Teachers get valuable resources at program

As the teachers and administrators began to leave following the conclusion of "Summer Institute," all shared the reaction of Aiken Middle School teacher Rose Layton.

"This has been an eye-opening and wonderful experience," she said Friday. "There was the absolute number of resources I never knew about before."

Hosted by Public Education Partners, an education advocacy group, Summer Institute is an annual five-day workshop that focuses on two issues. Teachers learn how to look beyond behavior issues of their children to see if their home environment or other factors are creating problems. They also are introduced to more than two dozen health and human service agencies as resources.

"I didn't realize I could do so much more with these resources," said Amber Adams, a Warrenville Elementary School teacher. "Even in kindergarten, several children get sent to guidance for disciplinary reasons. Now I know I haven't been doing nearly enough and that I can do better."

Throughout the week, the teachers heard directly from representatives of health and human service agencies. On Friday, groups of teachers were given scenarios regarding children with issues. They had a chance to consult with staffers of several agencies to determine the best approaches for the children.

The workshop closed Friday with an appearance by Kathy Carlyle, a retired South Aiken High School teacher who directed the peer mediation program for several years.

She described her own difficult and emotionally stressful childhood and how that affected her as a teacher and as a person, allowing her to relate and be more responsive to children in need. She strongly supports peer mediation. Students who have received training provide mediation with other students in conflict to help them resolve their differences without resorting to verbal sparring and fighting.

"Peer mediation needs to be in every school," Carlyle said. "Children really need to know how to communicate. Some kids fight because they don't have any other way of dealing with conflict. They can end up on suspension or in alternative school and perhaps the prison system."

Gayle Lofgren, the school district's therapeutic counselor, has worked with Summer Institute the past six years.

"I love doing this and getting to know the teachers," she said, "Some may have been aware of the resources but weren't comfortable enough to make a referral. We can help them make those connections. We had a few teachers who said they had kids who were driving them crazy. Now they wonder what was really going on with those kids."