[no audio] [program starts at 0:18] [no audio] [program starts at 0:18] - [Colleague] Ready?

- Wow, it's an honor and privilege to be at the UNC-TV Summit, and to share the stage with three of my friends.

I'm Stephanie McFadden, the Director of Education and Engagement from Alaska Public Media, and I'm a retired Navy chief cryptologist.

As you can see, my pendulum has swung from cryptology to education.

That is because I believe in a quote I read years ago from Nelson Mandela.

He said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to educate the world," and that's what I believe in.

At Alaska Public Media, I have been using educational media resources to engage low-income, underserved communities and urban and rural communities, and one factor is universal.

They all have barriers.

And this group never gets to the top of the mountain.

And I believe one of the key factors that's preventing them from reaching the top of the mountain is limited or no access to social-emotional learning.

So today I brought three of my esteemed colleagues, that will talk about social-emotional learning through a variety of lens.

But before I sit down, I want, well, I thought I was gonna be standing.

So before I start, [laughs] I wanna tell you a story that happened in a far-off land a long time ago.

I was at an indoor playground.

I saw a little girl.

She was crying.

I said, "What's wrong?"

She said, "Oh, my friend is being mean to me."

And I walk up to the friend, who's about seven, and I said, "Hey, be nice to your friend."

I go to the water fountain, I come back.

This parent is like right here in my face.

"Don't you ever tell my daughter what to do.

Don't you ever tell my daughter she gotta be nice."

I patiently said, "I was just trying to tell her to be nice to her friend."

I kept telling her.

The woman continues to roll her eyes and tell me how it's not my business.

And remind you, she's still in my face.

See, if I would've had attended a social-emotional learning training like this session, it would not have ended like an Ice Cube rap song with cops involved.

It would've ended more like a Daniel the Tiger song, "It's Such a Good Feeling."

So my hope today is everyone in this room ends every day believing that it's such a happy feeling when family and friends lend you a hand.

I want to go on record, and say that I try to use social-emotional learning competencies, but I know I showed empathy for others, but it got derailed.

So today, Denise, Mallory, and Dr.

Bowman will lend you a hand, and provide you the tools and resources to have a better outcome than I had.

So at this time, I would like to introduce my panel.

I am the moderator.

[laughs] Denise is a doctoral candidate, 20-year retired staff sergeant, over 18 years as a professional school counselor, in Maryland Title I public school systems.

Additionally, she has worked at the John Hopkins Gifted and Talented Youth Summer Program.

Thank you Ms. Bullock.

- Thank you.

- Next, oh, oh, they wanna give you a round [claps] of applause.

[audience applauds] - Oh, thank you, thank you.

- Next I would like to invite Mallory.

She's a Director of Learning and Education for Fred Rogers Productions.

Previously she was a Director of Education and Educational Training at PBS North Carolina, a former elementary assistant principal, and a forever Kindergarten teacher, and a proud mommy of four.

She gets a double round of applause.

And last but definitely not least, Dr. Salandra Bowman is the Chief Learning Officer at South Carolina ETV.

In this capacity, she is responsible for education productions, instructional design, technology, and learning experiences and motivation.

[everyone applauds] So as you guys can see, I have an esteemed panel, and when I say these are my friends, they're my friends and they are my colleagues.

And I think you guys will learn a lot from them today.

So I won't be doing a lot of talking.

But before we start, when we get to the questions and answer part, they said you have to come up here to this mic as modern technology.

When you pass the mic around, it's not working in this room, okay?

So here's our purpose.

The panel explores how social-emotional learning techniques are used in school, home, and community.

We'll examine how educational resources created by Fred Rogers and PBS can help teachers and parents engage with their children in high-quality learning experiences.

We will examine the three tiers in educational settings, how parents and teachers use media, how to engage multi-generational families with resources that meets their hierarchy of needs, so they can support their families.

Because we believe that parents should be their kids' lifelong teachers.

I'm gonna let you guys read that, 'cause they say you retain best when you read.

So go on back to third grade literacy class.

Here you go, Ms. McFadden.

Who wants to read out loud?

Just joking.

[panelists laughing] Okay, everybody read that?

Okay, great.

So that is what we're gonna talk about, and somebody, some of you guys might call it a different name or a different title, but today that's the title we're gonna use, okay?

So first, to my right here, this is Denise Bullock.

- Good afternoon, I wanna start by saying thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience that I had with students in a public school setting.

The core competencies, the five core social-emotional learning competencies are number one, self-awareness.

"Children are taught how to recognize their emotions and the impact they have on their behavior."

What that looks like in a classroom setting or in a school setting, student gets in an argument on the bus, they're mad, they're in the classroom.

Now they can't learn.

Their behavior steps in, and what this does is, as a teacher, you show them how to identify and understand what they're feeling, 'cause the emotion that they're feeling, and for self-awareness is they're mad.

Or in the morning when they get up, the parents rushing, the parents trying to get out the door, they gotta get to work, they're rushing the kid, the kid gets to school.

Now they're upset, they're upset, they're crying.

The parent rushed them outta school, out the classroom, outta their, I'm sorry, out of their house.

Self-management, "Learners are taught how to take ownership and control of their thoughts, emotions, and actions."

What that looks like.

Students are taught to problem-solve.

They communicate how they feel.

So they come with, do they ignore, do they get help, or do they talk to someone about that?

Social awareness, "Students acquire skills to empathize with others, even when they're from different backgrounds."

What does that look like?

That's when students are taught kindness, respect for others, empathy.

And then that's when you can reach out to your school counselor to bring someone in the classroom to teach them social skills.

Relationship skills, "Learn how to improve their communication skills, peacefully resolve conflict, and when to ask for help, when to ask or offer help."

What does that look like in a setting?

Building trust, listening, communicating effectively.

Responsible decision-making, "Taught how to respond appropriately to situations by considering ethics, potential consequences, and the wellbeing of themselves and others."

Responsible decision-making, I always tell students, "You play the tape to the end.

What is gonna happen if you make this decision?"

You have to stop.

You have to think.

Play the tape to the end.

Social-emotional learning tiers.

There's three different tiers.

In the classroom, your teacher can identify role playing, that's morning greetings, brain breaks and modeling.

As far as support, small groups and afterschool programs.

Tier 3 is additional supports, and that would be the school counselor.

That would be the social worker or other community providers.

[Stephanie speaks faintly] - [Denise] Mm-mm.

- Okay, Mallory, please.

- Okay, I don't think my mic is on, although I'm really loud.

- You can have this one.

- Is it, is it, work now, is it?

- Yeah.

- Can you hear me, for sure?

- Yes.

- Oh, okay.

[laughs] All right.

So I'm gonna talk about this aspect from the Fred Rogers Productions aspect.

And as you see the title of this slide is "Strategies with Care."

If anybody has ever hung out with a little tiger that's front and center right there, if you know there is a Daniel for that, there is a song, there is a strategy song for pretty much all the different kind of situations you just listed out in the terms of the five, the core five.

So we're gonna talk about three shows in particular.

But I will say that all of the productions out of Fred Rogers Productions, you will find modeling of life skills, of that self-awareness, of that self-management, of that care for others, of those character traits, in all the media that we have that is produced, because we are what, Fred Rogers Productions.

And if you know what that means, that means our first production was what?

"Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood."

And so every production that we, comes out of our place now is with that respect and nod and awareness and walking on that foundation that he established.

So the three that we will talk about are "Daniel Tiger," "Donkey Hodie," and "Alma's Way," particularly today.

So Daniel, does anybody know Daniel?

What do we know about Daniel?

He is a what?

- [Audience] Tiger.

- He is a tiger.

Does anybody know from where?

Where does he live, the Land of Make-Believe, and do you know which Land of Make-Believe he lived in first?

He lives in his Land of Make-Believe right now, but Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

he was the Daniel puppet.

And so now Daniel is in his Land of Make-Believe.

And actually, here's a little nugget.

Dad Tiger is Daniel Tiger from the original, and then Daniel is his son.

And so this is Daniel right here.

And the learning goals on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood are as thus.

I'm a big one for bullets, and then just talking a little about it.

What's the first one, empathy.

Empathy, and how do you make that, with that intended age of two to four, really clear and evident?

When you watch "Daniel," you're gonna see a lot of parent modeling and a lot of parents involved in a lot of the situations that he and his friends are going through.

And that's intentional, because two-year-old, two-to-four-year-olds need to understand and have it called out specifically, "This is how you are kind to a friend, and this is not kind to a friend.

Look at the friend's face.

How are they feeling?

What is their body doing?

How would you feel if you did X?"

That is very intentional.

Imagination is a big part of it, of his learning goal as well.

And that imagination is actually huge.

You guys know about the power of play, correct?

I would hope so.

And playing and imagination is what's gonna help kids come up with scenarios and different ideas of how they access their world, and putting these different skills in place.

Another learning goal is R-E-S-P-E-C-T. You know you gotta learn that respect.

It always gonna be one that is modeled, again, with a lot of our parent characters, but also kid-to-kid in each of the shows.

School readiness, that is very, you know, school readiness is very broad.

But when you talk to that of teachers, what I would always say when the people ask me, "What do you need to be ready for Kindergarten," I would always say, "Skills, not drills."

And Daniel does a lot of modeling of skills, of how to show himself, conduct himself, how to listen, how to, and especially when teacher Harriet, she's a fabulous teacher, you know how to model yourself in the classroom.

Then he also has self-control and emotional regulation.

♪ When you feel so mad that you wanna ♪ - [Audience Members] Take a breath.

- Take a what?

Deep breath and count to- - [Audience Members] Four.

- Absolutely, take a deep breath and count to four.

But also.

♪ It's okay to feel sad sometimes ♪ ♪ Little by little you'll feel better again ♪ There are all kinds of strategies that he will sing along, modeling this social, self-control and emotional regulation.

Also building self-esteem skills in kids, making sure that they see themselves and know that they can do things.

And then social skills, how do you interact with your peers?

And again, he's modeling that in a lot of different situations.

All right, next we age up a little bit with.

♪ Here comes Donkey Hodie ♪ "Donkey Hodie" is intended for ages three to five, and with you, little thing about "Donkey Hodie," you know I gave you that nugget about Daniel.

I'm gonna give you a little nugget about Donkey.

Donkey Hodie is actually, the one you see on the screen, the granddaughter of the original Donkey Hodie, and Donkey Hodie actually did visit the Land of Make-Believe on "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood."

And he came, he wanted to build his windmill in the Land of Make-Believe.

And King Friday said, "Go build that windmill someplace else."

So "Donkey Hodie" takes place in Someplace Else, and this is her whole world, and she is a puppet show.

And like I said, it's the original Donkey Hodie's granddaughter.

Again, you're gonna see some overlap, but the approach and how these different things are modeled are different in each show as we go up the little age ladder, a little bit different in terms of child development.

So emotional regulation is there again, although these characters, in the land of Donkey Hodie in Someplace Else, are child-like characters.

So there are some adult-like characters on the show that help model, but not as much as you see directly with Daniel, with the parent right there.

A lot of them are figuring it out together, and figuring it out through lots of songs and music and joy.

I call it the joy integration show for sure.

You see a lotta happiness in this show, but she's also intentionally modeling a lot of persistence, problem-solving skills and resilience, as well as self-control.

Resilience is one that is really big for little, for our little learners, because as soon as something rips, as soon as something trips, as soon as something falls, their world falls apart.

And so how do we build into them that a rip can turn into something beautiful?

You can go, keep going, you can keep moving, you can go through these different challenges, and yes, you can try to solve 'em yourself, but you can also ask for help.

And that is a part of having those persistence and resilient skills going.

Now we got wepa, "Alma's Way," and if you joined us earlier, we talked a lot about Alma, but Alma is intended for ages four to six.

You can see her learning goals here.

Again, all of the other ones I just mentioned will be relevant and prevalent in the show, but she has a real big emphasis on critical thinking, and you will definitely see a lot of cultural competency in her show as well as, what is that one right there?

Responsible decision-making, on complete blast.

She is definitely modeling that through every show.

And she is also, again, at four to six, you're talking about your pre-Ks to your Kinders to your first graders, that self-advocacy and that self-awareness.

So there you go.

That is a walk through our media, and I'm gonna pass it to this one.

- Thank you so much, Mallory.

I see, I'm gonna trust that I'm on.

If I'm not, somebody's gonna tell me, right?

Fantastic, thank you so much Stephanie and PBS North Carolina for this opportunity to join this panel.

I bring you greetings from South Carolina ETV, where our mission is to amplify the voices of South Carolinians, provide educational experiences, and strengthen communities in service of a stronger, more informed and connected South Carolina.

I have some comments here, and I wanna make sure that I am cognizant of the time.

So if you see me reading, it's just because I don't wanna tarry and go too far off script.

In May of 2023, the United States surgeon general released an advisory that positioned isolation and loneliness as a public health crisis.

And in that advisory he implores the nation to prioritize building social connection the same way that we have prioritized other public health issues, such as tobacco and substance abuse use, obesity and others in service of a healthier, more resilient, less lonely, and more connected society.

I just shared with you the mission of SCETV, which was recently revised.

And so we've been thinking in South Carolina about how we create a more connected, informed, and stronger state.

And also in reading this advisory, I've been thinking about my role as a connector and leader in public media.

What I've been musing on are the essentials of positive and productive connectivity with and within organizations, families and communities.

I am a child of the '90s.

I will date myself.

So the sentiment that it takes a village to raise a child is a core principle for me.

It is something that we heard over and over and over again.

And while this is an early learning summit, my comments today will primarily focus on the health and wellbeing of the adults connected with early learners, those who are raising the children, the village.

So I wanna foreground my comments with concepts that are important to me, particularly in this work.

One, that a sense of safety transforms the spirit.

You'll see here in the citations that this is a direct quote from a TV show called "Underground."

It is a series that I love.

It is about liberation, but this particular episode is called "Citizen."

So if we are thinking about what it means to be a productive citizen in this country, safety is essential to that.

And so when people feel safe and supported and physically secure, they are more likely to take risks, to share their thoughts and emotions, and engage in dialogue.

This in turn, fosters trust.

It encourages self-expression, helps us be better neighbors, [Mallory laughs] and enhances learning experiences.

Number two, that as educators, we must expand our capacity to love other people's kids.

- Yes.

- And the families that they come from.

That love both connects and perfects.

It is a powerful tool for combating this epidemic of isolation and loneliness.

Even if we think about it as love for your profession or craft, love should be a compounding agent.

And I also am a fan of the quote that, "Self-love is the best love."

So we're gonna talk a little bit about that today as well.

And then finally, that schools can be safe and healthy places of loving and caring that supports students and educators.

Next slide please.

I don't want to be presumptive here, but I venture to say that most of us have heard of ACES, or adverse childhood experiences.

What I am not certain about is how often we use ACES to engage in conversations about, or implement strategies that support child-serving and child-loving adults on their own health and wellness journeys.

Certainly conversations about the various issues that children bring with them to school would suggest that the caregivers can use their support, or use our support.

And certainly, the fact that the initial study grounding the ACES framework was conducted on middle and upper-income adults, would suggest that those teaching early learners, those engaging with students across the board, are also likely to be grappling with their own ACES.

So I ask, how often, how often do we think about ACES when we are frustrated with parents and colleagues?

How often do we think about ACES when we are frustrated with elected officials and all those other people who are making decisions about how we work with children?

I also ask, how are organizations providing mental health support for educators and creating the safe environments that transform the spirit of education?

In South Carolina, likely it's this way in North Carolina, but I can't be sure.

You all correct me if I'm wrong.

[panelists laughing] But we are experiencing challenges with recruiting and retaining educators.

When I am conversing with education leaders, I ask them, as I've had to ask myself, to put themselves in the place of their staff and ask, "Do you have agency?

Do you have support?

Do you have a voice?"

And then use those responses in service of creating the kind of healthy village that we all wish to see.

These are important questions for any educator or any workspace.

So I also ask you to consider those questions as it relates to the environments that you are working in, and think through what that self-advocacy looks like in service of your own mental and emotional health.

The QR code on your screen takes you to an interview clip from Dr. Venus Evans-Winters.

She speaks in that clip on the importance of safe and healthy environments for educators.

She is an academic.

She has done extensive research in this area.

So if you need support or need those types of citations to support you with your advocacy, this is one that is available to you to use.

It is on the web, and so anybody can get it.

I also offer the "Growing Up with Smart Cat" series, next slide please, as a family engagement series that promotes connectivity and Kindergarten readiness.

It features topics like positive self-view, friendships, money, character, sleep, among other topics.

And as we know, early learning resources are helpful remediators for lifelong learners of any age.

So we found that introducing these topics for early learners, that is a safe and non-threatening way to get these conversations circulating more in families that, as you know, often have older and younger siblings, and caregivers of various ages.

It is also a series that fostered connectivity within our station, as it was truly a collaborative effort between education and digital from end to end.

And beyond that, the use of staff kids, you know, bring people's kids in, that always helps, as actors, it fostered greater connectivity between staff, their children, our colleagues, and the workplace.

You'll find on this resource that there is a playlist of videos that are available, and a printable, a downloadable and printable workbook that corresponds with those videos.

It aligns with the South Carolina profile of The Ready Kindergartner, which is similar to other states' early learning standards.

So I encourage you to take a look at that.

Next slide.

And then I also wanna talk about "The Cool and the Strong."

It is a series that I'm super excited about, but it is an affirmative scripted series we're producing locally, and it will premiere in August.

I'm sharing it here because it is one example of SCETV's attempt to promote health and wellbeing among all entities working with children, to promote both academic resilience and health and wellbeing.

This series' main character is Magic Strong.

He's a fifth grade boy who is reading on a third grade level and dealing with several ACES.

His mom is in rehab, his dad is in prison, and he is now living with his aunt, Dr. Strong, who is the principal of his new school.

Now, we don't often focus on the Dr. Strongs in children's series, this high-performing woman who has a sibling dealing with tough circumstances.

How does she navigate that?

How does she navigate her role as a caregiver, run the school, and the fact that she has a family member who is dealing with things that everyday families talk about, but in her position, she may not have the space and opportunity to really unpack that.

That is important.

It is a representation for us that is worth unpacking on the screen.

So what this series does is engage in the difficult conversations, in the most beautiful and affirmative ways, ways that speak to parents, educators, and students at the same time, ways that support connectivity, healing, and increased life chances.

I encourage you to follow SCETV Education on Facebook, for the press release and updates on the series that are coming in June.

And for more information on the educational resources and services that we provide, I will turn it back over to Stephanie, but I'm happy to answer any other questions that you have.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you, we're not taking questions just now, but thank all three of my panelists.

Now I get the amazing job of asking them some very specific questions, and then right after I ask them some questions, we're gonna open it up to the audience.

And I'm just gonna start in order.

Denise, I'm gonna ask you two questions.

So I'm gonna talk about, you talked about the three tiers, but can you give us some examples of maybe what Tier 1 or Tier 2 looks like in the classroom, in the school?

Since you've been there for over 20 years, we want like real examples.

- Exactly, so thank you for that question, Stephanie.

Role playing, you know, as a school counselor and going into the classrooms and helping teachers, and they lean on me.

Role playing is one of the things in the classroom that you can do.

And what I mean by role playing is that students come in the classroom, and they'll tell you what happened in the hallway, they'll tell you what happened in the cafeteria.

You'll see things that happened inside the classroom.

So you'll take that opportunity to do role playing on how it could have been handled, what you could have done, what emotion did you share when you were doing this.

So that's what, in Tier 1, role playing is a very good opportunity to, for students to learn.

Also, I wanna add, teachers, during your professional development, you can also do role playing with each other, things that happen in the classroom, things that you've seen, your emotions that you shared, and you can do role playing for your peers, so they'll see what to do.

In Tier 2, as far as the groups, the small groups that you get together and do independent.

This again is the classroom.

This again is the counselor, the social worker and that, so students can demonstrate how to share their emotions.

Students can act independently, and when you work with them in small groups, then you can oversee and see how they do that.

- Thank you, really quick, when you, when Dr.

Bowman talked about some sort of ACES, so is there like a high prevalence of kids that are already impacted by ACES, when you talk about Tier 1 and modeling, and you know all that?

- Yes it is, and unfortunately because we don't have enough people or any educators, you know, we don't have enough staff to handle the different things that children go through on the outside.

So that's when we come together as a community inside the classroom, and try to have outlets for them to come, building relationships so that they can move past the different things they're having outside.

As we all know, the pandemic impacted a lot of our children, and it's a lot of things that didn't take place that should have taken place, as far as bringing them back up to the areas that, in which they were weak.

- Okay, great, so my next question is, so what type of data could be captured by submitting additional supports?

- Okay, for example, the charts, and I know educators, you know, I don't know if your counselors or your social workers come to you, they want data to prove.

Then what you would do is, you would take interval times that your student maybe didn't stay in their seat, that your student was calling out, and you do little tally marks during that timeframe.

It may happen in the morning, it may happen in the evening, it may happen during math time.

But those are the informations that your counselors and your other providers would need to see, to do support groups for your students.

- What are some sort of support groups?

Just give us two that you've seen.

- Well- - That were successful and not successful.

- Well, when I say support groups, I'm talking about inside the classroom and that's, for me, I do Lunch Bunches at Lunchtime, and I bring the students in, and you know, I have five or six sessions.

It may be talking about empathy, it may be talking about being kind.

Those are the type of things.

And my social worker, we work together.

We feed off each other, and we do, if I have a group, she has a group.

We sometimes do girls by themselves, we do boys by themselves.

And it's a lot of time teachers come into my office, and they ask me to come into their classroom.

And I tell educators and I tell my teachers all the time, if you have a group of students that you see that these things, they need social skills, you can go to your counselor, they can pull these groups and they can work with students in their little small groups.

And remember, we're just talking about kids.

We're not talking about all your kids, we're just talking about those red zone kids, or those kids who continuously, and it's not a magic wand, it's not gonna happen after the first group.

It's not gonna happen after the second group.

It might not happen the whole school year.

But you will see small, small progresses, and it has to be a daily thing.

Just like every day they have to come to school and learn their math, their reading, every day they have to come to school and learn how to be socially aware of their feelings and their emotions.

And I know that teachers, when you're teaching a grade level, I could go on, but I won't.

When you're teaching a grade level and you're teaching a lesson, you know, you may feel that's not your job.

That's not something you're trained to do.

So that's why you feel taken aback from it.

And that's why I say, you have a school counselor, you have a social worker.

All you have to do is call 'em in.

"This is what I need.

Can you work with the student on this?"

And you did your part.

- But to not do anything is just- - That's not even a option as a educator.

[Stephanie laughs] You know, that's not even a option.

But I'm saying to move it over.

I press with my teachers all the time, "You can call on me, let me do my job, so that when the principal comes to you, or a parent comes to you, you can say, 'Yes, I saw little Johnny doing that, and I went to the school counselor, and she met with him, and she's been working with him.'"

That alone will at least give a parent, they know that you, you know, that you're involved.

- Thank you, Denise.

Next, Mallory, when I introduced you, I know you work for Fred Rogers, and if you guys were here earlier, that's a production company, right?

But I want you to really sort of talk about what assets are available for outta school time.

Not just Fred Rogers, but with PBS and things that you have seen work or engage with around social-emotional learning training, and what that would look like for outta school time.

- So outta school or in school, I like to talk about something called an organic double dose, which means using media in the classroom, and also using it at home.

So in education, have you ever heard the term, a double dose?

A kid doesn't get a concept, so we're gonna teach it this way, but then we're gonna circle back in the afternoon, and give it to them again, that kinda concept?

Well, what if that concept was applied between home and school, and not necessarily just needed or executed during the school day?

The beautiful part about media and the resources that are available in public media, is they can be used in both places.

And what that means is that they're free 99 all the time, which is my favorite price.

I don't know if that's yours.

But also, you can access them not only during the school year, but during the summertime at home.

There are printables, there are different kinds of activities, there are different ways to make people think about how they go outside.

I know that there's a thing with media, you know, what about media?

Well media, I love that concept of going from viewing to doing.

So you can watch a piece of media, you can watch an episode of something, and then go do something, go and take that and expand that learning into an actual, tangible way.

So, what are some of those tangible ways where you can find those things?

Well, PBSlearningmedia.org has all kinds of resources that you can go and find those for.

That is intended for teachers, but definitely parents can access those as well.

PBS for kids, for parents, you can find all of the different shows from Fred Rogers Productions there, as well as some other PBS Kids, all the PBS Kids friends, and all the different kinds of ways that you can access these materials and use them in the home in a different way, including birthday parties.

Then you can always go to pbskids.org, where you'll definitely see all the media and the different kinds of games that you can use.

And we know that games are big with kids, and what they're accessing in terms of games, they have different learning goals, right?

And what is the thing with PBS Kids and PBS?

Trust, trust, trust, trust, trust.

Plus I can tell you that there are educational advisors behind everything that comes out, from the productions and the media that is being produced.

So these resources are available all the time.

Also, connect with your local station.

They are often doing different activities during the summer, everything from camps, to different engagements at libraries, to all different kinds of ways to engage with their media at the local level that works for you and your communities.

- Thank you, Mallory.

My next question for you, what is the number one way, I know there's more than one way, so you might give me 10.

I'll just asked you for one, [Mallory laughs] that teachers, educators, and parents can use these resources to make a big difference?

- Well, parents, teachers and educators know their kids the best.

I'm gonna always lead with that.

You know your children, you know your kids, you know what they like and what they don't like.

But what I do, what I will say, again, going back to that trust in terms of the media that we have, and what I would do when I was teaching with this media, because I know how kids are, and if there was something that I really wanted them to access and use, y'all, I would pump that up like that was the biggest, bestest thing in the world.

And then I would say, "You have the autonomy to go play whatever game you want," and guess what game they're playing?

The one that I pumped up.

So if you know your kid, think about how they would access these different things.

But because the main thing I want people to know, or the big, big thing that's great about these different resources that can, is because of what I said before, the home to school opportunities, the fact that you can use them in both settings, the fact that they're educationally vetted, the fact that they do appeal to kids, the fact that, I love to say this, and I will say it all the time, kids connect to characters that they connect to content.

You can put anything in front of a character that a kid connects to, and you can teach them anything, 'cause they'll learn it.

If they love Daniel, they will learn it from Daniel.

If they love Alma, they, and they really love Alma, Alma could teach them algebraic equations like that, because they love Alma.

It just depends on what they connect with.

And that is one of the biggest power, is that connection to characters, and that connection that kids really can learn all kinds of things once they have that connection and that relationship.

- Okay, thank you, thank you Mallory.

I'm gonna move over to Dr.

Bowman.

Dr.

Bowman, as you said, okay, why do you think social-emotional learning is so important?

But I really wanna talk about for diverse, low-income kids, and how that impacts their lifelong learning and their career readiness.

- Yes, I think just insight for the audience.

I knew this question was coming, and I've been trying to really think through my response to it, because the first thing that I wanna say is I feel like we've gotten to a place where we have unfairly pathologized poverty.

- Say it again.

- Uh-huh.

- It is, and so when we start to have conversations about low-income kids, we are talking a lot about mindset, as opposed to talking about access, and the ways in which systems create these scenarios.

And so I just wanna foreground my comments with that.

But then also to say that when we start talking about social and emotional learning, if we consider the ACES study, not the framework as it's implemented today, but the ACES study, what we know is that poverty is not a predictor.

Socioeconomic status is not a predictor of who experiences ACES.

This study was conducted on middle and upper-income white people living in California.

So that means that the same way that children in poverty can experience abuse and neglect, children in well-resourced, upper-income families can experience abuse and neglect.

And so I think what we really have to do is start to have conversations about access.

When we're talking about addressing poverty, it is more about how we get the resources to those who need them most, how we value and see their humanity, those types of things.

And so I just encourage us to, you know, really start to think about that.

Might a person in poverty experience, say that there's domestic violence in the home, may that show up a little differently for them?

Yes, because it's probably compounded with the fact that it's because of a financial situation.

Someone doesn't have the money to keep the lights on or pay, you know, a car note, or put groceries in the house and those types of things.

But the fact that the abuse is in the home is not something that is just specific to those children who are in poverty.

What we have to think about is, what other supports are available to help those families?

But for me, this is a access-laden question.

How do we make sure that those young people, those children who are living in poverty, have access to the educational resources to support them in building those competencies?

How do we make sure that it is of appeal to them?

Because a lot of times we push resources and push services that have been identified as being useful for these communities, but we have not done the legwork of listening to them, and getting clear about what they perceive their needs to be, what needs they express, and how to frame these things in ways that the conversations are welcoming, in ways that the resources are well-received.

And so that's what I'll say, access to resources, and really focusing on the humanity of the people that we are working with.

At the end of the day, we're all human beings.

Everyone wants to be treated with dignity and respect.

And so that goes from the smallest kid to the, you know, the 18-year-old who is graduating.

Even for a little kid, if you talk about my shoes, you're disrespecting me, and I just might slap you, even though I know that I shouldn't be fighting in school, because you just disrespected me.

You know what I mean?

And so their humanity is important to them at a very early age.

And I think that that's just something we have to recognize and really respect, and, yeah, respect.

- Thanks, before I go to your second question, since the church had an amen up here, I guess I'll ask them, did they wanna say something?

- Oh.

- No, go ahead.

- I'm good, I think I'm good.

But I was just, Dr.

Bowman, what you were saying is something when, when I was at PBS-NC, which was very, very important to me, and I think is very important that we think about whenever we think about outreach, it hit on a couple things.

One was, equitable access and awareness, awareness with that access.

'Cause there's not equitable awareness in terms of what's available.

But also, whenever we go out and do anything, who are we doing it for?

If we are doing this great initiative and we think it's really great, and it does not serve the people it is intended to serve, then we did it for ourself and not for them.

We have to talk to the people.

Every person has value, every person has a story, every person is unique, and everyone deserves the best.

- [Stephanie] Thank you.

- And I wanted to add is the foundation of everything, of what the both of them has said is building relationships, and what that really looks like.

We all throw out building relationships, but what does building a relationship in your school really look like with your students?

You know, it could be something as simple as, and I know once they leave, you're not trying to see 'em at the end of the day, but you just might happen to be in the grocery store, and you see one of your students, and "Hi," and you speak to the parent, "Hi."

And the student will remember, they saw you in that grocery store, and you were talking to their parent.

"Ooh, they may call my parent, 'cause now they know my parent."

Just something as simple as that.

That's the foundation of building relationships.

- Yes.

- Okay, thanks.

Okay, Dr.

Bowman, here's your second question.

- [Salandra] Okay.

- And thanks for those amazing words you said.

In an ideal world, what would a safe and supportive learning environment look like to you?

- A safe and supportive learning environment is for me, being seen, being heard, being valued, that psychological safety.

I am safe here to express my emotions, to have difficult conversations, and work through challenges.

The physical safety.

I do not feel like my physical person is in danger in this space.

The ability to take risks, the ability to fail forward, those types of sentiment, well, not even sentiments, that those things are present.

What was the rest of the question?

Sorry.

- It was just like what, what kids, how they would feel supported and safe in a learning environment, so that when they went to school, they learned, even if they are bad and they're deviant and they cussing out the principal, we still have a duty to teach them and educate them.

- But a lotta times that is a reflection of the fact that they do not feel safe.

- [Stephanie] Right.

- When young people are fighting, I talk about fighting a lot because it is something that, a lotta times when I'm out in the community and parents or leaders come up to me and they wanna talk to me about a problematic child, you know, they've done something like that.

And when I have the conversations, it's, "Because they walked up on me.

They were in my face."

And I said, "Well, what does that mean?"

"Well, I'm gonna hit them before they hit me."

That means you felt, they felt unsafe.

So as opposed to having a conversation, getting to the bottom of it in ways that don't inflict harm on either person, what they do is resort to physical violence, so that they can protect themselves.

And so I think it's just really important to acknowledge that, that it's not always a matter of deviance.

- It's a story.

- Sometimes it is about them taking care of themselves.

And so I think that's important to acknowledge.

And the same is true for the other, you know, types of safety as well.

- Okay, thank you.

Go ahead, Bullock.

What I wanted to add- - I'll go to you next Mallory.

- What I wanted to add on that, when you acknowledge, what I tell my students.

"We know your parents tell you, 'If someone hits you, hit 'em back.'

We know that.

So that's why our rule is to keep your hands to yourself, and not hit.

So if you don't hit, then they don't hit."

So I think one of the things that, some of the things that we know they bring to the school, we have to acknowledge that they know this is what they're being taught.

We know that this is what you said, but here in this school of keeping you safe, and keeping everyone safe, these are the rules that we're doing.

- I hear you, because it is not our jobs.

Well, I'm gonna speak from my heart again.

Coming from the schools, what kids come to school with, is their own experience, so that they're successful in the environments that they spend the most of their life in.

It is not our job in education to necessarily undo what has kept them safe at home, and do what they know from their life skills to survive.

We are charged to support them in helping them learn on what it means to be successful in this place called school, okay?

And so just what you said, in terms of we don't hit because we're in this school environment is very important for them to understand, that we're not disrespecting your family or disrespecting what your family has laid.

And whether you agree with it or not, it's about what we do in this place called school.

And back to that, creating a safe classroom environment.

I have worked in a variety of schools, everything from, you can think of, schools that have had their own foundation, to schools that are, you know, Title I, what have you.

And I have found a universal pipeline.

And Dr.

Bowman hit on it.

It's about twofold, the kid and the parent.

All kids simply want to feel seen, safe, seen and safe and loved, period.

I have worked with all kinds of kids, from the ones that will kick down a trash can, in your face, and to the ones that will hug you and love you no matter what.

Every behavior has a story to it.

It is more than just what is they're putting out there.

There's a reason why.

So relationships are really important as well.

But also with parents, all they want to know, you wanna get in good with parents, just let them know that you see their child, period.

I see your child, I value your child, I know your child, whatever that means for that child.

And guess what?

You're gonna start bridging so many relationships and changing your classroom culture so much.

And with public media, what we do with our media, we want kids to know that they're seen.

We want them to know that they're seen, that they're loved, that they're valued, that they're respected, that they're heard.

And we try to model with those parents those same skills of, we see you, because that is so important to kids.

And that's how you create safe environments.

Knowing I'm seen and I'm safe and I'm loved, I'm good.

- Okay, thank you.

So, at this time, thank you panel.

I didn't mean to cut her off, but I wanna give an opportunity.

We have 10 minutes, if anybody has questions.

If not, I always have other questions for my panel.

But if anybody in the audience, you have to step up to the mic.

I don't know who's like the question monitor today, that's walking around.

Oh, there's the question monitor.

Look at her.

[laughs] - It's Lauren.

- It's Lauren.

[laughs] - Usually when there's no questions, that means the panel was brilliant.

So I guess I'm gonna ask the, oh, there's a question.

- If there are questions that doesn't still, that still means we were pretty okay.

[laughs] - No, that means we flooded them with information.

- First of all, yes, the panel was brilliant, is brilliant.

Thank you all so much.

My question is more to developing that relationship with the family.

How do we as educators emphasize the social-emotional part of learning in early childhood, so that they see the value in it, compared to learning the academics?

- Mm-hmm, can I answer that question, since I'm in the school.

One of the things you have to take off the table, with parents, if we haven't learned in the pandemic, is that these children spend majority of their time here with us.

I don't know when, in the pandemic, what I've learned or what I saw was that we really have such a strong hold and impact on our children when they come to that school building, because they were lost at home, trying to do it on the computer.

Parents, some of them, not all of them, didn't have anything to bring to the table, as far as helping them.

So what I say to that is that in your classrooms, you do a word wall, you do word walls for emotion.

Any time that you have the opportunity to do an example, and building relationships with the children, and using their emotions, and talking to them about social-emotional learning, bringing your school counselor in, bringing your social worker in, building that up, if the whole school can build a program in.

And as you can see, I'm still saying the school.

I still didn't say the parent.

'Cause we give them information.

And at this point now, I'm just, we're at the point that we respect parents, we want them, but if they're not showing up, we can't keep saying parent.

We cannot, because we're getting further and further away from the mark.

So if the pandemic didn't show me anything else, is that we can't keep saying parent, we in the schoolhouse have to continue to do what we do, 'cause we do it, but we now we gotta continue to step it up.

I'm not saying stop engaging parents, I'm just saying if you're not getting it, use that energy to put it back in your classroom, and put it back in your community of learning with your administrators, to see what we can do for the next level, of building the relationships for social-emotional learning.

- And thanks for that question, thank you.

Any other questions?

'Cause if not, I wanna ask Dr.

Bowman a very specific question.

Oh, go ahead, Doctor.

- Well, before I do, I'd like to add to that, some of the ways that we are approaching this in South Carolina has to do with workforce development, which is very, I really love the conversation from this morning as it relates to that.

A lot of kids, you know, they wanna be doctors and lawyers.

This is Kindergarten.

You know, that's the career that they are calling out as their aspiration.

And when we're talking to parents about, you know, nurturing their children's dreams and things like that, we're saying that there are certain academic competencies that they will need to do certain things.

But more than anything, you're trying to raise good humans.

Because even with those competencies, even with those skills, if your children cannot communicate, if they cannot build and maintain relationships, then it is gonna be very difficult for them to realize those dreams, whether they stay the same or whether they change.

And so we know that even in the worst of situations, most caregivers want the best for the kids that they love.

- They do.

- And so that is one way that we've addressed that conversation.

And sometimes what we do, when we are thinking about contests, awards and those types of things, we take the academics off the table.

That doesn't matter to us, as much as a state agency, that's not a school, it's not something that we have to prioritize.

So we may have opportunities for young people to participate in creative activities.

We're not asking about your GPA, we're not worried about what's on your report card.

What we wanna know about is how creative you are.

Can you draw a picture for us?

Are you interested in telling stories?

Do you like working with your hands?

Do you like talking on camera?

Those types of things.

And we use that as opportunities to really, to help them communicate and build those connections.

And so I say, where possible, take the academics off the table.

I mean, I know that there are assessment frameworks and requirements and things like that, but there are also ways to engage in those types of lessons without spotlighting the academics.

And I will also say that that's something that we are really trying to wrestle with in South Carolina as well, as it relates to the pandemic.

Learning was not lost during the pandemic.

Time was lost during the pandemic.

These young people, these children, they built different skills, different competencies in other areas.

And so sometimes it's important for us to start to reframe our thinking about things.

And it's important to be vocal with those persons who are making decisions about how we assess and frame what is needed to have world-class graduates, or whatever your graduation profiles for your state look like.

And we know with you guys that you are such foundational players in those roles.

And so you can see it from the earliest, in those developmental stages.

And so it's incredibly important to advocate for those changes.

And just as a note, I'm always here for being a little disruptive.

If you see me in the paper, you'll know, it's good trouble.

[panelists laughing] But, I'm here for that, because it is important to do that.

We fall into the danger of a single story when we do not.

- [Mallory] Ooh, talk about that single story.

- Before, I'm gonna let Mallory have the last question, but oh, we got one more question.

Come.

- Yeah.

- We got five minutes.

You gotta walk quick.

Pick up the pace.

Okay, there we go.

- As she says that question, I just wanted to address the mind shift that Dr.

Bowman said.

It's real quick.

- I mean, like seconds.

- Okay, seconds.

We gotta shift from all kids can learn, to all kids are learning all the time.

So what are you doing during that learning time?

- Okay, thank you.

- Quick question, so I'm with the Salvation Army, and we work in the community, so we don't actually work directly in the classrooms, but we do try to make sure we bridge that gap between the community and actually in the classrooms.

But we do notice that, well, a lot of our families and our children are being suspended, and basically not getting all the support that they need within the community like we would like, and it affects their social-emotional development.

And we noticed that when we try to come into the school systems and try to connect with some of the teachers, we kinda don't get, we just don't get like happy smiles.

Like we kinda get like a lot of pushback.

So I was thinking and one of the things we noticed is that some of our kids need IEPs.

So, I was wondering if you guys have any feedback on if IEPs are seen as more of a barrier for some of our children, and how like the community can help support the childrens within the school systems, to be a whole wraparound service for the families.

- You got that?

- You can go ahead.

- Okay, I know every state.

Oh, don't leave.

I gotta see you.

Right, okay.

I know every state is different.

So the first thing I would tell you to do is that the school counselor, school counselor and the school social worker, those two people should be your point of contact.

You don't try to talk to the teacher.

Don't try to talk to the principal, because that's not in their wheelhouse.

- [Audience Member] Yes.

- So if you start there.

Okay, when it comes to IEPs, each state I say it's different, but that it's something that has to be requested.

- [Audience Member] Right.

- Once you request it, then you step back.

So it has to be requested.

- Yes, ma'am.

- And the request has to come from the parent.

And that's all I can say.

It has to be requested, it has to come from the parent, and then the wheels start turning.

But if anything that has to do with Salvation Army, you need to talk to the social worker or the school counselor.

And if they have a community liaison, because Maryland is starting to have that in Baltimore County.

We have community liaisons now.

They're 12-month employees, and they work with all those different type things for the community.

But starting from you, but starting from there, that's where you start.

But the IEP process, the parent has to request that.

- Thank you.

- Oh, my bad.

- Can we get 30 seconds?

You go, and then I'll go.

- Right, but that's- - I'll see you afterwards.

- Okay, thank you, thank you.

- Two things, number one, attend the school board meetings.

Take your data with you, and express your concerns in those meetings.

A lotta times those discipline policies are at the school board level.

And then, I can't even remember the other one.

But that's primarily it.

Go to the meetings, express your concerns, as an organization who was seeking to help.

And then, you know, think through it.

I work with a group of girls who wanna abolish the dress code, you know, so we attend those meetings to support them when they are having issues with, you know, shorts.

So I would say, attend those meetings.

- Yeah.

- And we can talk afterwards.

- Yeah.

- So I'm gonna close it up, with a, no- - She gave her 30 seconds to her.

- So we have like one minute, and first I wanna say thank you guys.

You know, we really appreciate it.

Everybody was looking, they were engaged.

But I wanna share a really quick story, that can wrap up all this, of all what my panelists said.

I have the "Molly of Denali" mascot.

She's the first Alaska Native, main character on PBS.

I take her into schools.

I took her into a school one day.

I go into a special ed classroom.

The teacher says, "Marilyn, stand up."

Marilyn stands up.

You can see she's blind.

She turns around toward Molly.

She says, "I am Molly, Molly is me."

So when kids can see themselves represented, like they were saying, and they can mimic and learn.

She never saw Molly, but she knew what Molly meant to her and her family.

So every day, if you walk in those steps, we're making sure kids see themselves represented.

It don't matter if they see 'em.

They can hear 'em, they know what's there, and I challenge all you teachers to make sure every day you give kids that win.

So with that, panel, thank you.

Thank you, my illustrious teachers.

- Thank you, for all the things that you do.

[audience applauds] [Salandra claps] [panelists conversing faintly] [no audio] [no audio]