Student Listening Circles and Bullying Prevention

Leslie Poynor, PhDRegional Coordinator, North

Coast/Bay AreaHealth and Human

Development ProgramWestEd

lpoynor@wested.org510-302-4241

AGENDA• Social and Emotional Health

– What is it?– Why is it important?

• Developmental Supports and Opportunities– What are they?– How do we measure them?

• Social and Emotional Health and Bullying– What’s the relationship?– What can we do?

• Understanding and Supporting Social and Emotional Health– The Student Listening Circle– The Protective Factors

WHAT IS SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH?

The capacity to:– Form positive and secure

relationships;–Recognize and regulate

emotions; and–Problem solve effectively.

Zins, J.E. & Elias, M.J. (2006)

WHY IS SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH IMPORTANT?

People with good social and emotional health

• have an ability to bounce back from adversity, trauma, and stress.

• have the tools for coping with difficult situations and maintaining a positive outlook.

• remain focused, flexible, and creative in bad times as well as good.

This ability is called resilience.

WHAT SUPPORTS SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH?

Opportunities

for Meaningful

ParticipationHigh

Expectations Caring

Relationships

Check Our Assumptions!

HOW DO WE MEASURE THE DEVELOPMENTAL SUPPORTS AND

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH?

What students say about caring adults

What percentage of students respond it is very much/pretty much true one adult at school really cares about them?

Elementary = 81%Middle School = 58%High School = 60%

What adults say about caring adults

What percentage of teachers and staff in California agree nearly all/most teachers really care about all students?Elementary = 95%Middle School = 88%High School = 86%

81%58%60%

HOW DO WE MEASURESOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH?

85 to 90% of teachers and staff agree that nearly all or most adults at their school really care about every student, yet 20% of elementary and 40% of secondary students cannot think of one teacher or some other adult who really cares about them at school.

Social and Emotional Health and Bullying

What’s the relationship?

What can we do?

HOW DO WE UNDERSTANDSOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH?

The Student Listening Circle is a four-part focus group process that examines:• positive caring relationships, • high expectations,• opportunities for meaningful

participation, and• other areas of improvement in

school climate including substance use, bullying and safety.

STUDENT AGREEMENTS FOR THE SLC

• Turn off cell phones and refrain from texting.

• Focus on what you do like, want, or need (not on what you don’t).

• Only use people’s names when making positive comments.

• Be respectful of each other.• Pay attention to the timekeeper.• Speak your truth!

STUDENT ORIENTATION

• Describing the purpose and process of the listening circle

• Explaining the “Agreements”• Helping students feel

comfortable with speaking out• Helping students reframe

complaints, criticism, and negative comments as positive examples, ideas, and suggestions

QUESTIONS STUDENTS ANSWER

1. How do you know when an adult in your school CARES about you?

2. How do you know when an adult in your school BELIEVES in you?

3. What makes your classes engaging or interesting to you?

4. What kinds of things could you do to help others feel included and safe at school?

5. If you could change or improve one thing about how bullying is handled at this school, what would it be?

6. Please share your goals and dreams with us. What else do you need from the adults in your school to help you achieve your goals and dreams?

ADULT ORIENTATION

• Describing the purpose and process of the listening circle

• Explaining the “Agreements”• Describing what will happen

with the students• Describing the action items

portion of the SLC

ADULT AGREEMENTS FOR THE SLC

• Turn off cell phones and refrain from texting.

• Stay for the entire listening circle.

• Be silent during the student voice (response) portion, i.e. listen attentively.

• Commit to a plan of action that reflects the students’ perspectives.

STUDENT LISTENING CIRCLE–Students sit in a circle facing each other.–Adults sit in a concentric circle around the

students.–Questions will be asked one at a time and

each student will have the opportunity to answer without interruption.–Students will be asked in the order they are

sitting, so they will always know when their turn to respond is coming up.–Adults listen.

DIALOGUE AND SMART GOALS

1. Everyone will move their chairs to form one large circle.

2. Two volunteers (one adult and one student) will capture the main ideas on chart paper during the discussion.

3. The facilitator will ask the whole group what were the main ideas expressed by students.

4. The facilitator will ask the adults and students to suggest actions that can be taken to address the ideas expressed by students.

HOW TO USE STUDENT VOICE TO CREATE AN ACTION PLAN

HOW TO USE STUDENT VOICE TO CREATE AN ACTION PLAN

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL PROTECTIVE FACTORS

Caring

Relationships• PBIS• Family Advocate,

Student Parent Liaison• ASES• COST• Out Reach Consultant• After School Program• Garden Days• Counseling• Movie Night• Business/Agency

Partnerships• Family Math, Literacy

Nights• Morning Messages• Out Reach Consultant• Jaguar Store• Counseling

• Community Service• YWCA “Life Skills for

Healthy Relationships”• YWCA “Girls Health in

Girl’s Hands”• Individual Academic Goal

Setting• After School Program• Career Day, Four Year Plan• Anger Management• COPS/Cross Roads/Code 4• Sun Street• Fun Fridays, Good Guys

and Gals• Girls Inc.• Parenting and Adolescent

Workshops

• Strengthening Families Program

• Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways

• Student Listening Circles

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL PROTECTIVE FACTORS

High

Expectations • YWCA “Life Skills for Healthy

Relationships”• YWCA “Girls Health in Girl’s

Hands”• PIQE• Summer School• Fun Friday, Good Guys and

Gals• PBIS• Community Service• Student Assemblies• Family Math and Literacy

Nights• Counseling Services• Saturday School• Morning Announcements• Goal Setting

• Sun Street “Life Skills”• Life Skills Group• Student Recognition

Assemblies• Accelerated Reader (AR)• Literacy/Math/CST Nights• Spelling Bee• Teacher Tutoring• Achievement Awards

Assemblies• After School Program• Awards Assemblies• Fun Friday• Homework Center• Student Success Class• Zeros are not Permitted• School Service Classes

• Single School Culture

• Student Listening Circles

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL PROTECTIVE FACTORS

Opportunities

for Meaningful

Participation• Associated Student Body (ASB)• Campus Beautification Days• Community Services• Student Council• YWCA “Girls Health in Girl’s

Hands”• YWCA “Life Skills for Healthy

Relationships” Conflict Resolution Teams

• Not in Our Schools (NIOS)• After School Program• Conflict Mediators• Music Classes• Yearbook Club• Clubs• Competition Sports• Family Math and Literacy

Nights

• Art Counseling• After School Programs• Student Assemblies• Art Fair• Fun Fridays, Good Guys

and Gals• Girls Inc.• Yearbook, clubs, sports• Community Service• YMCA Lunch

Achievement• PBIS• Conflict Mediation• Recognition Assemblies• Student Councils• Fun Filled Day• June Jam• Fun Friday

• Storytelling for Empowerment

• Reconnecting Youth• Leadership and

Resiliency Program• Student Listening

Circles

I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom.

It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather.

As a teacher I possess 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 G. Ginott

WHAT YOU DO MATTERS!