"This book is the perfect guide for those administrators and teachers who are truly interested in equalizing educational opportunities at all levels." —Rebecca S. Compton, Professor of Elementary Education East Central University Proven strategies for increasing the academic performance of students with low school-readiness skills! Children of low socioeconomic status often enter school with low school-readiness skills, leading them to be misidentified as learning disabled. Educators in Grades K–12 can allocate resources for special education services more effectively and meet the needs of low SES students by preventing students from being placed in the wrong program and by providing readiness supports. Offering an in-depth look at schools that have realized effective results in remarkable time frames, the authors challenge educators and parents to consider how low expectations can affect student achievement—and emphasize optimism as a necessary tenet of schools′ day-to-day teaching/learning programs and school-community relationships. This resource provides: Training resources for teaching low SES students Assessment tools for identifying learning needs Strategies for building relationships of trust and collaboration throughout the school community Data charts that illustrate the increase in student achievement from schoolwide initiatives A bibliography and glossary of pertinent research and terminology With these strategies and tools, schools can meet the developmental and environmental needs of their most vulnerable students and watch student achievement and confidence soar!

Children of low socioeconomic status often enter school with poor skills, leading them to be misidentified as learning disabled. Educators in Grades K–12 can allocate resources for special education services more effectively and meet the needs of low SES students by preventing students from being placed in the wrong program and by providing readiness supports. Offering an in-depth look at schools that have realized effective results in remarkable time frames, the authors challenge educators and parents to consider how low expectations can affect student achievement—and emphasize optimism as a necessary tenet of schools' day-to-day teaching/learning programs and school-community relationships. This resource provides: Training resources for teaching low SES students Assessment tools for identifying learning needs Strategies for building relationships of trust and collaboration throughout the school community Data charts that illustrate the increase in student achievement from schoolwide initiatives A bibliography and glossary of pertinent research and terminology With these strategies and tools, schools can meet the developmental and environmental needs of their most vulnerable students and watch student achievement and confidence soar!

Children living in poverty are more likely to have mental health problems, and their conditions are more likely to be severe. Of the approximately 1.3 million children who were recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits in 2013, about 50% were disabled primarily due to a mental disorder. An increase in the number of children who are recipients of SSI benefits due to mental disorders has been observed through several decades of the program beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2010. Nevertheless, less than 1% of children in the United States are recipients of SSI disability benefits for a mental disorder. At the request of the Social Security Administration, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children compares national trends in the number of children with mental disorders with the trends in the number of children receiving benefits from the SSI program, and describes the possible factors that may contribute to any differences between the two groups. This report provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and the levels of impairment in the U.S. population under age 18. The report focuses on 6 mental disorders, chosen due to their prevalence and the severity of disability attributed to those disorders within the SSI disability program: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, learning disabilities, and mood disorders. While this report is not a comprehensive discussion of these disorders, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children provides the best currently available information regarding demographics, diagnosis, treatment, and expectations for the disorder time course - both the natural course and under treatment.

This influential book describes the knowledge and skills teachers and school administrators need to recognize and combat bias and inequity that undermine educational engagement for students experiencing poverty. Featuring important revisions based on newly available research and lessons from the authors professional development work, this Second Edition includes: a new chapter outlining the dangers of grit and deficit perspectives as responses to educational disparities; three updated chapters of research-informed, on-the-ground strategies for teaching and leading with equity literacy; and expanded lists of resources and readings to support transformative equity work in high-poverty and mixed-class schools. Written with an engaging, conversational style that makes complex concepts accessible, this book will help readers learn how to recognize and respond to even the subtlest inequities in their classrooms, schools, and districts.

With several empirical evidences, this book advocates on the importance of human capital of persons with disabilities and demands the paradigm shift from charity into investment approach. Society in general believes that people with disabilities cannot benefit from education, cannot participate in the labour market and cannot be contributing members to families and countries. To invalidate such assumptions, this book describes how education in particular helps make persons with disabilities achieve economic independence and social inclusion. For the first time, detailed analyses of returns to the investment in education and nexus between disability, education, employability and occupational options are discussed. Moreover, other chapters describe disability and poverty followed by the discussion of barriers behind why persons with disabilities are unable to obtain education despite the significantly higher returns. These foundational themes recur throughout the book.

The strengths and abilities children develop from infancy through adolescence are crucial for their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, which in turn help them to achieve success in school and to become responsible, economically self-sufficient, and healthy adults. Capable, responsible, and healthy adults are clearly the foundation of a well-functioning and prosperous society, yet America's future is not as secure as it could be because millions of American children live in families with incomes below the poverty line. A wealth of evidence suggests that a lack of adequate economic resources for families with children compromises these children's ability to grow and achieve adult success, hurting them and the broader society. A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty reviews the research on linkages between child poverty and child well-being, and analyzes the poverty-reducing effects of major assistance programs directed at children and families. This report also provides policy and program recommendations for reducing the number of children living in poverty in the United States by half within 10 years.

This book features essays that untangle, express and discuss issues in and around the intersections of politics, social justice, intolerance, terrorism, minorities, poverty, and education, and as they relate to the two concepts of radicalisms and conservatisms in Africa.

This book is about being disabled and being poor and the social, cultural and political processes that link these two aspects of living in what has been characterised as a "vicious circle" (Yeo & Moore 2003). It is also about the strengths that people show when living with disability and being poor. How they try to overcome their problems and making the best out of what little they have. This book will appeal to academics, postgraduates and policymakers in disability studies, development studies, poverty and social exclusion

In Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids' Brains and What Schools Can Do About It, veteran educator and brain expert Eric Jensen takes an unflinching look at how poverty hurts children, families, and communities across the United States and demonstrates how schools can improve the academic achievement and life readiness of economically disadvantaged students. Jensen argues that although chronic exposure to poverty can result in detrimental changes to the brain, the brain's very ability to adapt from experience means that poor children can also experience emotional, social, and academic success. A brain that is susceptible to adverse environmental effects is equally susceptible to the positive effects of rich, balanced learning environments and caring relationships that build students' resilience, self-esteem, and character. Drawing from research, experience, and real school success stories, Teaching with Poverty in Mind reveals * What poverty is and how it affects students in school; * What drives change both at the macro level (within schools and districts) and at the micro level (inside a student's brain); * Effective strategies from those who have succeeded and ways to replicate those best practices at your own school; and * How to engage the resources necessary to make change happen. Too often, we talk about change while maintaining a culture of excuses. We can do better. Although no magic bullet can offset the grave challenges faced daily by disadvantaged children, this timely resource shines a spotlight on what matters most, providing an inspiring and practical guide for enriching the minds and lives of all your students.

Parental Learning Disability and Children's Needs explores how to effectively assess children in families where one or more parent has a learning disability. These children often have unmet needs because their parents are more likely to be coping with mental and physical illness, domestic violence or substance abuse. The book examines current social care practice in this area, whether it is working, and the impact it has on families. The authors describe how, although some parents with a learning disability face a significant risk of losing their children, most continue to look after them and, while support provided by social services and other agencies, can be significant it is rarely sustained and the health and welfare of many children suffers as a result. Case studies and interviews from original research support the authors' recommendations for policy and practice to combat these problems. This book will prove to be an invaluable source of information for all social workers and other professionals working with someone who is both a parent and has a learning disability.