Schools Attuned to learning differences: teachers can learn how to understand and manage student differences in learning in the regular classroom.

Peter Ford used to throw an entire equation at his eighth-grade Algebra One class at Foshay Learning Center in Los Angeles, and then talk it through with his students. He explained, "I'm not a segmented, sequential, analytical thinker. I'm one of those spatial thinkers who likes to see the end result first and fill in the details later."

However, not everyone thinks that way, and he has changed his approach to accommodate the different kinds of minds in his classroom. Now he segments instruction into steps, and checks to make sure each student grasps the portion that builds into the next step.

Ford also uses a rainbow of colored markers to highlight the most important concepts within the streams of numbers he writes on the board. He encourages his students to make their notes in color as well.

Welcome to Schools Attuned in action. This professional development and service program from the nonprofit All Kinds of Minds Institute is helping hundreds of teachers in California and thousands more across the country to understand, recognize and manage differences in learning in the regular classroom.

Schools Attuned provides K-12 educators with a framework to understand how brain functions impact learning, a common language to accurately identify learning difficulties, and strategies to address problem areas with a positive outlook. Nationally renowned pediatrician Dr. Mel Levine pioneered this neurodevelopmental approach, synthesized from the last 25 years of research on brain function and learning. The program focuses on variations in attention, memory, language, problem-solving, idea generation, motor skills, social skills and behavior, and working with students' individual slates of strengths and weaknesses.

The program has existed since 1987, and more than 6,500 educators across the country have taken Schools Attuned training. The program's refinement over the past two years enables many more teachers to be trained through regional training sites, on-demand institutes and state-supported initiatives. California has two Schools Attuned regional training sites located at Etta Israel Center in Los Angeles and the Children's Health Council in Palo Alto.

Since 1999, when the program was introduced into self-selected California public schools, administrators in both inner-city and suburban schools have been noticing reduced referrals for special education assessments, and improved student engagement and behavior. It also reduces frustration for teachers and improves teacher retention.

A study conducted last year by the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill confirms that Schools Attuned training generates improvements in these important areas (see box at right).

"I think it has a lot of merit in helping teachers better understand the impact of their teaching," said Joe Nardo, assistant superintendent of education with Las Virgenes Unified School District. "If we look at the strengths and weaknesses of kids in the classroom more individually, with a better understanding, I'm sure it's going to improve teaching for everyone."

"Teachers are always looking for techniques that can help the most number of students as best we can," said teacher Peter Ford. "I see Schools Attuned as something that can help a lot of students."

Mary-Dean Barringer, National Director of Schools Attuned, said, "Teachers are professional practitioners, and Schools Attuned hones their expertise. The more educators understand about learning differences, the more effective they become."

How it started in California

The non-profit Etta Israel Center in Los Angeles became the first Schools Attuned regional training site in California in July 1998. The Children's Health Council in Palo Alto became California's second site in August 1999. With the support of foundations and interested school districts, growing numbers of teachers in both Southern California and Bay Area schools are learning this method of providing differentiated instruction.

The Eisner Foundation supports Schools Attuned training for teachers, school administrators and educational leaders in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas of Southern California. Over the past few years, the foundation has funded training and mentoring for more than 140 teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The Foundation is now looking at supporting the development and implementation of pre-service teacher training curriculum at state colleges of education in California.

Program costs

Other school districts have found their own funding, including Las Virgenes Unified, La Canada, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Montecito Union and Santa Barbara. It costs $1,200 per person to take the 35-hour course, plus 10 hours of follow-up that includes extensive materials, online support and reunion/networking meetings. Several schools have added on-site individualized mentoring during the school year that further tailors the program to the specific needs of the institution, staff and students.

In the Bay area, the Health Trust's BrainWise initiative funds Schools Attuned and other programs to foster differentiated instruction. They started with a group of 58 teachers in six schools in the Campbell Union, Whisman-Mountain View and Berryessa districts, providing teacher training, on-site mentoring, strength-based assessments and student programs such as "The Mind That's Mine" at each site. Parent education presentations help parents integrate school and home approaches.

"Our goal is to create systemic change, from teacher by teacher, to the whole school, then the whole school district. We feel this is the best way to create long-term sustainability," said Gary Allen, president of the Health Trust. "We want to implement this in all Santa Clara County public schools and become a national model for system change."

Last year, the Health Trust's board authorized an 11-year matching grant and challenged the community at large to support BrainWise activities for any interested Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley public school.

Attuning schools to students

Yvonne Chan, principal of Vaughn Next Century Learning Centers in Los Angeles, heads up one of the biggest public schools that has the greatest number of teaching staff involved, with 26 teachers trained in Schools Attuned. Chan said, "School principals, especially those of us leading big urban schools, are not superheroes. We have our share of frustrations and disappointments. The partnership with Schools Attuned has helped us focus on the true purpose of education, to follow our heart's passion and believe in ourselves in creating a school that fits the students."

Among the tools provided in Schools Attuned training are the "Views" forms, a set of observation checklists to help gather perspectives on the student's learning from the parents or caregivers, the student and the teacher. The questions cover academic and non-academic areas, including the constructs of attention, memory, language, temporal/ sequential and spatial ordering, higher-order thinking, neuromotor function, social cognition and affinities--those things a child is passionate about.

When a child is "attuned," the parents, child and teacher complete their "Views" forms to provide a total picture from multiple perspectives of that student's strengths and weaknesses. This information serves as a basis for an individualized educational plan for the child and is shared with both parents and child. Plans are then prepared by a team that may include the teacher, administrator, school psychologist and other staff members.

In many cases, children do not need to undergo this process to benefit from Schools Attuned in the classroom. Melinda Johnson, Foshay's education outreach consultant, says, "We have 3,700 students. There are a lot of students that have learning difficulties. It's just not possible to assess all those kids for special ed." With just eight teachers on a staff of 150 who have completed Schools Attuned, Foshay has already reduced referrals to special education. As a team, those teachers now discuss particular students, attune their approach specifically for one or two, and as a result, the entire class tends to benefit from the differentiated instruction.

The "Views" form heightens teachers' observation skills and prompts conscientious management of instruction. Teachers begin to change their approach in the classroom, rather than trying to change a student to fit into the teacher's existing mode of instruction.

"We need to have greater flexibility so we are successful with more and more students," said Nancy Atkinson, principal of Rolling Hills Middle School in Los Gatos. "I think the language and the understanding of neurological development of students is crucial if teachers are going to be able to break away from the mass education approach of the past."

Completing the "Views" also helps parents see their children in a new light and understand how to work with them better at home. "Rather than trying to push him and push him, parent and child both work together and understand what they're doing," said Rob Jaquith, principal of Theuerkauf Elementary School in Mountain View.

English teacher Julie Schultz at Foshay has all her kids fill out the Student View form early in the school year. With the 180 students she sees every day, it can be hard to pick out which will need more attention. "The students have been able to tell me about themselves without feeling like they were being too personal," said Schultz.

At Vaughn Next Century, principal Chan said, "Now there's an expectancy that there will be different drummers. We say, `That's the tune that [the student] is playing. Can we help him to change the tune a little bit, and meanwhile, how can we change our tune?'"

Growth continues

According to Dr. Mel Levine, founder of All Kinds of Minds, "We are on the cusp of a remarkable movement in education. Increasingly, our policy-makers are starting to recognize neurodevelopmental pluralism. The future of American education will most certainly depend upon our collective acknowledgment of individuality."

Bit by bit, schools such as Lindero Canyon Middle School, Vaughn Next Century and Rolling Hills Middle School are spreading the word among their teachers who have not had Schools Attuned training. In-service workshops are held with the entire faculty and staff on constructs such as memory and attention. Schools Attuned material in teachers lounges or posted on bulletin boards expands educators' range of vision about differences in learning.

"This is a program that is, by necessity, slow and steady," said Ronald Kaiser, principal of Lindero Canyon Middle School, a 2000 National Blue Ribbon School. "By having administration attend the training as I did, they can completely understand, work with and support the teachers financially, emotionally and academically, as part of a working team. Success breeds success, and the team will continue to grow." Kaiser started with a team of six teachers trained last year and plans to have up to 17 teachers trained in the next two years.

Joe Nardo with Las Virgenes USD concurs. "This is something that starts slow, and teachers begin to realize the impact. It's not a program that you can come in and say `everyone will do this.'"

Nancy Atkinson at Rolling Hills summed it up by saying, "Even in the earliest stages, we began to see a difference in the teaching and learning at our school. A deeper understanding of neurodevelopmental variation will take us even further in the coming years."

For more information about Schools Attuned in California, contact Rick Goldman, Schools Attuned regional training site director, Etta Israel Center, Los Angeles, [phone] ext. 238; or Karen Grites, Schools Attuned regional training site director, Children's Health Council, Palo Alto, [phone].

RELATED ARTICLE: Schools attuned study results.

The University of North Carolina completed a study of Schools Attuned-trained educators in North Carolina and in several other locations in the country. The results indicate a number of positive outcomes that include improved educator skills, teacher retention, better classroom management and enhanced student self-concept and classroom behavior.

* More than 80 percent of educators queried reported a better understanding of the ways students learn and an increase in their own knowledge about learning differences.

* 77 percent reported a better understanding of their students' behavior and how to facilitate positive changes.

* Almost 50 percent of the educators reported an improved classroom climate, reduced classroom disruptions and improved student-teacher interactions.

* More than 40 percent of teachers reported that parent-teacher interactions were improved as a result of the teachers' use of Schools Attuned techniques.

* More than 40 percent of students with Schools Attuned-trained teachers showed improved attitudes toward school, motivation, behavior and self-concept.

* Approximately 25 percent of the educators reported improved accuracy when a special education referral had to be made.

* Approximately 20 percent of the teachers reported they stayed in the profession another year as a result of their Schools Attuned training.

Gail Rubin has written about Schools Attuned for education magazines including Momentum and NJEA Review.