Some day we will look back in shame at how our schools turned its back on today's children at-risk. A school that SHOULD offer well-prepared at-risk teachers often places freshmen faculty or burnouts into those teaching positions. Kids should be able to count on having highly trained and skilled educators with the resources necessary to provide the compensatory programs needed. The system should have the ability to launch prevention and intervention programs that at-risk youth desperately need a great deal MORE than other children. "None of these children asked to be placed at-risk." Conrath.)

If our school system insists on revictimizing our youth by officially neglecting them what message does this send to our children? Today's youth need champions more than ever, and educators are in the perfect position to play that role — but they need the resources and professional development to do so. Most teachers, myself included, were trained to teach math, or science or history; we were not trained to teach children.

Children are the best investment you can make with our tax dollars. In the book, Shadow Children, I provide a breakdown of the costs for NOT addressing this problem in our schools. It comes to over $94,000,000,000 annually. And that figure does nothing but get larger each year. Indeed, in many ways, our children are undoubtedly the best investment possible. From the affectionate vantage point of "our children are precious to us" to the 94 billion dollar cost if we do not help solve their issues, or both, it is in our best interests to provide them with the best teachers possible. The Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind determined that teacher effectiveness is the key ingredient in student success. They also revealed the discovery that proper course work or degrees/certification did not necessarily make for the most effective teachers. Again, from this report, what accurately measures effectiveness is student progress — the more students progress under a teacher's supervision, the more effective the teacher. Content is not king — competence is. (Aspen)

NAREN research shows that what makes for effectiveness in at-risk education comes in two categories which we liberally and deliberately dramatically label Angel and/or Warrior Educators. Both categories have several things in common. They prize learning and student progress. They see education as having power to change life for the better AND they see themselves as having high self-efficacy as instruments of betterment for kids. Having these things and a few others in common are internal and usually invisible. What is amazing is how the external attributes can appear to mirror opposite. It is the visible means by which they relate to at-risk learners in particular that are noticeably dramatic. Most highly successful at-risk educators are either Angel Educators or Warriors. This has nothing to do with religion or with violence. It only helps to understand, underline, define and explain.

Note: The quotations below are from surveys of over 90 at-risk students in alternative programs, and 110+ current teachers who were formerly at-risk students themselves.

Angel Educators

Angel Educators are teachers who are remarkably successful with students placed at-risk despite being quiet, low key, and studious.

• Compassionate — This is Number One for a reason. Angel teachers may be no more compassionate than Warriors, but they show it clearly. It is quite obvious they CARE about children. They seem to look past symptomatic behaviors of defiance, gruffness, resistance and reluctant sometimes shown by ARK (at-risk kids), and "peered into my soul with eyes of concern." (Survey participant)
• Present — Being present is obvious to children. "She wanted to be with us!" People who do not want to work with ARK are either bitter because they are required to be working with this child or they are distant and focused on something other than the child in the moment, meaning they would rather be someplace else.
• Light being — This is tough to define, but one participant vocalized it the best: "It seemed like her feet never touched the floor. I used to watch to make sure because rumor had it that she was an angel and might be able to fly." Light beings seem to be quiet, soft, and almost spooky in their silence, suddenly showing up at your elbow when you need help. "Ms.            scared the hell out of me, as she seemed to materialize just behind my shoulder when I was having trouble!"
• Gentle — "She never raised her voice the whole year!" Angel educators are not always teachers. Principals may just be the most powerful educator in the whole building (s). "Mr. C always called us by name, and never yelled at us." "Our principal was a great guy. He never yelled, smiled softly at us and knew all our names. I never figured out how he knew everyone's name. I realized years later that maybe he only knew my name!" Most seasoned educators know that you do not force anything onto people. You nudge them gently into a direction until it is their idea. Shouting or being angry, just causes fear and resistance. Most ARK have already had enough force to last a lifetime.
• Focused on Positivism — "She never criticized us!", "Mr. H only marked the correct answers on our tests not the wrong ones. He always said, 'Let's build on our strengths, People!' " Great teachers know that everyone loves to talk about their plusses, and withdraw or get defensive when you focus on negatives. It has never dawned on some teachers that "what you focus on expands." (Dallmann-Jones)

Warrior Educators

Warrior Educators "...may appear loud and gruff, but they have hearts of gold." Warriors exhibit their life on their sleeves. They often have troubled backgrounds themselves and have learned "from the school of hard knocks." Now they want to help ARK perhaps get a break they never had — to be the teacher they never had but so desperately needed. Perhaps they are teaching — although they act more like a professional wrestler — because they were inspired by a teacher or person who changed their lives. But beneath the bark is a caring, loving person dedicated to ARK.

• Tough — Battle-scarred perhaps, or maybe protecting themselves from being too vulnerable, their gruffness is apparent, but not meant to harm anyone. They are often surprised when told they appear aggressive or loud, but they will not deny they are intense. "Mrs. N            acted like there was no tomorrow and tenaciously moved us along like a freight train on an emergency mission!"
• Street Savvy — In a dark and dangerous place this is the person you would want with you: smart, capable of handling the unknown, and fearless. "My best teachers at the Tech school had all been scarred by life!"
• Goal Focused — Whereas Angel Educators may appear more needs-based — meaning they deal with each child in a "nurse-like manner" — Warrior Educators appear more focused on outcomes. "He would start off by saying, 'Today we WILL accomplish the following things!' then he would proceed to do exactly that, repeating it at the end of the class with, 'Look what you did!' That was powerful to me. Every day I could see what I had gained. Other classes seemed to slip by with me being unchanged, but Mr. W            made it look like we had just gone up a step on the stairwell, and would never be the same."
• Overcomes Obstacles — Warrior Educators are at war. They may even use warlike words such as "conquering" or "winning the battle" or "victory." Angel Educators seem to "look on the bright side" whereas Warrior Educators see the world as a challenge, or race against an imaginary clock, with dire consequences if one loses. They believe in the POWER of effort and make it clear that, not unlike a mountain climber, if you try hard enough you can make it. "Mrs. C            never gave up on us, and said we could 'win the race of life' if we just wanted it bad enough and were determined."

Conclusion

Does this mean that only clearly defined Angels or Warriors can be successful with at-risk children? Well, of course not! Many educators are a combination of the two. What I have attempted to do here is to make it clear as to what works.

Common factors of successful teachers were skimmed or implied here. Every effective teacher possesses a sense of humor and also great enthusiasm for the content or learning process. Humor and enthusiasm appear as significant labels applied to most educators that are seen as exceptional by former students. Educators of ARK are that and more too: Angels & Warriors.

Sources & Suggested Reading

• Conrath, J. Getting Started. WA. Lopez Island: Our Other Youth.1997.
• Dallmann-Jones, A. Handbook for Effective Teaching & Assessment Strategies. (2^nd Edition) Lancaster, PA: RLD Publications. 2007.
• Dallmann-Jones, A. Primary Domino Thinking. Fond du Lac, WI: Wolf Creek Press. 1997.
• Dallmann-Jones, A. Shadow Children ~ Understanding Education's #1 Issue. (2^nd Edition) Lancaster, PA: RLD Publications. 2006.
• Glenn, R. Teaching for Excellence. South Carolina: Spartanburg Press. 2001
• Schwartz, R.B., Wurtzel, J., Olson, L. Attracting and Retaining Teachers. Aspen Institute Education and Society Program. May, 2007.
• Walls, R., Nardi, A., von Minden, A., Hoffman N. The Characteristics of Effective and Ineffective Teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly. Winter 2002.

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