2014 ISHA Fall Newsletter

ISHA N E WSL E T T ER

Fall 2014

November 10, 2014 SPECIAL: NAIS Tackles Student Health and Well-being

Ebola: Staying Updated

Well-being and Flourishing at Hackley School

By Steve Bileca, Head of Middle School, Hackley School What are the essential elements of health, wellness and wellSteve Bileca being? What does the research tell us about how we best acquire and transmit them?

How do healthy habits of body, mind and character interact and reinforce one another?

Click for CDC Infographic

See page 3 for more.

Defining Health and Changing School Culture

And how might we most fully develop these habits in order for the members of our school community to flourish – that is, to live wisely and well? continued on page 9

By Nancy Bird, Former Director of Health Services, The Hotchkiss School, in collaboration with Jennifer Bryan, Ph.D., Founder and Principal of Team Finch Consultants Nancy Bird Jennifer Bryan In spending 25 years as a Director of Health Services, I have had ample opportunity to better understand what it means to foster a healthy school community. In this article I offer reflections of my personal journey as an administrator at a boarding school as well as some recommendations for effecting positive change over time.

Working collaboratively is instrumental in reaching successful outcomes.

In that spirit I have invited my colleague, Dr. Jennifer Bryan, a psychologist and educational consultant, to offer her own reflections on our collaborative effort to create a healthier school culture in relation to gender and sexuality.

The process of growing a healthy community begins with a commitment from the leadership of the school; trustees and administrators need to view health and wellness as integral to all aspects of the institution’s mission and policies.

Fostering health in a community requires: •

understanding of adolescent development continued on page 2

Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

Mindfulness in Independent Schools This fall, ISHA coordinated two sold-out mindfulness workshops in the Northeast region (NY & MA).

Mindfulness is more than just a “quality or state of being conscious” and an abundance of evidence has shown the benefits of mindfulness continued on page 11

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Defining Health and Changing School Culture continued from page 1 • attention to research and best practice •

awareness of the diverse needs of individual community members

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student education programs that support the ability to take responsibility for one’s own health

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an interdisciplinary team that can respond to the physical and emotional development of all (students, staff, faculty) who work and live in a boarding school environment

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openness to outside assessment and suggestion

As Director of Health Services (DHS), I worked hard to ensure that stakeholders understood “health” in a broad, comprehensive way.

Creating a healthy school culture requires growth and change over time. Who or what acts as the catalyst for such change? Exploring one community’s experience with Gender and Sexuality Diversity (GSD) over a 25-year period offers a particular view of the inevitably protracted change process. The work with GSD was essential in our effort to create a healthy school and aptly demonstrates the up-down-sidewise-backward-

forward trajectory of institutional change.

Identifying Obstacles to a Healthy Community

I was a senior who had just arrived at Hotchkiss the year before. It was the late 1980s. I came to Nancy’s office one day and asked her, quite naively, if I could please join the gay discussion group. I had been keeping my newly accepted sexuality pretty private but was ready to discuss it with someone.

I assumed that I was probably not alone in this feeling and I must have just never come across the group while at school.

She very sweetly responded that indeed there was no such group at Hotchkiss, at least not yet, but that she and I could start one.

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-Hotchkiss Alumni, Class of 1989

This happened early in my career as the newly appointed Director of Health Services at The Hotchkiss School. I look back on this interaction with Alex and the learning and exploring that we shared, and I realize that it was a significant steppingstone in my redefining and expanding the notion of a healthy school community.

Such a community had to include a sense of belonging and acceptance of

In this issue

Fall 2014

Defining Health and Changing School Culture ����������������������1 Well-being and Flourishing at Hackley School ���������������������1 Mindfulness in Independent Schools �����������������������������������1 What’s a “Tween”? ����������������������3 VP’s Corner: Delaying the Start of the School Day ���������������13 Health-related Updates and Resources �����������������������������14 Job Postings �����������������������������14 Professional Development ����14 Recent Research �����������������������15 Childhood sleep duration and lifelong mortality risk ��������15 Peer influence on prosocial behavior in adolescence ���15 ISHA @ NAIS Annual Conference 2015 ����������������16 Also Related to Health at the NAIS Annual Conference ��16 Have something to share or write about? ������������������������17 Stay Updated! ���������������������������17 Subscribe: ���������������������������������17

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What’s a “Tween”?

By Deborah M. Roffman, MS, The Park School of Baltimore

Adapted from her book, “Talk to Me First: Everything You Need to Know to Become Your Kids’ Go-To Person about Sex”.

How many times have you heard a parent or educator say, or thought to yourself, “Kids. They grow up too fast day these days.”

Older generations with short memories about their own youth have probably shaken their heads—if not pointed their fingers—at younger generations in similar ways, well, forever. But today, the observation that teenagers and even children are on a fast track to adulthood seems to ring truer than ever.

Without a doubt, there has been a profound transformation in

how American children and teens live, learn, play, explore, socialize, and communicate, much of it connected to the ubiquity of the Internet and the stunning pace of technological change.

One result is the appearance, at least, of greater sophistication and worldliness among today’s kids. And, yet, no matter how dramatically the world changes around them, the pace and complexity of child and adolescent development remains exactly the same.

There’s another factor, though, that’s flown remarkably under parents’ and educators’ radar. In perhaps the most stealth advertising coup of all times, marketers in the late 20th Century decided to coin the clever nickname, “tween,”* and then succeeded in making it a household name, practically overnight.

Most adults, when asked , guess that “tweens” are children between the ages of 10-12, as in, youngsters who are making the transition from late

childhood to early adolescence and therefore are “in between.” But that was not the demographic marketers were hoping to capture, and they were not simply aiming to describe an existing developmental stage in a clever new way. They were actually in the business of inventing a brand new “developmental stage” that makes no developmental sense at all.

Studies in the mid-1990’s revealed that the age group advertisers cynically call “tweens”—8 to14 yearolds—represented a huge, untapped “triple sales” market. It was discovered that these impressionable young people had multi-millions of dollars in their own pockets, and also the capacity to earn corporations multi-billions more by influencing the purchasing decisions of their parents and peers.

Perhaps most cynical of all was the decision to market to 8-14 year olds as if they were one developmentally homogeneous group, all the same and all continued on page 8

Ebola: Staying Updated

Resources from the Ebola Resource Center (American Medical Association) Resources for public, faculty, families, and etc.

• • • • • •

What you need to know about Ebola Signs and symptoms of Ebola How to prevent Ebola Ebola transmission Ebola and pets Interim guidance for air travel personnel

Resources for health services and medical professionals • • • • • •

Health care professional checklist Visual snapshot of Ebola outbreak Ebola and children Screening guidelines (outpatient settings) Evaluating patients Clinical presentation and course

CDC: Ebola Virus Disease | Latest Updates Teaching about the outbreak: Ebola Lesson Plan for Students Learning From Disaster, Exploring the Ebola Epidemic NAIS Legal Advisory Screening for Ebola Info for Healthcare Workers and Settings Http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/index.html

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Defining Health and Changing School Culture continued from page 2 oneself, and by others, for all its members. The school had to strive to balance the needs of the community with the needs of individuals. Some would say that the steps I took in my quest to help Hotchkiss become a community that would embrace gender and sexuality diversity was beyond the realm of my job description. I disagreed and felt compelled to act.

Not only was there no support group for gay youth at school in 1989, there were none within a 90 mile radius of our community. There were no openly gay faculty or staff members, and I did not detect a great deal of interest in opening the topic for discussion. But, I did sense an unspoken need that encouraged me to learn more and explore options, so I investigated further with trusted colleagues. What became clear? I needed to continue conversations with the one or two students brave enough to share their thoughts, and I should also plan something that would initiate conversations throughout the community.

when they attended, were more than excited that the school was taking the first steps to promote change. This alumni group became an integral source of support for my work for this seminal event and going forward.

A letter arrived in my box the day before the film, “Homophobia”, was to debut. Will, an alumnus, asked me to read the letter as an introduction to the program. The atmosphere of the auditorium changed as I read Will’s words. Will asked the audience to listen with an open mind and heart. “It is my hope that one day I will feel comfortable speaking to all of you in person rather than through an anonymous letter.” The program successfully initiated conversations throughout the community.

A week later the same two senior boys put up a different poster, one inviting people to participate in forming a discussion group. The response? Forty students and adults came to the counseling offices of the health center and expressed an interest in starting the Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA). A grassroots movement had been born.

Winning hearts and minds happens on a small scale at first, in pockets, through authentic relationships between and among people.

Sparking Discussion; Winning Administrative Support 2

All School Meetings were a traditional format for exposing the community to issues of import. Therefore, I scheduled an all school meeting: HOMOPHOBIA. The guest speaker was Dr. Cooper Thompson. Two senior boys posted notices with pink triangles announcing the event.

Adults took them down and returned them to me. It was an interesting day as I tried to find balance between supporting the students and holding on to my belief that offering this program was the right thing to do.

It is difficult to take responsibility for planning controversial programs if there is not support from the top. The Head of School’s support for this event and my work allowed me to forge ahead with this program and continue my efforts in the future. “Support” came in the form of honest communication, permission for candor, and appreciation for my efforts. We both understood that there are times when it is better for someone other than the Head to expose a school community to new ways of thinking. I took this risk, only because I trusted he truly supported what I was doing.

Unbeknownst to me, word had gotten out in the greater Hotchkiss community that this program was taking place. The topic was bigger than I imagined, and an old fashioned network (no tweets, no social media) was activated; phone calls and conversations were taking place within a group that understood the significance of this event.

Alumni, who had experienced the school as unaccepting

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3 Building a Coalition

Our schools expect attitudes to shift within the student body before adults change their minds. I often challenged this notion and did not wait until the adults were “ready” for conversations about gender and sexuality. I discovered that working through students was an effective way of accessing adults individually and in small groups.

For example, when a gay student shared the thrill he felt when his English teacher focused a class discussion on the challenges of being gay in high school, I then reached out to this teacher. One of the counselors in the Health Service was seeing a number of students struggling with their sexuality.

She then became actively involved in setting up the GSA.

Winning hearts and minds happens on a small scale at first, in pockets, through authentic relationships between and among people. When the number of sensitized people on campus grows, the concern---whatever it may be--- receives more attention. Over the course of the next seven or eight years, more people stepped into these conversations. I was no longer “the one” who carried concern and commitment.

4 Support from the Outside

I had also learned that it is wise to have support from outside the school community. Collaborating with an expert and mentor who is willing to listen, guide, suggest, and give credibility to the mission is crucial. Fortunately, as the Director of Health Services I had control of both my departmental budget and a special fund that was earmarked for health education programs. Being able to allocate funds to bring someone to campus to assist those working on a continued on page 5 Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

continued from page 4 project can be pivotal to promoting change.

Enter, Dr. Jennifer Bryan, a former colleague whom I trusted and admired. A Counseling Psychologist, Jennifer was at the beginning of developing a specialty in helping schools increase their understanding and awareness of gay and lesbian issues. Jennifer was also a former student and faculty member, so I knew she understood the Hotchkiss community. I felt she was well positioned to help the Health Services Department bring structure to and further our educational efforts in relation to issues of gender and sexuality.

5 Coming Back Anew (by JB)

In 1993 an invitation to be part of a panel on Adolescent Health for the school’s enormous centennial celebration was a major turning point for me both personally and professionally. At this very public and prestigious event, Nancy Bird, Director of Health Services at Hotchkiss, invited me to speak about adolescent sexuality, with a specific focus on gay and lesbian issues. Having been confused about my sexuality as a student at the school in the mid 70’s and mostly

I was invited by the newly established Gay Straight Alliance to come and speak, and the student organizers felt validated and empowered by the turnout. It was clear that students and faculty attended the event for many different reasons: personal, political, pedagogical. An English department colleague even had students attend and write about their experience as a homework assignment.

In subsequent years, I became a sounding board for Nancy as she continued to shepherd (and prod!) the community through a multi-faceted change process related to the role of gender and sexuality in a secondary, boarding school community. I solidified my role as a consultant (versus alum and former colleague) and continued to work with other independent schools contending with similar questions about programs, policies and curriculum. Ultimately I recommended that Nancy seek an academic forum to fortify and legitimize the work.

Finding a Seat at the Academic Table (by NB)

Change had begun in various corners of the school community.

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The Gay/Straight Alliance that had been established by students, now met regularly and was advised and supported by several faculty members.

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The School’s employment non-discrimination statement was updated to include sexual orientation.

(In 2011 this statement was updated to also include gender identity.)

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The Residential Dean and Dormitory Heads were struggling with policies addressing students’ sexual activity.

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GLB alumnae groups were gathering at reunions.

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closeted as a teacher in the early 80’s, my participation on this panel represented a major coming out.

In addition to being enormously healing for me, this experience also underscored how poorly people understood the role of sexuality and gender in adolescent and adult health. Addressing these issues in a school setting created additional layers of fear and anxiety about the appropriateness of engaging with these aspects of the “whole child.” Nancy’s persistent clarity and courage paved the way for the school to grapple with these issues in a typically fitful fashion, as is the case with any organization trying to preserve tradition and embrace innovation at the same time.

My being an alumnae, former faculty member and emerging expert in the field created a unique opportunity for Nancy to bring me in--- wearing all three hats--- to work with students and teachers. Soon after the Centennial panel,

A specially funded library collection addressing issues of gender and sexuality diversity was established and gained support annually.

At the same time, the Health Services Department and Health Center had become a safe haven for students to share aspects of their lives that presented challenges. They could speak freely about their socio-emotional needs and normal developmental quests and dilemmas. And they could seek information about a wide variety of health topics. They wanted to talk about: •

nutrition

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sexual decision making

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drugs and alcohol

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birth control

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identity

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depression

• relationships Students were asking for more formalized discussions and continued on page 6

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continued from page 5 wanted time to talk with their peers, older students, and adults about these topics. So, after much research and careful planning, I proposed and piloted a Human Development course in 1996, and a year later it became an official part of the school’s curriculum.

Human Development was a year-long required course for 10th graders and included teaching assistant seniors who applied for and were selected for this position based on recommendations, self evaluation, and proven interest in the topics to be discussed. Involving older students as mentors and teachers allowed the younger students to speak more frankly and to ask questions that they might not otherwise ask. At the same time, the seniors had to think about their own decisions and spent many hours in the advanced course learning information that enabled them to be informed and effective HD teaching assistants.

7 Consultant as Teacher (by JB)

Nancy’s success in establishing a required Human Development course was a significant turning point in the change process. As a consultant I understood deeply the importance of a curricular “home” for engaging with the multitude of adolescent development issues, including those related to gender and sexuality. Valuable teaching/learning occurs between teachers and students through advising, coaching, and dorm parenting, yet the classroom offers essential structure, purpose and pedagogical intentionality to the effort.

I began working directly with the Human Development faculty and senior teaching assistants, providing them with a framework and language for understanding gender identity development and sexual identity development. They themselves needed an opportunity to grapple with the inherent complexity of human sexuality, as well as the powerful cultural influences on attitudes about everything from body image to date rape.

In the initial years, students had a deep curiosity about “what it’s like to be gay,” so I found myself teaching via a combination of personal narrative and didactic presentation. Over time, however, my own framework for this work shifted away from an exclusive focus on GLBTQ issues to a broader conceptualization, Gender and Sexuality Diversity (GSD). The GSD framework allows us to consider the gender identity and sexual identity of ALL persons, not just those who identify as GLBTQ. This paradigm shift makes utmost sense. Everyone in a school community has a sex, gender and sexuality, and most people consider these to be essential parts of who they are as human beings.

Each spring I spoke with the entire 10th grade class, offering them an opportunity to ask questions, watch film clips, and engage in wide-ranging conversation about gender and sexuality. This was a lively event, with all the Human Development sections, all the TA’s and HD faculty in

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attendance. By this time in the academic year the students had greater understanding and better communication skills with which to discuss such highly personal, complicated material. Adolescents benefit tremendously when they are invited to be participant-observers in their own developmental process. And the strong sense of a community engaged in a shared purpose was always palpable at this gathering.

8 Promoting Adult Learning (by NB)

Over the next several years, Jennifer and I collaborated and also, negotiated. She had refined her framework for addressing gender and sexuality in schools, and her book From the Dress-Up Corner to the Senior Prom: Navigating Gender and Sexuality Diversity in PreK-12 Schools made a strong case for prioritizing professional development programs first, and student “interventions” second. She made clear recommendations about what next steps the school should take (i.e. professional development), which I had to balance with what I believed could realistically be accomplished.

As more schools began to recognize the importance of addressing gender and sexuality, Jennifer’s work expanded and her reputation as a safe, effective educator and consultant grew. At the same time, administrators at Hotchkiss began to discuss the relevance of gender and sexuality education for the adults in their own community.

Subsequently, the Dean of Faculty recommended that faculty attend Dr. Bryan’s workshops at TABS or NAIS. However, despite numerous efforts to coordinate faculty professional development during Jennifer’s many visits to campus working with students, there was resistance to making this happen. It appeared that there was comfort supporting the discussions for adults off campus, but not on campus.

Maintaining A Consultant’s Perspective (by JB) 9

Consultants are always seeking a balance between (a) remaining outside a system in order to preserve a distanced perspective and (b) joining a system in order to understand more deeply how it works.

My working with the different facets of the Human Development program was valuable, but as time passed, I felt as though I had become too much a part of the system.

HD had become the “answer” to questions about gender and sexuality at the school, and there wasn’t momentum or motivation to move any further than that.

I needed to step back from providing trainings for HD (i.e. maintaining the status quo) and recommend that education and training for the faculty and staff become a priority goal. My saying no to Nancy created tension in the system, and fortunately, our mutual professional respect for each other helped us bear the discomfort. Consultants are often most effective when they refuse to provide what the continued on page 7 Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

continued from page 6 client wants and instead offer what the client needs.

Prompting Leadership; Promoting Adult Learning (by NB)

As is typical with any grass roots movement, those most affected by and sensitized to the “problem” had grown increasingly frustrated with the pace of change. Twenty years had passed and the rounds of battles related to gender and sexuality were too numerous to count. In spite of the visible changes that included (a) the presence of openly gay faculty members, (some even living in the dorms), (b) a handful of openly gay students, and (c) a very small increase in the number of women in leadership positions, there remained an undercurrent of homophobia and sexism on campus. Those sensitive to these issues did not feel that “the school” was paying enough attention to their concerns and were quietly (and not so quietly) demanding action. Teachers, students, alums, and now trustees were speaking up.

At the same time, the student population was changing. Our community was now “global,” with increasing economic, racial, religious and cultural diversity. Students came from a wide variety of family structures and were raised in fast-paced and competitive environments. The adult population was shifting along similar dimensions. This new reality meant that maintaining a healthy community and meeting individual health needs demanded a more comprehensive and innovative approach.

Years before, I had succeeded in getting the Director of Health Services a place on the senior administrative team, so I had direct access to those with the ability to make change happen. As the DHS I consistently shared observations from the health-and-wellness perspective, whether we were talking about the demands of the athletic program or increased use of our “safe haven” drug/alcohol policy. I provided anecdotal evidence, statistical data and knew my voice was listened to and respected. It was time for me to ask for action in relation to Gender and Sexuality Diversity.

I believed that the only way for us to move forward was for the administrative branch of the school to prioritize the need for thoughtful discussions about GSD. The grassroots movement needed to be met by the leaders of the school. How could we help increase the comfort level and skills of the adult community so that the conversations that needed to happen would happen naturally? The groundwork had been laid for a more comprehensive community approach and the right personnel were in decision-making positions. I invited the newly appointed Dean of Faculty to speak with Dr. Bryan and was not surprised when he said yes.

The results of their conversations led to Jennifer working as a consultant for the adult community for almost two years.

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Consulting to the System (by JB)

Many schools are wedded to the one-and-done model of professional development, so it is not at all surprising that faculty often approach the mandatory PD program with a boatload of skepticism. Is this topic relevant to what I actually do? Does this ‘outside expert’ have practical and realistic resources that we can actually use? Will the presenter understand our community? Does she know how to teach?! Hotchkiss wisely signed on to a consultation process rather than a professional development event. The Dean of Faculty supported a broad and deep exploration and gave me access to all constituents.

In an effort to assess how/whether Gender and Sexuality Diversity mattered in various parts of the community, I met with a variety of groups to (a) establish a context for these discussions, (b) inquire about experiences, patterns, concerns, changes over time, (c) begin teaching about adolescent gender identity and sexual identity development and (d) offer recommendations and share resources.

Over the course of a year and a half I met with (sometimes more than once): • School Leadership Team • Gender Issues Committee • Residential Life Personnel • Student Proctors • Board of Trustees Gender Task Force • International Programs Coordinator • Class Deans • Department Heads • Health Services Team • Athletics Directors • Communications • Full Faculty

All discussions about Gender and Sexuality Diversity were grounded in the stated mission of the school, and I linked the GSD work to the established Foundations of Learning wherever possible. My goal was to challenge the idea that GSD issues existed on the periphery of the community but were instead, embedded in the fabric of dayto-day life at school.

What did it mean that only girls were signing up to participate in the school’s fabulous farm-to-table program?

How come the majority of students coming before the Disciplinary Committee were boys? Who was mentoring young faculty about handling gender dynamics in the classroom? Where in the curriculum would a gay student find himself reflected in the course of study? Why did female faculty members continue to feel disenfranchised and without a voice in decision-making at the highest level? Were students learning about healthy romantic relationships or simply learning how to avoid unwanted pregnancies? How come qualified girls weren’t pursuing AP science courses and continued on page 8

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continued from page 7 qualified boys avoided AP English? Was the school ready to meet the needs of transgender students?

In my summary report to the Leadership Team I offered detailed, specific observations and well-informed recommendations. In addition I expressed deep respect for all involved and stepped back from this piece of work feeling confident that the change process would continue.

12 Healthy Change (by NB) Institutional change takes time and requires patience. Over a 25 year span I learned that whether the issue was gender and sexuality diversity, eating disorders and body image

concerns, or access to sexual health care, the same careful steps need to be taken each time. Listen to students who are often first to give voice to a health-related need. Build a coalition of students and teachers who care about that need, and collaborate with outside help and resources. AND work with school leadership, understanding that there will always be tension between preserving tradition and provoking change. On my retirement I left proud of the work we had done to create a healthier school and heartened knowing how many people better understood what fostering a healthy community truly entails.

What’s a “Tween”? continued from page 3 interested in teenage and adult-oriented products, with the ultimate goal of creating a mindset among kids and adults that youngsters in this age group are in fact—and should be perceived as—short teenage and adult consumers.

It is astonishing to realize that while it took the entire 20th Century for psychiatrists and psychologists to carve out the multiple and qualitatively different and unique stages of child and adolescent development, it took marketers and merchandisers a mere 15 years or less to reduce them, presumably, to three: pre-“tweens,” “tweens,” and teenagers. The padded bras on sale in Macy’s for 7 and 8-year-olds, the computer tablets being marketed for 4 year-olds, the long line of AXE grooming products for late elementary and early middle school boys, and the millions of elementary age and early adolescents with unsupervised access to Internet connected devices, speak volumes about how well marketers have succeeded in altering our cultural view of children and childhood.

One result has been a common observation, particularly among school people, that younger and younger kids have more freedom to make more decisions than ever before, and that, more and more, parents are uncertain about where and how to set age-appropriate limits. Increasingly, many seem to be making best guesses by looking around to see what other parents seem to think is OK. While it’s tempting to criticize anything that gives the appearance of adult abdication, before judging these parents harshly it’s important to re-

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member that they represent the first generation of American parents having to cope with billion dollar corporations working tirelessly to insert themselves in between the relationship between parents and their children.

What can schools do?

What we are witnessing up close in schools is not the natural evolution of American life in a brand new century, but the crass manipulation of children and families for financial gain. The good news is that as school communities we can at any time enlist some of our best strengths—high credibility, ongoing access to parents, expert knowledge of the true nature of physical, social, emotional and intellectual development—to educate and support parents at each grade level, and give them opportunities to educate and support each other. Prevention science research consistently reveals that these kinds of connections support postponement of potentially risky behaviors by children and teens.

We can all start by knowing the correct answer to the question, “What’s a ‘tween’?” There is no such thing!! Eight year-olds are eight year-olds, nine year-olds are nine yearolds, 14 year-olds are fourteen year-olds, and not one of them is a “tween.” *Actually, they appropriated it from J.R.R. Tolkien’s, The Fellowship of the Ring.

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Well-being and Flourishing at Hackley School continued from page 1

At Hackley School, a K – 12 independent day school in Tarrytown, NY, with a small 5-day boarding program for high school students, we embarked last year on an exhilarating initiative to explore these questions. Our aim, over time, is to develop a comprehensive approach to addressing them.

Our commitment runs deep. Occasioned by a magnanimous donation given two years ago by a long-standing benefactor, we designed an iterative process of question, research, action and implementation that reaches from students to board members to parents to teachers and staff and back again to our students. As our initiative continues to unfold, we hope that by sharing our process and initial successes, we can join in conversation with schools from around the country who have similar ambitions so that we can learn from and enrich each other’s experience along the way.

Our Process and Initial Steps

In 2013, Hackley’s Board of Trustees convened an adhoc committee to frame the initiative and make recommendations to the board for future development. Consisting of four board members, two faculty members and myself, with our Headmaster and Chairman of the Board sitting ex-officio, the committee met throughout the year.

gether to plan a Symposium on Health, Wellness and Well-Being. They invited board members and representatives from the parent body to underscore the school’s commitment to the community aspect of the initiative. In preparation for the day, the committee designed an anonymous survey for students, teachers and staff members to discover what our various constituencies believe the school does well, what it might do better or differently, and what needs attention in these areas. The input was used to help structure the day and the results were posted in the dining hall for all to see.

On the morning of the Symposium, we began by asking attendees to indicate the top priorities from the feedback they had given, choosing a few aspects from a full menu of elements of health and wellness: physical fitness; nutrition; stress management; knowledge about substance use and abuse; body knowledge; sleep; play; social connectedness; habits such as resilience, cognitive control and persistence; and the character traits that lead to meaningful, ethical and purposeful activity in the world.

Then, we spent the day exploring a few of these facets in depth. In order to help us think them through, we invited three sets of experts to spend the day with us.

We asked them each to address a different aspect during a round-table session and then to lead us in workshops throughout the day in their respective field. The experience was remarkable -- an invigorating day of dialogue, exploration and forward planning.

Our end goal is to help our students discern how to live well, in ethical relationship with our fellow human beings and our environment.

We outlined a process to study promising directions in the fields of health and wellness, developed a job description for an innovative administrative position to oversee the initiative in the years to come, assisted in the remarkably successful job search that ensued, and marshaled support in the wider community for the emerging project.

At the same time, we formed a Faculty and Staff Wellness Committee to develop programs that meet the needs of the adults on campus. As a result, Hackley piloted cost-free yoga classes three times a week as well as twice-weekly sessions with life-long fitness specialists for all interested school employees. This year, the options have been expanded to include healthy cooking classes with our school chef, forest walks with a naturalist, tai-chi instruction, and experimentation with ergonomic office furniture.

Finally, in order to fully engage our teachers and staff with the broader initiative, the school’s Academic Committee set aside a Professional Development day last February devoted to the topic. A committee of teachers and administrators from across our three divisions worked to-

Habits of Body: Nutrition and Food

Stephen Ritz and Dr. Sharon Akabas spoke to the importance of developing the right habits of nutrition in our students by incorporating the cultivation of food into the school day. Stephen Ritz, a food and nutrition specialist who founded The Green Bronx Machine, and is a celebrated TED speaker, shared with us the inspiring story of how he has transformed students and schools in the Bronx by creating edible walls and growing towers inside classrooms. Dr. Akabas is the Associate Director of The Institute of Human Nutrition and the Director of the MS in Nutrition Program at Columbia. She shared her insights as a professor of nutrition with long experience working in partnership with K-12 environments.

Habits of Mind: Focus, Mindfulness and Cognitive Control

We also invited leaders of The Mind & Life Institute, one of the world’s top foundations dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of mindfulness and its effects on practitioners.

Dr. Arthur Zajonc, Director, and Dr. Grace Bullock, Chief Research Scientist at the Institute, outlined the remarkable research on the benefits of mindfulness to physical health, cognitive functioning and psychological well-being. During continued on page 10

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continued from page 9 their workshop, they further explored the evidence and led us on different types of mindfulness exercises, explaining that there is no single “right kind” of practice: contemplative reflection, meditation, controlled breathing, yoga, intentional solitude, and quiet walking are only some of the many possible avenues. Finally, they shared their knowledge of some of the many K – 12 school environments where mindfulness is being practiced to encouraging effect.

Habits of Character: Resilience and Positive Psychology

Finally, we hosted Bob Szybist, lead trainer from the Center for Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Bob and the team he works with at the Center – Director Martin Seligman, and Drs. Karen Reivich and Angela Duckworth – are largely responsible for reintroducing the terms “grit” and “resilience” into our modern day lexicon. In his presentation, Bob explained the premise behind Positive Psychology – that humans flourish when we experience positive emotion, engagement, deep relationships, purpose, and feel a genuine sense of accomplishment about meaningful goals. Bob spent his time with us examining just one element of Positive Psychology: resilience. He offered insight into how we can teach this important strength to our students, and left us intrigued with the prospect of learning more about this kind of character development.

Following the Symposium, teachers and staff volunteered to form Steering Groups in order to study these areas of habit development in more depth. They spent the spring term doing just that. Inspired by their leadership, Hackley has been developing longer-term relationships with a number of the institutions and individuals we invited last February, making great strides forward in the areas of

mindfulness, positive psychology, nutrition and employee Well-being programming. And we are doing more…

Our Next Steps

Our internal conversation is now well underway, and the unfolding dialogue has generated great interest among our faculty and parent body. Most importantly, last year Hackley’s Board of Trustees approved the creation of an innovative administrative position to lead us all forward in this initiative. To assist us in the search, Hackley retained Tom Hudnut, former President of Harvard-Westlake School and currently a consultant with RG175. From a very talented and diverse pool of candidates, we are thrilled that Charles Colten was hired this summer as our inaugural Director of Community Well-Being.

In addition to extensive teaching and leadership experience in independent schools, Charles is founder of “Aikido in the Schools”, a distinguished international teacher of Aikido -- an art of self-defense founded in ideals of peace and reconciliation -- a trained Wilderness EMT, and he regularly gives workshops in stress management and conflict resolution to judges, hospital administrators, and other professionals. Under Charles’ guidance, Hackley will be building upon the work our faculty, staff, and trustees began last year, designing programs, curriculum and facilities that reflect and further develop emergent thinking in key aspects of health and wellness in K-12 environments. We are energized, excited and hopeful about what lies ahead and we look forward to learning from and collaborating with our peer schools. Our end goal is to help our students discern how to live well, in ethical relationship with our fellow human beings and our environment. What greater gift can we bestow upon them?

Surgeon General: “Walking and cooking are your patriotic duties!”

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Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

ISHA Mindfulness Presenters

Mindfulness in Independent Schools continued from page 1 to students and the entire school community. Below are resources provided by two of our presenters. Please email info@independentschoolhealth.org for more info.

Recommended Resources Courtesy of Doug Worthen and Jessica Morey

Michele Grethel, PhD Director of Counseling Services and Upper School Counselor The Spence School

Books - Mindfulness • Mark Williams, Mindfulness: An Eight Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World • Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living and Wherever You Go There You Are • Susan Smalley and Diana Winston, Fully Present • Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance and True Refuge Books - Mindful Teaching • Deborah Schoeberline, Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfully: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything • Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life Books - Mindful Parenting • Jon and Myla Kabat-Zinn, Everyday Blessings • Dr. Daniel Siegel, Parenting from the Inside Out

Doug Worthen Director of Mindfulness Programs Middlesex School

Books - Mindfulness and Youth: • Susan Kaiser Greenland, The Mindful Child • Dan Siegel, The Whole Brain Child and Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain • Linda Lantieri, Building Emotional Intelligence: Techniques to Build Inner Strength in Children • Eline Snel, Sitting Still Like a Frog, Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (ages 5-10)

Books - Mindfulness in Education • Daniel Rechtschaffen, The Way of Mindful Education Books – Mindfulness in Sports • Gardner and Moore - The Psychology of Human Performance (The MAC approach) • Dan Millman – Body Mind Mastery

Theodore Dimon, PhD Founder and Director of The Dimon Institute Adjunct Assistant Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University

Jessica Morey, MA Executive Director of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (“iBme”)

Books/ Magazines - Misc.

• Chade Meng, Search Inside Yourself (Google Mindfulness Course) • Dan Goleman, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence • Williams, Teasdale, Segal: The Mindful Way through Depression • Mindful Magazine: http://www.mindful. org/ continued on page 12

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continued from page 11 Mindfulness Apps • Insight Timer- Records practice time and has free guided meditations by many well-known mindfulness teachers • Dharma Seed – has free talks by thousands of mindfulness/dharma teachers around the world (Buddhist) • Headspace - a UK-based organization that introduces mindfulness in a secular, easy to understand way Mindfulness in Education – Email Groups (MIEN does conferences too) • AME - Association for Mindfulness in Education - http://www.mindfuleducation.org/ • MIEN - Mindfulness in Education Network - http://www.mindfuled.org/ Mindfulness in Education - Curricula and Trainings • Mindfulness in Schools Project - http://mindfulnessinschools.org/ - “.b” high school curriculum available through trainings • Mindful Schools - www.Mindfulschools.org - K-12 curricula and training program • MindUp - http://thehawnfoundation.org/ - K-8 curricula available via amazon • Inner Kids - www.SusanKaiserGreenland.com - K-8 curricula and teacher training • Still Quite Place - http://www.stillquietplace.com/ - K-8 curricula and online training • Learning to Breathe - http://learning2breathe.org/ - grades 6-12 curriculum available via amazon • CARE for Teachers- www.care4teachers.org - Prof. development retreats for teachers Online Courses • UCLA - Mindful Awareness Research Center http://marc.ucla.edu/ • Emindful.com http://www.emindful.com/ Recommended Places For Retreat Practice • Insight Meditation Society – Barre, MA http://www.dharma.org • Spirit Rock – Woodacre, CA http://www.spiritrock.org/ • Inward Bound Mindfulness Education - http://ibme.info/ (retreats for teens and young adults) • Omega Institute – Rhinebeck, NY http://www.eomega.org • Karme Choling – Barnet, VT http://www.karmecholing.org • Wonderwell – Springfield, NH http://www.wonderwellrefuge.org/schedule • Garrison Institute – Garrison, NY http://www.garrisoninstitute.org/ • Vipassana Meditation Centers (Centers Worldwide)- http://www.dhamma.org • UMass - Center For Mindfulness: List of retreat centers respected by UMass at this website http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/ training/detailed-training-information/meditation-retreats/

Left to Right: Jess Morey, Doug Worthen, Ben Thompson, and Miguel Marshall at ISHA Mindfulness Workshop hosted by Middlesex School

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Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

VP’s Corner: Delaying the Start of the School Day In a recent policy statement published in late August of this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that middle and high schools delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later, saying that doing so “will align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty.”

When, after years of discussion and debate, the Williston Northampton School moved the start of our school day from 8:00 to 8:30, we were eager to see what kind of a difference it would make. With help from neuropsychologist Rebecca Spencer, a highly respected University of Massachusetts sleep expert, we gathered data in several different areas.

The consensus across the board was that the additional half hour in the morning before classes was a positive change for the school. From surveys of students, parents, faculty, and others, we found that : 1. 84% of students were not staying up later because of the change in schedule; 2. 50% of students were using the extra time to sleep (10% to do homework; 3% to get extra help) 3. Just under 100% of parent respondents and 85% of student respondents “loved” the change in the schedule; 4. Most teachers reported that students were less sleepy and more engaged during their first period

Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

By Ben Thompson VP, ISHA Director of Psychological Counseling Services, Williston Northampton School

classes; 5. Approximately 20-30 more boarding students per day were eating breakfast in the dining hall; 6. Health and Wellness Services received far fewer requests for late passes from boarding students coming in to take their morning medications.

There has been general agreement throughout the Williston community that the later start time has had a positive impact on student performance, attentiveness, and overall health and well-being.

The road to making this kind of a change can be long and difficult. Schedules have to be altered, potentially cutting into class time and/or after school programming and affecting bussing arrangements. Changing to a later start time can also be expensive. A consultant’s report commissioned by a nearby public school earlier this year found transportation costs associated with an 8 a.m. start could range from $684,000 to $828,000 annually.

Still, despite these challenges, I believe that the health and safety of students should be a top priority, and I encourage schools that are considering the move to a later start time to talk with other programs that have already made the change. There is much to learn from the experience of others.

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Health-related Updates and Resources Health Beyond Health Care: Improving Our Health Without Doctors or Pills by the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/post-live/collection/health-beyond-health-care/ Healthy People 2020 Adds New Topic Area: Health-Related Quality of Life & Well-Being http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/health-related-quality-of-life-wellbeing?topicid=19 New ASCD Learning and Health: Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Initiative http://www.ascd.org/programs/learning-and-health/wscc-model.aspx Non-Ionizing Radiation Info https://www.nais.org/articles/pages/member/non-ionizing-radiation-literature-review.aspx Cyberbullying Curriculum and Prevention Resources http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/policy-priorities/vol18/num05/Cyberbullying-Curriculumand-Prevention-Resources.aspx KnowBullying, FREE app from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration claims to “prevent bullying” http://store.samhsa.gov/apps/bullying/ New Academic Journal: Pedagogy in Health Promotion: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning http://www.sagepub.com/php/ The Atlantic: Should Schools Be Responsible for Kids’ Health? http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/09/should-schools-be-responsible-for-kidshealth/380512/ Toward a Queer-Inclusive, Queer-Affirming Independent School http://www.nais.org/Magazines-Newsletters/ISMagazine/Pages/Toward-a-Queer-Inclusive-Queer-Affirming-Independent-School.aspx This One’s for the Girls, by Trudy Hall, Emma Willard School on the benefits of single-sex education http://www.emmawillard.org/sites/emmawillard.org/files/this_one_is_for_the_girls.pdf Exercise Should Never be Used as Punishment http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2014/08/18/exercise-never-used-punishment/14189291/

Job Postings

Professional Development

The Packer Collegiate Institute (NYC) Health Education Teacher MS and US

Harvard Graduate School of Education Making Caring Common: Promoting Caring and Respect in Studnts, and Preventing Bullying and Behavior Problems

St. John’s Preparatory School (MA) MS Physical Ed. and Health/Wellness Teacher

rt of o p e ual Rt School n n A First ependenervices Ind ealth S H

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Spence-NYSAIS-ISHA Mindfulness Conference (NYC) Mindfulness: Putting it to Work in Independent Schools Spirituality in Education Symposium (Speakers include Kevin Hicks, PhD, Head of School, The Hotchkiss School) http://www.tc.columbia.edu/calendar. htm?EventID=14448&date=/

Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

Recent Research researchers documented: a) there is an association between childhood sleep duration and lifelong mortality risk; b) healthy male children and adolescents who slept more or less than their peers were at increased risk of dying throughout their adult life span, and; c) sleep duration in childhood may be an important marker of mortality risk throughout the entire life span.

Childhood sleep duration and lifelong mortality risk Duggan, K.A., Reynolds, C.A., Kern, M.L., & Friedman, H.S. (2014). Childhood sleep duration and lifelong mortality risk. Health Psychology, 33(10), 1195-1203. doi: 10.1037/hea0000078 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24588628 Research Summary It is well established that deviation from normative sleep patterns is a predictor of health and well-being. In adults, sleep problems are associated with depression, anxiety, and hostility, as well as fatigue, greater probability of contracting the common cold, and poor physical health. The present study inquires as to whether improvements in sleep will directly improve health and well-being, and, particularly, it explores relations between childhood sleep duration and lifelong mortality risk in healthy children. The sample was composed mostly of white, middle-class children who ere followed every five to ten years throughout their lives. Researchers measured sleep duration at a single time point using a baseline questionnaire, which was reported by an adult family member and asked “usual hour of going to sleep” and “usual hour of waking”. Among several findings, several rounds of the PGG on a computer in a group of four classmates, while a spectator group of ten same-age peers was supposedly online during half of the rounds. Adolescents in the antisocial feedback condition received positive feedback (i.e., many thumbs up) for keeping tokens to themself. Adolescents in the prosocial feedback condition received positive feedback for donations of tokens to the group. In the no feedback condition, adolescents received no feedback. All adolescents were told that the topic of study was “decision-making in groups”. The researchers found that “changes in prosocial behavior depended on the behavior that was liked by the peer group”. In essence, “prosocial behavior decreased when peers liked the decision to keep tokens to the self, and...prosocial behavior increased when peers liked decisions to donate the tokens”. Researchers concluded that peers can have direct negative and positive influence on prosocial behavior in adolescence.

Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

Peer influence on prosocial behavior in adolescence van Hoorn, J., van Dijk, E., Meuwese, R., Rieffe, C., & Crone, E.A. (2014). Peer influence on prosocial behavior in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, n/a-n/a. doi: 10.1111/ jora.12173 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1111/jora.12173/abstract Research Summary “Why would a teenager who is usually well behaved agree to vandalize a bus stop with his friends?” With this question in mind, researchers aimed to examine peer influence on prosocial behavior and the process of social learning. They considered prosocial behavior as “voluntary behavior intended to benefit others”, which includes sharing, altruistic helping, and cooperation. A sample of 197 adolescents (boys and girls), aged 12-16 years and mostly Dutch (94%) participated. Researchers used an adaptation of the public goods game (PGG), which is a social dilemma that incorporates self-interest and concern for the group as two key motivational aspects of prosocial behavior when asked to divide tokens in a group.

Researchers set-up three conditions: antisocial feedback, prosocial feedback, and no feedback. Participants played

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ISHA @ NAIS Annual Conference 2015

NAIS 2015 Annual Conference Accepted Proposal: The Future of Health and Wellbeing: Multidisciplinary Strategies for School Communities

The Future of Health and Wellbeing: Multidisciplinary Strategies for School Communities Block 6, Friday, February 27, 1:30 to 2:30 PM Rm. 304 Register: http://annualconference.nais.org/ Presenters • Allyce Perret-Gentil, School Nurse and Coordinator of Health and Wellness, St. Philips Episcopal School • Jennifer Welch, Director of All-School Wellness, St. John’s School • John Suby, Director of Athletics, Health, and Wellness, Dana Hall School • Miguel Marshall, Interim Executive Director, ISHA • Steve Bileca, Director of Middle School, Hackley School Abstract: Imagine a healthy school. Are students stressed?

Are they resilient? Are food options nutritious and diverse?

Is there an approach to the “whole child”? Are students engaged socially and emotionally? Are families and faculty partners? Is there an ethical awareness? Learn from school and health and wellness leaders how they’ve implement innovative, multidisciplinary strategies to influence student, faculty, and family health alike Description: In the span of three years (2007 to 2010), six different authors, including Harvard’s Howard Gardner,

published books on 21st century skills and education.

Among equally important themes, these books echoed the importance and inclusion of health in the school environment and as an area that is critical to success in communities and workplaces. But what is “school health” and how are its goals achieved? How can a school integrate a broad topic like “health” into its overall goal and mission?

To answer these questions, we will examine the journeys of several schools that aim to improve school health and enhance preparation of their students for citizenry and the social environment. Although at different stages, these schools have one thing in common: the appointment of a health and wellness chair/team that champions a coordinated approach to health and wellness in the school community. Hear from independent school health chairs/teams and engage in a group discussion about how to best integrate a broader and more influential notion of school health practices at your school.

Central Questions: 1. What do we mean when we say health, wellbeing, and wellness, and how has our approach to these concepts evolved in schools?

2. How can I focus or enhance my school’s focus on health while maintaining a competitive edge and remaining committed to my school’s academic mission?

3. What are some innovative strategies schools are using to positively influence the health of the entire school community?

Also Related to Health at the NAIS Annual Conference Wednesday, February 25 Mindfulness Approaches for School Administrators: Keep Calm and Carry On 1:00 - 4:00 PM, Rm. 201

Risk Mitigation for Sexual Assault and Harassment Cases in Indpendent Secondary Schools 1:00 - 4:00 PM, Rm. 313 continued on page 17

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Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

continued from page 16

Thursday, February 26 Simple Practice, Big Impact: Bringing Mindfulness Training to School Communities 8:00 - 9:00 AM, Block 1, Rm. 101 The Mindfulness Revolution Arriving at Your School 12:00 - 1:00 PM, Block 2, Rm. 204 Friday, February 27 Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy 8:00 - 9:00 AM, Ballroom A Fellowship for Aspiring Heads School Health and the Alignment of Value Language & The Courage to Change: Gender Identity in Our Schools 8:00 to 9:00 AM, Block 4, Rm. 200

Mindfulness: How to Change Your School Culture by Doing Nothing 8:00 - 9:00 AM, Block 4, Rm. 311 Education for Global Citizenship: People, Food, Energy, and Sustainability 8:00 - 9:00 AM, Block 4, Rm. 104 What Keeps You up at Night? Prepare for What Could be Your School’s Worst Event 8:00 - 9:00 AM, Block 4, Rm. 210 Gender and Sexuality Diversity in PK-12: Exploring Frameworks, Values, and Practice 1:30 - 2:30 PM, Block 6, Rm. 308

Have something to share or write about?

Please email Ben Thompson: bthompson@independentschoolhealth.org

Stay Updated!

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Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter

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ISHA operates under the leadership and stewardship of an executive committee, without whom its work would not be possible.

ISHA Mission Preamble The Independent School Health Association is a non-profit organization founded by employees of NAIS member schools. With the exception of its executive director and secretary, its staff and committees are composed of members of independent schools who care passionately and deeply about the ability of health to influence all aspects of independent school communities.

Executive Committee Ben Thompson VP of ISHA Director of Psychological Counseling Services Williston Northampton School (MA) Cathy Cramer Director New York Interschool Association (NY) Debbie Roffman Health and Sexuality Educator The Park School (MD) John Suby Director of Athletics, Health, and Wellness Dana Hall School (MA)

KC Cohen Middle and Upper School Counselor Riverdale Country Day School (NY) Michele Grethel Director of Psychological Services The Spence School (NY) Nancy Drago Secretary of ISHA Retired Independent School Counselor Penny Aham ISHA Treasurer Director of Finance The Governor’s Academy (MA)

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Becky Smith Most Recent Past President of ISHA School Counselor The Hill School (PA) Charles Colten Director of Community Well-being Hackley School (NY) Jefferson Burnett VP for Government and Community Relations National Association of Independent Schools (DC) Karen Brandt Health Education Department Chair The Packer Collegiate Institute (NY) Mary Moore Director of Counseling and Health Services Emma Willard School (NY) Miguel Marshall Interim Exexutive Director ISHA Peggy Hartmann Health Education Coordinator Horace Mann School (NY)

Statement The Independent School Health Association (“ISHA”) aims to support the development and sustainability of health and health education in independent schools. Our mission is to equip independent school communities with the information, skills, and resources to navigate emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially their health and well-being. We are also committed to illuminating the relevant associations between health and academic achievement, and how they influence student motivation and potential.

ISHA is dedicated to promoting health through: • •

•

•

• •

partnerships with independent school communities; creation and sustainability of a forum dedicated to the discussion of healthy schools and health education; professional development through conference coordination, active website, listserv, social media, and a newsletter; providing a resource library with content related to health curriculum and health program development; creating awareness around social causes of health and disease, and; promotion of evidence-based and other best practices.

ISHA is looking for an independent school medical director and athletic trainer to complete its interdisciplinary executive committee. Please email Ben Thompson if you are interested or know people who are.

Fall 2014 - ISHA Newsletter