Educators Learn Strategies to Help Students in Poverty

Meeting the needs of students in poverty and using practical strategies for working with economically and socially disadvantaged students was the topic of a recent workshop held at ESU.

The workshop, called “What, Why and How: Cognitive Strategies That Help Students from Poverty Learn,” was organized by the Jones Institute for Educational Excellence and held Friday, December 8, 2006. The workshop was attended by 60 educators from across the state including classroom teachers, administrators, counselors, special education teachers and teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages.

This workshop was a follow-up to one held in October which focused on explaining the world as experienced by students in poverty.

“The first one was about understanding poverty,” said Toni Bowling, the workshop’s coordinator. “Today we’re concentrating on the learning strategies needed to work with students in poverty.”

This isn’t new information, but I’m seeing it in a different way, said Assistant Principal Kevin Creech of Robinson Middle School in Wichita. Creech said she was anxious to share the information with teachers in her school.

The workshop’s presenter Carol Hailey has taught middle and high school English for over 30 years. She is currently the K-12 Reading/Language Arts Resource Specialist for Shawnee Mission USD #512. Hailey conducts staff development for the district, assists schools in developing school improvement and AYP plans, and serves on school improvement teams. The workshop was based on the work of Dr. Ruby Payne.

For more information about this workshop, contact Toni Bowling at 620-341-5372 or 1-877-378-5433, mbowling@emporia.edu.

Educators in attendance at the workshop included:

USD 101, Erie –

Shaila Creitz, Sondra Harris

USD 205, Bluestem –

Debbie Webster

USD 231, Gardner Edgerton –

Jeremy McDonnell, Philip Thies

USD 233, Olathe –

Mary Conn, Deanne Grimm,
Tiffany Harkins, Karri McKinsey,
Jeff Springer

USD 244, Burlington –

Venetta Brown, Tim Handye

USD 253, Emporia –

Valeria Ringler, Sara Schwerdtfeger,
Cathy Terrell

USD 257, Iola –

Larry E. Hart

USD 259, Wichita –

Jennifer Baalman, Meagan Baldwin,
Andy Bartel, Kris Ehling, Eliot Eichbauer,

Debbie Harris, Marney Hay,
Randy Hopson, Jeremy Johnson,
Renee Kohlhagen, Kevin Creech,
Michele Loeb, Stacy Malicoat,
Jana Norman, Alexa Passman,
Marci Sawyer, Carol Tobura,
Teresa Ulrich, Jennifer Williams

USD 290, Ottawa –

Betty Friedel, Jackie Steelman,
Cheri Underwood

USD 365, Garnett –

Debbie Alford, LeAnn Church,

Janice Foltz, Rachel Umbarger

USD 409, Atchison –

Emerald Lauts, Becky Reynolds

USD 417, Council Grove –

Judeen Bachura

USD 418, McPherson –

Sandra Barton, John Thissen

USD 446, Independence –

Jason DeLong, Tiffany Flatt,
Marilyn Mann, Debbie Toomey

USD 456, Marais Des Cygnes –

Connie Butts, Twila Wollenberg

USD 505, Chetopa St. Paul –

Hank Brown, Kim Cooper, Kim Figgins,
Chelle Kemper

USD 620, Three Lakes Educational Cooperative –

Treva Gulick, Amy Redmon

Wichita Gear Up –

Eugene Miles

 

Last Updated July 2, 2007>