2009-2010
Teaching and Working in a Diverse World:
The Impact of Poverty
October 22nd, 2009
University of Maine Farmington
North Dining Hall A, B, C and Conference Rm 123 (CR123)
Conference Schedule
(click on the session title to read more about the session)
Resilience, Hope, and Grittiness:Adaptive Outcomes from Difficult Circumstances : Poverty impacts students in multiple contexts (or systems) of their lives simultaneously. The effects of poverty and complex, but may not all be negative. Approaching poverty from a de icit perspective may neglect the adaptive behaviors children develop which serve as protective factors. Many poor youth are resilient and hopeful. Educators are fortunate enough to be able to work with students directly and nurture these strengths that are outcomes of living in poverty.
Presenter: Elyse Pratt-Ronco is an Educational Counselor for the UMF Upward Bound program. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Education from UMF, her Master’s in Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College, and her Ph.D. in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College. She has spent the past ten years working with adolescents living in rural poverty.
Poverty and Learning for the Under-Resourced Learner: (1:30-2:20, Session repeats 2:30-3:20 NDH A)
Participants will develop a personal and professional awareness of Ruby Payne’s Understanding the Framework of Poverty and how under-resourced learners are at a disadvantage in today’s learning environment. In addition, participants will be presented with the R-Rules: A Guide for teens to identify and build resources that promote leadership and school completion.
Presenter: Debrajean Scheibel, Educational Consultant, Maine Department of Education is a former Special Education Administrator. Dr. Scheibel is Co-Director of Essential Learning for Building Educational Bridges, EL-DEB, Inc., a non profit Comprehensive Professional Development & Consultation Service Promoting Opportunity and Learning by Building Bridges Out of Poverty. Contact: debrajean.scheibel@gmail.com or (207) 930-5657
Challenges and Barriers: Low-income Students Talk About Their Experiences (3:30-4:20 NDH A)
Adolescence is a time of transition and change. Low-income adolescents face a unique set of challenges and barriers to their success. In this session, a group of high school students who participate in the Upward Bound program at UMF will share their stories. They will model a research method called Interpretive Focus Groups, where they will look at photographs and data collected from other low-income teens and give it new meaning through their own personal experiences . The participants will also answer questions from the audience about what best supports low-income students from their perspective.
Presenter: Elyse Pratt Ronco and panel of current and alumni Upward Bound participants
UMF Graduates Reflect on Working with English Languages Learners (4:30-5:20 NDHA)
In this session three recent graduates will share their experiences of teaching in Lewiston, Maine. All three women teach in Lewiston Public Schools. Come hear about how these three teachers work to respect the needs of each of their students. Through thinking about the economic, cultural and ethnic background of their students, they are able to scaffold learning for the success of all students. Awareness of how life outside school impacts students allows these teachers to better differentiate their curriculum and build trust with their students and the families of those students.
Presenters: Kate Boynton graduated from UMF in 2007 with a degree in Elementary Education. She is in her third year teaching English Language Learners at Montello Elementary School. She is being trained in Reading Recovery through UMO and is a facilitator to implement SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observable Protocol) in the Lewiston School District. Sarah Bunn graduated from UMF in 2008 with a degree in Elementary Education. She is in her second year of teaching English Language Learners grades 3-6. She is being trained in reading recovery through UMO. Charlotte Holden graduated from UMF with a degree in Elementary Education. She is in her first year of teaching English Language Learners grade 3-6 at McMahon Elementary School.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Poverty in Maine (but may not have thought to ask) (1:30-2:20 NDH B)
We hear the word “poverty” all the time, yet many are not familiar with how poverty is measured and defined in the U.S., and how important this problematic measure is in determining benefits, programs, and services for millions of people. This session will (1) discuss how the federal poverty measure is used in defining poverty rates and in determining benefits, (2) give an introductory “picture” of poverty and family financial insecurity in Maine and its counties, (3) provide information and statistics on some of the many benefits and programs for lower-income people in Maine, and (4) present some of the policies and actions that have been suggested for moving people out of poverty.
Presenter: Ann Acheson is a research associate and Editor of Maine Policy Review at the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, University of Maine, and is a faculty associate in the Anthropology Department. She has over 30 years experience in applied qualitative and quantitative social science research and evaluation. Her recent work focuses on health and social policy, particularly poverty, substance abuse, and mental health. She has published a number of articles and reports on poverty in Maine. Contact: ann.acheson@umit.maine.edu
A Panel of Area High School Teachers (2:30-3:20 NDH B)
Join local high school teachers to hear their perspectives on teaching in the greater Farmington area. For these teachers, and many in rural areas issues of socioeconomic diversity dominate the classroom diversity. Discussion will begin with information about how each teacher sees the impact of socioeconomic standing in schools. Attendees are invited to bring questions and concerns to discuss.
Presenters: Meadow Sheldon, Hattie DeRaps and Beth Whittle are all teachers at Mt. Blue High School. They are enrolled in the Masters of Education program here at UMF and share a concern about connecting and motivating the students they work with.
Community Action Resources (3:30-4:20 NDH B)
This session will give an overview of programs offered by community action agencies nationwide. More detail will be given to the core programs offered by those agencies. These programs can be resources to you, the students you teach and the families of those students. Suggestions about how to become involved with community action services will be shared.
Presenter:Judith Frost Community Services Program Manager at Western Maine Community Action (WMCA). She has been at the agency for almost 30 years. She is a graduate of UMF. She taught school for 2 years; then started a family; volunteered for WMCA and then was hired by WMCA. The agency primarily serves the residents of Franklin County, but also offers some services in Oxford and Androscoggin Counties. Dr. Chad Duncan is an Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation at UMF.
Myths and Realities of Financial Poverty: An Interactive Session (4:30-5:20 NDH B)
Myths about people who live in financial poverty are presented. Participants are involved in an interactive small group activity (published by Teaching Tolerance) which involves budgeting for families of various circumstances and incomes - all above incomes qualifying for social services. In addition to looking at monthly budgets for usual experiences, groups randomly choose unexpected “life happens” events and determine how budgets might be re-arranged. Prompts are provided for reflections on the difficulty or ease of creating revised budgets and other questions related to the impact of the families’ financial situations. Participants receive activity materials they can use to recreate the activity with their students.
Presenter: Lee Anna Stirling, Ed.D. teaches education graduate and professional development courses throughout Maine. Her courses include: Diversity and Multiculturalism, Project-Based Learning, Collaborative Peer Coaching/ Professional Learning Community, Keeping on Track: Educators Creating Action Plans to Stay Motivated, Energized and Effective and, at the University of New England, education leadership courses. She can be reached at leemandu@earthlink.net.
At the Intersection: Poverty, Race, Culture and Disability (1:30-2:20 NDH C)
Individuals who live in poverty are in jeopardy, but what about those who face double or triple jeaopardy, due to combinations of poverty, race, culture and disability. In this session we will explore issues of access and agency in terms of poverty as it intersects with race, culture and disability in the lived experiences of individuals. We will begin to develop personal plans of action as change agents at the individual, institutional and policy levels.
Presenter: Dr. Tiana Povenmire-Kirk is a new assistant professor in special education at UMF. She recently moved here from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon with her family. Her previous research focused on transitioning from school to adult life for at-risk youth from diverse racial, cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds, adjudicated youth and Latino youth with disabilities. She can be reached at tiana@maine.edu or 778-9974.
The Crooked House (2:30-3:20 NDH C)
The Crooked House is a new young adult novel written by Jayne Decker. The book tells the story of Bailey Malin, a young girl living in extreme poverty in rural Maine. Bailey moves into the home of her alcoholic aunt after her mother’s violent death, and at age twelve, she takes on the responsibility of caring for her young cousin where the two children learn how to pick up the fractured pieces of their family. Jayne will read several chapters from this recent work, and there will be opportunity for discussion.
Presenter: Jayne Decker, Artistic Director for Sandy River Players, is an award-winning playwright who has directed in numerous theatres including University of Maine Farmington’s Alumni Theatre. One of her most recent plays was a collaborative production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with original music composed by Philip Carlsen. Her first play, Beyond Eve, won the New England Festival of New Works. Jayne has also presented workshop productions of her original plays Stars Falling (winner of the 2002 Maine playwriting Award), Jelly Moonshine, and Songbird, a touring play about the Iraq War. Her most recent script, Cracked Shells, a play that depicts the tragedy of domestic violence, was commissioned by Franklin County Network’s Peace in Our Families and was featured again at the 2009 Maine Women’s Studies conference. Jayne teaches courses at University of Maine Farmington, including Writing for the Stage and Screen, Social and Political Theatre and Creative Dramatics for the Classroom Teacher.
Combating Poverty With Education - Safe Passage, Guatemala. (3:30-4:20 NDH C)
A UMF group of 10 students and 2 staff members traveled to Guatemala this past summer and spent a week at Safe Passage. Safe Passage is an after-school enrichment program for the children of very poor Guatemalans that make a living out of scavenging at the citiy’s garbage dump. This talk will start with an overview of the Guatemalan situation, the dump people, the kids at Safe Passage, the program at Safe Passage and our week there. Then we will compare our experience there with experiences in the US. We will end with a highlight of what we perceived as the impact of Safe Passage on these kids and their families.
Presenter: Dr. Mariella Passarelli teaches organic chemistry and biochemistry at UMF but is originally from Guatemala. She developed a travel summer course that took UMF students to work for a week at Safe Passage. Kaylee Trefethen is a junior studying Early Childhood Education-Special Education at UMF. She developed an activity for pre-schoolers at Safe Passage and helped in other ways during our week in Guatemala
Films: Recycled Life and Safe Passage: A Tribute to Hanley Denning (4:30-5:20 NDH C)
The dramatic and touching story of thousands of adults, children, and generations of families who have been living and working in the largest landfill in Central America, the Guatemala City Garbage Dump. Followed by a short documentary on how Hanley Denning from Yarmouth, Maine changed the life of the children in the dump by founding Safe Passage.
Presenter: Dr. Mariella Passarelli teaches organic chemistry and biochemistry at UMF but is originally from Guatemala. She developed a travel summer course that took UMF students to work for a week at Safe Passage.
Do Rural Children Have a Culture? (1:30-2:20 CR 123)
A national nostalgia about rural childhood obscures the fact that rural children often experience higher rates of poverty and its consequences than do metro children. This failure to address how geographical residence affects children’s experiences is now being challenged by researchers who are examining rural communities as unique cultural contexts for child development. This presentation discusses some of the facts and nostalgia about growing up rural as well as practical implications of this more recent research.
Presenter: Dr. Betty Beach is a professor of Early Childhood Education at University of Maine Farmington.
What does educational opportunity really mean? - Meeting the unique needs of low income, first generation students (2:30-3:20 CR 123)
Go to college! That’s the message students across high school in Maine are hearing with increasing frequency, but how hard is it for a student from a low income family to actually get there? Just how equal is educational opportunity? This workshop will explore current trends in college access for low income, first generation students in Maine. Additionally, discussions will focus on the roadblocks students from low income families face in their academic, financial and socioemotional preparation for college.
Presenter: Lynn is the Director of the UMF Upward Bound program and has been an advocate for equal educational opportunity for low income students for over 25 years. Lynn also serves on the Board of Directors of the Maine Compact for Higher Education and has held many leadership roles in both state and regional educational opportunity professional associations. (lynnp@maine.edu
Leveling the Playing Field in Technology “Open Source for Today’s Digital Natives” (3:30-4:20 CR 123)
Technology often creates more problems than it solves, especially when it comes to students with a socioeconomic disadvantage. Many of these kids have limited access to technology at home. Some may have a computer but lack the software that is commonly used in today’s schools. Come and learn how you can change all that! Open source software and operating systems can level the playing field both at school and at home. FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) is used everyday by folks all over the world. You may be using some without even knowing it! Come see this exciting presentation and learn how schools and communities all over Maine are changing the way ALL “digital natives” are able to access technology.
Presenter: David Trask has been a teacher and technology director for over 23 years. He is currently the Technology Director/Teacher at Vassalboro Community School in Vassalboro Maine USA. He has been a champion and pioneer in the use of Linux and Open Source in the classroom. David is also the founder of the highly successful FOSSED conference held each year in the Northeast (http://www.fossed.com). In 2007, David was named the Maine Technology Educator of the Year.