Curriculum Institute: Educating the whole child

Tackling a full agenda that included stressed-out students, middle school reform, parental involvement, and ground-breaking collaborative efforts to improve schools and support foster youth, some 100 school board members and administrators from throughout the state gathered in Monterey July 11-12 for CSBA’s 2008 Curriculum Institute.

In addition to a keynote presentation on the importance of educating the whole child, by Stanford University education lecturer Denise Clark Pope, general session topics included the connection between research and educational policy-making, presented by Barbara DeHart, a professor of education at Claremont Graduate University.

Pope said that several of the students she studied for her book "Doing School" were outwardly successful, but some routinely cheated to get the grades and scores they felt so pressured to achieve; a number had anxiety-related disorders and illnesses, and all were seriously sleep-deprived. She warned that high-pressure academic environments reduce students’ opportunities to negotiate social relationships and learn other important life skills.

"For every child who is doing 'well,' there are others who are opting out altogether," Pope said. "Kids need to play, they need down time, time to sleep and to develop social interaction skills."

DeHart recommended that local districts work hard to establish connections with colleges and universities in their regions.

"We need to bring professors and superintendents together—like a cultural exchange," DeHart said, so that researchers can keep up with what's going on in today’s schools.

"Many professors haven't been in the classroom for years," DeHart said. "Yet their research is being used to make decisions about schools by policymakers, and there's no context."

DeHart cited the Redwood City 2020 community collaborative—which was showcased at the institute—as a positive example of constructive collaboration. The Redwood City project coordinates the efforts of educators, governments and the community to promote a variety of youth development and education strategies benefiting area young people. Stanford University is contributing to the effort by conferring on the design of research projects.

Other partnerships and resources

The two-day institute featured a number of other promising initiatives. Superintendents Mike Hanson and Christopher Steinhauser of Fresno and Long Beach unified school districts, for example, described the recent launch of their new Partnership for Improved Student Success—a state-sanctioned, experimental collaboration designed to give educators in both districts flexibility on regulations to encourage innovation and help underachieving students.

Smaller workshops gave institute participants a chance to learn more about:

• the state’s new interactive online resource, Taking Center Stage, a clearinghouse for effective practices, teaching strategies, research and other tools to support middle grade students

• CSBA’s Governance and Policy Services’ program, Enhancing Student Achievement: Keys to Effective Parent Involvement

• Collaborative approaches to the unique challenges of children in the state’s foster care system

Continuing a strong and long-established tradition, the institute offered a relaxed setting for sharing experiences and comparing notes on learning, teaching and administration, as well as on state and federal policies and regulations.