In the modern educational landscape, educators and administrators alike are working to improve the classroom — and with it, the way children are shaped from an early age. When it comes to building a better future, growing the strongest minds starts with educational equity — a just, fair and equal system that offers opportunities to all students. Here’s why equity is vital in the modern classroom:

1. Removes Socio-Political Barriers

For years, researchers have tried to figure out what role a child’s socioeconomic status plays in their education. Of course, they cannot find a black-and-white answer to the question. Some students from lower brackets will succeed in academia. But many will perform sub-standardly because they don’t have the right resources.

These results do come with caveats — cognitive function is something that’s transmitted genetically, for one thing. However, children from higher socioeconomic standing tend to have more support at home and at school, which gives them a better chance of succeeding.

Rather than emphasizing different student backgrounds, equity in education helps to remove some of these factors and level the playing field for students. Fair, equal opportunities and treatment give children the chance to soar academically, regardless of where they come from.

2. Encourages Diversity

Depending on their region, background or school district, not all students have the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of cultures, races, genders, languages and backgrounds from a young age. Educational equity ensures that students from all backgrounds have access to the same resources in the same place — and by doing so, it provides essential cultural exposure for all children. Equal education is something every child deserves — and diversity is what every child needs to become an open-minded adult.

3. Promotes Personalized Learning

Not everyone learns the same way — educational equity accounts for that fact. Rather than a standardized curriculum that assumes every child’s style will be the same, the future should see us tailoring lessons to suit the way children learn best. There are several ways to solidify lessons to young learners. UNESCO lists social participation, reflection, practice and active engagement among the methods that allow kids to learn most effectively.

We live by these principles already — as adults, we find work that relies on our unique learning style, and educational equity offers future generations a better chance of this career success.

4. Teaches Acceptance

According to The Guardian, parents shouldn’t teach their children that race doesn’t matter. Instead, they should promote equality and equal treatment — and not shelter children from society’s challenges. This way, children are informed, empathetic and equal-minded from an early age.

Equity in education can help improve this situation. Rather than developing their opinions in a restrictive environment, kids will feel more open to those around them. They will learn to accept everyone’s different learning styles, backgrounds, races, genders and other qualities as natural and positive. Sitting in a classroom and collaborating with different people will only make our kids grow up into better, more sympathetic adults.

5. Offers a Better Future

The future starts in the classroom — and the best future for the classroom is educational equity. By offering the same support, access, resources and opportunities to every student — regardless of their situations — we lay the groundwork for a brighter, more inclusive future.

About the Author

Alyssa Abel is an education blogger with an interest in experiential learning, educator resources, early education and higher education. Follow her updates for students and educators alike on her website, Syllabusy.

We are most excited to announce our next FREE webinar, Schoolwide Best Practices to Support English Learners, on April 30 at 5 pm EST.

Our presenters will be Andrea Honigsfeld and Maria Dove, experts on educating English language learners. They are the co-authors of several books and the best-selling laminated guide ELLs: Co-Teaching and Collaboration. In this free, hour-long webinar, Honigsfeld and Dove will identify a schoolwide framework for improving programs, policies, and practices for diverse learners.

Webinar participants will learn about four key approaches to working with English learners in a cohesive fashion:  

• Mapping and aligning an integrated curriculum—making the general education curricula accessible for all learners
• Collaborative planning, teaching, and assessment—delivering more cohesive instruction to ELs
• Teaching students explicit learning strategies—empowering students by increasing student-led learning
• Promoting disciplinary literacy—providing all students with tools to use content-specific academic language 

This webinar will be recorded and archived, so even if you are not able to attend the event live, we encourage you to register to receive information on where to watch the recorded webinar after the event.

Register Now

About the speakers:

Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld is Associate Dean and Director of the Doctoral Program (Educational Leadership for Diverse Learning Communities) at Molloy College, Rockville Centre, NY.   Before entering the field of teacher education, she was an English as a Foreign Language teacher in Hungary (grades 5-8 and adult), an English as a Second Language teacher in New York City (grades K-3 and adult), and taught Hungarian at New York University. A Fulbright Scholar and sought after national presenter, Andrea is the coauthor or coeditor of 20 books on education and numerous chapters and research articles related to the needs of diverse learners. Andrea is a frequent presenter on the topic of educating English learners. She can be booked through our training division, Comprehensive School Solutions (CSS).

Maria Dove, Ed.D. is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the MS TESOL Program in the Division of Education at Molloy College, Rockville Centre, New York, where she teaches courses to preservice and inservice teachers on the research and best practices for developing effective programs and school policies for English learners. Before entering the field of higher education, she worked over thirty years as an English-as-a second language teacher in public school settings (Grades K-12) and in adult English language programs in Nassau County, New York. 

We are incredibly proud that at the 2019 CEC national convention, CEC President Alex Graham and Board President Mary Lynn Boscardin honored our founder and CEO, Robert (Bob) Hanson, with a proclamation recognizing the excellence with which he (a CEC member for over 40 years) has executed his work to advance the field and the quality of special education service with integrity.

The resolution reads:

WHEREAS, Dr. Hanson is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of National Professional Resources (NPR);

WHEREAS, NPR is celebrating 50 years of providing practical resources to help educators meet the needs of all students, particularly those with significant educational challenges;

WHEREAS, Dr. Hanson has been a member of the Council for Exceptional Children for at least 40 years, and an exhibitor for many of those;

WHEREAS, Dr. Hanson has continually strived to realize his vision for the company to produce high-quality, practical and affordable resources on critical topics in education that empower educators to best serve all students;

WHEREAS, Dr. Hanson has worked to develop a collaborative, collegial and constructive relationship with CEC Headquarters leadership and staff;

WHEREAS, Dr. Hanson has executed his work to advance the field and the quality of special education service with integrity;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that, the Board of Directors, this 29^th day of January 2019, on behalf of the membership and staff of the organization, formally acknowledges and extends its deep appreciation to Robert “Bob” Hanson for his dedication, years of service and notable contributions to the Council for Exceptional Children.

What a well-earned tribute from such an estimable organization! It was the highlight of a wonderful convention for us.

Implementing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in Classrooms and Schools, a new laminated guide published by National Professional Resources, is an indispensable quick-reference tool that belongs on the desktop of every teacher and school leader. The six-page guide is written by an illustrious team from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence: Marc Brackett, Ph.D, Nicole A. Elbertson, Dena N. Simmons, and Robin S. Stern.

Social and emotional learning (SEL)– the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions– is a priority issue for all elementary, middle, and high schools. Research shows that social and emotional skills are prerequisite to the thinking and learning skills that comprise the time-honored academic focus of education. A study published in 2015 found significant correlations between SEL skills of children in kindergarten and important outcomes when these kindergartners became young adults, including differences in mental health, substance abuse, criminal activity, education, and employment.

This new guide provides educators with an introduction to SEL, guidelines for effective implementation of SEL in classrooms and schools, an introduction to the RULER approach to SEL, strategies to promote the social and emotional wellbeing of teachers and students, and a classroom SEL evaluation tool.

Lead author Marc Brackett, Ph.D., is the director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (YCEI); a professor at the Yale Child Study Center (YCSC); the lead developer of RULER, an evidence-based approach to SEL; and a distinguished scientist on the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development at the Aspen Institute.  On January 15, the Commission will be releasing its final report on how schools can fully integrate social, emotional, and academic development to support the whole student.

Nicole A. Elbertson, M.Ed., is director of content and communications of the YCEI and project director at the YCSC. Dena N. Simmons, Ed.D., is the assistant director of the YCEI and associate research scientist in the YCSC. Robin Stern, Ph.D., is the associate director of YCEI and associate research scientist in the YCSC.

For more information, a preview, and to order the guide online, visit https://www.nprinc.com/implementing-social-and-emotional-learning-sel-in-classrooms-and-schools/. Discounts for bulk orders are available for web, phone, and purchase orders. Call National Professional Resources at 800-453-7461 for more information or to place your order.

October is Bullying Prevention Month, and never has the need to focus on addressing bullying been greater. Although bullying has been an issue since time immemorial, cultural trends and other factors, such as new technology, often track with increased rates of bullying. Children model what they see in adults, so it should be no surprise that educators have noticed increased bullying in schools during and since the 2016 election. In particular bullying based on race and ethnicity, as well as hate incidents.

Now, early evidence from a new (as yet unpublished) study by Dr. Dewey Cornell, one of the nations top bullying experts, together with Dr. Francis Huang, looking at rates of bullying at 400 middle schools in Virginia—an almost perfectly divided red/blue state—shows a “Trump effect” on bullying. That is, this scientifically rigorous study showed significantly higher rates of teasing and bullying in schools located in school districts that had voted for Donald Trump compared with districts that had voted for Hillary Clinton. These same schools showed no divergence in bullying or teasing rates between Republican and Democratic districts in 2013 and 2015. Read more about this study here.

Schools will have to work harder than ever to counter messages of intolerance and demonstrations of bullying from the top echelons of our society. To assist with this, National Professional Resources offers many bullying prevention resources, which are on sale throughout the month of October for 10% off. On NPRInc.com, free bullying prevention resources are also available.

An abundance of free bullying prevention resources can also be found online. The following comprehensive listing of websites for in depth bullying prevention resources is reprinted from The Bullying Prevention Book of Lists, by Dr. Kenneth Shore.

• www.actagainstviolence.apa.org This is the site of the ACT Raising Kids Program, which offers positive parenting skills to parents and caregivers of children from birth to 8.

• www.antibullying.net A Scottish site based at the University of Edinburgh that offers ideas to teachers, parents and students about how to handle bullying.

• www.bostonvsbullies.org An anti-bullying initiative of The Sports Museum and the Boston sports community to help kids stand strong against bullying.

• www.bullying.co.uk This is a British website that has information for teachers, students and parents.

• www.bullying.org This Canadian website provides educational programs and resources to individuals, families, educational institutions and organizations.

• www.bullypolice.org This website reports on the status of anti-bullying laws in all 50 states and provides resources for anti-bullying advocates.

• www.bystanderrevolution.org This website provides peer-to-peer practical advice in the form of videos to help individuals defuse bullying and to promote leadership, kindness, and inclusion.

• www.cyberbullying.org This is the website of the Cyberbullying Research Center, which provides up-to-date information about the various aspects of cyberbullying among teens.

• www.eyesonbullying.org This website features the Eyes on Bullying Toolkit, which offers strategies that adults can use with children and youth in homes, child care centers, afterschool and youth programs, and camps to teach them skills to prevent bullying and intervene when it does happen.

• www.fosi.org This is the website of the Family Online Safety Institute, which provides information in an effort to make the online world safer for kids and their families.

• www.nasponline.org This is the website of the National Association of School Psychologists, which promotes educationally and psychologically healthy environments for children.

• www.nobully.org This website of a non-profit organization trains schools how to use student empathy to prevent and stop bullying and cyberbullying through a non-punitive program.

• www.nssc1.org This is the website of the National School Safety Center, which advocates for safe, secure and peaceful schools.

• www.operationrespect.org This is the website of Operation Respect, a non-profit organization started by the folk singer Peter Yarrow to help organizations focused on children become more compassionate, safe and respectful environments. Operation Respect developed the Don’t Laugh at Me character education programs for elementary- and middle-school students.

• www.pacer.org/bullying This website of PACER National Center for Bullying Prevention provides resources about bullying, with a special focus on children with disabilities. Site also has a section for children and teens.

• www.prevnet.ca This website was created by a network of Canadian organizations, provides information on bullying prevention, research on bullying, and practical toolkits for dealing with bullying. Available in both English and French.

• www.schoolclimate.org This website of the National School Climate offers information and resources to help schools measure and improve their school climate.

• www.stopbullying.gov This is a comprehensive website about bullying managed by the US Department of Health & Human Services. Available in both English and Spanish.

• www.teachsafeschools.org Go to the bullying prevention section of this website for an extensive discussion of issues related to bullying in schools.

• www.thebullyproject.com This is the website of the social action campaign inspired by the documentary film BULLY.

• www.tolerance.org This is the website of Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and provides resources for educators concerned with issues of diversity, equity, and justice.

• www.tylerclementi.org This is the website of the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which honors the life and story of Tyler Clementi, a victim of cyberbullying who took his own life. The Foundation and website promote safe, inclusive and respectful environments for vulnerable youth.

www.wiredsafety.org This is a site that provides extensive information to online users of all ages on a wide variety of technology issues relating to safety, privacy and security. In particular, it provides assistance for victims of cyberbullying.

• www.42explore.com/bully.htm This site has an extensive collection of links, activities and resources related to bullying.

Jim Wright, author of the books RTI Toolkit, RTI: Success in Secondary Schools, Strategies for Struggling Learners, and the laminated guides Managing Classroom Behaviors Using an RTI/MTSS Framework and Classroom Academic Support Using an RTI/MTSS Framework, sat down with us for a recent interview. Below, get to know a bit more about Jim. And if you’re not already using it, be sure to check out his website, Intervention Central, and others he identifies below, for extensive free tools for teachers!

What is your background and how did you come to be an expert in RTI/MTSS?

For the past decade or so, I have worked full-time as consultant and trainer for schools on RTI/MTSS topics. Prior to that, I held positions in school psychology and special-education administration in schools in central New York state. During the 17 years that I worked in schools, my passion was always to help educators to discover those effective instructional and behavior-management practices that would allow their students to attain maximum success in the least-restrictive settings possible.

When RTI emerged on the national stage nearly 15 years ago, I realized that this model brought together all of the proactive elements of student support that I had been promoting: identify the student problem; select research-support intervention strategies; set clear goals; collect formative data to judge intervention effectiveness.

So, during my tenure in two separate school districts, I had a frontline opportunity to participate in the roll-out of RTI. Based on RTI research and my own experiences, I then published a book—RTI Toolkit—for districts on how to design and implement an RTI model. Based on the success of that first book, I was able to begin my full-time work as an RTI consultant, which is a fabulous job—as I get to meet dedicated educators and learn new and creative ways that schools meet the needs of diverse learners.

By the way, it was National Professional Resources that published my initial RTI book. I have always been grateful that NPR took a chance on me as a then-unknown author and launched my RTI/MTSS career!

Many will know you from your hugely popular website, Intervention Central, which offers extensive free resources on implementing RTI. When and how did you get started with this website? Who is the website for?

The origins of my website (http://www.interventioncentral.org) go back about 25 years ago, when I was working as a psychologist at an elementary school in an urban district. In that position, I found that a number of teachers would regularly approach me to ask for ideas to help students in their classroom with academic delays or challenging behaviors. So, I would comb through educational journals to find research articles on effective intervention ideas; write up those ideas in a brief, teacher-friendly format; and share them with faculty throughout my school.

Over time, I gathered quite a collection of these classroom-strategy ‘how-to’ sheets and thought, “Hey, why not create a website where any teacher in any school can access them for free?” My current site, Intervention Central, has been online for about 18 years. The site is still free and still intended for teachers…and I am still adding more resources!

Do you still present workshops and provide professional development training?

I currently provide trainings and consultation services for schools and districts in New York State and across the country on a range of RTI/MTSS topics. For example, I offer workshops that allow educators to understand the full RTI/MTSS model for academics and behavior and to develop their own plans for implementing RTI/MTSS. However, I am finding that my most popular trainings right now are teacher seminars where I present pragmatic strategies for classroom academic and behavioral interventions.

Schools interested in RTI/MTSS training can contact me through Comprehensive School Solutions, the training division of NPR, Inc. I typically confer with interested schools to develop professional development customized to their unique needs.

Recently we’ve starting hearing the term MTSS (Multi-Tier System of Supports) being used in place of RTI. Can you explain this shift?

It is true that the term ‘MTSS’ has begun to replace ‘RTI’ in a number of states and in journal articles. The rationale driving this change is a perception that ‘Response to Intervention’ is closely tied to a 3-tier academic intervention model and that it does not typically include a behavioral component. So, the term ‘MTSS’ was coined to describe a 3-tier model that encompasses both academic and behavioral/social-emotional support for students. In truth, I regard RTI and MTSS as synonyms and am comfortable using either to describe a school’s intervention model.

What in your opinion is one of/some of the most exciting trends in education at the moment?

One trend that I find quite exciting is the growing set of free tools and resources that schools can access online to help them implement RTI/MTSS. This accessibility of high-quality free tools for teachers has been a game-changer for many schools on a tight budget. Along with my own website, for example, these sites provide ideas to include in any teacher’s ‘intervention toolkit’:

• The Evidence-Based Intervention Network (ebi.missouri.edu) has a really useful collection of intervention ideas
• The Florida Center for Reading Research (http://www.fcrr.org/resources/resources_sca.html) has posted useful lesson plans for teaching foundation reading skills; and
• The What Works Clearinghouse (https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Publication – /ContentTypeId:3) has developed a series of ‘Practice Guides’ that give teachers useful advice on how to effectively teach struggling learners in reading, math, and writing.

What are your hobbies?

In my spare time, I like to eat at ethnic restaurants, hike, and ride my bike. I am also teaching myself guitar, with the eventual goal of playing well enough to conduct campfire sing-alongs. (When managing expectations, it helps to set a low bar.)

NPR, Inc. is now the exclusive U.S. distributor for Inclusive Solutions U.K. publications, which includes the following books:

• Creating Circles of Friends (CCOF)
• Person-Centered Planning Together (PCPT)
• Keys to Inclusion (KTIN)

The books are co-authored by Inclusive Solutions’ Co-founders and Directors, Colin Newton and Derek Wilson. Together they have 65+ years experience as educational psychologists working across the UK. They provide training nationally and internationally on inclusive practice in education settings, and have planted, built, and facilitate community circles throughout the UK.

What, you may ask, are “community circles”? The purpose of community circles is to bring people from a local community together to share their skills, talents, gifts and resources. This idea is based upon the premise that ALL of us need three things in our lives to make us happy and fulfilled: these are money, friendship and meaning.
As Newton and Wilson explain, community circles provide a great foundation or starting point from which to explore connections, build relationships, locate resources and share skills. These circles provide a safe forum in which people can meet and friendships can start, a natural reservoir of people and relationships where people can be invited to offer their time and capacity.

“Circle of friends” is a similar approach, but used with students in a mainstream educational setting. It is designed to enhance the inclusion of any child or young person who is experiencing difficulties in school because of disability, personal crisis, or because of their challenging behaviour towards others. The ‘circle of friends’ approach works by mobilising the young person’s peers to provide support and engage in problem solving with the person in difficulty. In the book Creating Circles of Friends, Colin Newton and Derek Wilson describe how to implement this approach by building teams around challenging pupils, drawing on a resource which is always there…. other children.

Person centred thinking and planning is founded on the premise that genuine listening involves a commitment to take action. For example, when working with a young person or adult it is crucial that what is learned about how the person wishes to live, and where they wish to go in their lives is recorded and acted upon. Person centred processes should be planned carefully and involve facilitation from a process and graphic facilitator. The book Person Centred Planning Together describes how to plan for and implement Person Centred Planning and provides resources to support the use of the most commonly used Person Centred Planning tools, particularly MAPS and PATH.

In the book Keys to Inclusion, Newton and Wilson look at the 8 keys to inclusion and the actions needed if these keys are to open up fresh possibilities and make inclusion a reality. Each key is supported by examples, consideration of practical implications, questions to prompt in school reflection and resources to support further work.

Each of the three books is available at www.NPRinc.com, and comes with a free laminated reference guide,  Teaching Students on the Autism Spectrum in the Inclusive Classroom (by Paula Kluth).

The Inclusive Solutions website is a content rich repository of information, examples, and testimonials on the themes discussed above. Check out their many videos and free downloadable resources, then buy the books at www.NPRinc.com .

Fifty years ago I founded National Professional Resources. In 1968, I could have never imagined where the company would be today. I am immensely proud of how the company has grown, while always remaining true to our mission of providing practical resources to help educators meet the needs of all students, particularly those with significant educational challenges. Over the years, we have remained on the cusp of the most exciting and important developments in the fields of general and special education– and my how times have changed. In the late 60s, inclusion as a practice was a novel and controversial concept. Today, it’s the law. It’s heartening to look back at how far we’ve come.

It’s also nostalgic for me to look back at how we’ve come as a business. In our earliest days, when I was still working full time as the director of special education for Southern Westchester BOCES, we published newsletters to reach educators. Following my retirement from BOCES in 1986, our focus shifted to producing videos. It was during this period that our now president, Joseph Casbarro, became intimately involved with the company. Joe, who I had worked with at Southern Westchester BOCES and who was still a special education administrator at the time, quickly became our in-house expert on video production. Together, he and I interviewed some of the most noteworthy thought leaders of the day, including Thomas Lickona (character education), Howard Gardner (multiple intelligences), Daniel Goleman (emotional intelligence) and Peter Salovey (emotional intelligence). Our video productions featured experts such as these discussing theory, interspersed with classroom footage illustrating practical applications.

In the 1990s we entered the book publishing scene, under the imprint of Dude Publishing. Our books paralleled the topical areas of our videos, with initial focus on character education, social emotional learning, response to intervention (RTI), and autism.

Today, NPR, Inc. is perhaps most well known for our quick-reference laminated guides. We were among the first to publish in this format for the education market, and the response has been extraordinary. We now offer nearly 150 titles on a wide range of general and special education topics, written by leaders in the field.

As our product lines evolved, so did our operations. After literally building the business out of my basement, we moved into an office suite and adjoining warehouse in Port Chester, NY in 1995. Soon after we staffed up in Port Chester, my wife, Helene, joined the team upon retiring from her administrative position at Southern Westchester BOCES. Our daughter Angela joined the (now) family business in 2006, serving as vice president of marketing until the birth of her daughter in 2011. Shortly after she left, our second daughter, Lisa, moved back to NY from Washington, DC, and joined the company as well.

In 2013, we streamlined and moved our warehouse and administrative offices to Naples, FL. Since that time, Joe has taken the reins, first as COO, now as president. Having been a full time consultant for the company since 2006, and having worked with me at the business for decades while he was still a school administrator, Joe was the natural and only choice to proceed me.

Helene and I remain intimately involved with the company, though we have tried to slow down and enjoy retirement and our grandchildren Allison (6) and Robert Joseph (5) since the business relocated to Florida. Lisa continues to work full time for the company from New York, and Angela has begun putting in a few half days a week now that her children are in school. Our NY-based team also includes Andrea Cerone, who has been with the company for over 20 years, doing layout for all of our publications, and Jaclyn Falk, who has built our wonderful website and contributes exceptional graphic design.

The family aspect of the business has also expanded to include the Casbarro family with Joe’s wife, Georgina, and daughter Kalyn also joining the team. Joe has assembled an outstanding team in Naples, including Operations Manager Mark Micheel and Customer Service Specialist Linda Kehoe. I try to make it down to Florida every few months, and often meet up with Joe and George at conferences throughout the country. At 90 years old, I’d say I’m doing pretty well!

Thank you for indulging me in this trip down memory lane. It is quite a legacy, but it has been a team effort. I am grateful every day for all that I have built, in business with National Professional Resources, and in life, with my beautiful family. I recognize how fortunate I am to be able to say I feel genuinely fulfilled in my life’s work.

Last but certainly not least, I wish to express my profound admiration and appreciation for the talented and dedicated educators throughout the country who serve all students, but in particular those with special needs. Thank you for all you do. My goal has always to been to provide resources to help you excel at your jobs. I am grateful to those who have given our company that opportunity.