Chronic poverty and its effect on school discipline were among the topics that Eastern Pulaski Elementary School teachers were recently asked to explore. Principal Jill Collins discussed the school’s staff development day during last week’s school board meeting.
She explained that she had been frustrated with the increase in disciplinary issues this year, and she decided to find the root cause of the problem. Collins said she began the rather non-traditional staff development day by sharing some “staggering statistics” with her teaching staff.
For example, back in 2005, fewer than 35 percent of Eastern Pulaski Elementary students were considered to be living in poverty. Now, it’s nearly 51 percent.
Collins encouraged teachers to think about what that actually means for children and their families. She said poverty typically involves unreliable transportation, racism, divorce, unreliable childcare, a death in the family, an eviction, poor nutrition, or chronic stress. Many Eastern Pulaski students are living with at least three of those characteristics in their home, according to Collins.
To further help teachers understand where their students are coming from, Collins said she took them on a bus tour through Ripley and the western part of the school district. Following the field trip, teachers discussed what poverty means for them as educators.
For one thing, Collins points to a disparity in vocabulary. She noted that students who live in poverty have typically heard 10 million words by the time they start kindergarten, compared to 50 to 60 million for those who aren’t in poverty.
Beyond that, Collins said many kids have never been outside of Pulaski County. She called for more virtual field trips to give students the chance to experience things they wouldn’t normally get to see, like zoos and skyscrapers.
Finally, Collins said that for many students, teachers “are their greatest chance for a better tomorrow.”
