A May 2015 paper from the Brookings Institution by Hugh Price argues that a crucial aspect of K-12 improvement -- the social and emotional development of children who chronically lag behind -- has long been ignored by legislators and educators. As a rememdy, Price proposes a new education model for poor and minority students: prevention-oriented youth-development programs inside school and out, with well-researched interventions that range from strengthening child social and emotional skills and "teaching" teachers around this, to organizing entire schools -- faculty, staff, and parents -- so that they attend to both the academic and social development of students. Price cites a recent study by the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education that assessed available evidence on the economic value of social and emotional learning (SEL). It found that every dollar invested in SEL programs gets a return of eleven dollars. Price's proposal entails transforming schooling through a comprehensive and integrated set of community, school, and related initiatives, which would expand student-learning opportunities and place a strong programmatic focus on the social, emotional, and physical health needs that impede learning. As a potential model, he points to the residential National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, a civilian intervention devoted to changing life prospects for high school drop outs, treating academic and social development as co-equal objectives. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.