Tomorrow’s Teachers in Action Today

Posted on July 19, 2012December 8, 2016 by

Kayla Everson and Sarah Harris have been busy shaping a successful future – for others, that is. Both seniors have been working with the academic intervention program UConn Connects to help their peers succeed.

Kayla Everson '12 (ED) — Kayla Everson ’12 (ED), a facilitator at the Academic Achievement Center. (Ariel Dowski ’14 (CLAS)/UConn Photo)

UConn Connects, which is part of the Academic Achievement Center, offers help to students who are struggling academically. This semester, more than 400 students participated. Each participant is paired with a peer facilitator.

Everson and Harris began at UConn Connects as facilitators in 2009, and worked their way up to the title of ʻexecutive master coaches.ʼ

The program appealed to Everson as a place to work on campus, since it related to her career goal of becoming a teacher. The Newington, Conn. native is majoring in secondary English education in the Neag School of Education. She hopes to teach 7th or 8th grade because, she says, “these two grades are important in a childʼs life. It is when he or she is discovering who he or she really is. I want to help facilitate that process in a healthy way.”

She signed up as a facilitator with the hope of assisting first-year Huskies with their college transition.

Like Everson, Harris was also drawn by the opportunity to guide peers. Harris, who is from Portland, Conn., is studying secondary social studies education, psychology, and history and would like to teach at the high school level.

Sarah Harris ’12 (ED), a facilitator at the Academic Achievement Center. (Ariel Dowski ’14 (CLAS)/UConn Photo)

“As a future teacher, I was intrigued by the programʼs peer focus,” Harris says, “and recognized that, as a high school teacher, it would be helpful to have had the opportunity to observe the challenges that students face upon entering college, in order to better prepare my future students for the academic transition.”

Each UConn Connects facilitator works with four to six participants on a one-on-one basis, meeting weekly throughout the semester. These meetings provide students with the tools and resources to develop strong note-taking and study skills that can be applied in any academic discipline.

Kevin Sullivan, director of academic support, who oversees the Academic Achievement Center and UConn Connects, describes Everson and Harris as “model helpers who demonstrate that UConn students can establish high standards for their academic, personal, and social growth, and then work consistently and tirelessly to achieve their goals.”

When the Academic Achievement Center was established, incorporating and building upon UConn Connects, Everson and Harris decided to get involved in the new center. Sullivan says the center was created to help all students, not just those who are struggling or on probation. Students who need to perform at the highest levels to be eligible for competitive scholarships, majors, or postgraduate opportunities can find appropriate assistance there. The center is staffed by undergraduate coaches who have previously been facilitators for UConn Connects.

Sullivan says Everson and Harris soon became key players in the new center: “They were instrumental in the structuring of the organization, providing key contributions to our weekly design meetings.”

They say their involvement in academic support programs was helpful in their own education, too. Says Everson, “I had the opportunity to teach time management skills, stress management, test-taking methods, and more. It kept my coaching skills fresh.”

Adds Harris, “Our common desire to teach made us a good team. We worked together to develop new ideas for the UConn Connects curriculum.”

In spring 2012, both seniors began student teaching off campus as part of their degree program and were no longer able to work on campus. Everson has been teaching an 8th grade English class at East Hartford Middle School, and Harris taught 10th grade world history and two 12th grade psychology courses at Manchester High School. Both will go on to complete the Neag School of Education Integrated Bachelorʼs/Masterʼs Degree program next year as masterʼs students.

Sullivan says he is proud of the pair and their contribution to academic support programs: “Leading by example, with their own immense GPAʼs and involved campus life, Kayla and Sarah modeled all of the strategies, techniques, attitudes, and cognitions necessary to produce consistent academic excellence.”

Forum on Education Reform Law: ‘The Whole Climate Has Changed’

Posted on July 19, 2012December 8, 2016 by

The landmark education reform bill signed into law last month by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy means sweeping changes for schools across Connecticut, a top lawmaker told a group of prospective teachers in the University of Connecticut Neag School of Educationʼs Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates at the Waterbury campus on Wednesday night.

Among other things, that means educators have to be closely attuned to the world outside their classroom, House Minority Leader Larry Cafero, R-Norwalk, told the students.

“All of you in education, regardless of what you do, if youʼre going to be good in your profession, you have to be cognizant of whatʼs going on outside the classroom door,” he said.

Cafero came to Waterbury at the invitation of Michael Marotto, a lecturer in the Neag School certification program, specifically to talk with students about the most major changes to Connecticut education in a generation.

“The whole climate has changed,” Marotto, a veteran teacher in public schools, said. “The things Iʼm teaching this cohort are different from the things I taught even a year ago.”

Thatʼs because of the education reform law, which passed unanimously in the state House of Representatives and overwhelmingly in the state Senate.

Cafero outlined the implications of the law for teachers, including a new methodology for evaluating the performance of educators in the classroom. The law also focuses on under-performing schools in the state, providing resources and assistance to help them turn around, but with the possibility of significant consequences if they donʼt.

“We passed the law so that those 25 lowest-performing schools will be put to the task of turning around, and if not, theyʼre going to be literally reconstituted,” perhaps as charter schools or other types of non-traditional environment, Cafero said.

Students in the program, which awards teacher certification and a masterʼs degree after a rigorous one-year course of study, had clearly stayed informed of changes in the law. Those attending the forum peppered the veteran lawmaker with detailed questions ranging from the fate of standardized tests under the new system to whether the law creates a disincentive for teachers looking to work in under-performing schools.

Students in the Neag School of Education's Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates a — Students in the Neag School of Education’s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates attending a forum at UConn’s Waterbury campus on the state’s education reform had many questions about the new laws. (Shawn Kornegay/UConn Photo)

A persistent concern was exactly how teachers will be evaluated under the new guidelines, a question that UConnʼs Neag School will play a role in answering. The state Performance Evaluation Advisory Council is currently developing ways to measure categories such as the effectiveness of teachers and principals that will be piloted in 10 districts throughout the state.

The Neag School will study the most high-profile measurement – teacher effectiveness – and report back to the General Assembly before the evaluation procedures are rolled out to other schools.

Despite uncertainty about such significant changes, Marotto said the reforms actually present an excellent opportunity for teachers to use the kinds of skills taught in the Neag School certification program.

“This is an exciting time to be a teacher,” he said. “You need innovation, creativity, sensitivity, and awareness, and thatʼs what I see in these students.

Michael Marotto, lecturer in the Neag School of Education’s Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates and a veteran public school teacher, says it’s an exciting time to be a teacher. (Shawn Kornegay/UConn Photo)

“Just to get accepted into this Neag program is a very tough screening process,” Marotto added. “These students are very aware of what they need to do to succeed.”

Teaching: A Family Tradition

Posted on July 19, 2012December 8, 2016 by

At six years of age, Rachel Buck ʼ01 (ED), ʼ02 MA already knew she wanted to be a teacher. A graduate of the Neag School of Educationʼs Integrated Bachelorʼs/Masterʼs (IBM) program, her five-year-old daughter now tells Buck that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

“My children can do whatever they want to do, as long as they want to go to UConn,” says Buck, who is part of a family of educators. Her father is Keith Barker, professor of computer science and engineering and former longtime director of UConnʼs Institute for Teaching and Learning. Her mother worked with special needs students, and her two brothers have taught at universities.

Buck graduated from high school at 16, applying only to UConn, and won a Nutmeg Scholarship. When she was not studying, she was a member of the UConn Marching Band, where she met her husband, Christopher Buck ʼ02 (BUS), who is now vice president of Buckʼs Ice Cream, a family-owned business based in Milford, Conn.

Buck has taught math at the Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy in East Hartford, Conn., for nearly a decade. “I thought about teaching at the college level, but one of the things I really like about high school is that students have to come to school,” Buck says. “I like getting them at the point where Iʼm preparing them for college.”

And her students are very well prepared. In 2010, Buck received her own magnet schoolʼs Teacher of the Year award. Last year, the Neag School of Education awarded her the Outstanding School Educator Award, while the East Hartford Rotary Club recognized Buck as a Paul Harris Fellow for Exemplary Service.

The curriculum Buck teaches is based on the requirements of the International Baccalaureate organization, a nonprofit foundation based in Wales. “The emphasis is 100 percent on trying to get kids to be global citizens who are caring, knowledgeable, and inquisitive,” she says.

Students are continually raising money for charities, often at events that Buck oversees. She serves as advisor for the Student Advisory Board and Interact Club and an advisor for the schoolʼs community service program: Creativity, Action, and Service. “As many hours as I put in, the fact that kids appreciate it and remember me – telling me years later whatʼs happening in their lives – is why I love teaching. Iʼll get an email: ʻJust wanted to let you know Iʼm sitting in this college math class, and I really appreciate what you taught me.ʼ ”

Helping Teachers Teach Writing

Posted on July 19, 2012December 8, 2016 by

Many students at all levels struggle with writing. And many teachers welcome some help in working with them, too.

The Connecticut Writing Project (CWP) at UConn is a resource both for those who teach writing, from kindergarten through college, and for the students they teach.

The CWP-Storrs was established in 1982 with the goal of improving the writing of incoming students and providing training to teachers in how to teach writing. It is one of the oldest sites of the National Writing Project.

Today, the CWP works closely with the Neag School of Education, the University Writing Center, the Early College Experience and Freshmen English programs, and the Creative Writing program. Much of this is facilitated by the Aetna Chair of Writing, which the CWP helped establish.

The common thread among these programs is that they recognize the paramount importance of writing to student achievement. To that end, one of the CWPʼs main goals is to provide teachers and students with opportunities to be writers.

From its earliest days, the CWP published the undergraduate literary journal Writing UConn, which later became the award-winning Long River Review, as well as a journal of graduate student writing that was a forerunner to Essay Connections. While these two publications have long since become the purview of other programs, the CWP continues to provide writing opportunities through a Summer Institute, Writers Retreats, a Teacher-as-Writer program, and Connecticut Student Writers magazine.

The Summer Institute is the foundation of the CWP. It is an intensive, interdisciplinary, four-week program that provides an interactive environment in which K-college teachers share their research and their writing. Half of the coursework is dedicated to work in writing groups and the development of a portfolio of original writing.

Participants say that having the opportunity to share work and receive peer feedback is invaluable. “Some of the best times are when we share our own writing,” says Kelly Andrews-Babcock, a teacher from Killingly who co- teaches the Summer Institute with CWP director Jason Courtmanche. “There are often gales of laughter, tears, and

some heavy sighs. Friday read-arounds become an emotional roller coaster for all of us. It becomes a time of discovery, and we bare our souls through sharing our passions and pains.”

At the conclusion of the Institute, participants are asked to self-select one piece of writing for publication in Teacher- Writer, an annual journal that also includes writing from a fall contest and the Writers Retreats program.

Writers Retreats for teachers have been held since 1990, and take place at Wisdom House in Litchfield. These retreats provide teachers much-needed time to write and to benefit from the company of other teachers who write. Participants leave the retreats energized and recommitted to their work.

Nicole Waicunas, an English teacher at EO Smith High School in Storrs and recipient of the 2012 Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award, said of her recent experience, “I felt welcomed as I read the words that I had so carefully written. The experience could not have been better for a new writer like me.” Rosemary LoStocco, also an English teacher at EO Smith High School, said of the program, “Wisdom House provided the uninterrupted concentration I needed to quiet my spirit and awaken memories. I grew from sharing my work with such gifted, compassionate writers.”

Denise Abercrombie runs both the Writers Retreats and the Teacher-as-Writer program, which meets several times a year on the Storrs campus. In this program, a small group of teachers gather to share their writing in a supportive environment.

Abercrombie describes the essence of the program when she says, “Teachers who make themselves vulnerable as fellow writers not only model the writing life for their students, but deepen their own teaching and writing practice.”

The CWP also provides opportunities for students to publish their writing. Since 1988, the CWP has published Connecticut Student Writers magazine, which features writing by students from kindergarten through high school. The magazine is currently edited by Griswold High English teacher Nadine Keane. More than 1,000 students submit their work each year; about 150 are published or receive honorable mention. These students are honored each spring at an event called Recognition Night, which is held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts and features a keynote address by a local children’s or young adult author, as well as readings by select students from each grade level.

“Students often work toward extrinsic rewards, such as good grades or parental approval,” says Keane. “However, the intrinsic rewards that come from publication are more profound. As the students enter Jorgensen Auditorium on Recognition Night, the young authors are radiant with pride.” This yearʼs event was held on May 15.

Peter J. Nichols Scholarship in Educational Leadership

Posted on July 19, 2012March 31, 2016 by

As announced in a previous Spotlight article, Provost and Executive Vice President Peter Nichols, Ph.D., is returning to the UConn faculty after serving the university with distinction. Dr. Nichols will teach in the Neag School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership to build his experience in leadership and administration, as well as to engage in higher education policy and governance research. While serving as provost, Dr. Nichols was involved with the Higher Education Student Affairs (HESA) program and had the opportunity to interact with HESA students. He looks forward to this continuing.

To acknowledge Nichols’ many contributions, Neag School friends, colleagues and students are invited to help endow a scholarship in his name to benefit graduate students seeking leadership roles in higher education. The goal is to raise $10,000 by May 31, 2013, to endow the Peter J. Nichols Scholarship in Educational Leadership. All funds raised will be administered and held by the UConn Foundation, Inc., in accordance with its policies and procedures. Donors to the Foundation have the right to request, in writing, that their gifts remain anonymous.

For more information including how to support the fund, please contact Heather McDonald, Neag School of Education Director of Development, at hmcdonald@foundation.uconn.edu or (860) 486-4530.

Former Neag School Dean Invested as Professor

Posted on July 19, 2012December 13, 2021 by

Richard Schwab gives remarks during Investiture Ceremony. (Peter Morenus/ UConn Photo)

Former Neag School of Education Dean Richard L. Schwab ’78 MA, ’80 Ph.D., was invested as a Neag professor on June 7. Longtime UConn donors Carol and Ray Neag ’56, who provided support for the professorship, were on hand for the investiture ceremony.

A professor of educational leadership, Dr. Schwab is director of the Institute of Urban School Improvement at the Neag School of Education.

During the ceremony, current Neag Dean Thomas DeFranco, Ph.D., proudly remarked: “He is a man of integrity and conviction, a consensus builder and, most of all, a man of vision. He believes in developing strong, positive relationships among faculty, students and staff, as well as helping them achieve their goals.”

When Dr. Schwab became dean in 1997, UConn’s School of Education was unranked in U.S. News & World Report. When he retired in 2009 to return to the faculty, the school was ranked 21st in the U.S. overall, 13th in elementary education, 17th in secondary education, 19th in curriculum and instruction, and 20th in special education. The school’s Kinesiology Department was also ranked No. 1 in the nation.

During Dr. Schwab’s tenure, the School of Education also received from Ray Neag the largest gift ever given to a U.S. school of education.

“As dean, he inspired the faculty to dream more, the students to learn more, and the school to become more,” Dr. DeFranco continued. “I know he will continue to inspire all of us in his new role.”

In addition to working at UConn, Dr. Schwab is a past president of the Council of Academic Deans at Research Education Institutions (CADREI), a national organization for research-oriented private and land grant schools/colleges of education. He has published extensively on issues relating to teacher education, educational technology, and occupational stress and health in educational organizations.

Before coming to UConn, Dr. Schwab was dean of the Drake University School of Education, head of Drake’s Educational Leadership Department at Drake, and professor and director of Field Experiences at the University of New Hampshire.

Dr. Casey Cobb, head of the Neag School’s Department of Educational Leadership, also provided remarks during the investiture ceremony. “I relish his contributions to date, but I am also excited about what the future brings.

“Our department – and, of course, the whole school – is on the cusp of some great things,” Cobb said, “and Rich will be right in the middle of it, if not leading it. He will be heavily involved in the Policy Center and many of its new initiatives, including a State Leadership Academy and a legislatively mandated study of the new teacher evaluation program. We’re honored to have a colleague like Rich, who is such as passionate advocate for what’s right in education,” Cobb said.

“We are grateful to have him in our department, grateful for his great contributions to the Neag School, and confident that more greatness is ahead,” Cobb concluded.

(Shawn Kornegay contributed to this article.)

UConn Embarking on Major Expansion of Faculty

Posted on July 19, 2012October 25, 2018 by

Charles B. Gentry building on the UConn Storrs campus. Home of the Neag School of Education. — Charles B. Gentry building, home of the Neag School of Education, where strategic hiring of faculty to address the achievement gap will be conducted. Source: Neag School of Education.

As other institutions are slowing – or even reversing – the growth of their faculty, the University of Connecticut has embarked on one of the most ambitious faculty-hiring plans in U.S. higher education. Seeking to strategically expand its faculty in key research and teaching areas and boost the number of classes offered, UConn is aiming to hire 290 new tenure-track faculty members over the next four years, including 65 beginning this fall and another 90 for the fall of 2013. This hiring will be in addition to normal hiring to fill vacancies as needed.

“Our goal is to dramatically expand our faculty ranks in strategic and meaningful ways to ensure we are the university we want to be in the future, both in terms of teaching and research,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “UConn is pursuing this aggressive strategy to transform our institution by generating more research that has national and international impact, increasing our research productivity, building great graduate programs, providing excellent teaching and service to our undergraduate students and expanding course offerings.”

In preparation for this undertaking, Herbst met with the deans of all UConn’s schools and colleges in January, and charged them to propose hiring plans for the coming year that:

Target specific areas of impact;
Increase an existing strength or generate new strength in a particular area;
Involve cluster hires across departments, schools, or colleges, or multiple hires within a discipline or department;
Capitalize on opportunities to attract accomplished groups of faculty to UConn;
Complement major UConn initiatives, such as Bioscience Connecticut and the Technology Park;
Increase the diversity of the faculty;
Meet critical teaching needs.

The majority of this effort is being funded through a four-year tuition increase plan passed by the University’s Board of Trustees in December 2011. The plan, which increases tuition by between 5.5 percent and 6.25 percent each year, was presented to students, faculty, and the board as a means to significantly boost research capability and increase course offerings for students. All the net dollars generated from the increases will go toward the faculty hiring, which will also be supplemented through other University funds and spending reductions elsewhere on campus.

“The sour economy and state budget troubles have slowed faculty hiring nationwide,” said Herbst. “At UConn, we wanted to buck that trend and implement plans that were bold, far-reaching and would clearly set us apart from other institutions.”

Deans solicited ideas from within their schools and colleges, generating scores of proposals from across the University community. The deans vetted these and developed proposals, which they submitted to the provost. The proposals were posted on an internal website so that the Deans could see all proposals from across the University. The proposals went through three rounds of revision and were ultimately approved by the president and provost.

Examples of this strategic hiring include the following:

Genomics: Searches will be conducted for more than 20 different new faculty members in the field of genomics across disciplines from Engineering to Molecular and Cell Biology to Physiology and Neurobiology to Pharmacy and Statistics. This is one of the most important emerging scientific fields in higher education, and has special significance for Connecticut as the state embarks on an $864 million effort to make the UConn Health Center and its partner, Jackson Lab, an international hub for bioscience research and development.

Achievement Gap: The gap in school achievement between under-performing schools and their peers has become a matter of national concern, and Connecticut is home to one of the most dramatic such divergences in the country. For the first time, UConn will develop a purpose-built institute at the Neag School of Education to research the causes and consequences of the achievement gap and find policy and practice solutions designed to close it.

Insurance Risk: new faculty hires in the areas of Health Insurance and Finance, focusing on health insurance markets and legal regulation of the structure and delivery of health care services; Retirement Security, a matter of urgent national concern and a key part of the insurance industry; and Complex Financial Instruments, for cutting-edge practical and theoretical work in the important field of derivatives and hedge funds.

These represent only a handful of examples. The hiring plan touches virtually every corner of the University, including the fields of environmental sustainability, health, food, nutrition, life sciences, social sciences, new media, language, human rights, art, theater, business, and pain management, among others.

Neag School Provides Teachers With PRIME Way to Implement, Maintain Interventions

Posted on July 19, 2012February 17, 2023 by

Kids in classroom. Helping teachers successfully implement and sustain interventions needed to stop bullying, best implement a new curriculum, improve hand raising or address countless other behavioral and educational issues is the focus of the Neag School of Education’s Project PRIME, which is looking to partner with Connecticut schools and classrooms.

The research study co-directed by Neag School Psychology Assistant Professor Lisa Sanetti, Ph.D., and University of Wisconsin School Psychology Program Director Tom Kratochwill, Ph.D., pairs area teachers with Neag educational psychology graduate students who, acting as consultants, help the teacher develop the best strategies to execute and then maintain the needed intervention or change.

“Teachers are responsible for so many things during the school day that the task of implementing a new program or behavior can be overwhelming,” Sanetti said. “What often happens when a teacher starts an intervention for a student is that it becomes like a New Year’s resolution. The teacher is gung-ho for a week or 10 days, but then they go back to their old routines or behaviors. We provide the tools and support a teacher needs to maintain the change over the long term.”

Funded with a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, PRIME–which stands for Planning Realistic Intervention Implementation and Maintenance by Educators–will begin its third year this fall.

Started in 2009, the first year was spent on developing the needed protocols and materials, and last year on both developing an assessment tool and test-piloting the program. Four Connecticut school districts have so far taken part.

This year, Sanetti hopes to at least double that number, providing teachers with the support and planning assistance needed to be successful starting a new intervention and proactively solve problems to make it easier to keep it going.

“Planning is the key word,” Sanetti explained, “because that’s what we focus on. We help the teacher come up with a detailed, individualized plan designed to help them be successful.

“Is there a best time of day to introduce the change? Where in the room should a conversation take place–at the teacher’s desk? At the student’s desk? How often does the change need to be discussed? Are there any materials or tools like stickers or charts that the teacher and student will need? Thinking about these details in a systematic way before starting the intervention can have big results,” Sanetti continued. “After the intervention is introduced, we provide follow-up support for those teachers who need it.”

The program is based on a health psychology adult behavior change model called the “Health Action Process Approach,” which has been proven to help people make, and stick with, difficult lifestyle changes related to exercise and diet. The approach focuses on creating detailed strategies that help people successfully bridge the intention-behavior gap, indentifying potential problems and solutions before they occur.

“The process focuses not so much on getting people motivated to implement change, but to stay motivated,” Sanetti said. “There are several programs that provide teachers with support and help after a roadblock occurs, but PRIME focuses on avoiding the roadblocks. That’s where the detailed planning comes in. If you know what you may need to do, and where and when you may need to do it, you’re less likely to be overwhelmed and more likely to be successful.”

Teachers who participate in Project PRIME are paid a $10 per week stipend and commit to working with PRIME staff for 14-22 weeks. The first two weeks are spent developing the needed strategies, which are then implemented–with the PRIME consultant guiding and monitoring each step–over 12 weeks. The PRIME consultant follows up with teachers one and two months after to offer further support and collect additional data. At the end of the program, teachers are given a detailed outcome report that analyses both their and their student’s or students’ outcomes.

Teachers interested in learning more can contact PRIME Project Manager Anna Long at (860) 486-0187 or anna.long@uconn.edu. Additional information is also available at www.primeimplementation.com.

Preventing School Bullying Behavior

Posted on July 19, 2012October 18, 2018 by

As sure as school bells begin to ring after Memorial Day, so too do news stories appear of students in elementary, middle, and high school being bullied. Some school districts have a new state “cyber bullying” law that allows administrators to punish students for what they say online.

With one out of every three online teens reportedly victimized by potentially menacing activities on line, and recent national news stories about cyber bullying leading some teens to commit suicide, seven states – including Connecticut – have enacted laws that allow school officials to intervene in online student speech.

Neag School of Education educational psychology professor George Sugai, Ph.D., is one of the worldʼs preeminent experts on behavior management and school discipline. Earlier this year, he was invited to a White House summit to testify on practices that focus on preventing and reducing the effectiveness of bullying behavior, including a prevention approach called Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports.

PBIS has been supported in more than 16,000 schools nationwide by the National Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the PBIS Center is co-directed by Sugai in the Center for Behavioral Education and Research in the Neag School of Education at UConn.

Sugai reports that PBIS researchers have documented when PBIS is implemented accurately, schools experience reductions in office discipline referrals, improvement in test scores, decreases in suspension rates, enhancements of reported school organizational health and safety, and most recently, decreases in teacher-reported incidents of bullying behavior and peer victimization.

“PBIS provides students and teachers with a multi-tiered continuum of interventions aligned with student needs,” says Sugai. “What this means is that every student experiences prevention-based and school-wide social skills instruction. For example, a school might adopt three core social skills, such as respect, responsibility, and safety, which would be taught and encouraged throughout the school year with behavioral examples that are culturally, developmentally, and contextually relevant to students and family and staff members.”

Sugai says that contextually relevant means the social skills and behavioral expectations would be taught and applied in real school settings, like the playground in elementary grades, hallways and eating areas in middle schools, and sporting events and dances in high schools.

“If done well, about 80 percent of the students will get it, and contribute toward a positive school climate,” Sugai says. “Some students, however, may need more behavior support to be successful, which might be provided in small groups or to individual students by teachers, counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and others with more specialized training.”

Sugai emphasizes that “by implementing a continuum of behavior support that is based on the behavior needs of all students, we improve our ability to deliver specialized help to those who really donʼt benefit from the school-wide experience.”

“School-wide discipline systems that focus on catching kids when they violate a school rule generally inhibit the problem behaviors of students who are basically socially competent,” Sugai suggests. “Students with chronic problem behavior tend to be the least responsive to punishment, and our tendency is to give them more punishment. When giving more doesnʼt work, we get tougher, and the problem tends to get worse.”

Sugai suggests that a better approach is to “develop a school-wide approach that teaches and encourages what we want to all students, and then develop more specialized and preventive interventions for those students who need more supports.”

The PBIS Center got its start in 1996, when Congress included a provision in the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to improve behavior supports and outcomes for students with problem behaviors. The Center is co-directed and coordinated by staff in the Center for Behavioral Education and Research in UConnʼs Neag School of Education and at the Universities of Oregon and Missouri.

DPT Students Learn Important Skills Through White Coat Ceremony

Posted on July 19, 2012December 8, 2016 by

Students in the DPT program gather after receiving their white coat.

Seventeen students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program’s (DPT) class of 2014 were recognized at the annual White Coat Ceremony, held in the Gentry Building at the end of the semester. The White Coat Ceremony, a recognition event held between the students’ first and second year, is held prior to when the students go out on their first clinical rotation. The students recently finished their first full year in the program and will enjoy some well-deserved time off, before starting their clinicals in locations ranging from Connecticut to New York and Texas to California.

The annual ceremony is completely organized by the DPT students, who are responsible for planning and financing the entire event. The current class began the program in May of 2011 and started fundraising for it shortly thereafter. The ceremony, a tradition held at similar transition points by many doctoral programs, has been an annual event since the physical therapy program transitioned from a master’s to a doctoral program and was initiated by the first DPT class.

According to event organizer and class president, Elizabeth Leslie, “We raised money through UConn DPT clothing fundraisers, an event at Ted’s Bar & Grill and various class activities. We will continue our fundraising efforts to finance our graduation ceremonies in May of 2014.”

“The planning and fundraising took about a year with a few bumps in the road, but it was all worth it,” recalled Leslie. “The ceremony went smoothly and we all had a lot of fun.”

The program featured Dr. Craig Denegar, director of the DPT program, who provided the welcome remarks. Student representatives Elizabeth Leslie, class president, and Nora Therrien, class vice president, addressed the class with a short speech. Dr. Susan Sullivan Glenney, faculty member with the DPT program, spoke to the class on behalf of the faculty. Denegar and Glenney, along with DTP faculty member, Dr. Deborah Bubela, presented the white coats to the class.

When reflecting on the ceremony itself and the process involved, Leslie had the following insights, “Making it to this point in the program is worthy of celebration. I can remember looking back to last fall and certain points when we as a class — or I as an individual – didn’t think we/I could make it this far.”

“We made a lot of sacrifices to be here to commit to doing this, and I think it’s amazing that we as a class took the time to show others and ourselves what we have accomplished thus far,” she continued.

Like her fellow students who came from diverse academic backgrounds, Leslie graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a business degree. She worked as an insurance claims adjuster for two years, before deciding to return to school to complete the pre-requisite courses to apply to the DPT program. Other students completed their undergraduate degrees in varied programs, including Middle Eastern studies, family studies, history, marketing, education and sociology. There are also grads from exercise science, chemistry, biology and allied health programs.

“Some of us came here to UConn straight out of undergrad (programs), others of us worked as social workers, personal trainers, physical therapy aids, clinical research coordinators, insurance adjusters, legal assistants, special education teachers and bartenders,” noted Leslie. “Others of us worked for the WNBA, attended medical school and were involved in theater.”

Leslie chose UConn’s DPT program due to how the curriculum is laid out. “It’s different from other schools. Many schools front load their programs with classroom learning and send their students out on clinical affiliations all at the end of the program.”

UConn’s program is small, which Leslie believes is a major plus. “The faculty is interested in us, not just as students, but also as people with lives separate from our education. They are understanding, easy to get a hold of and easy to talk to. Conversations with professors are multi-dimensional and not just as student speaking with teacher.”

“The faculty truly wants us to succeed and we as students want each other to succeed,” concluded Leslie.

Since the students were required to plan and organize the White Coat Ceremony, they quickly learned how to work together and support each other’s successes. Something that will help them through the program and beyond.

For a slideshow from the event, click here.