Benefits of Supporting Students Podcast

The podcast discusses the importance of parent support in students' academic, social, and emotional growth. The hosts, Michelle and Jocelyn, along with their classmate Edith, share experiences and insights. Positive parent involvement leads to improved academic performance and student behavior, while lack of support can negatively impact students. Community involvement through after-school programs plays a significant role in supporting students academically. Recommendations are made for schools and teachers to actively involve parents and communities to enhance student success. So, hi everyone, and welcome to our podcast, where we're going to be exploring what really helps students grow, not just academically, but socially and emotionally, and as whole human beings. So, I'm your host, Michelle, and today I'll be talking about something that every teacher talks about, and struggles with, or wishes they understood better, which is parent support in students' lives in academics. This is a part of two host episodes, so my partner Jocelyn would cover the student community side, but in my section, I'll focus on why parents at Boston matter, what research actually says what works, what doesn't, and what real teachers can do, even if they're busy, overwhelmed, or nervous to call home. Thank you, Michelle, for that introduction to the podcast. I'm Jocelyn, who Michelle mentioned, and I will be doing the student's perspective on things. And here to help us today, here to help us with today, is our lovely classmate, Edith, who will talk about her experiences with student support. Thank you for being here with us, Edith, if you want to go ahead and introduce yourself. Yeah, of course. My name is Edith, I am Michelle and Jocelyn's classmate from elementary education, and I am also here to, you know, they asked me to offer my opinions and thoughts on, from what I've experienced based on parent support and community support at schools. All right, thank you, Edith. Okay, so we're going to go ahead and start with the questions. So for the first one, we have, how did you see parent involvement affecting students' academic performance during your clinical experience? Well, honestly, my first clinical experience went really well based on parent support and everything. I did have a CT who would tell me about these things, how she would inform them whenever parents were, you know, lacking a little bit with their academics. She would immediately notify them and the parents immediately would help their students. And you could see it also, I feel like, in the kids, they always came with the classroom with joy. They never felt like school was a, like a horrible chore or anything. They felt, like, really great to be there. And I feel like, you know, when you have a parent support, you feel welcome in that classroom environment, and also as a student. As a teacher, I feel like you also feel, like, appreciated, too, because, you know, like your parent, like a parent is actually asking for your help or also supporting, like helping you, you know. It's not just a one-person job to teach a kid. I feel like it's also a teacher and a parent job to do that. But sadly, on my last clinical experience, it wasn't the best. You could see that a lot of parents lacked support, like they did not offer enough support for their students. And you could see it in the students as well, like some of the kids did not bring backpacks to school. They would just walk into the classroom, like, it was like a, I don't know, like a doctor's office or something. Like, they didn't want to be there at all. And I feel like if I were a parent, I would make sure that my kid has all of their supplies to go to school. But yeah, like also, like my CT, he would tell me how he would text the parents whenever the kids were misbehaving or whatever. And he said that they would just not respond. So, and you could tell, like, it was like, it was getting like that. And it wasn't just his classroom. He said that that's kind of overall how the school was working. So, yeah, it was not the best, I guess. Okay. Thank you for sharing with us. Of course. Okay, we're going to move on to the second question, which we have, did you notice any differences in behavior or motivation between students who had strong family support and those who didn't? Yeah, honestly, on my first clinical site, I don't know. I know Michelle and I, we had the same school site at that time. I don't know if this was at your classroom, but we had a parent teacher at ours. And the students loved her. Like she, and she wasn't even like a person, like she wasn't like a person who went to school or anything. She was just, she would just go as a volunteer and she would just offer helping with grades or prepping school materials and stuff, like the class materials, which was so nice of her. And she was just doing it out of her own goodness of her heart. So sweet. Yeah. And like the kids loved her. They would always say good morning to her, always say goodbye to her. And she was, it was a great classroom because I felt like she would help me also with the ones, because she knew the kids more than I did at that time. Yeah. And she can like help them, like get them engaged too. Or she would tell me too, hey, he's not engaging. Can you help me with that? And I'll be like, yeah, of course. Like she was just the best. But then over here on the other school I went to, you could tell like, like, again, it wasn't like the best, like whenever like my CT would like be like, oh, I told your parent about that. The kid would just get even more upset and be like, well, now that you told my parent this, I'm not going to do anything at all because you already got me in trouble. I don't care. And yeah, it was just like pretty bad. Wow. And that's at your? That was my second clinical. Your second clinical. Yeah. Okay. Oh, okay. So now we're going to talk about like in this placement that you have, how did the school or teacher communicate with parents to support student learning or either clinical? I guess like, you know, they would just text them or talk to them during conferences. They would try to plan conferences to talk to them and regarding like behavior academics. Like I said, it either worked with one school and went together. It didn't. But yeah, they would just communicate. They would always try to communicate with the parents for sure. The teachers. Okay. That's good to hear. And then another question we have is what roles of the community like after school programs, neighborhood groups, school events, et cetera, play in supporting students academically? I feel like they do offer a lot of after school activities like soccer and like sports and stuff like their soccer. A lot of kids loved it. They would. I feel like they would mostly come to school for the free after school extracurriculars, which is amazing. You know, like that actually like makes them something look forward to. Yeah. And then. So, yeah, I feel like there's that. But then also, sadly, in my second neighborhood, I mean, in my second site, the neighborhood, apparently I did hear that like the neighborhood was not as supportive towards the school because they believed that the school was making the neighborhood bad. Oh, which is like really sad to hear that. Yeah. Because it's like our kids doing that. It's not the kids. Like. It's something else. Yeah. It's something else. Like they're children. What did they know? Apparently messing up the neighborhood. So, yeah, I just thought it was a little weird for a neighborhood to think that and not support the school because of that. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. And then we have one last question, which is based on what you observed, what is one thing schools or teachers could do better to involve parents or the community in helping students succeed? I feel like they should. Well, this is from my personal experience. When I was in middle school, before I went to that middle school, my mom, my middle school, it was Aspera Hagen. They offered summer computer classes in the summer for parents, anybody for free. And it was like not like crazy, like tech savvy. It was just like how to open up an email, how to like write emails. And I felt like a lot of like, well, I'm like the first gen here in the US. So for my parents to know that or my mom to know that was like the best because like she already knew how to turn on a computer. She knew how to write an email. She knew how to use a word on her own. And that was like the best. Like, you know, and they offer those classes and they give her a certificate and everything for free. So she was like, you know, she always looked up to the school, like my school, like even I would tell her, oh, I don't like my school. And she'd be like, well, your teachers are really good because it was our own computer science teacher who did that course. So I feel like if like the schools would do more activities like to involve parents or not just parents, but like the neighborhood, like I feel like they could like gain support too. So there could also be, I don't know, like just some something like, like something like I feel like the community needs to come up with where like they can do it at the school or neighborhood. That makes sense. Yeah. Like if the school offers things like, you know, give something in return to like the parents or just people in the neighborhood, not parents of kids, then they could receive the help as well. And yeah. Connecting to like what you were sharing with us. I have someone, a friend that I know that was back like in high school, like middle school, they were close to like joining a gang. And because there was a priest who kind of like pulled him back in and was like, hey, like let's do like, he's offered like after school programs that they could like go. So like sometimes he would take them to the movies. Like it was a group of students. He would take them to the movies or like he would play soccer with them. He was just like very involved in their life. He says that like, that's like the biggest main reason why he didn't join a gang. Like he kind of like pulled him away from like all those, like that path that he was going to take. And he says that like in a way he kind of saved him. So I kind of connected to what you're saying. I feel like if community, like their community school parents could just involve their, like their, involve them into like after school programs, it would kind of keep them engaged and like keep them, I guess, entertained. So like they don't go into like a bad path. No. Yeah. That's what I feel like it works both ways. Like schools need to do something and make it known just so the communities can see it and involve their kids into it. Yeah. Parents might not even be like aware that these like stories are out there. That's true. Yeah. Like you said, they have to like put it out there. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Thank you guys. Thank you so much, Edith. We appreciate your enlightening input. Thank you. Thank you so much. So then I'm going to start talking a lot of what I shared today is going to come from like really good and powerful sources. So including articles from like Edutopia, Education Week, and Annie Casey Foundation and research summaries about parent involvement. Thank you. So Article 1 is called The Impact of Parent's Involvement Statistics on Academic Success. And so usually when I tell people that I'm studying to become a teacher, they say some things like, oh, good luck with the parents. Like honestly, many teachers feel nervous contacting parents for like my clinical observations or like they just have something to say about parents. Yeah. And one of the articles that I read from Amir Turan Ayers from Edutopia compares calling parents to going to the dentist. And not because parents are scary, but because teachers worry about conflict, judgment, or saying the wrong things that might trigger a parent. But the research that was pointed out in this article was that when teachers and parents work together, students succeed. So the article explains that parents' involvement is so powerful that it often outweighs factors like family income, race, ethnicity, or even parents' own educational level. So parents are truly child's first teacher and their support creates like a strong foundation for everything that happens in school. So just a few like striking findings that I found in the article was that students who frequently talk about school with their parents have a 44% higher odds of attending post-secondary education. That's amazing. Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. Students without academic support are 34% more likely to drop out, showing how much guidance and supervision like really does matter. So like, yeah, parents being involved matters a lot. Yeah. And even not just like academically, but like I feel like when parents are like, oh, like when they know like who their teachers are, what friends they hang out with. I feel like it just makes the student want to be like connected to the parents and it makes them to like want to share more information about school with their parents because their parents are taking the time to get to know their child. Yes. Yeah. And like you said, even like the littlest things like even knowing who their friends are and who they are and how their teacher, like the name of, some parents probably like don't know like the name of the teacher, the name that they have. Yeah. It's kind of crazy. So what's that? It is. So I also found out that like in the article, it mentioned that if parents' expectations are huge or like, you know, they're bigger, parents are only expected, so if a parent only expects a child to finish high school, the student becomes five times more likely to leave school by eighth grade compared to students who have parents with higher expectations. Oh, that's interesting. Yes. And I feel like that's a big one and I've definitely noticed with some of like my friends in high school and elementary, I feel like parents who are constantly pushing like their students to like, hey, like, what are you going to do? Do this. You got to do, like, keep pushing them. It like means a lot because I feel like I had some friends with their parents, which is not really involved in their academics or overall like their lives. Yeah. They didn't really have any, like, anything to look forward after high school. It's true. I feel like I agree because I feel like when students or when parents, they, when they push and they motivate their kids to do well, I feel like it leaves like a mindset in the students or their kids where they're like, oh, like, I have someone rooting for me who wants me to do good, you know. It makes them feel like, oh, I don't want to disappoint them. It makes them want to work harder too. Yeah. And it might have a mindset of like, oh, maybe if they're not motivated by themselves, it could be like, I'm doing this for my parents. Yes. That's so true. I'm going to graduate, like, college for my parents. Like, you have that little, like, push, you know. That's so true. So then article number two talked about, so it's called three tips for partnering with parents for support success. And it kind of goes deeper into, like, the three big strategies. And they're honestly one of the, like, most helpful tips that I've ever read. So the first one says, determine the best method of contact. So some parents' schedules, like, vary by a lot. So some parents might work night shifts, run small businesses, or like, they're just busy. Some might have two jobs. Yeah. And then two jobs. Mm-hmm. Like, or three jobs. Yeah. Or maybe, like, they might not even be home. Someone else might be taking care of them. Grandma. Grandparents. Grandparents. Mm-hmm. So teachers have to be flexible. And, like, many parents prefer text or e-mails because they're quick. And, like, it also, like, they're just quick and easy to kind of, like, respond to, rather than just giving them a call. And then maybe the parent can't, like, pick up the call when they're at work. And then it's more likely, like, oh, I saw the text. I'll text back. Yeah. Yeah. Like, don't just rely on, like, calls. Okay. You just have to ignore it. Mm-hmm. Or forget about it. Yeah. And just being able to, like, access them in the moment, like, as a call at the moment. That's fun. And then, so, like, it also talks about normalizing positive but real communication. So, like, teachers usually reach out not only when something's wrong. Like, I feel like if we're only reaching out to parents when, like, something's going wrong in the students' lives, like, in their academics, they're just going to, like, relate to you and be like, oh, this is something bad, rather than calling parents for, like, something positive. Yeah. It makes a difference. Mm-hmm. And it's not, like, the compliment sandwich, like, not a fake phrase, but it's, like, real specific positives that show, like, hey, I see your child. I understand who they are, and I notice what they bring to the classroom. So, like, you have to be, like, very, like, specific and, like, true when you're calling the parent about something that you want to, like, you want them to know. Yeah, like, genuine compliments. Mm-hmm. Then it also talked about shift from deficit thinking. So, deficit thinking sounds like they don't have supplies, they don't care, they don't know how to support learning, but an asset-based mindset sounds like this family wants to help. How can we partner? Mm-hmm. What strengths does the family bring? What resources can we share to support success? So, Iris said that the shift helps teachers become warm, demanders, supportive, and high expectation educators. Mm-hmm. And I like this, because I feel like, for, like, especially us, since we're, like, beginning to barely be teachers, I feel like it's going to be difficult to, like, get out of that and we're so used to, like, hearing, like, negative things about, like, yeah, like how you said, like, that maybe their parents don't care, maybe they don't have the supplies. But I feel like once we, like, change our mindset to the asset-based mindset, like how you were saying, I feel like it'll be a stronger bond that will be created between, like, parent and teacher and student. Yes, for sure. Mm-hmm. So, moving on to my third article. Mm-hmm. It's called, Does Parents' Involvement Really Help Students? And, like, here's what research says by Levy-Stanford. So, there's a myth that parents' involvement only means showing up to school, but Levy-Stanford article called, no, I'm sorry, Levy-Stanford's article shows that different types of involvement lead to different outcomes. Ah. So, I'm going to, like, just break it down. So, school-based involvement, which means parent-teacher conference, open houses, visiting the school, volunteering, these help students, but the impact's actually stronger at earlier grades and gets weaker in high school. Yes. Because in high school, they're kind of, like, on their own. So true. Yes. More independent. Yes. And it's not, like, a homeroom that they have. They're kind of, like, taking multiple, so it's kind of hard to, like, reach every teacher. That's true. Yeah. And then home-based involvement means talking about school. It's like, do you do your part in school and at home? Mm-hmm. So, at home, it's, like, talking about school, encouraging goals, creating a routine, reading together, like, going to the library, asking them, like, even in high school, like, when they're in high school, asking them, like, what's your homework? Did you do it? Mm-hmm. When did they do? Yes. Just things like that to kind of, like, keep them, like, you're also, like, aware of what they have going on in school and not just, like, expecting them that they're responsible. Mm-hmm. Like, yes, they might be responsible, but you also might want to be informed about it. Yeah. And I think it lets the students know, too, like, they're not just asking, like, just to know, but more to, like, to genuinely, like, want to understand, like, how's school going? Like, can I help you with something? How are your grades? How is, like, how are your classes going? You know, I feel like it, when parents are involved, I feel like it really does, like, it changes, like, the mindset of the students. Makes a big impact. Yeah. Sure. Big impact. And then my fourth article, it's called Getting Parents Involved is a Foundation of Student Success by Michael Savile. Mm-hmm. And something that they mentioned was parents must spend two 90-minute sessions per week in classrooms. So before that, they must attend, like, a step course to prepare them. But what really blew my mind was that parents even lead sessions based on their professional knowledge, not as helpers, but, like, as an expert, too. Oh. So architects teach geometry, doctors teach biology, engineers help with problem-solving lessons. That's so cool. Mm-hmm. And even families who can't be, like, in the building find other ways to, like, photocopying, tech troubleshooting, chaperones, or even evening tasks. And, like, the results that they saw was that students become great group workers, parents understand the education system, families become advocates, and teachers feel supported. Mm-hmm. But this model is, like, possibly everywhere, like, it might not be. Right. Yeah. But it just shows how much, like, family expertise enriches, like, schools and, like, makes a big impact on how the schools do what. No, definitely. And I can relate to this one because, actually, when I was, like, younger, I remember my dad, he would always, like, want a chaperone, like, for our futures. And, like, me being little, I'd be like, oh, like, I'm a little embarrassed because my dad is going to be there, like, with my friends and whatnot. But, like, looking after it, like, looking back now at it, I'm like, oh, my goodness, like, I feel like I was so thankful to, like, have a dad who, like, wanted to spend time with me and get to know my friends and, like, help my teachers out. I feel like it really – and not only that, but, like, my friends ended up, like, loving my dad. Even, like, students who I never talked to, they would go up to him and be like, oh, hi, Ms. Jerome, my friend. And, like, they knew who he was, and it felt nice to, like, have, like, a parent who wanted to, like, be involved with, like, the school that you went to. So, it feels great. So, I feel like students seeing their parents, like, teach a lesson, I feel like it makes them think, like, oh, like, my parents are doing that, you know? I feel like, yeah. It is good. This actually happened in an elementary school in California. So, it's how they're leading the school. And I was like, wow, this is amazing. It's really good. And then, my last article, something that I found out, and it's a research-backed strategy, and it's called The Role of Parental Involvement in Your Child's Education by the Amy E. Casey Foundation. So, first, creating a welcoming school culture. So, parents need to feel like they belong there, right? Yes. So, this could include, like, parents' rooms or gathering spaces specifically, kind of, for them to gather or, you know, just arrive and just have their own space there. Yeah. Flexible meeting times as well, after-hours events, and leadership that models family engagement, because I feel like, oftentimes, schools don't offer, like, the extra space for parents to take, like, the lead. True. It's usually just, like, them volunteering. And, like, only volunteering when they have, like, a field trip or, like, a school event. Yeah. How about when there's none of that? Like, how could they get involved? Good point. Yeah. The second point that they mentioned was including parents in decision-making. So, this transforms involvement to engagement. And some examples of this could be, like, parent comedies or curriculum nights, advisory groups. The third one, it's empower families with tools to support learning at home. So, not homework help, but actual, like, tools that they could, you know, do at home. So, like, books, routines, conversation starters, apps, or, like, guides for creative learning friendly homes. Because I feel like everyone that kind of refers to, like, oh, how can parents support students at home? Oh, homework. Yeah. But there's actually so much more. Like, for example, conversation starters. I feel like that's a great one, especially when you have a team at home. Oh. Or sometimes they're not in the mood to, like, talk, or it's just kind of hard to, like, reach them. Yeah. They're kind of, like, isolated. Yes. Yes. So, I feel like even, like, providing parents with, like, here's some, like, conversation starters that you could use. Or even, like, for example, my CT, she has, like, a little, like, weekly, like, note that she, like, sends home. Okay. And she, like, lets them know, like, this is what we're doing for this week, da, da, da. And I feel like even there, you could include, like, oh, this is, like, something that we're learning. These are, like, conversation starters that you could use at home to, like, guide the conversation and compare, like, you know, based on, like, what they're doing in school that week. I feel like that's really good. Oh, yeah. And I like that they also give, like, other, like, other ways to, like, help the students at home. Because I feel like a lot of the times, like, teachers do say, like, parents will ask, like, how can I help my student more at home? And the teacher will always be, like, oh, yeah, help them with their homework. But, like, a lot of the time or most of the time, some parents might not understand the homework. So, they might feel, like, well, I'm not really, they might feel, like, they're at a disadvantage because they don't know how to help them. But I like these, like, they give you, like, different options that you could help with, like, the books, the routines, the conversation starters was a good one. So, I like that it's, like, it offers more. Yeah. It's a lot easier to think of the homework. Yeah. Than just the homework. Exactly. So, just to kind of wrap up my section, I want to bring back the idea that students do better when parents and teachers see each other as partners and not opponents. Opponents. Opponents. And then across every article that I read, every study, and every statistic, the message was kind of, like, the same. So, it was, like, parents want to be involved. Parent involvement makes a measurable difference. Teachers' communication, real and honest and positive communication, opens a door for everything else. And then when we build those relationships, then students feel supported by a whole team. So, yeah. Thank you so much for listening to my part. All right. Thank you, Michelle, for teaching us on how parent involvement has a positive effect on the students, the way students feel supported. And so, now that we've covered the parents' perspective of things, I'll be talking more about, like, the students' side for support. And so, we just want to reiterate that this is an important topic to talk about because it's linked to students' academic success. So, when students feel supported, they're more likely to stay motivated, understand material better, and they perform well in their classes. So, support systems, like how we talked about, like teachers and family and counselors and peers, who I'll talk about, they help remove barriers to learning. So, students who receive support develop skills that they carry into adulthood, such as problem solving, communication, emotional regulation, and perseverance. And so, with that being said, I'll talk about my first article, which is Building a Classroom Community that Supports Students' Social-Moral Development, by Marilyn Watson, Lana Daoué, Grinnell Smith, and Colette Rabin. And so, in this first article, it opens by talking about the Child Development Project, which was a research initiative launched in 1979 by educational researchers, psychologists, and teachers. And the goal of this program was to design an elementary school program that supported students' social and moral growth. So, they came up with a program that could be incorporated into curriculum and classroom management procedures. And so, essentially, with this program, classroom, it had three core approaches. So, the first one was a literature-based language arts curriculum, so that it could build empathy and pro-social values. The second one was a cooperative approach to learning, emphasizing that working together in a fair, caring, and responsible way was important. And then, the third approach focused on building caring and trusting relationships with and among students to guide them toward responsible behavior. And so, when all three of these components were successfully implemented, students showed significant positive social, moral, and academic growth. And these students reported a strong sense of community, enjoyed school more, and they increased their conflict resolution skills and commitment to being more selfless. And so, for the second segment, it talks about actually putting this into practice. So, despite positive results, the program experienced mixed results, because a lot of teachers, they failed to implement these key aspects. So, some teachers, they still clung to the traditional reward-slash-punishment-based discipline. And this approach, it was often what they experienced as students themselves, or they learned in teacher education, and so that's why they're so used to implementing those rewards and those punishments. And it focused more on efficient control, but it was inconsistent to build that sense of community, especially for the students who would mistrust the teachers. And so, they want to emphasize that this approach, it's slow and it's time-intensive, meaning that it requires teachers to build those supportive relationships to help students understand the reasons behind the rules, which I know a lot of the time, I work with little kids and I've seen the teachers, or even parents, when children are very little, a child will do something wrong and they'll ask, why? And the parent will just be like, because I said so, and that doesn't really help them. Like, to grow or to understand why what they're doing is wrong. And so, I've seen that a lot, where they just won't back up the reasoning for the rules, which doesn't help them to understand what they're doing wrong. And another one, they said, was to teach students the skills needed for kind and responsible behavior, and to engage students in problem-solving when they misbehave, and to use non-punishment control when needed. So, sorry. No, go ahead. So, I'm not a narcissist. I have a little sister at home, and sometimes she's doing something wrong, I'll be like, don't do that. Yeah. And she will ask me herself, why not? Yeah. They want to know, why can't we do it? They want to know what's the reason behind doing that. Yeah. So, sometimes I'm not going to like it, because I'm doing that. It just sometimes comes out without even thinking it. But I try later on, if I'm reflecting on something, before going to bed, I'll let her know where I apologize, and be like, hey, I'm sorry for how that happened earlier. You know, it happened because of this, that, or that. So, I always try to apologize to her, even maybe it's wrong that I didn't do it right away. But sometimes I like to reflect on what happened throughout my day, like right before I go to bed. Yeah. And if it comes up, I'll bring it up to her, and I do apologize to her. But I'm very intentional with apologizing and making sure that she knows that I'm saying I'm sorry. Yeah. Sometimes, as parents, you kind of lose that. I'm a parent. I'm going to apologize. You listen to me. Yes. You listen to me in that sense. Exactly. So, I think that's important, to help them understand the reason behind it. No, and I think it's good that you're reflecting on it, too, because it means you want to help her, to understand more things. I feel like that's always the hardest part of acknowledging it. But because you acknowledge it, then it means you're going to keep trying to help her better next time. Yeah. Which is good. Which is good. Okay. Yeah. So, this article, it concludes by emphasizing that while building supportive and trusting relationships using this discipline, it's often a slow and difficult process. But it can be a way to help these struggling students to change those negative worldviews and set them on a positive life course. And so, they gave the little analogy that learning this approach, it's like learning to play the cello. It requires time, dedication, and lots of practice to master, but you should expect the process to take time to master. Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah. Having patience. Mm-hmm. Having patience, definitely. And so, the second article, it talks about school size, student performance, and cost analysis. And for the second article, it's a bit shorter, but it's still going to be talking about whether elementary school size really does matter when it comes to academic success. And so, this article, it advocates for small schools to emphasize the degree to which students feel supported and cared for by teachers and staff. And they emphasize how small schools, they naturally create that intimate learning environment that foster that sense of belonging and community. And another point they made was how students' studies confirm the benefits of this connectedness that shows that students in smaller schools experience, number one, higher engagement. So, what this means is they have much higher risk of participation in extracurricular, athletic, and academic activities because every student is needed as a critical member. That's amazing. Mm-hmm. And the second one, they said that in smaller schools, there's better discipline. So, like, principals in schools with under 300 students reported for fewer patterns of office referrals for disrespect compared to those in schools with over 1,000 students. Which I feel like it makes sense because, like, I feel like in a smaller school, like, it's easier for, like, students to, like, know other students. It's easier for, like, teachers and staff to know all the students. So, I feel like it makes sense as to why they're not getting called into the principal's office as much when there's, like, compared to, like, a school with, like, 1,000 students, you don't know, like, it's harder to control them. Yes, exactly. So, it makes sense. And then the third one they had was higher achievement overall, where multiple studies have concluded that students in smaller schools, they generally demonstrate higher academic achievement. And so, perhaps the most compelling argument for smaller school size, it relates to low socioeconomic status. So, researchers identified what they called equity ethics, meaning that small schools have a more effectiveness for students who are impoverished or economically disadvantaged. However, multiple studies found that smaller schools lessened or muted the negative effects of poverty on student achievement, which allowed these students to perform more effectively compared to their peers in larger schools. And in contrast, large schools, they tend to magnify, like, these economic disadvantages, which I feel like we see a lot where students with, like, a bunch of school, schools with, like, a lot of students, unfortunately, like, because if they're in, like, if they're in a school where they don't have, like, a lot of resources or the school is, like, low funded, it makes sense that these students are going to be, like, at a higher disadvantage than schools who attend, like, smaller, students who attend smaller schools. And so, in conclusion for this article, while large schools offer cost efficiencies, the evidence strongly suggests that smaller settings provide greater academic benefits, especially for students facing economic challenges, because they foster crucial relationships and community engagement. And policymakers, they have to proceed with caution, understanding that student potential means prioritizing these intimate environments, whether by building smaller schools or strategically dividing larger ones. And so, going on with my third article, it's called Learning Environments for Stress, Calming Rooms, and Gardens. It talks about an original study that explores the creation of learning environments designed to support elementary students who are experiencing chronic stress. And so, the core issue is that many elementary students face chronic stress stemming from factors like poverty, racism, trauma, food insecurity, and community violence. And the impact that this chronic stress creates, it creates obstacles to help them succeed academically, which leads to an achievement gap. And a lot of times these efforts, they fail because they overlook the non-academic aspects of well-being that influence a child's ability to learn. And so, the project that focuses on three signature efforts, developed collaboratively with school staff, and the one that they had is the calming room, so like a therapeutic space. And so, it talks about how this space was designed for students experiencing emotional or behavioral outbursts, used with the support of a trained adult. And this room was intentionally meant to be simplistic to help students get away from all the stimuli, and so that they learn to self-regulate on their own. Oh, that's beautiful. Definitely. Definitely. And features for this room included cubbies for retreats, or designs on the walls for tracing to help them calm down. Cozy. Yeah, like a cozy corner for sure. And it was important to note that it wasn't like an isolation room, it was more like a therapeutic space for supportive regulation to help the students calm down, get away from all the stimuli that's going on in their lives, and just take it down a notch, remind themselves that they're in a safe space right now where they can calm down for a little bit. And that's actually a nice thing. I feel like it would be nice to have both that room for the entire school, and a space like that in your classroom, which might be a little harder for them to get that quiet space. But having a calm corner in your classroom, and just a calm room over on the whole school, that's amazing. I like that. No, definitely. I agree. I feel like it really does help calm you down, and just kind of like calm you down when you I agree. I feel like it really does help calm you down, and just kind of like center yourself, especially for younger students who have a harder time expressing their emotions, or they get mad very easily, they get angry. It could benefit from that too. I think yes, I agree. It could definitely benefit. And so they talk about the level of impact for students. They said how the intervention helped them. It helped to improve emotional regulation. So students showed positive changes. They become more proactive by asking to visit the calming room when they feel agitated. They say that the room helped them get back to class sooner, and more regulated and ready to work. And they mention how the garden was also used as a calming space to relieve stress and pent up energy. And students showed great enthusiasm for the garden, and they gained valuable exposure to gardening. And on a staff level, they mentioned how the staff played an important role in supporting that student regulation, that the calming room improved the way staff were able to process the students and help them get back on task with their academic work. And on a school environment level, the calming room benefited the overall school environment, leading to a noticeably calmer atmosphere and less chaotic movement throughout the building. So teachers mentioned how they successfully incorporated the garden into their curriculum, integrating it into different content areas. And on a more community level, with families and communities, it said that there was increased involvement, that the garden successfully engaged community members, parents, and guardians, and community members cared for the garden and picked produce. And staff noticed that the garden facilitated positive connections, conversations with parents, even helping to overcome language barriers. That's amazing. Right? That's literally amazing. No, definitely. It helped, like, hit, like, on the student's level, the staff level, the school level, and the community level. So I feel like it's something that... It's helping everyone. Yeah, exactly. I feel like a lot of schools should, like, implement this more. And it's fun. Yeah. It's, like, fun. It's healthy for the environment, healthy for you because you're getting organic food. Oh my gosh, yeah. That's a good idea. I really like that one. We need to, like, talk about this, like, in our future schools. Yes. Advocate for this. Yes. Yes. And so, in conclusion, this project demonstrated, like, the benefits of, like, multiple interventions in supporting student well-being. And so, the fourth article, it talks about school counselors improving student achievement and behavior. And so, for this, they had a student success skills model that was built upon, like, extensive, like, reviews of, like, educational research, identifying the most critical factors associated with long-term school success that focused on, like, three sets, which were cognitive and metacognitive skills, which includes, like, goal setting, progress monitoring, and memory strategies. The second was social skills, so, like, covering, like, interpersonal skills, such as listening, teamwork, and social problem solving. And the third one was self-management skills, which was the ability to manage attention, motivation, and anger. And so, for this, it said how the counselors and the guidance counselors, they had to note that the counselors, they received extensive training, such as peer coaching sessions, where they reviewed, like, videotapes, which helped to, like, boost their confidence and also to, like, help to understand, like, how they could genuinely help, like, the students at the schools more. And they found that, like, the reading scores improved significantly in terms of, like, reading achievement, that the treatment group mean was higher compared to, like, after the counseling intervention, and their math scores also increased significantly, which they found that in the math achievement. And so, it just goes to show how, like, important a school counselor or a guidance counselor is in, like, schools, because, I mean, a lot of times, students do have things to do with, like, stress or, like, worries at home, and sometimes they might feel like they might not have, like, the resources needed, but it's important to, like, train the school guidance counselors to understand, like, how to, like, positively talk to the students. And so, ultimately, like, this research provides, like, strong documentation that, like, strong school counselors at interventions, they have a substantial positive effect on both student academic achievement and behavior, and it reinforces the need for counselors to measure and report their impact, as well as to improve, like, academic and their social performance. And so, for the last article, it talks about teacher beliefs and practices and inclusive classrooms. And so, what they found in this article was that teachers who believe it is their responsibility to include students with special education needs are fundamentally more effective practitioners for all their students. And so, this focused on, like, the length and complexity of instructional teachers that they had with individual students during seat work. So, essentially, this article talks about how students or teachers who are more equipped with, like, knowing how to, like, differentiate instruction for, like, those special education needs students, they were able to understand how to, how to communicate that lesson plan to all their students. So, it talks about how for inclusion to truly succeed in a classroom, they must focus on, like, fostering, like, the internal belief that all the students can learn. So, essentially, it's speaking to, like, teachers understanding that it's their role and responsibility that if they're able to teach to all students, that they will truly, like, engage all the learners, that they have to believe that their instruction can overcome barriers so that they can create an enhanced opportunity for every student to learn. And, yeah, those were our 10 sources that we talked about. That was amazing. That was amazing. Thank you for sharing your part. Oh, thank you, Michelle. Thank you, too. Thank you, too. But, yeah, we hope you enjoyed our podcast and learned a little something more about supporting students in academic settings. And, yeah. Thank you, guys. Thank you.