Monday, March 26, 2012
Carver Technical High School
I spent a great day last week visiting students at Carver High School in Baltimore. We have a number of young people who are thriving in our program.
Monday, March 5, 2012
General Wesley Clark to Chair Dropout & Truancy Prevention Network
DALLAS – The Dropout and Truancy Prevention Network (DTPN), a program that provides an innovative solution for aggressively tackling chronic truancy and the dropout crisis, using Wounded Warriors and others with physical challenges as mentors for at-risk students, announced today that it has named General (Ret.) Wesley K. Clark as its Chairman.
“We are privileged and honored to have General (Ret.) Wesley K. Clark as our Chairman,” said Peter A. Gudmundsson, CEO and President of DTPN. “General Clark is one of the nation’s most distinguished retired military officers and shares DTPN’s passionate dedication to providing at-risk youth with the positive adult guidance and lifestyle accountability support they need to make better choices about school attendance. As Chairman, General Clark will use his experience as a national leader to bring attention—and provide a solution—to the national epidemic of high school drop outs that afflicts most urban and many rural school districts. We look forward to his contributions to our mission to save lives by keeping children in school.”
General Clark said, “Truancy is a national epidemic that can be addressed successfully through innovative solutions. I look forward to bringing the DTPN solution to school districts, government entities and foundations. I recognize the value of teaming some of America’s greatest, our Wounded Warriors, to serve as phone-based mentors/coaches.”
Well respected by national, state, and local leaders, General Clark is known for his lifetime of achievement in government service both in and out of uniform. During his thirty-three years of service in the United States Army, he held numerous staff and command positions, served in Vietnam, and rose to the rank of 4-star general and NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Now in the private sector, General Clark is chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic advisory and consulting firm, serves on the boards of several private corporations and non-profit organizations and comments regularly on politics, diplomacy and public affairs.
“We are privileged and honored to have General (Ret.) Wesley K. Clark as our Chairman,” said Peter A. Gudmundsson, CEO and President of DTPN. “General Clark is one of the nation’s most distinguished retired military officers and shares DTPN’s passionate dedication to providing at-risk youth with the positive adult guidance and lifestyle accountability support they need to make better choices about school attendance. As Chairman, General Clark will use his experience as a national leader to bring attention—and provide a solution—to the national epidemic of high school drop outs that afflicts most urban and many rural school districts. We look forward to his contributions to our mission to save lives by keeping children in school.”
General Clark said, “Truancy is a national epidemic that can be addressed successfully through innovative solutions. I look forward to bringing the DTPN solution to school districts, government entities and foundations. I recognize the value of teaming some of America’s greatest, our Wounded Warriors, to serve as phone-based mentors/coaches.”
Well respected by national, state, and local leaders, General Clark is known for his lifetime of achievement in government service both in and out of uniform. During his thirty-three years of service in the United States Army, he held numerous staff and command positions, served in Vietnam, and rose to the rank of 4-star general and NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Now in the private sector, General Clark is chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic advisory and consulting firm, serves on the boards of several private corporations and non-profit organizations and comments regularly on politics, diplomacy and public affairs.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
A typical DTPN Experience
Student A has been coming to school every day and attending mostly all of this classes since our parent/student meeting February 15th when we spoke with him and gave him the Drop-Out Truancy Network Prevention phone. I have seen him walking in the hallways and he looks a lot happier!
Thanks for your support.
In partnership,
(Urban School Leader on the East Coast)
Thanks for your support.
In partnership,
(Urban School Leader on the East Coast)
Monday, December 5, 2011
Mentor/Coach Skills
Within the context of a youth-oriented, solution-focused approach, there are numerous skills that will help you as a mentor/coach. Perhaps the most important skill is your ability to present yourself as someone who is positive and truly interested in the adolescent. Showing interest includes consistency with what you say and do as well as a caring tone of voice. The following techniques will help you establish rapport and keep the youth on a positive path to change.
Active Listening
Listening is the most important approach you can use when working with any person, regardless of age. If you find yourself talking more than the adolescent is talking, then something is wrong. While there are times when you will be explaining a skill to a youth and do a lot of talking, it is generally best for the youth to be processing their thoughts verbally with guidance from you.
Active listening means that you are not doing something else (e.g., watching TV, playing video games, writing a letter) while listening to the youth and occasionally grunting “uh-huh.” Sometimes silence is an important part of active listening. It allows the youth space to talk. Allowing youth the time to talk without interruption can be quite beneficial. It is very easy to feel the need to interject or correct something the youth says, but just listening is often the best way to let them think out load.
There are approaches to active listening that help the youth know you really are listening:
• Paraphrasing – rephrasing what the adolescent has said assures him or her that you accurately heard what he or she said and helps the adolescent understand how others hear or understand them. Paraphrasing is especially helpful if you can paraphrase using the youth’s expressed sensory phrasing. People often use sensory words to explain themselves, such as see, hear, feel, smell, and taste, and they will often use similar sensory imaging throughout their talk. Using these words, a process often referred to as mirroring, in your paraphrase can enhance rapport and empathy.
o For example, the youth states, “My mother just doesn’t see it the way I do. She’s always telling me to look before I leap, but I’m not even sure what she means. I just can’t see a way to solve my problems.”
You paraphrase, “You just can’t see where your mother is coming from.” In this case, you could have said that the youth didn’t understand his mother, but using “see” allows you to show direct empathy by using the youth’s favored sensory language. It’s an unobtrusive way to connect. There is no need to overdo it and try to always mirror words or phrases, but occasionally using such language makes people feel you are listening and understand.
• Clarification – clarifying what the youth said can verify the accuracy of what you heard. This may be done in conjunction with a paraphrase by asking if what you heard was correct.
o For example, after a youth discusses his frustration with his teachers, you could both paraphrase and clarify by stating, “You don’t think that your teacher listens to you and that she tends to blame you for every problem in the classroom. Do I understand that right?”
• Reflection – rephrasing the stated emotion can enhance empathy and encourage further expression.
o For example, the youth says, “I am so mad at my dad. He never lets me do anything and is always on my back about some mistake I made!”
You reflect, “You’re really frustrated with the way your dad treats you.”
• Summarizing – briefly reviewing what you have discussed helps tie elements of the discussion together. This is especially helpful at the end of your session to help recall what was discussed and to set up plans.
Active Listening
Listening is the most important approach you can use when working with any person, regardless of age. If you find yourself talking more than the adolescent is talking, then something is wrong. While there are times when you will be explaining a skill to a youth and do a lot of talking, it is generally best for the youth to be processing their thoughts verbally with guidance from you.
Active listening means that you are not doing something else (e.g., watching TV, playing video games, writing a letter) while listening to the youth and occasionally grunting “uh-huh.” Sometimes silence is an important part of active listening. It allows the youth space to talk. Allowing youth the time to talk without interruption can be quite beneficial. It is very easy to feel the need to interject or correct something the youth says, but just listening is often the best way to let them think out load.
There are approaches to active listening that help the youth know you really are listening:
• Paraphrasing – rephrasing what the adolescent has said assures him or her that you accurately heard what he or she said and helps the adolescent understand how others hear or understand them. Paraphrasing is especially helpful if you can paraphrase using the youth’s expressed sensory phrasing. People often use sensory words to explain themselves, such as see, hear, feel, smell, and taste, and they will often use similar sensory imaging throughout their talk. Using these words, a process often referred to as mirroring, in your paraphrase can enhance rapport and empathy.
o For example, the youth states, “My mother just doesn’t see it the way I do. She’s always telling me to look before I leap, but I’m not even sure what she means. I just can’t see a way to solve my problems.”
You paraphrase, “You just can’t see where your mother is coming from.” In this case, you could have said that the youth didn’t understand his mother, but using “see” allows you to show direct empathy by using the youth’s favored sensory language. It’s an unobtrusive way to connect. There is no need to overdo it and try to always mirror words or phrases, but occasionally using such language makes people feel you are listening and understand.
• Clarification – clarifying what the youth said can verify the accuracy of what you heard. This may be done in conjunction with a paraphrase by asking if what you heard was correct.
o For example, after a youth discusses his frustration with his teachers, you could both paraphrase and clarify by stating, “You don’t think that your teacher listens to you and that she tends to blame you for every problem in the classroom. Do I understand that right?”
• Reflection – rephrasing the stated emotion can enhance empathy and encourage further expression.
o For example, the youth says, “I am so mad at my dad. He never lets me do anything and is always on my back about some mistake I made!”
You reflect, “You’re really frustrated with the way your dad treats you.”
• Summarizing – briefly reviewing what you have discussed helps tie elements of the discussion together. This is especially helpful at the end of your session to help recall what was discussed and to set up plans.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
DTPN ATTENDS NCJFCJ CONFERENCE IN NY
Judge Linda Penn and Mary Kerr of DTPN
Linda Penn and NCJFCJ President Judge Patricia M. Martin of Chicago
Linda Penn and NCJFCJ President Judge Patricia M. Martin of Chicago
Thursday, July 28, 2011
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