Consistency at Home Is Key to Student Success

“I didn’t come to school because my uniform was at my mom’s house and I slept at my dad’s two days last week.”

“I was late because I stayed at my cousin’s house and her mom didn’t get us up.” 

“I overslept because I was staying in my aunt’s room and she had the TV on all night.”

“I missed school because I stayed at my dad’s and he lives in West Baltimore.” 

“I was late for school because I stayed with my Grandmother and 
had to take my cousin to school and then didn’t know which bus to take.”

When a student moves from house to house or family member to family member he or she suffers from a lack of structure, the absence of routine, and inconsistent rules and expectations. Because Baltimore City Public School (BCPS) students rely heavily on public transportation, each new move often also means figuring out a new bus schedule. Such was the case with Kiera, a 5^th grader who was shuffled between the care of her mother, her grandmother, and her aunts. Sometimes she arrived at her school’s weekly CFCC Truancy Court Program (TCP) meetings from her mother’s house exhausted and reserved, insisting that all she liked to do at home was sleep. At other times she arrived late because she had to take a bus to school from her grandmother’s house, which was fifteen miles outside Baltimore City limits. Yet there were times when she came to school rested and talkative, with her hair neatly combed and clothes clean and pressed. The TCP team learned that those were weeks when she was staying with an aunt who lived far away but who provided consistency, care, and reliable transportation to and from school. Although Kiera liked to stay with her aunt, she did not know from day to day where she would be expected to spend the next night, and her ability to keep up with schoolwork and control her behavior suffered as a result.

In December, Kiera’s attendance improved dramatically. Between December and March, Kiera was present and on time every day. Her grades improved, as did her behavior. The TCP team learned that Kiera had been staying with her aunt.  For the first time since August, she had been in one place for almost four months, and her school record reflected that consistency.  Kiera’s aunt, however, was not her legal guardian, and Kiera could be removed from her care by either of her parents at any moment.  The aunt asked the TCP team if anything could be done to make her caregiving arrangement permanent and enforceable. 

What can be done?

In cases like Kiera’s, where students are being moved from the custody of one caregiver to another, it is critical for caregivers to understand the importance of consistency and stability. The TCP team counsels each family member to value the student’s education and to make a commitment to help him or her get to school on time, regardless of where the student stays. Mediation services can bring together family and community members to ensure that the students’ attendance remains consistent. The inconsistency of many custodial arrangements often stems from the fact that they are informal. Thus, establishing legal guardianship for one party can provide consistency and permanency by specifying who has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the child. Similarly, a legal determination of physical custody can provide stability by establishing a clear schedule for the student. These legal determinations also help by empowering caregivers with the right to make enforceable decisions regarding the student, even if others disagree.  In some extreme and rare cases in which one of the caregivers is neglectful or abusive, filing a report with Child Protective Services may be necessary to ensure that a child is removed from or kept out of a dangerous situation.

Whether the solution takes the form of a legally enforceable document or simply a verbal consensus among caregivers, consistency in a student’s home life increases his or her potential for academic and social success.  With the help of the TCP team, Kiera’s family is trying to find a lasting solution that will work for them and, most importantly, for Kiera.

The Therapeutic Side of Law

One of my apprehensions in committing to law school was the adversarial process and the impact on families and children in the judicial process.  The Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) Student Fellows Program has been instrumental in reassuring me that my pursuit of a legal career was the right decision.  Throughout this semester, my colleagues and I have learned a different side of the law grounded in Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ) and the Ecology of Human Development.  TJ is a holistic approach that aims to address the legal and non-legal issues of clients while incorporating interdisciplinary methods to address the root issue(s) and providing the necessary resources to empower clients to regain ownership of their lives and problems.  The Ecology of Human Development looks at each litigant’s environment individually to customize a solution to fit their individual needs.  

These brand new concepts and programs were introduced to us through classroom discussions, guest speakers, and (my personal favorite) field trips to see these concepts in action!  From guest speakers and visits to the Unified Family Court to seminar topics dealing with Preventive Law, Court Reform in Family Law, Collaborative Law, the Juvenile Justice System, and Problem Solving Courts, the CFCC Student Fellows have been exposed to a hidden side of law that I suspect is concealed from even most practicing attorneys. 

This year also marks the fifteenth anniversary of the creation of Maryland’s Family Divisions.  While this major milestone deserves a celebration (stay tuned for a date), it is also a reason to pause, reflect, and assess the implementation of the mission and goals of the Family Division.  My CFCC project this semester was to assist in planning the fifteen year celebration, including analyzing survey results from Circuit Court Judges and Masters to learn about their attitudes and court practices with respect to addressing the needs of families and children in the family court.  The mission of the Family Division is to provide comprehensive services early on in the litigation process to improve the lives of families and children who appear before the court.  Preliminary survey results indicate that while judicial officers find it important to have and integrate interdisciplinary solutions, the implementation is lacking.  To see the concepts we’ve learned all semester being recognized and requested by the judiciary is encouraging.    

As we wrapped up this semester last Wednesday, I realized how influential this class has been to me.  This class has taught me to practice law more holistically, which not only will benefit clients but additionally will reassure me that I can make a substantial impact in the lives of my future clients.  I truly believe the experience and concepts of the CFCC Student Fellows Program should be integrated throughout the law school curriculum so that all future lawyers are trained to practice law more holistically.  Until then, I encourage my fellow students at UB Law to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity and enroll in the CFCC Student Fellows Program I to learn about the therapeutic side of law.    

Reflections on the Truancy Court Program

Only two sessions into the Truancy Court Program (“TCP”), I have already noticed a dramatic change in students’ attendance. While it is still early in the year, the students seem as though they want to make a genuine effort to attend school, be on time, and do well in their classes. However, one of the main goals of the TCP is to address the root causes of truant behavior. While we attempt to investigate what those causes are with each student who comes into the TCP sessions, sometimes it can be quite a challenge when the parents don’t attend sessions or don’t take an active role in their children’s’ day-to-day lives. Many parents are often oblivious to what their children are doing, especially in regard to their education. 

Upon reflection on the past two sessions at Elmer A. Henderson Elementary School’s TCP, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more we could do. Even with limited resources, how can we expand this program? I noticed that many parents don’t know how to discipline their children by setting rules and guidelines for them to follow. Some parents are simply too busy working multiple jobs to try to provide for their children. However, other parents just don’t have the basic parenting skills that can help their children succeed. One parent admitted that her children were late to school on numerous occasions, not because the children could not wake up in the morning, but because she had a difficult time waking up in the morning.

Even though our sessions are geared primarily toward the students and encouraging them to want to attend school, to set dreams and goals for themselves, I strongly believe that these are things that should begin at home. If the parents don’t encourage their children, don’t take school seriously, don’t set rules for the children, then why should the children be expected to do well? I believe we should hold sessions with only the parents. If many parents can’t take time off on Friday mornings to come to this school’s TCP session, we can discuss what other time may work to avoid scheduling conflicts. Is it reasonable to have even one session a month focused solely on the parents and geared toward assisting them to develop their parenting skills? I would like to give tips to the parents such as sample schedules they can set for their children from the time they come home from school to the time they should go to sleep. Sometimes parents leave all of their tasks for the morning, which makes the students late, so even tips such as making their lunches for the next day the night before or setting their clothes out the night before could be helpful. I believe that the root cause of most truant behavior begins with problems at home and if we can attempt to change or improve some of the parents’ behaviors, helping the students will be far simpler. 

Two-Generation Approach for Workshops

How can we expect a child to succeed when the parent or caregiver is unequipped to assist the child? Children not only need assistance with homework and school projects, but also with social and emotional development.

Parents or caregivers who struggle with their own emotional, financial and/or mental problems often encounter challenges in addressing the needs of their children.  Children need a stable home and caregivers who are equipped with the skills necessary to be successful parents.   In order for children to reach their potential, it is useful to adopt a two-generation approach that focuses on a parent’s needs as well as those of the child.  By addressing  issues that affect parents, such as language barriers, financial problems, and educational need, we also help the child.

After all, how can we expect parents to help their children with homework, for instance, if they themselves cannot read?  Assisting a child without assessing the parents’ or caregivers’ needs is like putting a cast on a broken leg without resetting the bone. Eventually, the leg may heal, but it will never heal correctly.  The child’s needs  will be met best by involving his/her caregiver, as well.

So what do we do? How can we best help parents or caregivers? A two-generation focus looks at each situation separately to determine the needs of the child and caregiver.   The Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) understands the importance of parents and caregivers in the child’s life. CFCC Student Fellows are developing a parents’ workshop this fall to offer information to parents about student disabilities and where parents/caregivers can go for help within both the legal and education communities.  

What other workshop topics do you think would be helpful? Is it helpful to consider parents’ needs when addressing a child’s problems in school?

Addressing Truancy in High Schools: Modifying Early Intervention Models

The Center for Children, Families, and the Courts (CFCC) Truancy Court Program  (TCP) uses early intervention to address the problems that underlie truancy. Each week, TCP staff meet with students who are “soft” truants, having between five to twenty unexcused absences in a semester. The goal of the program is to prevent truancy and promote values, such as education, discipline and respect. By instilling these values, TCP staff hope to prevent students from leading a life of delinquency, crime, and violence. Thus far, the TCP has been successful as an early intervention program, particularly in elementary and middle schools. In the Fall 2011 session, the TCP saw an average reduction in unexcused absences of 71%.  The question remains, however, whether an early intervention model, such as the TCP, can achieve similar success in high schools.

This year, the TCP participates in three high schools.  One of these high schools is Patterson High School.  Patterson and TCP staff face a number of challenges as they seek to prevent truancy.  These challenges are not unique to Patterson but occur in countless Baltimore City public high schools.  Of those Patterson students participating in the TCP, many are ninth grade repeaters, who struggle with paying attention in the classroom, and who have more than twenty absences in a semester.  Like many Baltimore City students, they also cope with issues of violence, drugs, and poverty on a daily basis. It is undeniable that some intervention is needed to assist these students.  The disputed issue is exactly what kind. 

Many argue that high school students no longer benefit from the skills and techniques used in early invention programs. Some techniques used by the TCP include: providing students with resources, such as alarm clocks, organizers, or bus passes; completing character building exercises where students are encouraged to have a positive attitude; and engaging in discussions on basic life skills, such as organization and time management.  By high school, however, students often develop a serious history and pattern of truancy.  In addition, many suffer from behavior problems and lack respect for authority figures.   These are problems that go beyond what can be addressed in weekly TCP meetings.    

Early invention models may not be the answer to preventing truant behavior in high school students.  That said, the TCP is the only program of its kind in the Baltimore City Public Schools. As the TCP already has a long-standing history of preventing truancy and because TCP staff continuously study this issue, the best solution may be to modify the program to meet the needs of high school students.

One way to modify the program is to decrease the number of program participants in a given high school.  Often ten students from a school are selected to participate in the TCP.  By offering the program to fewer students, TCP staff can devote more time and attention to students’ needs.  Although the TCP may not impact as many students, it may influence those students with greater issues and those more likely to engage in delinquency, violence, or criminal behavior in the future.  Another option is to provide students with rigorous mentorship opportunities, where mentors take the time to speak with students regarding their academics, friends, home life, and problems.  The TCP meets weekly with ten students for one hour.  Thus, students are not given a great deal of one-on-one attention.  Mentors can visit students in school, commit to monthly outings, and communicate with students by phone on a weekly basis.  The TCP also must develop a plan of action to address substance abuse issues.  A majority of high school students are  substance abusers.  Bringing in substance abuse counselors, or perhaps former drug dealers or users, during TCP sessions may benefit students greatly.  Finally, active parent involvement should be required for high school students to participate in the TCP.  Although parents are required to sign a permission slip and consent to their child’s participation, it is equally important that parents attend at least one TCP session.  It is important that parents reinforce the values and skills taught during the program.  Without parental involvement, students could easily attend the TCP with little to no improvement.  Students must know their parents are also committed to their academic success. 

Baltimore City Public Schools face an up-hill battle in the challenge to educate high school students.   Many high school students have developed negative behaviors that are very difficult to break.  Currently, Baltimore City Public Schools are not equipped to deal with some of the profound and complex issues students face.  It would be a disservice to our children, however, not to at least try. Communities, parents, grandparents, churches, and other organizations must work together to combat this challenge.  Moreover, early invention programs, such as the TCP, must use their knowledge about truancy and the behaviors that underlie it to help save our youth. 

           

Who Should Be Held Responsible?

Every Wednesday afternoon, mentors, professors, and Student Fellows from the Center for Families, Children, and the Courts at the University of Baltimore School of Law meet to speak about our weekly Truancy Court Program (TCP) sessions. We discuss ways in which we can prevent truancy. Over the past few weeks, a question has been raised as to who is responsible for the students' truant behavior. Should parents or teachers be held responsible for their students’ absenteeism and academic performance? Parents are the ones caring for the children at home and making sure they attend school each morning, while teachers ensure that students learn at the appropriate grade level and are in class each day. If a teacher realizes that a student has been absent excessively, perhaps they should report that to a higher authority who could contact the student's guardian. In our weekly meetings, some have argued that teachers should not be held responsible. Teachers should be concerned only with teaching the students who are present that day. I believe, however, that if parents do not encourage their children to attend school, the teacher is the next best person to look out for a student's education and future.

In the New York Times article "Whose Failing Grade Is It?," Lisa Belkin explains how several bills have been proposed in Florida that would punish parents when their children had excessive absences. Belkin believes that parents should be targeted for their child's absences. By looking at schools that have success rates for students in both attendance and graduation, it is clear that parents are a contributing factor. Belkin suggests that schools with low success rates should focus on gaining parent involvement. One bill proposed in Florida requires parents to spend three hours volunteering throughout a semester at a school-related function. Based on my experience with the TCP, I do not believe parents would be willing to take three hours a semester to devote to their child's school. We encourage parents to attend our ten minute session once a week to discuss their child's truant behavior, and I have yet to have one parent attend one of my sessions. Another bill introduced in Florida has parents receiving a letter grade depicting the parent's involvement that semester on their child's report card. If parents are not interested from the start, I do not believe placing a grade on their child's report card will change their mentality.

Parents are the best role models for students. Rather than punish parents, we need to find ways to instill in parents an interest in their child's education. I do not believe we should have to force parents to play a role in their child's education, but it should be something they choose to do. The TCP provides parents with that exact opportunity--the chance to meet with judges, mentors, school personnel, a social worker, and Student Fellows to provide the family with appropriate resources to ensure their child receives a proper education and has the opportunity to succeed in the future.

October is Bullying Prevention Awareness Month

Last week during my Truancy Court Program (TCP) session at Walter P. Carter Elementary/Middle School I met a third grader who had recently been bullied.  She said that a boy in her class had been teasing her lately and had even spit on her.  She said that she told her teachers but that one of them did nothing.  This immediately sparked anger inside of me.  I thought back to the previous week when I had first met this elementary school student and remembered that she had been smiling and telling stories.  Just one week later she was depressed and quiet.

Right after my TCP session I read the news about 15-year-old Amanda Todd, another teen who took her life after being bullied. The teen posted a YouTube video, "My story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self harm," on September 7 and was found dead in her home town of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, just over a month later.  Bullying also made headlines in Maryland this week when a 15-year-old in Frederick County was charged with assault after his act of bullying was caught on camera. 

It is fitting that October, 2012, is Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.  It should be brought to everyone’s attention that studies have shown that children who have been identified as a bully by age eight are six times more likely to have a criminal conviction by age 24. Children who are bullies may continue to be bullies as adults, and are more prone to becoming child and spouse abusers.  Thus, it becomes even more apparent that bullying needs to be stopped so that cycles like these can be stopped.
I hope by the time I see my third grader from TCP next week that her situation has been addressed and that the bullying has been stopped.  Baltimore City schools do have a system in place for bullying; that is, the parent can first call and report it to the school verbally, followed by filing a Bullying & Harassment Form.  If the parent is still unsatisfied, they can then contact the Office of Student Support through the Safety Hotline at 410-396-SAFE, which ensures that the incident is investigated within 2 school days.

Last week Baltimore held the Third Annual Bullying Prevention Conference where participants discussed the latest research and worked to develop solutions to tackle bullying in local schools.  I hope that throughout this month communities all over the country meet to discuss how they can best address the issues that bullying presents.  It may be helpful to look at the bullying situation through a therapeutic jurisprudence lens.  TJ looks at the law itself as a social force that can produce therapeutic or anti-therapeutic consequences.  By looking at bullying with a therapeutic jurisprudence perspective, insight might be shed on how to best implement anti-bullying tactics.  That is, it may be helpful to look at the bullying policies and rules in different schools and see how each one affects the students and the rates of bullying.  Through Therapeutic Jurisprudence it would be possible to analyze the different bullying laws utilized by each school and see how they may be affecting the children’s psyche in a negative or positive way, and how each rule effectively works to prevent bullying.

Juvenile Justice Reform: CFCC’s Urban Child Symposium, The Beginning or the End? The Urban Child’s Experience in the Juvenile Justice System

Professor Bernardine Dohrn opened CFCC’s fourth annual Urban Child Symposium with a powerful presentation on the Supreme Court’s recent consideration of juvenile justice cases.    Over 200 people attended “The Beginning or the End? The Urban Child's Experience in the Juvenile Justice System,” which included interdisciplinary panel discussions of issues such as the psychological, social, and emotional characteristics of juveniles; whether juveniles can and/or should be tried as adults; racial disparities/disproportionate minority representation; and the school-to-prison pipeline, among others.

You can view the agenda here and listen to some of the panelists discuss juvenile justice issues on WYPR’s Midday with Dan Rodricks here.

Professor Dohrn spoke about positive changes in the juvenile justice field in the past decade. She discussed recent Supreme Court decisions that have banned capital punishment for juveniles and life-without-parole for non-homicide juvenile offenses.  She urged symposium participants to pay attention to the Supreme Court’s recognition that children experience the world differently and that there must be a more accurate understanding of children’s interactions with the law.

Several ideas emerged during the course of the symposium:

•     Juveniles should be directed toward community and family-based treatment rather than incarceration. Speakers urged consideration of evidence-based, non-residential programs as the single most important alternative to sending juveniles to detention facilities, many of which are characterized by violence and poor conditions.  Speakers described a number of alternative and diversion programs that are proven to be more effective in addressing juvenile crime and recidivism.  The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Bart Lubow and other speakers discussed the massive financial burden of juvenile incarceration (including Maryland’s proposed $100 million juvenile prison facility), which could be used instead to support widespread diversionary prevention and treatment programs.

•     Racial and ethnic disparities (“Disproportionate Minority Contact”) must be addressed on a system-wide basis and across all decision points in a juvenile case.  Special populations, like girls; trauma victims; children with special needs; and lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender youth must also be protected and considered.  Many presenters, including Professor Odeana Neal, attorney and reform advocate Dana Shoenberg, and Assistant State’s Attorney George Simms encouraged the expansion of best practices in this area to combat current differences in outcomes based on race, ethnicity, gender, and other characteristics.  

•     Laws requiring or allowing juveniles to be tried as adults should be abandoned because they hurt children and endanger society.  Professor Dohrn and other presenters reported that juvenile involvement in the adult criminal justice and prison systems is counter-productive.  Juveniles are often victimized by adults in the prison system, and recidivism (re-offending) increases for juveniles who come out of adult prisons. 

•     All stakeholders – including families, schools, prosecutors, departments of juvenile services, social workers, employers and more – should be involved in reform efforts.  Parent Advocate Kimberly Armstrong spoke poignantly about her experience as the parent of a child in the juvenile justice system.  Instead of finding support and collaboration in the juvenile justice system, she encountered multiple barriers when seeking help for her son and often felt alone in advocating on his behalf.  She now encourages all stakeholders in the juvenile justice system to enlist the support of parents and to treat them as valuable partners in addressing their children’s problems.

For more information, you can watch a podcast of the symposium proceedings and access many of the Powerpoint presentations here.  We hope that our presenters and participants will blog about the issues discussed during the event, and we welcome comments from our readers.