In a Paris suburb, greener schoolyards beat the heat

Conventional school policies fail to address the needs of transgender students. A school district in Tampa changed its human rights ordinance to include gender identity and expression.

A growing number of high schools across Massachusetts are exploring later start times, amid research showing that a lack of sleep can have detrimental effects on the health and academic performance of teenagers.

When students misbehave in school, teachers struggle to decide the right kind of intervention, with school suspension a common outcome. However, research has shown that school suspensions can increase the likelihood of dropouts and incarcerations so that there is pressure to decrease the rate of suspensions. Restorative justice has become a favorable alternative because misbehaving students can participate in a number of supportive activities such as peer meditation or collaborative negotiation to build community, trust, and confidence.

Paper Tigers captures the pain, the danger, the beauty, and the hopes of struggling teens—and the teachers armed with new science and fresh approaches that are changing their lives for the better.

Disciplining schoolchildren has led many students down the “school-to-prison-pipeline” because teachers have focused on controlling students rather than instilling problem solving skills. Ross Greene has developed Collaborative Proactive Solutions (CPS), which is a method that trains staff at schools to develop relationships with disruptive kids and help them problem solve. With the CPS method in practice in 2012, Central School has reported fewer students sent to the principal’s office and no suspensions.

In the early 2000s, Minnesota’s low income families struggled to have access to mental health care for their children. Now Minnesota therapists meet at schools rather than at a clinic and also train teachers to help students with mental health challenges. Parents measure the success based upon improved test scores, classroom environment, and fewer school suspensions.

After shortages of mental health options for kids and untold grief, counties in Wisconsin have responded with new kinds of support for at-risk youth. Wisconsin communities have increased access with reduced wait time, and have used horse therapy, support groups, charity golf that raises awareness, school-group therapy, as well as mobile live chat sessions, among others.

Wisconsin’s teen suicide rate and affiliated mental health concerns have increased, challenging school systems to maintain the quality of life for students. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has launched a Mental Health Project that allocates funds to different counties to focus on crisis, suicide, violence, and substance abuse prevention in schools. PATH is one successful program from this initiative—with cost-saving measures, increased student productivity, and improved quality of life.

At-risk children who do not have access to quality mental health care can end up in the juvenile justice system. Wisconsin has initiated a Children Come First program that offers personalized mental health care designed to keep kids from being incarcerated or placed in a hospital setting. The results so far have been successful, with a decrease in the number of youth behind bars and very few need to re-enroll in the program.

Due to school education pressures and time constraints, sex education is often limited or left out. Some schools have started using the 'Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program' which combines sex education, mental & physical health care, career training etc. and has shown success in decreasing teenage pregnancy and poor sexual health practices.