year’s time than did teachers who lacked high-quality relationships with their students (Waters,
Marzano, & McNulty, 2003)

 Less Likely To Use Alcohol Or Substances
 Experience Less Emotional Distress
 Attempt Suicide Less
 Engage In Less Deviant And Violent
Behavior
 School Connectedness The Only Schoolrelated Variable That Was Protective For
Every Single Outcome
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (ADD Health)

2.60
Martin Luther King Jr HS
2.50
2.40
2.30
2.20
SuccessTech Academy School
John Hay Campus HS
Option Complex HS
Jane Addams Business Careers HS
Max S Hayes HS
Cleveland School Of The Arts HS
East HS
East Technical HS
Carl F Shuler School
Collinwood HS
Glenville HS
John F Kennedy HS
Lincoln-West HS
South High School
John Adams HS
James Ford Rhodes HS
Whitney Young School
John Marshall HS
R Sq Linear = 0.239
2.10
0 1500 500 1000
Enrollment__06_07_

2.90
2.80
2.70
2.60
2.50
2.40
2.30
2.20
SuccessTech Academy School
John Hay Campus HS
Cleveland School Of The Arts HS
Garrett Morgan Schl Of Science MS
Martin Luther King Jr HS
Carl F Shuler School Max S Hayes HS
Whitney Young School
Option Complex HS
Lincoln-West HS
Jane Addams Business Careers HS
South High School
East HS
East Technical HS
Collinwood HS
James Ford Rhodes HS
John Adams HS
John Marshall HS
Glenville HS
John F Kennedy HS R Sq Linear = 0.319
0 500 1000
Enrollment__06_07_
1500

 HOW STUDENTS, FACULTY,
ADMINISTRATORS AND PARENTS
EXPERIENCE THE SCHOOL
 SENSE OF EFFICACY
 STAGE ENVIROMENTAL FIT

TEACHERS: 7 th grade math compared to 6 th grade
 believed students needed to be disciplined and controlled significantly more
 rated students as significantly less trustworthy
 felt significantly less efficacious

 Teachers as less supportive, friendly, and fair than sixth-grade
 An increase, in:
– between classroom ability grouping,
– whole-class instruction,
– and social comparison of grades,

 Caring School Communities
 Responsive Classroom
 Open Circle
 Tribes

• Teacher Isolation
• Punitive Discipline
• Fragmentation
• Low Trust, Efficacy,
Expectations
• Poor Family-School
Collaboration
• Low Community Contact
• Diversity Challenged
• Staff Teams
• Relational/Positive
Discipline
• Coordination
• High Trust, Efficacy,
Expectations
• Family-School Partnership
• Community-School
Partnership
• Value and embrace diversity

Appropriate & Engaging
Curricula, Teaching,
Learning Environments

 School Courses
And Lessons Are
Challenging To
Students
 School Staff
Provide Academic
Support To All
Students

Students
 Formative assessment; progress monitoring; curriculum-based assessment
 Service learning
 Experiential learning
 Class Wide Peer
Tutoring
86
Teachers
 Focused professional development
 Administrative support for teacher learning communities
 Consultation and mentoring

[Classroom Assessment Scoring System]
Positive Climate
Behavior
Management
Emotional Support
Negative
Climate
Teacher Sensitivity
Regard for
Student
Perspectives
Classroom Organization
Productivity
Instructional Learning
Formats
Concept
Development
Instructional Support
Quality of Feedback Language Modeling
Adapted from www.classobservation.com/what/dimensions

 Students Are Expected To Work Hard To Learn
 Students Are Interested In What They Are
Learning
 Students Are Not Bored By Their Classes

Conditions Capacities
• Connections, belonging, caring, and respect
• Social emotional learning
• Emotional and physical safety
• Positive behavioral supports
• Academic motivation, engagement, and support
• Cultural and linguistic responsiveness
• Care for others and develop positive relationships
• Manage their emotions and relationships
• Embrace opportunities for learning
• Be academically competent
Behaviors
• Take responsibility for their learning, attend and participate in class, and complete assignments
• Exhibit conduct appropriate for school (emotionally intelligent and culturally competent)
• Persist through academic and social challenges
• Perform to their academic ability, complete school, and continue their education
• Be socially responsible and contribute to their schools and community

Conditions
•Welcoming culturally competent school
•Respect
•Value as an expert on their children
•Safety and trust
•Accurate, helpful, and timely information about their children and the school
•Opportunities for learning and personnel growth
•Support to participate in school functions and activities
Capacities
•Collaborate with teachers
•Understand the culture of the school and its expectations
•Know their rights and responsibilities
•Speak and/or write fluently in English or another language
•Value education and learning and have high expectations for their children
Behaviors
•Meaningfully participate in meetings
•Attend and support school functions
•Support their child’s learning at home
•Communicate effectively with teachers and school staff
•Encourage their child to excel academically and have high aspirations for their future

Conditions
• Connections, belonging, caring, and respect
• Emotional and physical safety
• Motivation and engagement
• Professional development
• Consultations and coaching
• Support for teaming and collaborating with families
• Organizational efficacy
• Relational trust
• Instructional leadership
• Culturally competent environment
• Manageable class size
Capacities
• Accept responsibility for student learning and outcomes
Behaviors
• Deliver a rigorous and developmentally appropriate curriculum
• Mastery of the subject matter
• Deploy classroom resources to best support individual student learning • Accommodate individual student needs
• Create a collaborative classroom learning community • Can control and regulate own emotions
• Collaborate with colleagues and families
• Provide constructive feedback to students
• Personalize learning and differentiate instruction
• Continuously improve their own
• Create an orderly, respectful, and practice inclusive learning

Conditions
• Community and school board support
• Access to coaching
• Authority to manage school budget
• Authority to hire and fire teachers and staff
• Accountable to community, families, teachers, students, and staff
• Safety to experiment
(within reasonable limits)
• Sufficient time to realize change
Capacities
•Believe schools can be successful for all students
•Reliability and consistency
•Make expectations clear
•Lead with vision, focus, and emotional intelligence
•Provide positive support
•Facilitate collaboration
•Establish mutual accountability
•Cultural competence
•Analytical thinking
Behaviors
• Create a collaborative culture that leaves no child behind
• Provide strategic leadership in the school and community
• Create a “problem solving culture”
• Support professional learning and provide constructive feedback to staff
• Demonstrate empathy and respect for students, staff, and families
• Respect and respond to the cultures of the school and

How Do We Support An Individual’s
Capacity to Teach, Learn, &
Develop?
Relationships
* Connection
*Attachment
*Trust
*Care
*Respect
Social Emotional
Learning & Support
* Self-awareness
*Self-management
*Social-awareness
*Responsible Decision
Making
*Relationship skills
Positive Behavioral
Approaches &
Supports
*Positive Approaches to
*Discipline
*Design of the
*Environment
Learning & Teaching
Supports
*Effective Pedagogy
*Professional
Development
*Engagement
*Motivation
99

Conditions for a Positive School Environment
 Challenging and engaging curriculum
 SEL concepts intentionally infused throughout the regular academic curriculum
 Active and experiential learning
 Opportunities for participation, collaboration, and service
 Safe, supportive learning community with respectful relationships and trust
 Involvement of families and surrounding community

How do Higher Performing Schools
Engage Families and Community?
 Build trusting collaborative relationships among teachers, families, and community members
 Recognize, respect, and address families’ needs, as well as class and cultural difference
 Embrace a philosophy of partnership where power and responsibility are shared
(Henderson & Mapp, 2002)
1
0

3-Tier Model for Differentiating Strategies to Maximize Family Engagement.
Special efforts for a few families
.
Additional supports to boost some families.
Intensive: 3 rd Tier
Selective: 2 nd Tier
Opportunities afforded to all families.
Universal: 1 st Tier
1
0

Universal Strategies for ALL
Families:
1st tier.
 Create a welcoming environment
 Solicit family input
 Provide an orientation
 Establish ongoing communication
 Sponsor social activities
1
0

Selective Strategies to BOOST
Some Families: 2nd tier.
 Connect families with each other
 Offer families education and training
 Translate materials
 Solicit family input
 Recruit family members to serve on advisory groups
 Engage faith community
1
0

Intensive Strategies for Hard to
REACH Families: 3rd tier.
 Tailor approaches to each family
 Repair relationships between the student and their family
1
0

Need Regular Measurement/Monitoring of Youth Development and of School and Community Safety
Fragmented, Quick, And Incomplete Measurement
Can Yield Partial And Distorted Views Of Reality
David Osher