To fully support students, schools must attend to the trauma that occurs within their own institutional cultures. Equity advocate Paul Gorski describes three transformative commitments schools can make to maximize the potential of trauma-informed education.

In these unprecedented times, educators need to infuse equity and justice into their discipline practices. Whether operating in-person or remotely, the schools that succeed this year will be the ones that put mental health at the center of all policies and practices, says Micere Keels, director of the Trauma Responsive Educational Practices…

Schools can view challenging student behavior in one of two ways: (1) as a failure on the part of the student or teacher that distracts from the work of learning, or (2) as a normal developmental occurrence that provides an opportunity for the student to practice new or emerging skills. The authors of this article, researchers at the Harvard…

In this article, the author discusses what school leaders can do to support teachers in building stronger relationships with students. He points out that efforts at establishing positive relationships can--and must--be strengthened at the schoolwide level. School leaders who are shifting from an emphasis on discipline to one on relationships must…

The win-win approach to solving conflicts, which has become popular in the business world, should be a natural for the school environment. Win-win thinking can foster a cooperative school climate by meeting educators' and students' needs for dignity, belonging, and respect. Yet win-win thinking faces a number of obstacles in schools, writes…

It's a challenge for schools in every country: How to provide the right kind of discipline and create a climate that nurtures learning. This challenge may look different in different countries. A school's disciplinary climate not only is the product of educators' beliefs and actions, students' beliefs and actions, and the interaction of these, but…

The brain needs energy, oxygen, and water to operate. Access to the bathroom pass can become a major conflict between teachers and students and has great potential for disrupting classes. The classroom can be humanized by granting more bathroom passes and allowing water bottles. (MLH)

Describes the need for a discipline policy that applies equally to students with disabilities and those without. Should include preventive discipline, supportive discipline, and corrective discipline. Provides examples of each. (PKP)

Saying a kind word to a classmate, acknowledging other students' feelings, sharing books and advice, defending a victim of bullying--these are just a few of the prosocial behaviors that can enhance students' social and academic lives at school. Because children do not develop social values in a vacuum, educators, policymakers, and researchers are…

Presents data from a survey of the effectiveness of middle school programs in 34 states. The data show that changing to middle school organization results in student achievement gains, decreased discipline problems, enhanced personal development among students, and other positive effects. (MD)

Most child care centers deprive children of what they need most to grow--opportunities to play, interact freely, experiment, and discover who they are. (Author)

Discusses six traditional instructional assumptions and practices that impede the creation of a caring classroom environment: blaming the students, keeping control of the classroom, missing the systemic factors, ignoring problems with the curriculum, settling for self-discipline, and manipulating with "positive reinforcement." (Contains…

Describes a Singapore principal's turnaround strategy to improve his secondary students' academic performance and study habits. Principal Tong Pak Goh won students back from McDonald's and other distractions by creating an atmosphere of care and casual comfort, holding afterschool tutoring sessions for problem and latchkey kids, and counseling…

Too often, classroom-management systems built on trust and support in primary grades are replaced by compliance and obedience systems in higher grades. Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline is a research-based, classroom-tested Texas program that combines instructional effectiveness (through consistent classroom organization) with…

Research indicates that good discipline is a melting pot of positive factors including, among other things, high rates of student success and strong principal leadership. (Author/JM)