Local Educators Consider New Approaches

DAYTON - Imagine a teacher taking his students on a field trip and leaving one or two behind. Inconceivable, some might say. Yet this is just how former President George W. Bush described the country's dysfunctional education system in 2001 when he proposed the No Child Left Behind Act.

No Child Left Behind introduced federal standards to our nation's schools. Though Bush's ideas for education reform were both well-received and strongly criticized, they drew attention to a new way to look at America's education system.

Twelve years later, local educators still struggle to find effective and meaningful ways to teach all of their students.

"Every year we lose students to other school districts or online schools for one reason or another," said Dayton School District Superintendent Doug Johnson. "What would it take to meet the needs of those students so we don't lose them?"

Last week, parents and teachers from Dayton and Starbuck, as well as others who work with children in the Touchet Valley, were invited to a free presentation in the Dayton Elementary School multipurpose room on ground-breaking research that could lead to new ways to help today's students suc- ceed.

The research comes from a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and a large health-care clinic in San Diego. More than 17,000 patients participated, providing detailed informa- tion about their childhood experiences of abuse, ne- glect, and family dysfunc- tion.

What the experts discov- ered, using this data as well as corresponding brain research, is alarming, according to the CDC.

Stress-related chemicals, released in the body when a child undergoes adverse childhood experiences (or ACEs) such as physical or emotional abuse, neglect, abandonment, or family dysfunction like alcoholism or drug abuse, can actually kill off a baby's brain cells, according to Walla Walla Children's Resilience Initia- tive presenters Teri Barila and Mark Brown, who gave the Dayton presentation.

"In fact, the CDC now calls ACEs, and the health- impacts of ACEs, the num- ber one chronic health epidemic in the United States," Barila told her audience.

ACEs have been directly linked to multiple behavioral and health-related problems in older children and adults, according to the CDC. More ACEs mean more risk for problems like early initiation of smoking, intimate partner violence, multiple sex part- ners and sexually transmit- ted diseases, depression, alcoholism, liver disease, heart disease and more.

How can this knowledge help educators and parents? Barila and Brown addressed that with insight into brain development - and a mes- sage of hope.

The child who lives with chronic stress develops a completely different brain from what it would have normally, Brown said. This child develops a brain trained for survival in a harsh world.

"As a result, you get someone who is pretty hottempered, someone who is always watchful - what we call hyper-vigilant," said Brown. "And while that kind of personality might work well in some kinds of careers, first responders for instance, for this type of setting or in a classroom where you just need to be sitting or listening to somebody talk- ing, it's not great preparation for that."

Other signs of ACEs might be a child who appears to be shut down or with- drawn, depressed, Brown said. "This is just another way their brain is trying to protect against what it thinks is coming."

What the Walla Walla Children's Resilience Initia- tive tries to teach is that there is hope for these children through resiliency. ACEs can predict future problems, but they don't guarantee them. And resiliency starts with healthy relationships, according to Brown and Barila.

That's where local educa- tors, parents and community members can help. Just one open-minded adult who listens, cares and shows up can break that cycle for the child, Barila said.

New Dayton Elementary School Principal Pam Lind- sley attended last week's presentation, and she says she has taken the research and message of hope to heart. She and her staff are reading the book "Help for Billy," by Heather T. Forbes, which brings to light "the real issues going on behind a child's negative behavior."

"It's really about finding a different way to respond to kids," Lindsley said. "Let- ting them know you care but also holding them responsible for their behavior in the same breath. You can't respond to negative behav- iors in the same way for each student."

Superintendent Johnson said he plans to continue to provide information to his staff on ACEs studies and resiliency strategies.

"Our goal is to educate all our kids," he said. "But the reality is that along the way there are some stu- dents whose needs don't get met. So let's keep educating ourselves so we can reach more."

Johnson said the district may, in the future, look at changes that would help meet those needs. Maybe, he said, that means night classes. Or alternative classes. Or online classes.

"Does this whole thing morph into a new kind of teaching structure?" Johnson wondered. "We don't know. But we're willing to learn more."