Ensuring Safe School Environments: Exploring Issues--Seeking Solutions presents research findings and information about school violence, with a focus on strategies for increasing school safety. Based on a special topical issue of Rural Special Education Quarterly, the original journal articles have been rewritten to address safe schools from the perspective of suburban and urban, as well as rural environments. Topics include the frequency of violence in these different settings; violence as it directly impacts school administrators; strategies for preventing and addressing violence at both the school and individual levels; and ways to work with the community both in and out of schools. Part I focuses on issues. In Part II, solutions that have been used to deal with youth violence are offered for readers to consider, including chapters on effective conflict management practices, behavioral support plans, school-community relations, the development of a caring school community as a way to decrease tendencies toward violence, and a model which demonstrates an in-practice, state-wide program designed to assist in the development of a community-focused school. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions and a case study to enhance understanding of and reflection on the issues surrounding school violence. The text is intended as supplementary material for any course preparing school administrators. Presenting both research and practice, the text can be a guide for practicing school administrators in their search for ways to insure the safety and well being of the students whom they serve, as well as a resource for individuals in other community-based human service agencies who deal with school violence.

This book was written as a guide to practitioners, with input and strategies from police authorities, mental health professional and educators. School safety is an issue for school communities across the country. Collaboration with all stakeholders provide comprehensive strategies that can be applied to all schools and districts.

Millions of children and adults across the nation spend their days in school buildings, and they need safe, healthy environments to thrive, learn, and succeed. This book explores the school environment using the methods and perspectives of environmental health science. Though environmental healht has long been understood to be an important factor in workplaces, homes, and communities, this is the first book to address the same basic concerns in schools. The editors are physicians and educators trained in pediatrics, occupational and environmental medicine, and medical toxicology, and the authors are experts in their fields drawn from across the United States and abroad. Each section of the book addresses a different concern facing schools today. In the first six sections, the various aspects of the school environment are examined. Chapters include the physical environment of the school, air quality issues, pest control, cleaning methods, food safety, safe designs of playgrounds and sports fields, crime and violence prevention, and transportation. In the last two sections, recommendations are made for school administrators on how to maximize the health of their schools. Appropriately evaluating the school environment, implementing strategies to address children and adults with disabilities, emphasizing health services, infectious disease prevention and recognition, and occupational health for faculty and staff are all addressed. The entire book is evidence-based, readable, generously illustrated, and practical. An indispensable resource for parents, school staff, administrators, government officials, and health professionals, this book is for anyone who cares about the health of our schools.

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Social media has exploded onto American culture — including our schools — giving educators a unique opportunity to shape this phenomenon into a powerful tool for improving educational leadership practices. With real-world examples and practical tips, this essential guide shows school leaders how to address both the potential benefits and common concerns presented by social media. It is written in a clear, reader-friendly format, and covers important topics, including: Responding to student safety issues, such as cyberbullying and sexting Improving school management, communication, and professional growth Instructional innovation Twenty-first century learning Preparing for future social media trends This is a must-have resource for school leaders who want to stay current and provide the best possible educational environment for learning in the 21st century.

Health education and physical education are traditionally siloed—for no good reason, according to authors Matthew Cummiskey and Frances Cleland Donnelly. So, through Elementary School Wellness Education, the two authors provide a blueprint, complete with lesson plans, for teachers to fuse health education and physical education into one elementary school class. “Students should be educated in a more holistic manner,” says Cummiskey. “We applied the concept of school wellness education at the elementary level, which has components of both traditional health education and physical education.” Elementary School Wellness Education offers the following: 37 detailed lesson plans for grades K-5 (19 lessons for K-2 and 18 lessons for grades 3-5) that are tied to SHAPE America Outcomes and National Health Education Performance Indicators Clear instruction on how to apply the plans, making it perfect for both preservice and in-service teachers More than 70 lesson plan handouts (with four-color graphics), available in the HKPropel platform, that are easy for teachers to print A test package, presentation package, and instructor guide that make this ideal for existing and emerging teacher education courses A typical School Wellness Education (SWE) lesson combines classroom-based learning activities—such as discussions, worksheets, and videos—with physical activity. All the lessons in the book take place in the gymnasium, so there’s no need for a separate health education classroom. In addition, the SWE approach helps teachers maximize their instruction time by meeting multiple learning standards simultaneously. “The lessons are learning focused, with each activity carefully aligned to the objectives,” says Cleland Donnelly. “Moreover, they’re fun. Students aren’t sitting in a traditional classroom learning health; they’re doing it in the gym.” SWE also uses traditional PE equipment—and the gym—in new and creative ways, she adds. “This is especially important in schools that lack a separate health education classroom.” Elementary School Wellness Education addresses emergent pedagogies such as skill-based education, universal design for learning, social and emotional learning, and social justice, helping both in-service and preservice teachers understand how to use and benefit from these pedagogical approaches. It also guides readers in how to teach wellness education online as effectively as face-to-face. Teachers will learn how to teach the content in person, online, or in a hybrid approach. “The good news for teachers is that SWE is not a dramatic departure from existing instruction,” says Cummiskey. “Students are still moving and being taught in the gymnasium, but now health content and skills are being infused into all the lessons.” The book, he says, is also suitable for use by classroom teachers looking to promote wellness or incorporate additional physical activity into their students’ days. “The intent is to imbue students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to lead a healthy life into and through adulthood,” he says. Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with this ebook.

A groundswell of interest has led to significant advances in understanding and using Culturally Responsive Arts Education to promote social justice and education. This landmark volume provides a theoretical orientation to these endeavors. Examining a range of efforts across different forms of art, various educational settings, and diverse contexts, it foregrounds the assets of imagination, creativity, resilience, critique and cultural knowledge, working against prevailing understandings of marginalized groups as having deficits of knowledge, skills, or culture. Emphasizing the arts as a way to make something possible, it explores and illustrates the elements of social justice arts education as "a way out of no way" imposed by dominance and ideology. A set of powerful demonstrations shows how this work looks in action. Introductions to the book as a whole and to each section focus on how to use the chapters pedagogically. The conclusion pulls back the chapters into theoretical and pedagogical context and suggests what needs done to be done practically, empirically, and theoretically, for the field to continue to develop.

Much of the literature on the African philosophy of education juxtaposes two philosophical strands as mutually exclusive entities; traditional ethnophilosophy on the one hand, and ‘scientific African philosophy on the other. While traditional ethnophilosophy is associated with the cultural artefacts, narratives, folklore and music of Africa‘s peop