Wednesday May 4, 2005
Plenary Sessions 9:45 am - 11:45 am

Instructor: Bernard Hoffman, Consultant, PA Department of Education, Philadelphia, PA

Bullying, discrimination, harassment, and hazing in schools are significant problems at all levels of a student’s education K-16. Beginning in kindergarten, bullying, discrimination, harassment, and hazing reaches epidemic proportions in elementary, middle, junior, high school and college. School safety is more than metal detectors and zero-tolerance policies. It speaks to the climate within a school, and whether all students feel physically and emotionally safe. A comprehensive prevention plan that includes all school staff, students, and parents, and that addresses bullying, discrimination, harassment, and hazing, can help create an emotionally and physically safe climate for everyone.

Instructor: Martin Blank, Staff Director, Coalition for Community Schools, Institute for Educational Leadership, Washington, DC

A 2003 review of research in multiple disciplines conducted by the Coalition for Community Schools confirmed that students learn best when they are actively involved in understanding and helping solve meaningful problems. Community schools, using a community-as-text approach, are showing an important way to do this. They know that local communities and neighborhoods provide a rich context for learning that matters to children. Service learning, place-based education, environmental education, civic education, work-based learning, and youth development are some of the arenas in which a community-as-text approach is being applied. A community-as-text approach improves the school climate, engages community members, and has the potential to improve the quality of community life. It can change - for the better – how people view schools, families and students. A community-as-text approach can easily be used to enrich an existing course, but it is most effective when it forms the framework of an integrated curriculum. Experiential, community-based learning requires a reconsidered view of teaching and learning – one that recognizes the prior knowledge of students and the wealth of teaching expertise available in every community. Schools will need to adapt expectations, policies, and practices to allow the community inside the school, and students to go off site during the school day.

Instructor: Thomas Lickona, Director, Center for the 4th and 5th Rs, Cortland, NY

Learn about the findings and key concepts of the national report: Smart & Good High Schools: Integrating Ethics and Excellence for Success in School, Work, and Beyond  (2005). This report is based on a 2-year study of American high schools carried out by the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs and supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.  Using actual examples drawn from the 24 high schools in the study, this workshop will focus on the principles and practices for creating an ethical learning community where all members - staff, students, parents, and the wider community - support and challenge each other to do their best work (performance character) and be their best ethical self (moral character).   Other examples will be given to show how these same principles have been  applied at all developmental levels K-12.

Instructor: Ross Szabo, Director of Youth Outreach, National Mental Health Awareness Campaign, Los Angeles, CA

Mental health issues are some of the largest problems facing our country. One in ten students experience depression, and suicide is the third leading cause of death in people ages 15-24. Millions of young people are dealing with large amounts of loss, substance abuse and stress. The stereotypes associated with mental illnesses prevent people from seeking help and functioning at their highest level. This presentation provides insight into young people living with mental disorders, the barriers they face and what can help them.