A STUDY OF THE HOME SCHOOL COUNSELOR IN URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS Thesis for the Dogma of Ed. D. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Lawrence H. Cunningham 1966 THESIS -L!BRARY ‘ Highigan Stale é} IIIQIIIllfllflflgfifllfllfl/lflllllfl/[lfl/IfI/I/Ill/llIll/Ill A 2406 This is to certify that the thesis entitled A STUDY OF THE HOME SCHOOL COUNSELOR IN URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS presented by LAWRENCE H . CUNNINGHAM has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for EDUCATION Ed.D. d . egree 1n W 0W. GMVJW Major professorl Date OCTOBER 6L 1966 r 11A“: "w L]: fin.-. u'vi L.‘ by Lawrence H. Cunningham AN ABSTRACT Submitted to the College of Education Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of *" fOl‘ time dex"r063<3f '\ _J the requiremento DOCTOR OF EDUCATION 1966 Approved LAWREHCE H. CUNXINGHAM ABSTRACT his is a stud' dealing with the role of the home school counselor in an urban school system. The home CO chool counselor, described in this studi, is a lay person employed by the Mott Program of the Flint Board of Education working in the elementary schools to make home contacts with inner—city families. The project involved surveying schools of com— parable size (AC,CCG population) to see if such a program existed elsewhere and/or if the need for such a program was evident. Exploration was made of the only known home school counselor program (Flint, Michigan) and interviews held with all home school counselors and other related personnel. The hypothesis of the study is that a home school counselor is an agent who can be utilized effectively by school systems in urban centers to bridge the gap between the home and the school by helping the people in particular kinds of communities relate more effectively to their chil- dren, to the school, and to the entire community. Results of the survey indicate no other school system has this type of program, although many indicate the need for and/or desire to experiment with such a program. Analy— sis of survey data and case studies casts favorable light on the home school counselor program in general and suggests further areas of study, regarding the use of non—professionals to close the gap between the school and the homes of certain LO families. This would, in turn, the child more effectively. enable the onset COUNSELOR IN L SYSTEM A STUDY OF THE HOE-IE S S ‘. UREA} one by 5‘") e . . Cunningham IBVHNTTCC E: A THESIS Submitted to the College of Education Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION 1966 ’ ’ x / / X ’i , f I' ,/ / / / j . ' . 1 I]. r k. / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to acknowledge gratefully the (D ncouragement, counsel, and helpfulness of Dr. Clyde M. C4 Campbell and Dr. Harold . Dillon. Each gave unstintingly of his time and expertise and provided invaluable assist- w- . L. Q) ,0 . He is also grateful for the help extended him by (3 Dr. Ernest O. Melby, Dr. Orden Smucker, and Dr. George Myers who are members of his guidance committee. In addition the writer would like to acknowledge the encouragement and assistance of his wife, Mary, and the friendship and valuable help of Mrs. Anne B. Dressel, Miss Margaret Yambrick and Mr. Douglas Procunier. Without the assistance and support of all these people during the long months of research, this study would not have been posSible. ii TABLE CF CCIITEITS Page AP'K‘IQ”ILFD\Ilao—Ao- S O O C O O O O . O O O C O O O 0 ii LIST OF TAELES . . . . . , . , , , , , , _ . . vi HAPTER Hypotiesi: . . . . . . . . . 3 D Sign of the .Study . . . . . . 3 The Dis aTJantaved. . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Gem munity School . . . . . . . . . 8 Home School Counselors. . . . . . . . lO D:fi i'tionS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . II suEptions. . . . . . . . . . . l2 Si‘rific ance of the Study. . . . . . . 13 II. DEVELOPMsmT CF THE STUDY . . . . . . . . 15 Survey of Cities . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Home Visitor Programs. . . . . . . . . 18 The Flint Investigation. . . . . . . . 18 Home School Counselors . . . . . . . 19 Community Agencies . . . . . . . . . 19 Administrators . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Personal Experience and Contacts . . . 20 III. THE SOCIAL SETTING FOR THIS STUDY. . . . 22 Community School Defined . . . . . . . 22 The "Other" Families . . . . . . . . . 2A The Role of the School . . . . . . . . 26 Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 IV. ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA. . . . . . . . . 31 Setting Up the Interviews. . . . . . . 31 The Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Survey--Part One . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Visiting Teachers. . . . . . . . . . 3A Attendance Officer . . . . . . . . . 35 Nurse. . . . . . . . . . . 35 Community Agmnn;. . . . . . . . . . . 3/ Head Start Teacher . . . . . . . . . 3o iii Homebound Teachers . . . . . . . 36 Social Worker. . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Ho m :makers . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Guidance Counselor . . . . . . . 38 Home Visitations . . . . . . . . . . 3S EerctivenesS of Visits. . . . . . . . 39 Survey--Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . AO Interview . . . . . . . . . . . AO Analysis of Data . . . . A3 Investi“ation of Proposed Programs A7 inferatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . A7 V. CEKSUS TRACT DATA FOR INNER-CITY AREAS IN FLIIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Pilot Projects . . . . . . . A9 The Visiting Teacher Program . A9 Other Professional "Home CVisitorsH 50 Hon~Professiona1 "Home Visitors" 52 Utilization of Census Tract Material 53 Description of Flint School Areas Surveyed . . . . . . . . . . . Gros 5 Density. . . . Population and Family Size . . Number of Pc ople per Household Marital Status . . . . . . . . . . Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Females in Labor Force Educational Level. Housing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Areas in Transition. . . . . . . . . KO Cofl'fi OWUI JE‘ \O\O\C‘\ (DU—1 \51 K? \D U71 Ul \D DOW i—’ 0 Summary of Findings. . . . . 6A Difficulties Facing the School . . . 65 VI. THE HOME SCHOOL COUNSELOR PROGRAM. O7 Duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6S Qualifications . . . . . . . . . . 69 Health Care and Health Education . . . 70 Case Study #1. . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Case Study {5 . . . . . . . . . . 73 Liaison Between Home and School. . . . 73 Case Study #3. . . . . . . . . . . . 7A Case Study #A . . . . . . . . . . 76 Promoting Leadership . . . . . . . . . 76 Case Study #L. . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Breakfast Program. . . . . . . . . . . 77 Case Study #6. . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Attendance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Case Study #7 . . . . . . . . . . . 79 iv Case Study Case Study Guides and H 71:4 ’3 H9. ste 1 ‘r-o SSC’S Case Study #1C Enrichment Prcgram Case Study Case Study Case Stuig-z Case Study Referrals. Case Study Case Study Case Study Case Study Ajult Educat Case Study Homemaking Case Study Case Study Case Study Case Study Case Study #1 #1 ¥$k° F] }_J OWSWHtmu F4: HF4F'H ID a + \ Ht: :3; :33“: :H: 1“: ° F0 [‘0 R? R) [‘0 are I 2 . . LIM- G-XKJT 0 V3 L‘wm F—I C: . Case Study #25 . Just Friendly Visits Case Study #4) . . . Case Study #27 . . . Case Study #25 Case Study #29 #30 Case Study #31 Case Study #32 . . . Case Study #33 . . . Case Study #3A Case tudy Principals' Evaluation of Program. Observations of the Program by Personnel of VII. CONCLUSIONS AND AREAS FOR FURTHER STUDY The Findinsm Areas for Further Study. Conclusion APPENDIX BIBLIOGRAPHY. Community Agencies. Page 80 80 Be 81 92 101 103 10A 105 107 109 10. ll. 12. LIST OF TABLES Michigan Cities with Population 40,000 and Over (Excluding Detroit) . . . . . . School Personnel Who Make Regular Home Visitations in Elementary School Areas \ in Cities of Over A0,C00 Population. . . Average Number of Homes Visited Per Week . \ . H AnalySis of Survey Question, Who, If Any— one, Has the Following Responsibilities . ~ H in {our School? . . . . . . . . . . . Elementary School Areas and Their Census Tract Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . Elementary School Areas Showing Gross Dellsity O O I O I O O O O O O O O O 0 Population and Kumber of Families by Elementary School Area . . . . . . . . . Census Tracts Ranked According to Highest Number of Persons Per Household. . . . Percentage of One-Parent Families. . . . Number of Families with Income Less Than $3,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employed Females for Elementary Areas Studied. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Educational Attainment of Adults Over 25 for Elementary Areas Studied . . . . . . Number of Substandard Housing Units in Elementary Areas Studied . . . . . . . Age Comparison in Elementary Areas Studied Elementary Areas in Transition . . . . . vi 32-33 39 u4-45 \fi G‘\ UT .4 07 03 \Fl 60 61 62 63 6M CHAPTER I IRTRODUCTICN This is a study dealing with the role of the home school counselor in urban school systems. There is considerable evidence that disadvan- taged children and their parents have a much more positive attitude toward education than is generally believed. One factor that obscures the recognition of this attitude is that while deprived individuals value education, they dislike the school. They are alienated from the school and they resent authority. These youngsters and their parents feel that they are second-class citizens in the school. They want what the school has to offer, but they do not feel in many instances, accepted and involved in the school program. They need the feeling that the school cares about them.1 It should be pointed out, however, that while the schools have not been greatly successful in reaching the deprived child, there are many factors to be considered. The job of administering or teaching in a school where the chil- dren come from deprived homes is more difficult than in schools in middle-class neighborhoods. This is for a number of reasons ranging from the poor health of the student to his lack of school-oriented background and motivation.2 Teachers and administrators are the first to say that they need help lFrank Reissman, Programs for the Educationally Dis- advantaged (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, igog), p. 2. r7 CFred M. Hechinger, (Editor), Preschool Education Today (New York: Doubleday, 19o6), p. 37. l 2 in these difficult assignments. t is clear from the vast amount of literature about the culturally deprived that the schools’ under- standing and treatment of children from disadvantaged homes have been something less than earthshaking. Super- intendents, principals, and teachers have organized their programs to meet the needs of youngsters of the middle- ass or above, and very often almost entirely the college F.) bound. To put it another way, only within the last decade has magor attention been given to education that might serve those economically deprived. For the past nineteen years the community schools of Flint, Michigan, a city of 200,000, have been using home school counselors in elementary schools as liaison personnel between the home and the school. Beginning as a pilot project in l9N7, the program has grown until there are now fourteen counselors working in fourteen different community schools and communities. The need for some such person as a home school counselor can be noted by a study at urban school centers in recent years. Frank Riessman tells us that: in l950 approximately one child out ofevery ten in the fourteen largest cities of the United States was culturally deprived. By lQoO, this figure has risen to one in three. This ever-increasing trend is due to rapid migration to urban centers. By 1970, it is estimated there may be one deprived child fpr every two enrolled in schools in these large cities. lFrank Riessman, The Culturally Deprived Child (New York: Harper and Row, 19o2), p. l. 3 Because of the writer's position, principal of Martin Community School in Flint, he has been in a most favorable position to gather data and to recheck his data frequently for accuracy and consistency. This study makes a detailed analysis and documented account of the (’3 work of the home school counselor. Hypothesis The hypothesis: A home school counselor is an agent who can be utilized effectively by school systems in urban centers to bridge the gap between the home and the school by helping the people in particular kinds of communities relate more effectively to their children, to the school, to the entire community. Design 9: the Study This study is descriptive in nature in that its purpose is to identify the underlying principles of a home school counselor program, to determine present practices, and to arrive at some conclusions on the feasibility of using this program in other locales. John W. Best writing about research in education describes this type of research as follows: In solving a problem or charting a course of action several sorts of information are needed. These data may be gathered through the processes of the descriptive method. The first type of information is based on present conditions. Where are we now? From what point do we start? These data may be gathered by a systematic description and analysis of all the important aspects of the present situation. u The second typea of information involves what we may wan . In w} t direction may we go? What conditions are desirable or are considered to represent best practice? This clarification of objectives or goals may come from a study of con- ditions e:(isting elsewhere, or what experts consider to be adeouate or desirable. The home school counselor approach to the amelio- ration of the problems of the culturally deprived child in school is a relatively new phenomenon. The mag or problem facing those involved in such programs is to determine the imporm nt ingred i-hts of the program. It is for this reason that such a study as this makes a contribution to " "\ \ f ‘ '1‘" present nhOMlBQwe. Good and Scates describing methods of research point out: General description is characteristic of the early stages of work in an area when significant factors have not been isolated, and where perhaps one would not have the means of measuring them if they were identified. It is, therefore, a method of exploration, but, in ad dition, general descrip- tion play 3 its part in all research reports, and there are still areas in which it is better fitted to the purpose than would be quantitative data. In this study, the experiences and opinions of those who have worked in the development of the theory and practice of home school counselor programs for culturally disadvantaged children are used as the basic data. 1John W. Best, Research in E1 cation (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc , 19E9), p. lOU. 2Carter V. Good and Douglas E. Scates, Methods of Research (New York: Appleton—Century-Crofts, Inc., l95373 Do 275. C) / Best further states: This analysis may involve finding out about the experience of others who have been involved in similar situations. It may involve the opinions of expeits, :he presumably know best how to reach the goals. The Disadvantaged Literature about the disadvantaged gives emphasis to the environmental limitations of the child.2 Some of these can be generally categorized as follows: 1. Th (7.? children are often in poor health. 3 *3 (D h children often lack motivation for school work. 3. The children often lack the background for school work. A. Many children are working below grade level. 5. Many children find it difficult to fit into a rather structured school situation. 6. Parents are often apathetic, if not actu- ally antagonistic, toward the school. Rapid turnover of school staff in deprived areas attests to these problems. Experienced teachers do not usually ask to transfer to these schools and, consequently, vacancies are often filled by inexperienced teachers who very often have not had any contact with the inner-city child. lBest, loc. ci . I———_ 2Gene C. Fusco, School- Home Partnership_in Depressed Urban Neighborhoods (U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 190A), p. 34. 6 teaching experience very difficult. These staff members are working at capacity to carry out their teaching duties and to cope in the best way they can with dis- cipline, the problems of slow learn-rs, the emotionally upset, and apathetic children. To suggest they do more is to invite stiff resistance, if not curt refusal. The school staff is already over-burdened by problems in these areas. Each teacher, again many of them new to teaching, tries his best to teach the chil- dren, maintain order, and help them compete (at least on the national achievement ratings, SRA, etc.) with middle income families. Obviously, the inner-city teacher and/or administrator is at a disadvantage. Not only is there more to be done (in terms of achievement) than in a middle income school, but there is less time in which to do it. Experienced (and inexperienced, for that matter) school personnel know that more time is required for non-teaching matters such as attendance, discipline and health. Also, what is to be done with children who come to school hungry and/or poorly clothed? What of children who are upset over serious disturbances in their homes? What to do with a child who lives in a constant state of anxiety brought on by family fights and financial woes? He, of course, is not ready to concentrate on school work with his mind in such a turmoil. It seems logical and fair to ask, who, then, is to help? Who is to assist the teachers and families to 7 alleviate or eliminate the child's learning difficulty? In some cases a teacher will make home calls, a principal will outfit a poorly clothed child from his own pocket or a special fund. A teacher will take a disturbed child home with him over the weekend. Dedi- cated and concerned personnel try desperately to help the children. These, however, are at best hit and miss , H H measures. Perhaps these extras on the part of the school staff would suffice if there were only one or two in each class who needed assistance. As the number who need help grows, this type of help is not enough. There are simply too many children for the teacher and the principal to help and at the same time to teach or administrate effectively. Then, too, children from the same home appear in several classrooms within a school. Duplication of effort can be avoided by having one person contact the family and try to ascertain the needs of all the children and, perhaps, the whole family. To be able to provide a staff of trained social workers would help, but, aside from the expense, this is impossible because there are not enough social workers available. There are about 2,000 school psychologists in the entire country, giving us a psychologist- to-pupil ratio of 1-23,000. Since the distribution of school psychologists over the pupil populations is most certainly not even, we may safely conclude that large numbers of pupils have no psychological services whatever available to them.:L The Cemmunitv School The community school program (which will be explained 'n more detail later) seeks to engender in people an interest in and concern about its educational f program. This involvement produces people with positive attitudes toward education as well as personal and community betterment. But, there are still many fathers and mothers who cannot be reached by school related organizations, adult education classes, neighborhood meetings, and the like. Some of these people have a negative attitude toward school personnel or, at best, an indifferent attitude. The school has tried to reach these families through administrators, teachers, attend- ance officers, visiting teachers and the results have not been fruitful, to state it mildly. In each instance, these school people seem to have difficulty communicating with fathers and mothers from hard core families in deprived neighborhoods. Thus, we see that even if additional professional services were available, they are not always effective in reaching these deprived families. Laurie Norman said it this way: The professional social services are in short supply. There is no major relief in sight either from professional teachers or social workers. At the present time it seems as if the most creative 1Paul E. Eiserer, The School Psychologist (Washington, D.C.: Center for Applied Research in Education, Inc., 1903), p. 5. O J and productive contribution might come from untrained personnel.l While much literature is available on the sub— ject of what needs to be done, there is relatively little on how to do it. A survey of material shows that in Akron, Ohio, the visiting teacher assumes many of these responsibilities. In New York City and Chicago trained social workers are available at some schools. In several cities, attendance officers investigate homes and make reports to the principal who, in turn, may make referrals to the appro,riate community agencies. There are also many cities using untrained personnel as aides for the teacher. In each instance, however, this was found to be clerical aid dealing with supplies, classroom materials, school records and the like. Another source of help, used by some community schools, is a community director or community agent. There is, to the writer's knowledge, no available literature on a program which utilizes a non—professional person to help bridge the gap between the home and the school. (There is in fact, only one other program of this type known. It is in the Beecher School District, a suburb of Flint. It is similar to the Flint program and is staffed by a former Flint home school counselor). A survey of all the Michigan school systems in cities over A0,000 population (excluding Detroit) also lLaurie Norman, "PUblic Welfare Service and Family Life," Helping the Family in Urban Society_ New York: Fred Delli Quadri, Columbia University Press, 1903), p. 48. IO 4- ‘-r‘ t-es that th $1? I" 3 (J ‘ _‘ . ILTJI P0 are is no system using untrained per- (D 0 5V inel in exactly this capacity. What these cities are doing will be explained in a subsequent chapter. With the advent of Title I, Economic Opportunity Act, to pro- vide federal funds to school systems in depressed areas, the-e is money available for this type of service, but research indicates that at this time no one has been given approval for this aid. zhxmc Sgrnkil Couixnclors The Flint Community Schools have been experi- menting with the use of non-professional persons as home school counselors. Subsidized by a grant from the Mott Foundation Program, fourteen counselors have been working in fourteen elementary schools and communities. Several of these have had some college training, one some training and experience in social work, but the great majority have only had a high school education. This paper will describe what they do and show that they are effective agents in bringing the home and school together for the good of the child. In short, Clyde Campbell, Educational Con- sultant, Michigan State University, sees the role of the home school counselor as this: Home counselors help these people relate themselves more effectively to their children, to the school and to the larger community. . . . They open doors that have been closed to many, listen to tales of woe, set people straight in their beliefs, instill hope into the minds and hearts of dejected mothers, fathers and children. ll Dr. Campbell continues by no ting that: Home COLn iselors in the main are untrained per- sonnel, rot scnolars ,rinma ily just good neighbors with warm hearts and great dedication to human welfare. They have been selected because they want to work with th lose who live in the homes. Just a few are college prepared social welfare persons. . . . They were chosen because they were loved and respected by citizens who live in these ghettos. These thoughts kept rurnin: through our minds--How many school admin— istrators and teachers could empathize with these people as successfully? Do schools and communities need to employ special kinds of persons to communicate with special kinds of people? Have we hit upon a gap in education that needs fulfillment? Is the school and life pursuing the same course? Or to put all these questions together in a little different way, is the war on poverty missing the target because administrators, teachers and citizens in general are not empathetically with the families from disadvantaged homes. U Definitions Home School Counselor--Liaison person employed by the school to make home contacts. Cor minity_S hool——Sc hool dedicated to meet "as best H it can, and with everyone' s help, the urgent needs of the people, for it holds that everything that affects the welfare of the children and their families is its concern.2 Community School Director--Person hired to teach regular classes in the afternoon and to set up and direct an educational and recreational program geared to the needs of his community. Community Agent--Another name used by other commu- nities for community director. lClyde Campbell, The Community School and Its Administration, Vol. IV, No. 6(190b). 2Elsie R. Clapp, Community Schools in Action (New York: Viking Press, 1939),p . 39. 12 Educationally,Deprived—~Members of groups who have had limited access to education, also includes economically deprived. u Assumptions Some link needs to be found to help the school and families from urban areas, especially deprived families, work together toward the common goal of educating the child. Since the family is the elementary child's main frame of reference, the attitude of the family toward school is not only related, but very likely crucial to the child's success in school. Education is desired by the culturally deprived more than is generally recognized. Different segments of society want education for dif- ferent reasons. Some desire it for vocational improvement. Still others want it because of their thirst for knowledge. The discrimination unwittingly practiced in the school against children from deprived homes aggravates the problem and produces a gap between the home and education. The home school counselor being a "friend" and not a threat to the family can very often bridge the gap between the school and what it's trying to do and the family who does not under- stand the school's motives or program. 13 Sirnificance of the Study ALL Trends in education, as evidenced by observation and literature in the field, are based on the idea that: l. R) U.) Education is the result of the experiences a child has in his social milieu, home, school, and community, not just the school altnie. Education which a child receives in school will be largely degendent upon his ability to relate and the manner in which he relates to the culture of the school, neighborhood, and community. Education is the main function of the school. When the family and the community fail to provide the background necessary to prepare the child to receive the education the school offers, then the school must step in to pro- vide it. Educational institutions are responsible to society to provide experiences for the child which are necessary to the educative process and which may be lacking in the cultural back- ground of the child. Inasmuch as the four major trends in education listed above are generally accepted throughout the profession, this study attempts to find out: (l) whether or not it would be of significant value to educational institutions in depressed areas to assign a lay person-~but one with community in. organizational skills and abilities--to work in a special way with the parents of the children in these depressed areas, (2) do educational institutions, particularly in ity areas, in order to do their job _i , fillcl - *JO (3 depressed and 5,) well, need to b fully cognizant of anything that can be done to improve the parents' understanding of what the child is learning in school and of what the school is trying to do for the child? (3) if so, can such a lay . . . H H person-~designated in this study as a home school counselor —- perform a vital liaison function? CHA TEE II DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDY John Best, as quoted in the previous chapter, psints out that research in areas previously unexplored must of necessity involve finding out about the experience of others who have been involved in similar situations. It may involve the opinions of experts.1 Good and Scates point out that general description plays its part in all research reports and there are still areas in which it is better fitted to the purpose than quantitative data.2 With these ideas in mind, the writer set out to explore the need for, and the effectiveness of, the home school counselor in urban areas. It might be noted here that the usual channels of gathering data were utilized: }_J The exploration of literature on the subject. (See Bibliography for a list of the books, pamphlets and periodicals examined.) 2. Written contact with other cities which had indicated an interest in a home school visitor program. (See Appendix, page 120, for list of cities.) lo Personal interviews with a representative Lg») of every school system in Michigan with a population of 40,000 or more (excluding Detroit). (See page 120 for list of school systems interviewed.) A. Many conferences were held with adminis- trators in the Flint Public Schools and taped interviews were made with all home school counselors in Flint. The survey data for school systems in Michigan cities over £0,000 represent a complete picture; all of the cities in Michigan in that category are covered. In addition, since no other home school counselor program was discovered, the interviews with all the home school counselors in Flint represent the total picture of the home school counselor program.l Survey 9f Cities With b0,000 Population First, it was necessary to ascertain the need for such a program and to see if any were already in existence. This was done by selecting all the cities in Michigan with a population of 40,000 or over (excluding Detroit). These cities would have problems and facilities similar to Flint and would provide a good basis for comparison. As this was thought to be a very important source of data, superintend— ents from these communities were personally contacted by telephone and interview appointments were set up with them 1See page 0 Chapter I, for the one exception. interview a set of questions formed the conducted during the 17 represent CL£_”1:LOIIU months of May, Prior to this June, sent to each and these basis for the interviews which were and July, 1966. (See ppendix, page 112 for interview questions.) Fol- lowing is a list of all the cities in Michigan with a population of A0,Lt f‘. V or more (excluding Detroit). A school system representative from each of the cities was interviewed. on the survey. This is, TABLE 1 of course, a 100 per cent return MICHIGAN CITIES WITH POPULATION AO,COO AND OVER (EXCLUDING DETROIT) School Number of City Population Census Teachers Ann Arbor . 67,3A0 16,057 800 Battle Creek 1A ,169 11,277 A86 Bay City 53, 60A 1A,700 600 Dearborn . . 112,007 22,316 1120 Flint . . . . . 196,9A0 A5,A10 173A Grand Rapids sce,379 32,000 1500 Highland Park 1.C,C63 7,3AA A97 Jackson 50,720 13,500 623 Kalamazoo 82,6. 9 17,392 632 Lansing . . . 113, 058 29,671 1500 Lincoln Park 53,9B l3,A60 532 Muskegon . . . A6, 195 9,650 390 Pontiac . . 82, 233 22,A13 957 Roseville . . . . 50,I95 13,890 531 Royal Oak . . . . CC, 612 20,000 800 Saginaw . . . 96,265 21,596 8A1 St. Clair Shores. (6, 657 8,1A8 363 Wyoming 50,1A5 7,365 306 18 Home Visitor Programs At the same time th:se interviews were being conducted in Flint, the writer explored educational literature and made personal contact with other school systems and agencies to determine if similar programs exist. Much of the reading indicated that the Federal O 1 government was beginning to make funds available for new types of programs in depressed areas, and that many school systems were setting up programs on paper and submitting them for approval under Title I. Michael York, Educational Consultant, Title I, for the State of Michigan, Department of Education, was contacted and provided a list of all the Michigan communities that had applied for some type of help in a home school counselor program. A questionnaire was sent to thirty- four communities. (See Appendix, page 120 for list f‘r‘y and page 122 for questionnaire.) The Flint Investigation At the beginning of this project, the writer contacted Mrs. Anne Dressel, coordinator of the home school counselor program for the Mott Program of the Flint Board of Education. Mrs. Dressel agreed to assist with the project on the basis that it was not only a valuable research into the need for this type of program in the urban area, but that it would also give an oppor- tunity to have an extensive, objective, and valuable evaluation of the Flint program. t... M? Home School Counselors With this in mind, Mrs. Dressel set up a meeting on March 14, l963, with all the Flint home school coun- selors ani the writer. The project was discussed and the counselors were asked if they would be willing to have their work examined. They all replied in the affirmative and indicated a sincere interest in cooperating fully with the plan. Each home school counselor agreed to be interviewed and her interview to be recorded on tape. At this time appointments were made for the interviews which would take place during March and April, 1966. Before each of the interviews the writer sent each counselor a list of the questions he would be asking. Most of the counselors made notes and referred to them occasionally as they were interviewed. This interview structure not only made it easier for the person being interviewed, but facilitated recording and correlating answers to questions and provided more meaningful data. (See Appendix, page 123.) CommunityjAgenCies Although all home school counselors endeavored to be as objective as possible about the program, they were so involved in it that this was very difficult. It was decided that there were others in the community who were familiar with the work of the counselor and could give valuable ideas and appraisals of the program on a \ 2t more objective basis. For this reason, interviews were set up with personnel from other community agencies. The representatives were sent interview questions in advance. During the month of May, 1966, interviews were conducted with representatives of the County Welfare Department, City Health Department, Bureau of Social Welfare (ADC), Visiting Teacher and Attendance Departments of the Flint Public Schools. (For interview questions asked these peeple see Appendix, page 125.) J. - Administrators It being the writer's hypothesis that the home school counselor is a valuable liaison person between the home and the school, it became apparent that those in the school were in the best position to evaluate the effec- tiveness of the home school counselor program. Therefore, during the month of June, ly66, interviews were held with six elementary principals, the director of elementary education, and the director of the Mott Program. While these interviews strayed somewhat from the prepared questions, they were based upon the form found in the Appendix, page 125. Personal Experience and Contacts During the period from March to July, 1966, the author had the opportunity of talking with several hundred people about the home school counselor program in Flint and in other cities. In addition to this, in his position as 2l principal of an inner-city school with a home school counselor, the writer was able to observe first—hand and evaluate daily the importance and contribution of the program. Consequently, the data gathered represent a very broad and thorough investigation of the subject. This data will be presented in the following four chapters. CHAPTER III THE SOCIAL SETTING FOR THIS STUDY The Community School Defined The background for this study stems from the Community School Program of Education. Such a term, of course, is broad in scope, embracing many different things to many different people. In this study it has such definitive connotations as these: 1. The Community school promotes as a basic principle, the American demo- cratic ideal of respect for each person. 2. It accepts responsibility for a major role in coordinating the active participation of learners, adults and young people, for the immediate improvement of the Com- munity. Elsie R. Clapp summed it up when she said: First of all, it meets as best it can, and with everyone's help, the urgent needs of the people, for it holds that everything that affects the welfare of children and their families is its concern. Where does school and life outside begin? There is no distinction between them. A community school is a used place, a place used freely and 22 informally for all the needs of living and learning. It is, in effect, the place where living and learning converge.l Many feel that the school is the best possible weapon in the battle against such community problems as }_J- the alarming incre m {f C‘ Q n the number of mental patients, £1. + O O O ‘ the PIS: in crime 51) n juvenile delinquency, the large number of high school dropouts, poor inter-cultural relations, and the adverse effect of automation upon employment. The community school plans its program so that everyone will have an opportunity to get together and share in educational, recreational, health, and social activities. While this may seem a long way from the 5 school's primary job of educating children, the entire CC inned to improve the total life situation Improving the total life of the child is, of course the primary goal of all community schools. All families must secure instruction for their children. Not only is this required by law, but very few parents could teach their children the content of the school curriculum even if they were willing and able to devote the time to the task. All families need access to a Community Schools in Action lElsie R. Clapp, (New York: Viking Press, l939), p. 39. 2F. J. Manley, B. W. Reed, R. K. Burns, The Community School in Action (Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Industrial Relation Center, IQOI), p. 138. 24 wholesome social group life for their children. This can be met through school activities, church groups, scouts, and other organizations. Beyond this point, requirements vary enormously. Approximately half of the families in the urban centers H) 0 America can rear their children quite nicely with the academic and enrichment programs of the community school and other community organizations. m1 f 1 H c . ine IOther Families Some families, however, are going to need assist- ance. Some can hardly care for any of the needs of their children without some sort of help. The school must supplement these inadequate families if it hopes to be able to reach the school children with any degree of success. Back of these attempts to make up for deprivation suffered by children of inadequate families stands the assumption that children of the lower socio-economic class are gpt_born with any biological inferiority. However, if a child from any home is deprived of the intellectual stimulation or the emotional support to which he is biologically capable of responding, he will commence to fall behind in his mental and social development. This, of course, being another way of stating that IQ is the understatement of environment. The culturally deprived child often has ability levels which indicate that he could perform well if reached Cr J ‘ by and interested in what the school offers. And, yet, this child in the typical classroom appears to be indifferent ani purposeless, a poor communicator who Y! . , teaching meth0ds and ‘1.) does not respond to normal The traditional responsibilities of school staff and obfiectives of school services are based upon J H y _. H . . . successful American soc1al and economic hiform patterns of variance with the non-uniform social and economic patterns which characterize the neighborhood from which the children come. Experience in educating culturally deprived children has shown that the investment of educational funds and energy in a traditional approach often prove futile in achieving the public schools'stated purpose-- developing self-respecting, productive, and discerning citizens. The typical school is not prepared to compensate for the various deprivations in the lives of these chil- dren; deprivations which cause them to gain less schooling than they might and less than they need to be competent citizens. Except by happenstance or therapeutic inter- vention, the family which is failing in respect to its functions cannot change its-lf. Therefore, the school Carl Marburger, Programs for Educationally Dis- advantaged (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 19o3), p. 71. must change in order to intervene more successfully in the life of the youngster whose parents fail. Many times we realize that parents can also be helped to help them- selves; and while the school does not presume to be able to solve all the problems, there are areas in which it In the urban centers there are many disadvantaged . I I ‘I_ ‘ ‘ ,1 a : . . - t ‘. , . é. . r‘- /7¥ r_ , . ‘ . . fl families. S-uaies .nai:.se tLab Uzw of these families are Negro. For this reason, T:e Negro Family, a United States Department of Labor Publication, March, 1965, is especially timely. It states: The evidence--not final, but powerfully persuasive--is that the Negro family in the urban ghettos is crumbling. A middle-class group has managed to save itself, but for the vast numbers of the unskilled, poorly educated city working class, the fabric of conventional social relationships has all but disintegrated. The Role of the School Public schools do not exist in a vacuum, both their reason for existence and their continued operation depend in part on their social environment. This point of view and its implications for depressed urban neighbor— hoods require more attention from educators than they have received in the past. James B. Conant has pointed out in his Slums and Suburbs that, ”To a considerable degree what a school should do and can do is determined by the status and ambitions of lQuoted by Clyde Campbell, The Community School and Its Administration, Vol. TV, No. b (igob). 27 l the families being served." The status of culturally deprived parents and other adults in depressed neighbor- hoods is often characterized by physical, social, and “ economic oe h A- ie C} U) 'ci (D F43 +4 There is probably no general solution to bringing about improved home-school interaction. Depressed urban 1 neighborhoods present the school staff with problems quite different from those faced by staffs in more favored socio- economic communities. Each depressed area, too, differs from each other. On the other hand, an awareness of the profound effect of the cultural environment on pupil behavior, attitudes, and learning should lead efforts to bridge the gap between the school and home. If the school staff does not take the initi- ative in developing an action program to generate school-home interaction, it is not likely that such activity will be assumed by the parents in depressed areas.C Too often in depressed areas the school appears as alien territory to most of the families it serves. Its "cordiality" is often antiseptic, and its requests for individual parents' assistance are frequently based upon their children's failures or misdeeds. But, if the school could find ways to communicate directly and con- vincingly to parents that the active cooperation of each lJames Conant, Slums and uburbs (New York: McGraw Hill Inc., 1991), p. l. 2Gene Fusco, School-Home Partnership in Depressed Urban Neighborhoods (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare, U.S. Gov't Printing Office, l96fl), p. 59. M 20 of them is needed in the process of educating their own children and their children's classmates, it is incon- ceivable that the requested help, and more, would not be made enthusiastically available.l Patricia Cayo Sexton states that: Involving culturally deprived parents in school affairs will require much more than written invita- tions or a phone call from the principal. It will require encouragement, school activities that are interesting, and programs that make sense.a Allison Davis and two associates reported the findings of a special conference in a book entitled, Compensatory Educatien for Cultural Deprivation. Four of their recommendations are exactly in the area of the home school counselor. They are: 1. Each child should be assured of an adequate breakfast to help him begin the learning tasks of the day. a. Each child should be given appropriate and frequent physical exams to determine special needs with respect to fatigue, disease, and dental, visual, and hearing problems. 3. No child should be subjected to feelings of inadequacy and shame because of lack of necessary clothing. lThomas Parsons and William Cave, "Toward a Theory of Home, School and Community Interrelations” (unpublished paper, l9e2). 2Patricia Cayo Sexton, Education and Income: Ineoualities 9: Qpportunity lg our Public Schools (New York: The Viking Press, 195l7, pp. lll—llQ. 2a A. Since the home is so important in the work of the schools, every effort must be made to strengthen the relationship between the home and the school.:L The conditions of life of the lower status persons make planning and concern for the future unre- alistic. They are preoccupied with a struggle to obtain basic necessities of life. In general, aspirations are geared to the exigencies of day-to-day being. The psychological state of the lower status person is characterized by hopelessness and apathy.2 Our education system, which next to the family is the most effective agency in teaching good work habits to middle—class people, is largely ineffective and unre- alistic with underprivileged groups.3 Implications The children in depressed areas seem severely hampered in their schooling by a complex of conditions at home, in the neighborhood, and in the classroom. Unlike the immigrants of the past, who settled in a community for many years before moving to better neigh- borhoods, the present immigrants are highly mobile and lAllison Davis, et al, Compensatory Education for Cultural Deprivation (New York: Rinehart and Winston Inc., lQij, pp. 50-91. 2Ibid, pp. 30-31. 3William F. Whyte, Industry and Society (New York: McGraw Hill Inc., lgflo), p. 99. fix U LJ trarsient. The parents seem unprepared for the perplexities of urban life. Their educational level is lower than that of the urban population; illiteracy hits a peak among them. There are, of course, variations among sub groups. The middle- and lower-middle class still account for a sizable ,roportion of the school children, but mainly id the outlying districts of the city. In the core areas the school population is composed in part of the residues of former migration waves who, though long resident in the cities, did not move too far up the socio-economic ladder as did their brighter or more ambitious or more fortunate compatriots. For the res , the school children come from families of recent in-migrants who a“e not only economically disadvantaged but, because of their ethnic and/or racial membership, present rather unique problems even within the general designation of low socio-economic status.1 Because the reasons for migration are usually basically economic, the establ'shed cultural and behavioral patterns are different from those of the other urban dwellers. As the total population of a city grows, the slum belt around the central business district becomes thicker. This is a result not only of the growth in total population but also of the concentration of lower class people in areas of poorest housing, which are usually in the oldest parts of the city. As a result of the growth of low income areas in the cities, the urban lower class school has become a common and disturbing phenomenom.2 lMiriam Goldberg, "Factors Affecting Educational Attainment in Depressed Urban Areas," Education in_Depressed Areas, Passow, Ed., (New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 1963), p. 71. 2Robert Havighurst, "Urban Development in the Educational System," Education 33 Depressed Areas, Passow, Ed;, (New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 1903), pp. au-as. CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA In order to determine whether or not schools in Michigan feel there is a need for a liaison person to serve between the home and the school in deprived areas, a survey was made of the school systems in cities with a population of 40,000 or over. (Detroit was excluded because its size does n t lend it to comparison.) éfitti' I“ {f .ZL.‘ Up the Interviews The results of this survey are recorded in this chapter. The eighteen systems surveyed were first con- tacted by telephone and an appointment for an interview made with either the superintendent or his assigned representative. (In the Appendix, page 112, is a copy of the interview sheet sent in advance and discussed at the time of the personal interview.) The writer was concerned solely with the services provided by elementary schools. The Interviews Each interview was divided into two parts. First, the writer sought to ascertain how much visitation there is on the part of the elementary school staff to the home, the purpose of these visitations and their effectiveness. 3l LO 2 Part two of the interview was a compilation of home- school related tasks being performed by home school counselors in Flint. The purpose here is to see if other school systems were doing these things, and if they are, to determine who is responsible for each. Survey--Part One The survey revealed that all school systems in cities of this size have visiting teachers, attendance officers, home—bound teachers and nurses visiting the home. Four have elementary social workers, five have community directors, three have guidance counselors and one has homemakers. Only Flint has a non-professional home school counselor, serving as liaison between the home and the school. Table 2 shows the school staff members who visit in the home. TABLE 2 SCHOOL PERSONNEL WHO MAKE REGULAR HOME VISITATIONS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AREAS IN CITIES OF OVER 40,000 POPULATION 1966 Visiting Attendance Headstart Home-bound City Teacher Officer Nurse Teachers Teacher Ann Arbor . X X X X X Battle Creek X X X X X Bay City X X X X X Dearborn X X X X X Flint . X X X X X Grand Rapids X X X X X Highland Park X X X X X Jackson X X X X X Kalamazoo X X X X X _Lansing X X X X »1 X 33 TABLE 2-—Continued City Attendance Officer Nu r s e Headstart Teachers Home-bound Teacher Lincoln Park Nuskegon Pontiac Roseville Royal Oak Saginaw St. Clair Shores Wyoming ><>< ><><><><><>< ><>< ><><><><><>< ><>< ><><><><><>< ><>< ><><><><><>< ><><1 ><><><><1><><1 City Community Directors Social ‘orkers Guidance Counselo Home— 1 rs makers Home—School Counselors Ann Arbor Battle Creek Bay City Dearborn Flint . Grand Rapids Highland Park Jackson Kalamazoo Lansing Lincoln Park Muskegon Pontiac Roseville Royal Oak Saginaw St. Clair Stupres Wyoming X It is necessary to understand the role and the case- load of each of these people to determine whether or not there is a gap which can be filled by a home school coun- selor. 3“ In the areas visited the general job descrip- tions for the school personnel who visit in the home are as follows: LU U7 ZISItngVTQaChGF Provides casework service to children and their parents when difficulties in the school situation develop. Provides an opportunity for worker and teacher to share understanding of a child's behavior, to plan together for the child, and to add to the teacher's understanding of emotional interaction and human behavior. . I Prov1des that 'something extra" that some children need for short periods of time to enable them to meet and overcome obstacles brought about by social or emotional crises in their lives. Provides a child (and his family) the support that will enable him to go forward on his own and take his rightful place in a group. Serves as a resource person to all school personnel for problems on adjustment. Acts as liaison person to community agencies. Interprets school social work programs and recruits for this service. 3 Maintains membership in and attends the meetings of prof ssional organizations. Attvndance Officer Enforces compulsory attendance in accordance with the state laws of Michigan. Investigates absences of pupils upon request from schools in his area. Investigates addresses of pupils when school placement is in question. Traces students who should be in school but have failed to report. Performs other related duties and respon— sibilities as assigned or an ro riate. L. L Detects and evaluates health proble s. Checks on referrals made by teacher. Encourages betterment of child both phys- ically and mentally and tries to educate parents toward this goal. Promotes health education. Community Agent Calls on new families in the area. Informs families as to available community resources to meet their specific needs. Explains and encourages family participation in school activities. \. f1 [\3 Us) 3:3 Works in the area of health on the request of the principal and/or school nurse. Inaugurates and runs various recreational and adult education activities at the school. Head Start Teacher Calls on and helps selects children from deprived families for pre-school program. Teaches pre-scheolers half day, five days per week. Seeks to prepare the child for school and to help the family better understand the school. Homebound Teacher Teaches child confined to home because of illness. Teaches child excluded from school situation for emotional reasons. Evaluates and relates child's progress to parents and principal. Social Worker Provides casework service to children and their parents when difficulties in the school situation develop. Provides an opportunity for worker and teacher to share understanding of a child's . '7 i l k behavior, to plan together for the child, and to add to the teacher's understanding of emotional interaction and human behavior. 3. Provides that "something extra" or "in addition to" that some children need for short periods of time to enable them to meet and overcome obstacles brought about by social or emotional crisis in their lives. A. Provides a child (and his family) the support that will enable him to go forward on his own and take his rightful place in a group. Serves as a resource person for problems \E on adjustment to all school personnel. Homemakers (only one school system reporting) Non-professional women have been trained by the schools to help parents become better parents. When a family has been approved by the school social worker for the program, a homemaker is assigned anywhere from one to eight hours per day, from one to five days per week for an indefinite period of time. The intent is to help the mother to understand her children and to care for the daily duties of the home in a more effective way. This might 38 include preparing the budget, shopping, mending, washing, ironing, etc. It is not intended that the homemaker will take over the role of the mother but show the mother how she might be able to function more constructively as a mother. Guidance Counselors (Elementary) l. Serves as a consultant to principal, teachers, parents and other members of the school staff. a. Acts as a liaison person between the school and the resources of social and other community agencies. 3. Provides effective counseling services to pupils, individually or in small groups. A. Contributes to the development of an effective pupil study service through observing case studies and class studies and through a well- developed standardized testing program. The survey clearly reveals a structure of "tra- ditional" school settings that can be found in any corner of the United States. School administrators wholeheartedly agree that problems of children should be solved. Not all administrators feel it is their responsibility. Some administrators questioned took a stand against the school sharing responsibility previously held by the family. Home Visitations The job descriptions listed above would suggest 39 that most of the problems of children are being taken care of. Yet, upon inspection the survey reveals that the visiting teachers, nurses, attendance officers, social workers and homebound teachers serve several elementary school areas. These professional people serve many families and usually several schools. Thus, HI n the amount of home visiting they do, they do not reach a very great percentage of the families in an area, although home visiting may comprise as much as 5C% of the workers' time. Table 3 shows the average 1 number of homes visiter per week. TABLE 3 AVERAGE NUMBER OF HOMES VISITED PER WEEK 1906 Personnel Frequency Visiting teacher . . . . . . . 4 Attendance officer . . . . . . ll Nurse . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Community director . . . . . . A Head Start teacher . . . . A Homebound teacher (not including student's lesson) . 1 Social workers . . . . . . . . 3 Homemakers (visits as such not made, work is done in various homes) . . . . . . . . . . . Guidance counselors . . . . . 1 Visits are not made on a regular basis and systems surveyed reported that visits were made "depending on the 1 need" or 'when a problem comes up." Effectiveness of Visits Inquiries were also made of the effectiveness of EC thes professionals in inner-city areas. The response \L was unanimous in that all systems felt their personnel did an excellent job in most cases. Each, however, indicated that there were some families that could not be "reached" effectively. Some of those inter- viewed put it this way: 1ey are too busy. The main problem is that t1 r the follow-up work They don't have the time fo that is needed. In a few instances the family being served resents the school sending someone to tell them what to do. Even when the school only 'suggests,’ the parents sometimes take it the wrong way. There are Some parents that just don't care. No one can help them. The best we can do is to work wi h the child. Surveye-PartIII Taking into consideration the heavy caseloads of those mentioned in Part I of the survey as well as the very demanding work of teachers and administrators in inner-city elementary schools, the following list of responsibilities was drawn up. This list was compiled based on the type of duties being performed by the home school counselors in Flint. The idea was to ascer- tain if these tasks were done by the professional staff or if they were being done at all. Interview Following is the list of questions asked repre- sentatives of the systems surveyed. Wh 0) Al if anyone, in your school system has the following responsibilities? l. D) 10. ll. 12. Investigates children on rolls who have not appeared at school (in September). Cbtains medical and dental appointments for indigent children and sees that they are kept. Checks on attendance and tardiness and emphasizes the importance of promptness, good attendance, adequate breakfast, and rest. Gets parental approval for physical examinations at school. Gets parental approval for TB skin test and assists with clerical work on same. Makes repeated calls to get physicians' statements for homebound students. Obtains Clothing or shoes for children needing them. Contacts community agencies for assistance. Interprets school policies in regard to weapons, fighting, discipline, health, and workbooks. Checks rumors of families moving and tries to obtain new addresses. Checks on home conditions for teacher. Investigates home situations for charitable organizations. (—1 L) 17. , Id. 19. 20. 26. M2 helps a mother better organize her house- keeping duties. Calls on mother to discuss proper clothing for her eleven-year-old who was wearing her's too short and too tight. Listens to problems of parents and chil- dren. Calls on family that has had a death and extends sympathy of school personnel and sees if help is needed. Takes home children who are ill and whose parents have no way to come to school for them. Assists with the weighing and measuring of children at school. Assists with vision testing. Talks to mother regarding a Big Brother for her son. Organizes and meets with homeroom mothers' group. Acts as guide for visitors who come to school. Assists Women's Club on party. Offers assistance to a family after a fire. Makes friendly calls on families who have had difficulties to see if problems have been solved. Calls on new families in a community to A3 welcome them and answers questions con- cerning school. 27. Calls on families with no children in school to invite them to adult activ— ities at school. 23 Prepares a small breakfast for a hungry child. 29. Supervises the book fair during school hours. EC. Devises bulletin on enrichment activities and sends home to persons who might be interested. Analysis 92.2222 Most school systems contacted reported that more than one staff member would sometimes perform a particular responsibility. For example: in question number one, "who investigates children on rolls who have not appeared at school in September," nine school systems reported that the teachers would do this, ten that principals would, eleven have attendance officers check, while nine use the school secretary. It must be noted that in some schools this responsibility does not rest with one person, but is assumed by several. The same holds true for all the questions. Table A is an analysis of who discharges the responsibilities. 1+4 TABLE a ANALYSIS CF SURVEY QUESTION, "WHO, IF ANYONE, HAS THE FOLLOWING RESPONSIBILITIES N YOUR SCHOOL?” Prin- Visiting Attendance School Question Teacher cipal Nurse Teacher Officer Secretary 1 9 IO 11 9 2 10 12 6 2 3 3 5 6 3 8 l A 3 2 9 1 S 1 1 8 e 3 u 2 7 2 8 3 u 8 I 6 3 2 9 2 IO 2 2 1 A 10 6 7 5 ll 2 3 12 6 I 13 3 1A 2 3 l l 1 15 o 8 o A 6 3 16 o o 17 10 8 A l s 9 6 2 19 8 6 1 20 3 7 u 21 2 6 22 3 23 2 2 2a 6 5 6 3 25 l 2 26 2 I 27 1 1 28 l l 1 3 29 3 3 3O 5 Head- Community Police School Guidance start Director Coun- Social Coun- No Question Teacher (Agent) selor Worker selor Home one [UFO O\\)‘l DU) [\3 H IUUUUU A5 TABLE A-—Continued head- 'Community Police School Guidance1 start Director Coun- Social Coun- No Question Teacher (Agent) selor Worker selor Home One 7 l d 2 9 l l 10 1 ll 8 l2 6 l3 9 11+ 15 2 A 2 16 A 17 18 19 20 l 3 El 3 9 22 l 10 23 A 9 2A 1 25 10 26 2 9 27 3 10 28 10 99 3 go H 3 It will be noted from Table A that in many instances the professional staff is assuming many responsibilities which could be handled by a lay person. In addition, the school secretary is taking time from her clerical assign— ment to do tasks unrelated to her job. Discussion with representatives of various school systems about better ways to establish rapport with " families in the inner-city area brings to "unreachable mind the words of Alexander Pope: "People should be taught as though you taught them not and things unknown, 1:6 proposed as things forgot." This is true of all people. It is especially true of the deprived. People who are ° a 9 a .00»- Insecure, Shlltf‘lilg from feelings of inadequacy, and embarrassed by the situation in which they find them— (I) (D ;_1 K: (D U) (D H.) (D C) H or ’1‘ .3 d ”J (D most sensitive of all. Unfortunately, in a sincere attempt to help these people, educators often fail to exercise the tact and rapport necessary to make their aid acceptable. In their role of "teacher" they are quick to offer the solution-—of a middle-class variety-- rather than t O (I) ee the problem through the eyes of the deprived family and then very carefully lead them to see and suggest the solution. Professional people are not always the best con- tact between the home and the school. Sometimes a less "forbidding" person can be more effective. Also, there are many, many tasks being performed by registered nurses, visiting teachers, attendance officers, etc., that could be handled adequately and on a more organized basis by a non-professional. This would allow the professional to concentrate his speciality in the area for which he is trained and which is indicated in his job description. Many of the school systems indicated a desire for more consistent communication with homes. For example, one representative pointed out that: A regular and consistent school community communication is vital if we hope to be more effective in reaching the primary teacher of children--the parents. Without this involve— ment with the community in general and the family in 47 particular the school will continue merely to provide some nebulous service (teaching the three R's) and never come to grips with learning in its broadest sense. Investigation of Proposed Programs Realizing that many school systems were seeking help in this direction, 1r. Michael York, Educational Consultant, Title I, for the State of Michigan, Department of Education, was contacted. Mr. York supplied a list of thirty-four Michigan communities which have asked for some type of Home-School-Visitor Program under Title I. Questionnaires were sent to these but of the twenty—seven who replied none were applying for aid for a home school counselor program. Most were seeking assistance for a visiting teacher, community director, or guidance counselor. The survey of cities over A0,000 indicates that considering the interest expressed in such programs, and the need which is evident in all urban centers, there is relatively little innovation in the area of home-school liaison in Michigan. Imperatives The American Association of School Administrators has stressed the essentials of education in Imperatives in Education. Four which are directly related to this area of liaison are: l. The educational program must be vitally related to the life of the community. 48 Every child, youth and adult must have as much education and as broad an edu- cation as his capacity will permit. Every school must institute a continuing program of health education, multi— disciplinary in nature and reaching pupils at every grade level, to develop the highest level of health attainable. A firm working alliance between the home and the school must be established.1 How some of these gaps are being filled and how the professional staff is being assisted by a lay person in the inner-city areas of Flint will be discussed in the next chapter. l . . . . . American ASSOCIation of Administrators, Imper— atives in Education (Washington, D.C.: American Associ- ation of Administrators, 1966), pp. 165—169. CHAPTER V CENSUS TRACT DATA FOR INNER CITY AREAS IN FLINT Pilot Projects In the surveying and interviewing conducted by the writer the Flint Public School System offered the most information on a home school counselor program. The Mott Foundation, a philanthropic foundation, channeling its monies through the Flint Board of Edu- cation, has maintained a policy of establishing pilot projects.1 These projects are experimental and under- taken without the use of public funds. If they are found to be successful, they are assumed by the Flint Board of Education or other community agencies. The Visitinngeacher Proggam The Mott Foundation had begun experimental programs with visiting teachers in 1936. These visiting teachers proved very successful and were subsequently hired and paid by the Flint Board of Education. They have continued to be effective but, as they serve several schools, they cannot give concentrated, long- term help in any one area. Also, while the visiting 1For additional information on the Mott Foundation Program of the Flint Board of Education, write: Director, Mott Foundation Program, Flint Public Schools, Flint, Michigan. 149 5O teacher, professionally trained, has an excellent rela- tionship with the school and referral agencies, he is not always able to establish the necessary rapport with deprived families. While sincerely interested in the children with whom he is working, he is sometimes at a disadvantage because his past training and experience have prepared him to look for and expect middle class solutions. In many instances the visiting teacher is regarded as another "arm" of the school. Children and parents who are antagonistic to, or feel threatened by, the school are not easily reached by the visiting teacher. Other Professional "Home Visitors" In Flint, as in other school systems, the visiting teacher and the attendance officer often work closely together. While the attendance officer may improve the child's attendance, he probably does not improve the family's image of the school. The school nurse must give her full time and attention to the child's health needs so that she is unable to assist the family, except superficially, with any of its other problems. At best, she can uncover the difficulty and bring it to the attention of the appropriate school personnel. With the advent of the community school director in 1952, contact between the school and the home increased. The director makes many home calls and from meeting members Bl of the community when participating in the various activities at the school (e.g., adult education classes) he has friendly, informal contact with many parents and children. When the community school director pro- gram began, all directors taught regular classes half days and were responsible for the after school and evening programs. The mornings were free for home visiting, workshops, and planning after school and evening programs. Not only did this make an excep- tionally long working day, but the directors soon dis- covered that morning is not the most advantageous time for home visiting. Consequently, directors in depressed areas have been released from their teaching assignments and use the afternoons for home visiting and planning related to supervising their after school and evening programs. As for regular school personnel, Carl Marburger states: Even when teachers and principals go into the homes in depressed areas they are not as effective in dealing with the pupils and parents _) as they are in more typical schools where chil— dren come from homes that tend to reinforce and complement the school program. A review of the aforestated problems which make it difficult for the present professional staff to reach the inner city families indicates the need for a person 1Programs for the Educationally Disadvantaged (Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1903), p- 71. 52 with the time and ability to do so. Not all of the systems surveyed feel that they are doing a thorough job of helping to solve the problems of the inner city child. Some suggest and many agree that a lay person, well accepted in the community, could be of great assistance to the school. Such a person would have a peer group relationship with the parents in the area. This person could more easily establish rapport with the families and, thus, would be more likely to be effective. 0 f . . Non-ProfesSional 'Home Vis1tors" Realizing that there were still many people not being reached by the existing resources of the Flint School System, the use of a lay person as a home school counselor was suggested and a pilot project initiated. While this project is still experimental, it has been expanded to all the inner-city schools in Flint as well as to one middle-class community. Thus, at the present time, there are fourteen home school counselors in fourteen community school areas. Of these fourteen, thirteen are in areas classified as inner-city and these are the ones the writer has examined in detail. The elimination, from consideration, of the one middle—class neighborhood was done for several reasons: (l) the thesis of the paper is that the home school counselor is an effective liaison between the home and the 53 school in urban areas, (2) with only one school in a middle—class, all white neighborhood, there is not enough data available to make an evaluation, and (3) the problems and, conse,uently, the approach, duties, and characteristics of this particular home school counselor are not the same as in the inner- city areas. (See the Appendix, page llC, for a map showing the fourteen elementary school areas served by the home school counselors. The thirteen shaded areas are the ones studied.) U ilization cf Census Tract Material (-+' smuch as the writer was concerned with H m n examining each of thirteen inner-city elementary school areas in detail, the census tract information was utilized. With the assistance of the Research Office of the Flint PUblic Schools a determination was made of which parts of the census tract encompassed these particular elementary school areas. Table 5 shows the basis on which the census tract information was utilized. 5A TABLE 5 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AREAS AND THEIR CEXSUS TRACT RELATIONSHIP School Census Tract Clark . . . . encompasses l/2 of #8, plus l/2 of #9 Cook . . . " all of #22, plus all of #EA Dewey . . . . " l/2 of #i, plus l/2 of #H Dort . . . . x 2/3 of #0, plus all of #23 Eiiiiigw: : : n ii: 8? 2? Garfield. . . x 2/3 of $20, plus all of #21 Jefferson . . ” lé2 of :2, plus l/2 of #3 Martin. . . . l 2 of Tl- Mary Street . 3 all of #26 %?5»‘ . . . . n all of #39 / arkland. . . H l/e of f , plus l/3 of #o Roosevelt . . l/2 of #5 Notes: Census tracts are small permanently established geographical areas into which large cities and their environs have been divided for statistical purposes. The average tract has over 4,COO people and is originally laid out with attention to achieving some uniformity of population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions.1 (See the Appendix, page llO, for map and overlay which indicate the areas described in Table 5.) Description g£_Flint School Areas Studied The thirteen elementary schools studied are all part of the BTU (Better Tomorrow for the Urban Child) Program of the Flint Board of Education. A Flint elementary school is selected for this program if its students have an average underachievement of one to two years on the 1Census Tract Project, Flint and Genesee County (Flint: Council of Social Agencies, IQOO-o3). 55 Science Research Associates Test given to all fifth and sixth grade students. Seven of the schools consist of kindergarten through sixth grade, while six begin with prekindergarten and go through grade six. In addition to the home school counselor, these schools also have all the services pro- vided elementary schools by the Flint Board of Education. These include visiting teachers, attendance officers, remedial reading and arithmetic teachers, community directors, helping teachers, speech correctionists, police counselors, and others. Some of these are based at each school while some are shared with other schools. Gross Density The population in these thirteen elementary school areas is more concentrated than in other parts of the city. "Gross density" of census tracts is determined by simple division of the number of persons residing in a tract by the average thereof. The gross density average for the City of Flint is ten persons per acre. The gross density for the thirteen elementary school areas studied is given in Table 6. 56 2 TABLE 6 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AREAS SHOWING GROSS DENSITY School Gross Density Per Acre (1960) Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Dewey . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Dort . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Doyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . l5 Fairview . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Garfield . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Jefferson . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Mary Street . . . . . . . . . . 20 Oak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ll Parkland . . . . . . . . . . . 2O Roosevelt . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Population and Family Size The population and the number of families in these areas show that the average family size is larger than in other parts of the city. Table 7 gives the area population and number of families. The average is A.O2 persons per household. The average for the City of Flint is 3.32. TABLE 7 POPULATION AND NUMBER OF FAMILIES BY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AREA School (1960) Area Population WNumber of Families Clark . . . . . 3,125 675 Cook 5,502 1,335 Dewey 8,791 2,161 Dort 7,663 1,822 Doyle 3,7AO 76A Fairview 2,651 652 Garfield 6,617 1,864 Jefferson 5,368 1,318 Martin A,29O 1,0l5 Mary Street 2,562 635 Oak . . 2,873 65A Parkland 3,39u 756 Roosevelt 2,651 562 Totals 59,227 lu,l23 57 Number Persons Per Household I” Census tract figures showing the highest number of persons per household appear in Table 8. TABLE 8 CEISUS TRACTS RANKED ACCORDING TO HIGHEST NUMBER OF PERSONS PER HOUSEHOLD (1960) Rank Census Tract Median Persons 1 3 4.36 2 A0 3.97 3 5 3.91 A 2 3.90 5 1 3.89 In Table 8, Census tracts 3, 5, 2, and l are in the area of the thirteen schools studied. Marital Status The marital status of the people in these thirteen areas is worthy of note. The home school counselors and school records in these areas indicate that in some instances schools have as many as half one—parent families. Table 9 indicates the percentage of one-parent families in each area. This chart does not correspond exactly with school figures for several reasons: (1) many families with no father in the home do not report it to the census taker as they are not legally separated or { fl) , divorced, (2) the census tract information includes families with no children in school. What the table does indicate, however, is that while the number of - [.th reported one-parent families averages 15.;m in these is lifi. (This is based on the marital status of persons 14 years of age and over. The Flint Census indicates that of the total population, 2C% are single, 10% . . . - .. hwy ._ separated, Widowed or divorced, and {Cw married.) TABLE 3 ”ERCENTAGE OF ONE-PARENT FAMILIES (1960) School Percentage Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . lO Dewey . . . . . . . . . . . . 1A Dort . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Doyle . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Fairview. . . . . . . . . . . l7 Garfield . . . . . . . . . . 1A Jefferson . . . . . . . . . . 10 Martin. . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Mary Street . . . . . . . . . 17 Oak . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Parkland. . . . . . . . . . . l7 Roosevelt . . . . . . . . . . 17 Income The median income for families in the thirteen areas studied is $A,672.CC. While many families have a good income, Table 10 shows the number of families in each area with an income of less than $3,000.00. This is 18.6% as compared with 12% for the city as a whole. 59 TABLE 10 NUMBER OF FAMILIES WITH INCOME LESS THAN $3,000 Income Less School (1960) Families Than $3,000 Clark 675 139 Cook 1,335 172 Dewey 2,161 317 Dort 1,822 397 Doyle 78A 237 Fairview 562 161 Garfield 1,66u 219 Jefferson 1,318 199 Martin 1,015 153 Mary Street 635 177 Oak 65A 106 Parkland 756 186 Roosevelt 562 161 Totals 14,123 2,624 Of the thirteen areas studied, five comprise all the census tracts which show the lowest income range in the city, $A,000 to $A,999, and eight are in the next range, $5,000 to $5,999. It is interesting to note that white home school counselors describe their communities I o 1 c as "lower class' while a Negro home scnool counselor in the same general area sees it as "middle-class". The white home school counselor bases her View on the occupa- tional and educational level of the families while the Negro home school counselor bases it on the income level. Females in the Labor Force There are 7,582 females in the labor force areas which have a total of 14,123 families. This in these indicates / 60 that 53.6% of the families have a female in the labor force. In the other areas of the city only 32.1% families have a female in the working force. Table 11 gives the totals for each of the thirteen areas. TABLE 11 EMPLOYED FEMALES FOR ELEMENTARY AREAS STUDIED Females in School (1960) Families Labor Force Clark 675 M90 Cook 1,335 861 Dewey 2,161 1,0u1 Dort 1,822 1,010 Doyle 769 A29 Fairview 562 312 Garfield 1,869 996 Jefferson 1,318 613 Martin 1,015 912 Mary Street 635 30M Oak 654 A58 Parkland 756 3AM Roosevelt 562 312 Totals lu,l23 7,582 Educational Level According to school records, the educational back— ground of families in these areas averages about the 8th grade. Many have substantially less and only three home school counselors feel that the majority of adults in their areas have a high school education. Table 12 shows the number of people over twenty-five years of age with less than an 8th grade education. 61 TABLE 12 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF ADULTS OVER 25 FOR ELEMENTARY AREAS STUDIEDa People Over 25, Less Than School (1960) Over 2 8th Grade Education Clark 1,695 A70 Cook 3,261 382 Dewey A,673 1,267 Dort A,186 891 Doyle 13797 553 Fairview 1,323 507 Garfield A,OA2 66A Jefferson 2,76A 703 Martin 1,989 A63 Mary Street 1,A56 3A7 Oak 1,800 365 Parkland 1,756 633 Roosevelt 1,322 507 Totals 32,06A 7,752 aThe number of persons over twenty- -five yearsd of age with less than an eighth grade education is 2A% This compares with an average of C12% for the rest of the city. Housing The housing in these areas varies widely, not only between areas but within areas. In every area there are some "nice" homes. However, only one home school counselor considered the housing in her area "good". Three rated it as "average" and ten called it "poor". In the areas of poor housing there are many multiple dwellings. There are also single dwellings which house more than one family. Four of the centrally located communities are near the business district of the city and contain many commercial 62 establishments. Also, many of the areas contain condemned or vacant buildings. In ten of these areas, the majority of the people are renting their homes. The rents are very high and in most cases the accommodations are very poor. In three areas the majority of people are buying their homes. The census tract figures for the number of sub— standard dwellings in each of the thirteen school areas appear in Table 13. This represents 1A.3% of substandard housing in these areas as compared with A% in other parts of the city. TABLE 13 NUMBER OF SUBSTANDARD HOUSING UNITS IN ELEMENTARY AREAS STUDIED # Housing School.(l960) Units Substandard Clark 1,026 18A Cook 1,712 A1 Dewey 2,617 232 Dort 2,658 A73 Doyle 1,2A6 A50 Fairview 7A6 209 Garfield 2,361 86 Jefferson 1,516 13A Martin 1,172 67 Mary Street 961 76 Oak 1,230 29A Parkland 1,017 266 Roosevelt 7A6 209 Totals 19,008 2,721 63 Age Range The age range of the parents in the communities is from young to middle age. These areas do not have as many senior citizens. The elderly people in these inner— city communities are mainly older white people who do not want to leave their homes. Table 1A compares the under twenty-one years of age group with the over sixty- five group. TABLE 1A AGE COMPARISON IN ELEMENTARY AREAS STUDIEDa School (1960) 1 Under 21 Over 65 Clark 1,23 259 Cook 2,908 312 Dewey 3,69A 659 Dort 2,973 625 Doyle 1,665 236 Fairview 1,230 122 Garfield 2,179 766 Jefferson 2,887 25A Martin 2,0A1 135 Mary Street 937 312 Oak 858 A20 Parkland 1,AA7 18A Roosevelt 1,230 122 Totals 25,285 A,A06 aIn these areas, A2.7% of the population is under twenty-one years of age while only 7.A% is over sixty—five. Areas in Transition The four centrally located areas have a very transient population. Immigrants seem to settle here first 6A and then move to other parts of the city. The schools have a very large pupil turnover. In addition, some of the neighborhoods are changing their racial makeup. Table 15 shows the five schools which have changed their 0 . ~n/ ~. . . racial makeup at least 30p durlng the period from 1960-1966. TABLE 15 ELEMENTARY AREAS IN TRANSITION Number of. School IStudents White Negro % White % Negro Cook , 1959-1960 . . 55 557 O 100 0 0 1965-1966 . . 8A9 557 292 65 6 3A A Dort , 1959-1960 . . 9L9 323 626 3A.O 66.0 1965-1966 . . 1,177 59 1,118 5.0 95.0 Doyle f , 1953-1960 . . 623 219 A0A 35.2 6A.8 1965-1966 . . 556 32 52A 5.8 9A.2 Garfield / 1959-1960 . . 679 679 0 100.0 0 1965-1966 . . 915 292 623 31.9 68.1 Oak - 1959-1960 . . A35 398 37 91.5 8.5 1965-1966 . . A69 287 182 61.2 38.8 Summary of Findings In Chapter I a description of the home life and background of the inner-city child was given based on literature in the field. The study made by the writer of the thirteen inner-city areas of the City of Flint bears 65 this out. Tables 6 through 13 prove that compared to the rest of the city, families in these areas: 1. Live in more crowded conditions-~Table 6 m if. 51) <: (D a larger family membership--Table 8 (A) fl". £13 < (D more one-parent families—-Table 9 more low income families——Table 10 la. :1", £13 < (D more females in the labor force—- \ ‘1 tr: in <1 0 Table 11 Have a lower level of educational attain- O\ ment--Table 12 7. Have more substandard housing—~Table 13 The Difficulties Facing the School As mentioned, these are the characteristics that make an area a difficult one in which to work. All these factors tend to disrupt home conditions and make the child physically and emotionally unready for school. Problems brought about by living conditions in an area reflect in the school and make the job of teaching that much more difficult. The teacher has all she can do to teach this child who is not educationally oriented. The principal has his hands full coping with the many discipline and attendance problems found in this area as well as trying to administrate the school. It is evident that there is much to be done to help these families, but who is available to do it? The school may be a logical agency, but the inner—city school personnel are already the busiest in the city. There is not time during the workinrT day to undertake more responsibility. CHAPTER 6 THE HOME SCHOOL COUNSELOR PROGRAM The home school counselor program started as a pilot project at one elementary school in Flint in l947. At that time it was stated that: Too few parents took an interest in their children and the school. Some of the children come to school hungry. This showed up in poor school work and in deportment. Sometimes promising teachers were reluctant to be assigned to teach at Fairview because they failed to realize the opportunities which the school offered and the challenge to help parents raise the standards in the community. From this beginning, a solid foundation was laid for the present home school counselor program. There are now fourteen home school counselors serving in fourteen elementary schools and communities. Today, we find the home school counselor to be a mature woman, either Negro or white, average age, forty-seven, all with a high school education, and several with college work (particularly classes in sociology, psychology, home and family living, and home economics), married with families, and varied work experience backgrounds (e.g., adult education, practical nursing, teacher aide). lg Visit 29. Fairview School (Flint: Flint Board of Education and Mott Foundation, 1952), p. l. 67 6 CD The job description for the home school counselor reads as follows: This is responsible work with children, parents, and other adults in the school community under the direct supervision of the elementary school principal. It involves working with the principal, community school Mott Adult Education staff (D director, the appropriat member, total school staff, and the public, acting as a liaison between the school and the community. 1. Calls on new families and on the families of kindergarten enrollees. Explains and encourages family participation in school activities. 2. Informs families as to available community resources to meet their specific needs. 3. Works in the area of health on the request of principal and/or school nurse. A. Makes surveys for Old Newsboys and Salvation Army programs. 5. Works with Pre-School Story Hour parents, as assigned. 6. Works on clothing requests for the Clothing Center. 7. Works with the breakfast program, if school has one, planning and supervising the entire 69 program including all food buying, menu planning, and food preparation. Works, also, with the mothers of the children on the program in the areas of meal planning, preparation, shopping, and budgeting. CO Actively participates in all in-service training as appropriate. 9. Works on appropriate school and/or school related projects as assigned. The home school counselor is responsible to her principal and she does the work under the principal's guidance and makes referrals at his direction. The home school counselor is not a certified staff member and, consequently, the principal is directly responsible for all of her work. For this reason, and also to enable the home school counselor to be effective, the following criteria are used in evaluating candidates for the position: Qualifications Education — High school graduate preferably with additional work in sociology, psychology, family living and child growth and development. Skills - A warm, friendly, outgoing personality, and maturity are needed. Must have tact, patience, sincerity, and approachability. Must have good health, a sense of humor, and a genuine liking and feeling for people. Must be able to work under direction with minimal supervision. 70 The nature of the home school counselor's achieve- ments is much like most programs initiated by the Mott Program of the Flint Board of Education. They are action oriented and not research oriented. Action programs are not conducive to statistical analysis because control groups are not established. For this reason, as each function of the counselor is described in this chapter, it will be illustrated by case studies. Most home visits by the counselors uncover several problems, however, case studies will in many cases overlap problem areas. These case studies, and many others, were recorded on tape and represent the work of all the counselors. They are retold in the counselors' own words. The thirteen counselors have specific respon- sibilities at the school and in the community. Health Care and Health Education These are areas of important responsibility for all counselors. Her unique relationship with the parents enables her to bridge the gap between the home and the school. Because she is fully accepted by both, she has proved to be an effective catalyst for improving health conditions. Children in these communities need constant health care. The home school counselor helps arrange for physicals and immunizations to be given at the school by the Health Department. They call at homes to remind the family of this opportunity and in many instances take 71 them to the school. When children have appointments at the Mott Children's Health Center or Dental Clinic, the home school counselor often reminds the parents and may help to arrange transportation. In one school only 7% of the children were "health guarded"l in 1963 when the school had no home school counselor. During the three years the counselor has been working on the health program, the number of "health guarded" has risen to 40%. There are many examples of the work of the home school counselor in the area of health. Two that indicate the broad scope of her concern are included here. Case Study #1 I received a call from a neighbor--a next door neighbor-—that this particular child was home and that his feet were in very poor condition. The child was crying all the time and couldn't walk. I went down to the office and checked his attend- ance and found he had been out for a week. I thanked the lady for calling. She said, 'Please don't give my name but I wish you would go. Mrs. Jones told me to call you. She said that you would get something done.’ I learned that the mother was in the Pontiac State Hospital. The father works two jobs and there are three children in the family. The father makes very good money. There is no reason at all why he could not provide health care for that boy. He is in the house maybe three or four hours a day, but he has provided a baby sitter. The baby sitter, it turned out, had called the next door neighbor to look at the boy, and it was this neighbor who called me. I went to see the boy. The child was walking on the sides of his feet. Of course, he was 'whiney'. He could not stand anything on his feet! I can truthfully say, never in my life had I seen anything like his FEET! 1Free from correctable medical and dental defects and with all immunizations up to date. 72 I came back and called the health nurse and I explained to her what had happened. I said, 'Can someone go out there today? This is bothering me. Maybe I don't know anything about nursing, but it seems to me that this child is what I would call an emergency case. All I can think of is this child losing both his legs. Would you call me back after you go?’ She went right out. She called me back about four o'clock. She said, 'That child must go to the hospital immediately. I have been nursing fourteen years and I have never seen a case like that.’ Well, that upset me and I thought how can that father go in (the home) at any time of the day and see that child and not realize that something had to be done. I went home and I made up my mind that I was going to call that man all night long until I got him—- I was going to get somebody! The baby sitter said she had called it to his attention, but he just didn't respond. He got some salve one time and put that on. His feet were completely covered with sores, top and bottom--you know how a scab forms and you pick that off--and they were just running! That was the condition of both feet. The next day when I called the baby sitter, she said that he couldn't even get out of bed to go to the bathroom. I called the nurse again and said she had to do something. I didn't sleep last night. I think it was about 5:00 a.m. when I called-- the sister answered the phone-~and I said, 'Is your father there? I want to speak to him.‘ She said, 'No, Mrs. X, (she knew my voice over the phone), but my mother's here.’ I said, 'Let me talk with her.' So, she came to the phone and I said, 'Mrs. X, I have been there and your son is sick.' She told me that she did not know it and that she had been away. So the nurse had to get a detective and they went to the General Motors Plant. They had to get the father off the job. Can you imagine anything like this? But, they got the child in the hospital. About two weeks later I was in the hall and who did I see limping along but the BOY! He could hardly walk. I thought maybe he wasn't in the hospital after all. Mr. X, the principal, sent Ronnie home and we started again to get the father. I told Mr. X, the principal, the next morning after I had tried to get the father all night, 'If I do not get someone today I am going into that house and pick up that child and take him to the doctor. That child just cannot suffer like that!‘ 73 But, we finally got the father and the boy did have to go back to the hospital, this time under the care of a skin specialist. The child lost more than thirty days of school. Of course, now he is in school and I can't even get down the hall without the BOY. I.“ Case Study #H I had another mother come in here and help serve on our breakfast program. Her child was not on the breakfast program but she was helping to serve. She would cut a piece of coffee cake and she would lick her fingers. I explained to her why we handle food as little as possible with our hands, but when we do we do not lick them but wash them off. She has three daughters and she told me she explained this to her daughters. To me, this helps improve the health of the community. If she had a sore throat or cold and licks her fingers everytime she handles food, her whole family will have it; and if she serves at PTA, half of the PTA may have it. Liaison Between the Home and the School Another common responsibility the counselors share is the constant effort to establish and maintain a liaison between the community and the school. The "crux" of this task is the establishment of two-way communication. Their understanding of the community and its problems, coupled with a close association with the school, promotes a working relationship that is conducive to educating the urban child. It is important to recognize that history has proved that the traditional school administration has not solved the problem of communicating with urban families. Ernest 0. Melby, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Michigan State University, feels educators have done much to widen the cultural gap that prevents the urban child from taking 721. advantage of our educational system.1 Many times the home school counselor is able to raise the educational expec- tations of the urban child through close association with the family. John Niemeyer states the chief cause of low achieve- ment of children of alienated groups is the fact that too many teachers and principals honestly believe that these children are educable only to an extremely limited extent. His proposed solution is a functional reorganization of the schools themselves.2 Perhaps, the addition of a home school counselor to the complex system of education will bring about better understanding on the part of the teachers and the principals as well as the home. ‘ H Case Study #3 I feel that I am very well received in the community. Of course, it's to the point now, after being in the program four years, they have more or less become used to me. But, I feel that the people relate to me better than they do to the teachers, because the teachers will not meet them on their own level. By going into the home I come in contact more often with the families. I feel that some of the parents tend to be afraid of the teacher, and they will not discuss their family or personal problems with the teacher. I have the feeling that they do not want the teacher to know all these personal things about them and their family. I have had a feeling with some families that these parents are ashamed of their situation and their problems. And yet, for instance, I have a very good example lErnest O. Melby, Speech delivered to Michigan Police Officers, Flint, Michigan (May, 1966). 2John Niemeyer, "Home School Interaction in Relation to Learning in the Elementary School," The School Dropout, ed. D. Schreiber (Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1964), p. 75 One of our little students became ill in kinder— garten. This child was sleeping in the classroom, and he just did not seem to be getting enough rest. He was undernourished and had a bad color. I had made two or three home calls into this home to emphasize to the mother the importance of getting up with the child and seeing he had his breakfast. I came back and reported to the teacher. Now, this teacher had no children of her own and so when she brought this child down to me I suggested that she go with me to take this child home. She said she would be glad to. I warned her when we were pulling up in front of the house, because it's one of our very, very poor homes. I said that if you show any embarrassment or anxiety they'll read you like a book; no matter if you don't want to sit down, sit down anyway. This mother has six children. The oldest one is only eight years old. They live in three rooms. It's a downstairs apartment. Our teacher, well, she was sick--she was actually sick. The next day when she came to school she told me that she hadn't been able to eat any supper when she went home. So, she said that she wished that she could go into all the homes to find out all the situations. And, this is where I tried to make a point with her. This child is better off in school-- even though he's sleeping when they have their little rest period--than he is in this home. The draft came under the door. The curtains blew just like it was outside. And, I said that in this classroom he is warm and he gets free milk, and the teacher brings crackers or a little treat each day for the children. She said that he never misses even when he's ill and she feels that he should be home. I said this child would rather be in school than stay home with five other children running all over in three little rooms. And, since that time she has come to me and said that she understands this child better. He's usually tardy, but she doesn't scold him. She just tells him to hang up his little coat. She feels a little different toward this child since she has seen his home. She is not always telling me, 'You have got to go there and tell his mother to get him to school on time!‘ This way she understands now that this child is lucky to get to school--late, or whether he's tired, or whether he's hungry. The teacher says that she has a better insight. And, really, if I were to take her into other families in her room-~who are even worse than this child—~she said that she was really educated because she never realized, although she is a Negro teacher herself, that people lived this way. Case Study #4 I try to take a teacher at least once a week on a home call. You can tell the teacher all you find out in the home but, until she's really been there, she has a hard time understanding just what the child is up against. We have very nice teachers at our school but most of them are new. After they go out to visit the homes, they have a better understanding of why the child is so dirty, or why he is so upset. I keep a record of all home calls and give a report of the home calls to the teacher and the principal. Ninety per cent of the work that I do starts with an attendance call. Different teachers have trouble with children who may come from the same family. They will refer it to me and I'll go out to see what I can do about it. As I said before, I look up the health record before I go so that I can cover two or three things while I'm there. Promoting Leadership Home school counselors function effectively in promoting leadership within the community. Their know- ledge of the people in the community enables them to make maximum use of the leadership qualities of people. Also, they are able to take advantage of existing programs in assembling people for identification of the potential source of leadership in the community. Many times a counselor assumes a leadership role to help establish special interest groups. She, then, works diligently to encourage leadership from within the group so she will be able to relinquish her role. When school activities do not require her leadership, she is, however, available to advise and give aid when needed. Many parents visit school with much apprehension. They are put at ease by the warm reception given them by the home school counselor. 77 Case Study #5 We had a hard time with our homeroom mothers. In fact, we really have a hard time with leadership. We had a good turn out of homeroom mothers, but the leader- ship had been so poor. The meetings have just been nothing and then the mothers don't return, and I don't blame them. I didn't feel that I should take over, because I didn't want them to think that I was pushing them aside and taking over. But, we decided that if we changed the name of it from Homeroom Mothers to Mother's Council this would make it something different—- then I could lead them. We meet once a month and I have chosen a mother from each room. Sometimes I ask the teacher for a name, but sometimes they get desperate and give just any name and then that mother never comes. So, I really look through until I find a mother that I can depend on. We have had three meetings. The first time we just met and I told them what it was all about. The second time was Christmas and so we had a program about making small gifts. I send each mother a personal invitation each month and so at Christmas I put on it, 'Please try to be here as we have a small gift for you.’ We gave them each a bar of soap we had painted a flower on. At Thanksgiving we drew numbers and gave away the centerpiece. I always try to have a centerpiece and refreshments that they can make at home. Once I made No-Bake Chocolate Cookies. I was going to make them at home, but I didn't have time so when I got to school I realized that we had everything at school that was needed--the butter, the peanut butter and the oatmeal. These are all things that a lot of them get on their surplus food order. So, I had the recipe run off and gave it to them, not saying you can use your surplus food-~but they could see, I said, these are all things that you probably have. Well, then last month we helped the teachers. We made visual aids. We made bean bags. We made counters and things like that. Bgeakfast Program Three elementary schools have a breakfast program. The purpose of this program is to supply breakfast for underweight children from low income families. In two of these schools the counselor prepares the food with the 78 help of children and parents on a rotating basis. The other breakfast program is organized and supervised by the counselor. The preparation of the food is done by a person hired for that purpose only. Several coun— selors keep dry cereal, milk and juice on hand and provide breakfast on an individual basis when needed. I think the most important assignment I have in this school is the breakfast program. The importance of breakfast in the day's schedule must be given a great deal of emphasis. In many homes it is often slighted or entirely omitted. To skip breakfast is to endanger one's good temper and one's health. We have found that children who have had breakfast are more contented. They are happier than the children who do not have breakfast. We have breakfast here every morning. While it is for children who are underweight, we sometimes take children because of their attitude in the room. When we find out what the problem is, we contact the parents so that they can do something about it. We have fifty-four children for breakfast every morning. My little girls in the homemaking classes come in every morning about 8:10 and they help by setting the table and putting on the silver and different things like that. We see that meals are eaten in a leisurely fashion and in a pleasant atmosphere. Before we take children on the program we send a letter to the parents asking them to come to a conference with me. We set the date and the time. Of course, either the mother or the father comes. If it's a one parent family, then the mother comes. We discuss the various types of breakfasts and meals and how they should make up the shopping list before they leave home. I put special emphasis on consumer education in low cost meals. If you recognize the difficulties of parents, you will be more respectful about teaching. You will not put them on the defensive by implying that they could do better if they just would. So, you have to be very careful in the tone of your voice when you are talking to parents about the things they are not doing. Meeting parents in a group is usually more feasible than individual conferences, 79 and may actually be more effective. In a group you can show nutrition can affect the children, the way they look, act, and feel. At the first meeting you do everything you can to establish togetherness, because if afterward a mother comes and says, 'Oh, I have just had a grand time--I really enjoyed it,' you have a new parent to come and help you do things. When I have homemaking classes I always try to recognize the ability of the mothers. And most every mother, no matter how humble her home is, even if she's using food from the center, has a perfect recipe that she'd like to demonstrate. Attendance Many of the home school counselors work in the area of attendance. Several start from this point and consider it one of their main functions. These counselors check attendance each morning and make calls where needed on recommendation of the principal. They will usually tele- phone the home and then follow up with a home call if needed. This is often the way they discover other problems in the home. While this is an important task for some counselors, it is not a major assignment of most. Evidence shows that a community counselor is often a very effective attendance officer, however. When she cannot influence the family into better attendance on the part of the child with her personal appeal, she, of course, turns the case over to the principal who may handle it himself or contact the attendance officer. Case Study#7 One time the principal sent an attendance officer to a family that hadn't had their children in school. The father got real mad and he said, 'What are you here for? How come Mrs. X, (the home school counselor), didn't come?’ Case Study #3 I have parents who call me, if they see children lagging around after school. They see this a day or two, then they call me. I go and, I know, early this fall I checked on some children that had been seen going into an empty apartment building. That worked out fine to the relief of all of us, because they were absent from school so much, but we couldn't figure out where they were until this mother called me. I checked them out and found out that they had been going into this empty apartment building. So, I feel that I have good relationship with the parents. They feel free to call me; and they feel that if they tell me something, I'm not going to get out and spread who told me this or that. It would cause hard feelings. I just take it for the information. Case Study #9 One particular family, I called every morning and got them out of bed. In some instances, where children would make fun of children who were dirty, we would work with the parents and explain to them that children were making fun of them and wouldn't sit beside them. They called them 'stinky', and this kind of thing. When they knew this, the parents would work to improve them. Guides and Hostesses All home school counselors serve as guides from time to time. The Community School Program in Flint attracts thousands of visitors each year and they, of course, want to see the program in action. The home school counselor, free from duties of teaching or administration, is often available to show visitors the school program and programs in other schools. The home school counselors help arrange breakfasts for visitors in their buildingsand often line up speakers from the community to talk at these affairs. It is not 81 unusual for a counselor who was at her school at 6:30 a.m. helping mothers prepare and serve a breakfast for fifty guests to still be guiding a group of visitors to the planetarium show at 0:00 o.m. Community counselors are also available at the school to give information or a friendly welcome to anyone who may come by. They are often the only familiar face to a parent making a first visit to the school. I r'V . C+1wrzwr , l \ canar: UV‘AJ‘J' # C’I We all act as guides for the many guests that come to Flint. I like to guide so I can see what some of the other counselors are doing. Also, you know I enjoy being on hand at our school to show visitors what a nice school WE have! Enrichment Program In Flint, enrichment classes for children are held after school. These are non-academic classes pro- vided to give the children additional beneficial experi— ences, both educational and recreational. Some of the kinds of classes available are: Reading for Fun, Sewing, Cooking, Bell Ringing, Art and Crafts, Puppetry, Foreign Languages, and Science For Fun. Home school counselors sometimes work with these classes. Many enjoy this activity because they feel it gives them a good relationship with the children and helps to know them better. At one school, the counselor teaches three homemaking classes, three days a week, as part of the regular school day. Another counselor worked with various 82 grades when they studied different countries. She helped them prepare foods for each locale they studied. This helped the teacher and enriched the study unit. One counselor supervises after school groups on ”Good Grooming". Case Study#ll There was a girl who joined my dressmaking class during the summer. She was quite large for her age and I felt she needed that little 'extra' (her personal grooming was below par). I thought if I could take her as my friend, knowing that her little sister was one of these little cuties, she would feel somebody is real close. I started with her during the summer-— and she did a beautiful job in dressmaking. So, I thought, here is the skill for her. I wanted to do much more for her, but I wanted to talk with her mother and father. The other children are here in school, but she goes to another school. I went on Sunday to talk to the mother and father. I explained to them that she is far too large for her age, but I wanted to take her as my friend. I have some relatives who are not quite as large as she but they are 'stylish stouts'. She doesn't take care of her personal grooming at all. Her mother and father said they always scolded her about this condition. I said, 'Instead of scolding her, let's work together on it.’ The mother agreed—-'She'll work with you,’ she said. I told them she'll have to do personal grooming in the morning and she'll have to do it in the afternoon when she comes home from school, plus she will have to do it especially before she leaves home to come to my classes in the evening. The mother said that the other children were using the bathroom and it was hard for her-—the father added, 'We can't even stand her odor!!' I said she has to feel that she is part of the family and unless you get close to her, she will not know whom to turn to—-maybe this is the reason she calls on me. It can be just nothing much, but she'll say, 'Well, Mrs. X, how are you feeling today? I just called to let you know I was thinking about you.' She wants to feel like she is close to someone. So, I asked the parents what they wanted their children to remember about their family as they grew up. All children like to look up to their mother and father, but if the mother and father are going to scold them at all times, then they will look for 83 somebody else. So the father said, 'You know I hadn't thought about that, Mrs. X.‘ I told them, now, when she goes to the bathroom and takes care of herself, and when she comes out, give her praise. This will let her know that you have given her a little praise instead of criticizing her. I suggested having the girl use something that was right there in the cabinet. I don't want any deodorant--I don't want anything perfumed to mix with this extra odor. This is the way that we'll work it. I knew she was going to a certain school and I contacted the nurse. She was more than happy to know that I was working on the problem. Then I sent for the mother to come to school. I said, 'Let's set up a plan by which we can really work with your daughter. Have the smaller children get all their clothes laid out the night before. This will take them out of the bathroom in the morning.‘ I told her that when I get up and go to the bathroom in the morning and get through with my personal grooming, I would call to see if my friend has finished with hers. For two months I have been doing this and it has improved-—I am so happy about it. I asked the father,'You help her too.‘ You see she feels like nobody cares and this is her weapon. Just like if a girl would go out and do things that she knows she has no business to do but does it because this is how she fights back. Case Study #12 About once a week I take a child home with me for lunch. This is some child that I think could profit by this. There is one little boy who never goes home at noon, so I asked him if he would like to come home with me. (He had been cleaning the snow off my car). I brought him home for lunch and my husband happened to be home that day so they played a game of pool. I gave him an apple when he went back and he was as happy as can be. I asked if he would come home again with me some day and he said, 'Yes!' He got in the car and he said, 'I just might come home again with you tonight!' He was quite a sullen child and would never answer you or talk to you too much. The other morning he became very angry at breakfast and pouted, so I asked him what was the matter and he would not say anything. So, I took him into another room and said, 'Now you know you and I are friends and I want 8M you to tell me what is the matter.’ So, then, he told me he was mad because he was in the middle (of the chairs) and that a girl would not move and let him out. Before he went home for lunch with me, he would no more have told me what was the matter than anything. I have just done this on my own, in fact I don't know if the principal knows about it, but I call the mother and ask is it alright if a child comes home with me. Clothing In Flint, the PTA conducts an annual clothing drive for Goodwill Industries. In return, the schools are allowed to send needy people with a clothing order to the Goodwill store. Home school counselors often find that some of the families they visit are desperate for clothing. Children are sometimes kept home from school because they do not have suitable clothing. On occasion, it may be a poorly clad preschooler or a father seeking work with no decent clothes to wear to apply for a job. The counselor might, in these cases, either take or send the individual or family to the clothing center. Case Study #13 We had a little girl, a very attractive little girl, but she was a very belligerent child. It seems that she felt bad because the other children, in this particular group she was with, dressed so much better than she did. So, we had a little clothing drive at school and had some things that would fit her. I gave them to her very quietly. No one else knew that she got them--none of the other children. I encouraged her to smile because she had pretty dimples and to brush and fix her hair, because her hair was pretty, in a becoming style for a sixth grade girl. Since that time, anytime I see her, she's always well scrubbed and her hair well brushed. Her over-all appearance and attitude seem to be a little better. ,_ 65 There are a lot that you would like to help personally, and you don't think that anyone else will help them, but you usually spot these cases and refer them to the service they need. little boy to the dentist for an emerge pointment. The mother didn't have a car--it as a 'one parent' home--and there was an older child in school and a grandchild at home. So, I picked up the mother and took the older child home to stay with the grandchild. We were at the dentist's a couple of hours and on our way home I found out, just talking to the mother, why this older child had missed a lot of school. Many times he didn't have clothing to come to school. In talking to one of the teachers, this particular child's homeroom teacher, he had clothing that he thought would fit this boy. So, he came to school the next day and brought in five pair of pants, a sport's coat, a rain coat, and some shirts for him. The boy is a pretty good sized boy. I called the mother to find out whether or not they would accept this clothing. She was very glad to get it. At first, we said we would not tell this boy where it came from. We took him and let him try on one thing. If that fit, then, all the rest of the clothing would. Then, we decided that maybe I should tell him where the clothing came from--I did, and he was very pleased. Referrals A good counselor has at her fingertips many avail- able resources. She is able to give "her family" a source of help. In many cases making the contact herself. Coun- selors, on advice and recommendation of the principal, make referrals to the Mott Children's Health Center, the Mott Children's Dental Clinic, and the Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Legal Aid, Planned Parenthood, ADC, Catholic Social Service, Old Newsboys, Flint Social Service Bureau and other community agencies. Case Study #15 We make a lot of referrals--medical, dental, and clothing. We make referrals to Legal Aid. Sometimes, people call for help. Like this one woman who has an alcoholic husband. We called the police counselor—- because the husband beats her, keeps the children out late at night, and the gas gets turned off every now and then. There is no food in the house, but the lady won't leave the husband. So, there is really nothing you can do for her. You can refer her, but there is no agency that can help her as long as the husband is in the home. She's the kind of a person that would work, if we could find her a job and then get her there. You get discouraged when people are in these horrible messes. We refer people to the Big Brothers and Big Sisters too. Sometimes we have trouble with the parents about the Big Brother or Big Sister Programs, but when we talk to them we get them to understand it and they want their children in them. Case Study #16 I make many calls to homes, especially, when I know a new family has moved in the neighborhood. We have many parents who come to school for the first time to enroll their children in September. I remember, last year, Mrs. X came up to school and I had been to her house the week before. She was on ADC and needed help to get glasses for her little boy. He had broken his glasses and his mother didn't know what to do. I happened to be in the hall talking to some other parents when she asked me to help. She said she didn't know the principal or anyone at school but me, and would I, please, help her get the glasses. I called the Lions' Club and within a few days her boy had his glasses. This lady has been thankful and appreci- ative to me everytime I have seen her since. Case Study #IZ I think my prime experience is the one with the family with fourteen children. Her mother came up from Arkansas and she had seven children. She lived across the street. During Christmas, the grandmother who was living with the son (and where things didn't work out) moved into the home with the family of fourteen. So, that made twenty-one children and three adults in a seven room house with one bathroom. 87 Right away we started to notice problems at school~~the children were irritable, just so many problems. They got into fights, they did not feel good, their stomachs hurt. The grandmother, who had come from Arkansas, had seven children and they had four different last names. Most of these children were illegitimate and they had taken the name of their father--which was wrong--they should have had her name. This is how it started out. I took her to the Legal Aid Society to get this straightened out-- the name situation. In the meantime, she had moved in with her daughter and then I really had a problem! I mentioned it to the man at Legal Aid. He asked her how she got up here. She said her son—in-law came to get her and she had no means of support. He said, 'Did you know that your son—in-law could really get into trouble bringing you up here across the state line with your not having any means of support?’ She said she didn't want him to get into trouble. 'Have you ever thought about going back?' he asked. She said she would decide and let him know. This is really the thing we wanted her to do but she made her own decision, after he talked to her. She decided to go back to Arkansas but she had no way to get there. So, I took her to the Welfare Department and explained all this to them. They arranged for bus transportation back to Arkansas. Now everytime I see her daughter, I say, 'How is your mother?‘ She says, 'Oh, just fine and she says to tell you, hello.' Really, I got her to go back, but she holds no animosity toward me. Case Study #18 We had one family that had moved out of the area, but we had helped the mother in the past and, so, the day before Thanksgiving she called and told us there was no food in the home (She had recently been cut off from ADC-—she has ten children). So, we went about doing what we could to get food to her that night and we were successful in getting groceries to her. We called on two or three of the churches, and one or two charitable organizations because it was past the hour where we could even get an emergency order from the Welfare Department. I called my own church and I called another missionary society on the South side. These presidents immediately made one or two calls and, as a result, we were able to furnish the family. 88 Some gave money and I suggested that we buy the groceries. So, we sent two of the ladies, from the missionary society, and the money to the grocery store. I always try to be very careful when we give money to a family to be very sure that the money will go the way we give it. If there is a family where I think there is the slightest question that the children will not benefit from it, then it is given in whatever form is needed most. Adult Education Most community counselors help the Community School Director set-up adult education classes. Flint has the largest Adult Education Program in the country. It is unique in that classes are offered, not only in the high schools, but in every school in the city. The counselor is in a good position to feel the pulse of her community and to know which classes or activities are needed and/or desired by the people. Counselors usually assist with the supervision and arrangements for the classes that meet during the day, and in, at least, one school the counselor works on the evening classes. Case Study #lg I don't have to come back at night, but I come back to every night class that we have. I have done this for two years, and I'm not tired of this. I'm very happy. I have people coming from other neighbor— hoods. They say they just feel at home and this is how I want them to feel. Because, in previous years, we haven't had too good adult education classes, so, now, we are pulling them in from other neighborhoods. I always have a cup of coffee and a cookie or a doughnut, or something, and we just have a wonderful time. Homemaking Perhaps, one of the biggest jobs of the community 89 counselor is helping mothers to become better homemakers. Counselors go right into the home and show the mother how to paper a wall, brighten the house with accessories, or just plain "clean it up". Some counselors have the mothers come to school to cook, do the laundry, sew, or anything else she does not have good facilities for at home. Budgets and money managing are also helps offered by the counselor. Case Study #20 One young woman in our area had two children out of wedlock. I encouraged her to go back to night school to finish her high school education. She did and became a secretary for the Board of Education and does very good work. I always encourage people to keep on with their education even though maybe it seemed a little rugged. Case Study #21 I worked with one mother who had a boy in our special room. She never came to school but I was doing lunch room duty at that time. Her boy would get into quite a bit of trouble. I began to call him 'my baby'--he would almost sit in my lap when he would get in trouble—-he would run to me! Then, I found out that his father was dying and, after he died, I felt the mother must need something, so, I asked the boy, 'Why don't you bring your mother to school sometime?‘ He said, 'She won't come.' I went to talk to her at her house. I got her to take a Charm class, and, you know, she is enjoying this Charm class. She says all of her friends are asking, 'I want to see this Mrs. X. I'd like to see anybody that could get you off the front porch.‘ They said that she was just that sheltered. She would not go downtown or anything, and I had her in our Charm class. I also got her in our Bishop Sewing class and she felt very close to me. After this, she was having trouble about her home. She said she didn't have any money and that she just had to talk to somebody about it. So, I took her to ) l O \ Legal Aid and they gave the advice she needed. The boy went on to Junior High School and when he was having a very hard time, she told the coun- selor, 'Well, I don't know, Mrs. X never had any trouble with him. I am going back to talk to her.' She called me up and I went to her home and we had many talks about the boy. I had him come down to school and I talked to him and I told him the things that he would have to accept. He was getting to be a big boy; he was away from elementary school now, and he could not sit on my lap. He would have to make out there. He came in to see me a week before last and he said he was coming along good. Case Study #12 We started a secretarial training course and we offered it through the churches. We sent a letter to twenty-eight churches letting them know what we were doing and invited the ministers in. Out of the twenty-eight, fourteen did come and out of these fourteen ministers we ended up with 115 students. The course was free, but, theoretically, they were to give the service back to the church. We felt that if the minister recommended the students that he sent to us, ie would know who in his con— gregation would cooperate. He would be able to receive dependable service from them afterwards. It actually took twenty weeks for this training course and they learned all phases of office work. We even found out that many of them needed grooming, and so we added that to the course. We tried to give them a 'package deal'. They got a little bit of all of it. We gave them work on machines and most of them were interested in taking more typing or learning to mimeograph. Case Study #23 In this particular family we found that the mother was very ill. They were heating with a regular gas stove, with the oven. Also, the insulation was gone. She had a severe case of asthma and a heart condition. Because of this, one child in the family had to stay home with her one day a week-—this is what brought it to our attention to begin with. When I first went into this home the mother could hardly talk above a whisper; the house was in a deplorable condition, they had no toilet and they hadn't had one for a year; there were roaches running all over the place-—really giant sized ones—~there were no curtains and the wallpaper was just filthy! 91 So, we collected odd lots of wall paper from ieighborhood merchants, and I took a group of my friends and we papered and painted the woodwork. We saw that they got a new stove. We contacted their church and the parishioners built a chimney. A friend gave us a toilet stool and we got a plumber to install this. The mother did get better and the children were able to come to school regularly. We got the high school boy a job after school—-even then, he was going to drop out of school for financial reasons, so we worked with the counselor at the high school and we did get this young man graduated. He, eventually, went into the service. The family had paid a small fortune for the house they lived in and it was Sitting right on the ground, and the walls would be wet about three feet off the ground in the Spring. But, here again, housing is not available. The father was going into receivership. They didn't know where to go or what to do. But, with the help of Family Service, the church, friends, and the plumber, and the whole group working together, they really got this family up and going and on its way. Case Study #gh I have an ADC mother getting $218.00 a month and she pays $65.00 a month rent on her house, and $20.00 a month on her refrigerator. She has two telephones. This woman had lived this way at home, when she was growing up, but her husband has left her and she can't afford to live this way anymore. She has headaches and asthma, and she is sick a great deal. I helped her make out a budget. I told her she really should get rid of that refrigerator and buy a second—hand one but, she wanted it so bad, she made a way to keep the refrigerator. We worked out a budget for her food and I went to her landlord and talked to him so that she could pay her back rent a little bit at a time and not lose her home. I worked hard with this lady from October to January. She's still on the same budget getting along as well as she can. I'm sure she could not have figured this out for herself. She just couldn't have done it alone. Case Study #25 This mother was very good about coming in and helping me. This one morning she came in and said, 'You are always telling me to help myself-—do what I can for myself. I have ten dollars--(there were nine children plus the mother and father in the 92 family)--this is all I have to last until next week when my husband gets paid. He drew $29.00 this week and he had two bills that he had to pay-—one was $10.00 and one was $9.00.‘ I thought, 'My goodness you can't do anything with $I0.00,' but I wrote recipes and menus and finally I had something that I thought I could give to her. I took her to the store-—I did not send her. We bought the groceries and the bill came to $lO.AO. They had boiled dinner with pigs' feet, and beef neck bones. They had a casserole with noodles and we had chicken backs with macaroni. These are starch dinners, but you are getting some protein. We bought cabbage for salads and, of course, cabbage in the New England boiled dinner. For Sunday dinner, they had meatloaf and string beans; I gave her the string beans. We bought toilet tissue and we bought soap. She could hold her head up in the community; she did not have to borrow from her neighbors. She did not have to go to a church and ask for an offering which she had always had to do before. She could hold her head up; She had three meals a day. Her children, all of them, but two, were on the breakfast program and this helped but, She was able to provide three meals a day for her children and no one knew the circumstances. We hoped that her husband would have a better check the next week and he did. Just Friendly Visits Home school counselors make many home visits just to see how a family is getting along. The counselor calls on a family, in the same way one neighbor might drop in on another. She listens to the parents, appreciates their good fortune, and sympathizes with their difficulties. She may, in addition, be able to offer assistance in the form of advice or referral to the appropriate agency. Case Study #26 There was another new family that moved in and I went to see them. They said they were getting along fine but, when I got talking to them, I discovered ’2 9a that they didn't have any jobs. They had paid a week's rent, they had no food, and no clothing. I visit all the new families that move into the area but, in this case, the father was so proud. When I kept questioning him about his job, he finally said he didn't have one. He said, 'My wife works, she's on call.' After I talked to him a little longer, I discovered that the wife only worked about one day a week. So, I asked him how he was set for food, and he said, 'We just don't have any. The children don't have any clothes. That's why we don't send them to school.‘ So, I told him I would see what I could do. I went to the Seventh Day Adventist Church and they gave the food. Then, I came back to see our community director and he got them enough clothes to last the whole year. He also got a job for the father and the father is now working. So, this family is all set up. I think what's important is that they had come from another city and they didn't know what to do. They didn't know the school would help them. All they knew was that they didn't want to go on the Welfare. The father said to me, 'Asking the school is different. It's not like asking an agency--this is more like you have friends that want to help you.' So, I feel that if we can take a family like this and get it started, then they can take it from there. I think this is what they want. They just want a start. They don't want to be carried along. Case Study #23 I had a woman here this week whose daughter is disturbed. Her father doesn't sympathize with her; he doesn't seem to realize that She is disturbed. What the mother wanted me to say was that she should leave her husband. She wanted me to say this-—I know it. Perhaps, I thought if he were my husband I would leave him, but I did not say this to her. I listened to her side of the story and I let her talk and, after She talked to me, She decided within herself what She would do. Of course, all I said was, 'This is a decision that you have to make. You have to weigh the pros and cons and you have to decide what to do.‘ This was all that I said to her, because after all this is out of my field. Case Study #28 People have so much on their minds. It takes a lot of time to work along with them. I am more than 94 happy that they feel close to me, because I realize that you have to have some person that you can talk to. It must be someone who after she knows your problems won't broadcast them! I have gone to homes and told parents how well their children were doing. This way I have gone in on a positive basis and not on a negative one. Maybe, sometime, I'll have to go on a negative one, but I think it is good for them to know, also, that their children are doing well. Case Study #30 They like you to call them by their first names. If they refer to themself as 'Mary', then I call them by 'Mary'—-whatever they like me to call them. Lots of times, when we go out about one problem, they seem to unburden themself with all kinds of problems. One of the important things is money! They need help with financial problems and some idea of how to handle their money. They talk to you about their marital problems and about birth control. In things like this, rather than give them any specific advice, we try to refer them to agencies that can help them. Case Study #31 Then, I was thinking of another family where the mother, I think, had really looked forward to my coming. Even though the house was in extreme clutter-~it was the worse place I had ever been in. Just living in such clutter probably would be discouraging to a person. She would brush off a chair for me to sit on and sweep the floor a little when she saw me coming up the walk. I just encouraged her to keep her childrens' clothes clean, and keep them in school, and get them there on time. She never took offense at my encourage- ment of this and really seemed to appreciate having someone to call on her. Case Study #32 Now I was thinking of another, well I can think of several situations—-once I visited a lady and 95 She wept when I was there that day. She said she thought She had her family all in school, and she was ready to go out and get a job but now She was pregnant again. It was kind of a low day for her. So, it was a matter of my kind of encouraging her, that, after all, she probably would be able to enjoy this child. It would be like a new family experience. It was just a matter of encouraging her that day. When a new family moves in, I call on them and I tell them I'm the community counselor at their school. I want to acquaint them with school activities. I go in with a, 'HI', and not a, 'HELLO', that is stiff! The first thing that they say to me is, 'Come in, but excuse this dirt, and excuse this dirty place, and can you find a place to sit down?' I usually tell them, if they can find a place to Sit, so can I--and just go in and sit down and just hope I am Sitting in the right place. I want them to feel that I'm just another person like they are. I don't have to carry the conversation really, they just go on and start talking. Case Study#34 I remember visiting a home where the mother had left home and left four children there for the father to care for. He had asked for help because the children needed shoes. I visited this home and while visiting I found out that they not only needed shoes they needed clothing, too. I was also a listener because this father was talking about things that his wife had done. He had me sitting there for an hour or so listening to his problems about his wife and the people across the street. He knew they were prostitutes and his wife was over there. These are the type of things you listen to. But, you just listen. I visited another home where the situation was almost the same. This man's wife had left him. He hated everybody in the neighborhood but he hadn't moved out of the neighborhood. He wanted the school to see that other children stopped fighting with his children. I don't know if I helped him this way, but these are the things you visit homes for. You go for one thing, and you listen to something else. 96 Principals' Evaluation of the Program Naturally, the home school counselor feels that she is doing important work and, while her evaluation of the program is invaluable, it is also important to see how the home school counselor's role is seen by other related agencies. Principals in taped interviews were asked about the home school counselor. How does she help you was the first question. Their answers appear below in their own words: The most important part of the work of a coun- selor is that of a liaison person between parents and teachers involving problems that will be, if solved, helpful to children. She also works with staff members to make a smoother operation. The home school counselor interprets the community school philosophy to the family. She works with community agencies for the good of the family. She works very closely with the community school director as another member of the team, helping with groups that are being formed because of a particular interest on the part of people in the community. I think the counselors help in many ways. One of the most important functions they have is to work on attendance; to make sure that the children get here everyday and on time. We're constantly working on better attitudes of children and adults. I think the greater interest in the school, the more likely the child will come regularly and on time. The home school counselor works on improving the relationship between the home and school. This is good because this is more of a preventive type of thing--that we have a good relationship before problems arise. We try to get more parent participa- tion in school programs and a higher standard of living in the community, as well as renewed hope and courage for some overburdened, discouraged mothers. Improving the sense of values, as shown in the care of property and belongings, is also important, as well as developing greater pride in self, home, school, and community. 97 She is never too busy to assist the teacher in any small, minor problem--such as helping a child get home, or to fix a cut or bruise. All the teachers send their children to Mrs. X, (the community counselor), in the area of health, because we only have a nurse half day a week. * * -X- -X- -X- I feel that she does a great job! Particularly in the area of working with children in trouble-- and this does include the unclean child, the one who has mental or physical hurts. Sort of a term that I use there, which covers a lot of things—— the one who needs clothes, to replace his worn out things, which certainly help the children maintain good personal relations. This, again, is a matter of counseling, primarily. 'Whidg otherwise, normally takes a great deal of time with which I'm personally concerned as principal. She has served well as an effective liaison person with parents. Teachers have relied on her a great deal in this respect. By the fact that they may go to her and say that, 'Johnny or Susie needs something to help do a better job in the classroom'—- this is a cue for Mrs. X, (the counselor), to go ahead and make home contacts. Also, I felt a real help, by the fact that she served well by helping with the evening adult activities. In our school we'd had something in the past that would appeal to the older boys on the street that were in trouble, therefore, they were attracted to this community center. This kept the parents from coming because they were a little bit timid, fearful of these young men who were really tough. So, actually, Mrs. X, our community counselor, has done a great deal to break this down. -X- * * ‘X- -X- Mrs. X has been here four years and in these four years our health guarded percentage has gone from 18% ”/Lg.__.___ to just under 50%- * * 96 9(- * I think the most important area for the home school counselor is work with familieS--when children have problems--particularly in the areas of school behavior, attendance, tardiness, health, cleanliness, and attitude. I think another important aspect is that they call on new families in the community, especially on the families 98 of all kindergarten children who enroll. At these times, the first contact is certainly a very pleasant one. At this time, they welcome the child and the family to the school, and invite them to participate in the school activities. A counselor is able to contact existing community agencies where this is indicated, or special help is needed. She can be most helpful to the teachers by supporting the teacher, by listening to the prob- lems that the teacher is having with a particular child or family, and then, through her calls, being able to do something about these problems. She helps the teachers by going on field trips. She frequently helps post cumulative records, arranges for children's physicals, makes Old Newsboys calls, and works on appropriate school or school related projects as they are assigned. In schools where there is a breakfast program, the counselor is helpful in this area. * -X- -X- -X- * The biggest help I seem to gain from this counselor is in the area of health. We have so many people coming in--number one being those who are not familiar with their birth records. The records have been sent from the South. Many of them have babies in the families and have never bothered to pick up their birth certif- icatesfrom the Health Department downtown. Consequently, records can go afoul and when many of them are moving in and about our school area, the confusion just mounts up. So, our counselor will fill this role by getting next to the family, so to speak, and locate these records for them—-to the point of going downtown and picking them up at the Health Department. She has been able to stimulate the families to the point that, when she arrived here our health guarded were 7%, after three years, as of last year, our health guarded had risen to 39%. This means that this counselor not only worked with the parents, but arranged for the many dental and physical examinations that had to be given, arranged transportation, and took the families to and from their appointments. This is what it takes to develop the health program. * -X- -X- -X- 3(- She works on attendance and puts on more 'band— aids' than Hurley Hospital. Health is her main task, but she also works on attendance with our attendance officer. She works with the child protective services. She works with all the community agencies that have a bearing on some of the problems that we have at this school. 99 She always has a pot of coffee on for people coming to visit the building. Here, again, I personally regard this as something of a good deal of importance. Otherwise, it would have to be done by me or someone else. She acts as a hostess for the day time adult activities classes. She seems to make the surroundings fitting for them to come in, whether this be sewing, or cake decorating, or what it might be. She does this ably. She has organized and capably maintained the adult section of the pre-school story hour program. She has the talent to be able to talk to adults and get them involved in programsfrom which they really can benefit. There are other things that are done by the counselor, i.e., the health program, special school events, meetings of homeroom mothers, etc. These things that I've reviewed here are the constant things I deem as concrete kinds of help that the community counselor has provided. The writer next asked, "What are the main qualities in community counselors that determine success?" Mrs. X has a wonderful personality--you can hear her laughing right now. This is the way she operates all day. She operates from the heart. She builds wonderful rapport and, yet, she can lay down the law to a family if something needs straightening out. She is more effective in that than I am, because they don't get mad at her. They know that sometimes they are going to want something from Old Newsboys or they are going to want something from Goodwill, etc. She's not a threat, but they know what she's talking about. * -X- * * 'X- We spoke a minute ago about educational require— ments and mentioned that the people we have are high school graduates and we did say something about the type of personality they have. I suspect the requirements we listed on the job description answer this pretty much. Where we say that the requirements are these: that they be high school graduates with practical experience in working with adults and children; that they have a warm, friendly and out— going personality and maturity where needed, and some background in sociology, psychology, family living and child growth and development is helpful. I think, this sums up some of the scattered statements that we have made. -X- -X- -X- * * 100 The ability to establish a good rapport with the principal, the staff and the community. The ability to use tact, patience and be sincere. They must have good health, a sense of humor, and a genuine liking and feeling for people. They certainly must be able to work with people regardless of race, color, creed or circumstance, and have the initiative to work on their own. They must work with the team and get support from one another, but when they get into a particular situation (working with a family where they don't always have direct supervision) they must be able to function independently. -X- * -X- * * They must have the right personality and, above all, a loyalty to the school. This is an assignment where many things are told to the counselor in con- fidence. She must be a person who can relate to people. I think the person must be adaptable. I think they must be very flexible. I think they must be sympathetic, and have a keen insight in the problems of others. They have to be tactful. They have to have the ability to work with people, not only with the people in the community, but agencies. I think there's a time when you have to be a little aggressive and start promoting things——but there are other times when you have to pull away and say, 'I have done enough, now you have got to walk alone,'--so that the families don't become too dependent upon them. I think she needs some aptitude for social work. Here,again, this could just be the ability to be perceptive of other people's feelings and their needs. I think the ability to recognize problems and the nature of them is quite important. * -)(- * 9(- 9(- I think the thing to begin with is to look for a person with good motherly understanding of the needs of children. I think a person, who probably has children herself, and who has had a few years of experience in terms of life and living. Because, she has, perhaps, seen her own children grow and, based on some of these experiences, can relate very well with other children. I'm sure the quality of friend- liness, cooperativeness and humbleness is necessary, and certainly the willingness to work. * * * * -X- It would be the ability to relate to people. They 101 are not phony. They are sincere and honest. All these things are probably built into being able to relate to people. With all the training in the world, they are of no value if they cannot get their ideas across to the people with whom they are working. * * * * * Observations on the Program by Personnel f Community Agencies Representatives of other community agencies1 were contacted and asked about the nature and scope of their work. (See Appendix page 126 for interview sheet used during personal interview with each.) Some of their ideas on the ways in which they feel the home school counselor and their agencies can work together are detailed below. They also had some conclusions and recommendations which will be discussed in Chapter VII. Quite often we check with the community counselor to find out if the school is having a program where the children can get physical examinations or things of this kind. Sometimes, when we feel that someone other than the case worker might be able to go into the home and talk to this mother about personal cleanliness of the children, or homemaking problems, we'll call upon anyone that we think this mother will talk to, in an effort to get someone in there to help out. * * -X- 'X- -X- We feel that if we can help in any way, we are iappy too. Again, if they can help us, then we like to call on them to see if there is anything the two of us can do by working together. For instance, maybe two people, going in and out of a home, can stimulate a mother for health action, or for keeping the child on a regular basis. -X- * * -X- * lAgencies surveyed: Flint Bureau of Social Aid, Flint Child Protective Service, County and Welfare Departments. 102 We can tell the home school counselor what the financial situation is in the home and that maybe the mother is doing the best she can with what she has. The visiting teachers, who also make many home contacts were asked how they viewed the effectiveness of the home school counselor. They stated: I think that the visiting teacher has best results with children at the elementary age from middle class homes. The reason for success in this particular category would be because parents are motivated toward the best interest of the child, and teachers can understand this type of child best because of their own background. More difficulty is experienced at the lower socio-economic schools, because the teachers can't really feel what these kinds are going through. You don't have enough support or understanding on the part of the teachers-—the home school counselor seems to be able to reach these families. * * * * *- I worked with home school counselors and I found them helpful because a visiting teacher (they are in short supply) could use a community counselor for filling in and coordinating the plans that you might have for a family because you are not there all the time. A visiting teacher has to handle four or five schools-—where a home school counselor handles perhaps one. * * * -X- 9(- I think there are certain areas where immediacy and doing things on the spot are necessary. Rather than waiting around for two or three days, a principal needs a community counselor who is on call and is assigned to one school for an eight, nine or ten hour period a day, so a lot of these problems can be taken care of quickly. I don't think a principal can wait around until a visiting teacher gets there. * * -X- -X- -X- If somebody really sat down and figured out ways in which visiting teachers and community counselors could work together, there would be a million of them! * 'X- * 9(- * CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION AHD AREAS FOR FURTHER STUDY Although the differences among culturally dis- advantaged children tend to invalidate sterotypes, we have found that certain characteristics are frequent enough to trouble the schools. Generally, these schools have higher than normal rates of scholastic failure, truancy, disci- plinary problems, pupil transiency, teacher turn over, poor health, inadequate motivation, malnutrition, lack of personal cleanlin-ss, absence of basic learning skills—— all are found to a greater extent among children in depressed urban areas than among students in other parts of the city or in the suburbs. Somehow, someone must penetrate the home world of the child and begin to work more extensively and more intensively with the social, economic, and psychological problems of the family. It has been pointed out that teachers and adminis- trators in inner-city areas are already burdened with problems common to the area. Visiting teachers, social workers, and other professional personnel are in short supply. The use of a lay person to serve as home school counselor to reach these families seemed to be a logical solution. With this in mind the writer has: 103 lCi l. Pearirvw-d jlifwrrajnirer iri tire fkielxi EUld :fOLnid 7‘xo Pwrwv sckeel CTJUISGLOT Inwnrrams. Although there is much literature describing the need to bridge the gap between the school and the home of .. - . l v . . 1e disadvantages, and even the suggestion that lay people . . . . . d . be utilized in this capaCity, there are no programs of this nature described in literature on the subject. 2. Surve":i the larger cities in Michigan (M0,0CO or over) and discovered no existing home school counselor rr‘"rans. A survey of all the cities in Michigan with a population of LC,C£C or more (excluding Detroit) reveals that no school system has, at this time, a home school counselor program. Many cities, however, evideice an interest in establishing on . 3. Proved that home school counselors provide a service that has net bewn rendered heretofore. The surveys revealed that many of the tasks of a home school counselor go undone in some school systems, while in others they are carried out on a hit and miss basis by various professional staff members. In no instance was the home school contact being made in the "friendly neighbor" manner of the home school counselor program as practiced in Flint. l . . Reismann, loc. oi . 2Laurie, loc. cit. 4. iried to show that this 's a service needed by sih'r~s. Literature indicates the need of the school for help in 1ea31I" the deprived. Surveys indicate that dministratars feel the need and the trying conditions under which inner-city teachers teach--they, too, welcome assistance. The tone school counselor program has pioneered many ideas, but he writer and many of the people with whom he has had contact feel that there are still areas for further study. Some of these are: l. ln-Swrvise training for home school counselors. This is an area suggested by several of the home school counselors. They felt the need for some type of special training to prepare them for their jobs. Perhaps, it would include background information on available community agencies and how to make referrals, some guidance and counseling techniques, and human relations work. 2. Formal prjparation for home school counselors. The success of the home school counselor has been due in part to the fact that the parents and children of disadvantaged homes have felt that the home school counselor is a friend and not an "arm" of some impersonal agency. With too much formal training, perhaps, a home school counselor would lose this advantage. On the other hand, there may be necessary skills and philosophy that only formal preparation can provide. 106 3. The use gfprofessionally trained personnel gg home school counselors. A highly dedicated professional person might be an effective home school counselor. The education she has received would give her an understanding of the underlying situations causing family problems. A sociological back- ground would provide her with the skills and techniques to deal with these problems. A professionally trained person might command more respect as a staff member, a community resource person, and a liaison between the school and community. 4. Closer working relationship with community agencies. At this point the working relationship with community agencies varies with each home school counselor. Some are very adept at utilizing all resources while othersare not as good at it. Perhaps, there should be more knowledge on the part of the community agencies of the role and responsibility of the home school counselor. 5. Improvement 2E communication between home school counselors, principals, and teachers. While, in many instances, this is a matter of the personality of the individual home school counselor, there 107 are several points to be considered: A. The staff should know the duties of the home school counselor and be encouraged to utilize them fully. B. The counselor should be accepted and treated as a member of the school staff. C. Teachers, principal, and the home school counselor should compare notes on cases to assist each other. 6. Whether the counselor's work should be structured more than l£.l§._E present. At the present time each home school counselor sets up her own program upon the direction of the principal. Each program is "tailor made" to the school area and to the abilities and skills of the home school counselor. At the same time, perhaps the home school counselor would be even more effective if there were some guide lines to follow. It might make interaction with other home school counselors, community directors, community agencies, and other school personnel easier. 7. Ways 9f correlating work of home school counselors with other school personnel who visit homes. As one visiting teacher said, "If anyone sat down 108 to figure out the ways the home school counselor and the visiting teacher could work together, there'd be a million of them."1 In fact, all of the other personnel having con- tact with the home indicated there were many areas in which they could use an "assist” from the home school counselor. These are only areas for study. They are not necessarily recommendations. For example, it may be that formal training and/or a more structured job situation would actually decrease the effectiveness of a counselor. On the other hand, it has never been tried and seems to warrant investigation. At the present time, home school counselors have diversified backgrounds and training. They ”lead” from their strength, be it home-making, nursing, or counseling. In order, as Dr. Campbell so aptly put it: To help these pe0ple relate themselves more effectively to their children, to the school and to the larger community--we need to open the doors that have been closed to many, listen to tales of woe, set people straight in their beliefs, instill hope into the minds and hearts of dejected mothers, fathers and children.2 To state the premise of this thesis, in short, the home school counselor, in the writer's Opinion, is an agent 1Excerpt from visiting teacher interview, Flint, May, 1966. 2Clyde Campbell, loc. cit. 1's 108a who can be utilized effectively by school systems in urban centers to bridge the gap between the home and the school by helping the people in particular kinds of communities, such as the culturally deprived, to relate more effectively to children, to the school and to the entire community. APPENDIX 109 , W56 DTIS'TR'ICS IN FilinfichTGAN. ' HOMEI‘S' rO'OL COUNSEIDRS SERVE IN. SHADED AREAS. ”4. H * a.m.. I ——"; P“ ‘ 7 L.__,' V 7 otter '7 L census mcrs- sum, was :_ __..—_‘_ -¢si‘_s§ but; I Janka? wens: \¢ , . 3’4 ‘ :...1h ”UH n 110 E. TARY SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN FLINT, MICHIGAN. HOME SCHOOL COUNSELORS SERVE IN SHADED AREAS. Martin Jefferson Roosevelt Dewey Parkland fairway Bzfield Potter Cook Dort flan 5t Dovle cm lll FLINT COMMUNITY SCHOOLS ATTENDANCE AREAS _ INDICATES [MARY MDMIES SEPTEMBER 1964 '-----' INDICATES 30TH SIMS W STREET INCLUMD IN AREAS — INDICATES JUNK”? HIGH BMDARIES . m7 7., , I — L , INDICATIS SENIOR HIGH , :‘ , f 4;;2;3b: p LOCATION OF PRIMARY UNITS "v”‘T L , :4 7 I" 'i , 7 7» V y I MAP OF CITY OF FLINT SHOWING LOCATION OF INNER CITY AREAS SERVED BY HOME SCHOOL COUNSELORS .n ll2 INTERVIEW I QUESTIONS ASKED SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS II. III. IN CITIES IN MICHIGAN WITH A POPULATION or OVER £0,000 Background A. Much being said about the school and the help it must provide culturally deprived homes, some people feel this is a necessary role of the school and others feel the school's main job is education and that the home is the area for social workers, etc. B. Hope to find out how you feel and what your school system is doing. Do you have a liaison person that makes contact from school to home? or yes no If so, does he serve? Elementary Jr. High Sr. Iiigh Who do you have that makes home visits? A. Visiting teacher Attendance officer Nurse Community Agents WUOW Teachers F. Principals G . Head Start teacher H. Others IV. E. 113 Visiting Teacher - \( 1. main Purpose . Preparation—~Training h) 3. Amount of home visiting done 4. Reports, referrals made to whom? 5. Ckxmnents Attendance Officer 1. Main Purpose 2. Preparation-~Training 3. Amount of home visiting done A. Reports, referrals made to whom? 5 . Comments 1. Main PUrpose 2. Preparation--Training LA) llb Amount of home visiting done Reports, referrals made to whom? Comments Community Agent 1. Main Purpose 2. Preparation—-Training 3. Amount of home visiting done A. Reports, referrals made to whom? 5. Comments Teachers 1. Main Purpose 2. Preparation--Training 3. Amount of home visiting done A. Reports, referrals made to whom? U7 Comments “11 115 _:-..‘.:. PrchI' IE1 In I'" C) F: k0 +4 T L 5. '1'1 C (O (D r: flea 4L:.-.- '-°.‘~. 2. Preparation--Trainin5 3. Amount of home visiting done 4. Reports, referrals made to whom? 4- CS C( mrn f,»\ on”... .. 1. KW Head Start Teachers 1. Rain Purpose 2. Preparation--Training 3. Amount of home visiting done A. Reports, referrals made to whom? '3 O-t >— 3. Comm ‘ts I Others (n me) 1. Iain Purpose 2. Preparation--Training LT\ 11. 3. Amount of home visiting done 4. Reports, referrals made to whom? &. Comments Do you 1.1-x 1e school should concern itself with the follow;n: problems? If so, how are they handled In youl system? A. Children who came to school hungry. or yes no B. Children with medical or dental problems. or yes no 1. Make appointments or yes no 2. See appointments are kept or yes no C. Help mothers become better homemakers by providing help, facilities at school. or yes no 1. Laundry 2. Food preparation 3. Budgeting 117 e a person to act as leader for groups who t at school. VI. Are there any areas in which you feel you do not have adequate hom contact. LA) O‘\ 11. 12. 13. IA. 118 INTERVIEW II KED SoP_nIFTEVDENTS OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS S I II MICHIGAN WITH A POPULATIC N or OVER Mo,oco Who, if anvone, in your school emf tem has ‘ ' " responsibilities? Irvestiga ate ch YW 1 “en on rolls who have not appeared at scnool (in 3 em mber). Obtain medical ar d dental appointments for indigent children and see that they are kept. Check on attendance and tardiness and emphasize the importavce of promptness, good attendance, adequate brea.f'ast and res Ge t Opar rental approval for physical examinations at so ‘ ol. Get parental approval for TB skin test and assist with clerical work on same. Make repeated calls to get physician statements for homebound students. Obtain clotHIi g or sIm oes for children needing them. Contact cowmunity agencies for assistance. Interpret school policies in regard to weapons, fighting, discipline, health and workbooks. Check rumors of families moving and try to obtain new addresses. Check on home conditions for teacher. Investigate home situations for charitable organizations. Help a mother better organize her housekeeping duties. Call on mother to discuss proper clothing for her eleven year old who was wearing her's too short and too tight. Listen to problems of parents and children. Call on family that has had a death and extend sympathy of school personnel and see if help is needed. IA «1 F} (1") I...’ \_) I‘) ("I ”1 C; R3 I“ U) R [\1 f. D) DJ \ l to C ) II9 F—1 ake home children who are ill when parents have no 'ar to come to school for them. i . A r‘ t Assist with weighing and measuring of children at school. Assist with vision testing. Talk to mother regarding a Big Brother for her son. Organize and meet with homeroom mothers' group. ct as guide for visitors who come to school. Women's Club on party. OI'fE:T a f CO .mily assistance after a fire. Make friendly calls on families who have had difficulties to see how things are. Call on new families in a community to welcome them and answer questions concerning school. “O Call on families with no children in school to invite them to adult activities at school. Prepare a small breakfast for a hungry child. Supervise the book fair during school hours. Devise bulletin on enrichment activities and send home to persons who might be interested. CITIES SEEKING ASSISTANCE WITH A "HOME VISITOR” PROGRAM UNDER TITLE I Albion Public Schools Algonac Community Schools Allen Park Public Schools U‘ Alpcna Public School‘ Ann Arbor Public Schools Ashley Public Schools Bad Axe Public Schools Bard River-~Harris Public Schools .4. ’ay City Public Schools w-N L .. ‘W Boar Lake Schools Bedford Public Schools Beecher Area Schools Benton Harbor Public Schools Berrien Springs Public Schools Brandon School District Carney Nadeau Public Schools Berkley School District Carson City--Crystal Area Schools Central Montcalm Schools Chelsea School District Detroit Public Schools Dundee Community Schools Eau Claire Public Schools Ecorse Public Schools ;_1 I0 I—’ Grand Ledge Public Schools Grand Rapids Public Schools Hamtramck Public Schools Hazel Park Public Schools Highland Park Schools Homer Commlnity Schools Newago Public Schools Oak Park School District m QChOOl D“ 122 INTERVIEW III QUESTIOUS ASKED REPRESENTATIVES OF MICHIGAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS APPLYING FOR A Lo O'MF- -VISITOR PROGRAM UNDER TITLE I trict If) Do you have a Home-School Visitor now? (yes or no) lion? Ira i:“y ? Do you have plans to begin a Home—School Visitor Program? (yes or no) When? (date) How are your Home-School Visitors assigned? To which schools? Size? Type? What are the qualifications required of your Home- School Visitors? Briefly, what are their duties? Do you have any material available on your program? (yes or no) }_ 1 D 3 k A) INTERVIEW IV ESTICNS LSKED HOME SCHOOL COUNSELORS I31 FL NT, MICHIGAN February 2A, 1966 Igirryr Curnlirgjianl Community Counselors DU I‘ l 2': L 8. If: Lone q,- ,. —‘—¢ :7 my interview with each of you, I will be .f questions, the answers to which, it is .4 A d, will help me to define the role of the community counselor. Listed below are some 0 GMT“ .sAo JAAAJ ‘ C [\3 (,K) On le Questions. Your school School census Type of community Other services given by school (e.g., visiting teacher) Some general information about yourself: Educational background Previous work experience How long a community counselor As part of the school staff, how do you feel you relate? Part of the team (principal, community school director, teaching staff, special services) or do you feel you "go it alone?" f ( ~ 11. 12. 12A how do you feel you are received by the community? The families with whom you work? Others? {hat specific assignments do you have? (breakfast program, pro-school story hour, c.) Do you think you do as an effective a job in (D d reaching families as: Public assistance workers, teachers, community school directors, public health nurses, others? Explain. Fhat dr vou feel are the most important areas of work for a community counselor? How do you feel your work a. Improves the family b. Helps school personnel c. Helgxs the (naild d. Ihclps tdwa conmnhiity What suggestions do you have for improving the program? What do you consider its strengths? Its weaknesses? Give examples of some of your experiences. m e: I) (“II ‘—/ INTERVIEW V [ESTI ICS ASKED PRIICIPALS WHO OSE SCHOOLS ARE SERVED ET A HOME SCHOOL COUNSELOR i_.J Interview Questiuns for Princ ipa how do tie co "munity counselors help you? Areas in which they are most effective. Ar as in wh'ch the” are least effective. Are there any areas in which you feel a community counselor has better results than a professionally train*v PIEVEY ., JOHN. "Home School Interaction in Relation to Le a1ninq in the Elementary School,H The School Dropout, Schreiber, D. (ed.) (Was him”T ton, D.C.: National Education Association, l9oh) NLRMAN, LAURIE. "Public Welfare Service and Family Life," h*7P1“” the Fami_y in Urban Socie_y» (New York: EILd Delli quadri, Columbia University Press, 1963). OLSEN, EDWARD G. The Modern Commur ity School. New York: Appleton-CentuIy-Croits, Inc., l9u3. PARSONS, THOMAS, and CAVE, WILLIAM. "Toward a Theory of Home, School and Community Interrelations." Unpublished paper, 1902. PAS SOW, A. H. (ed.) Education in Depressed Areas. N‘w York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1:203 RAINWATER, LEE. And the Poor Get Children. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, Inc., 1901. (U U) CL . 9 1. 1324 Research Council of Great Cities Program for School Improvement. Promising Practices from the Prcgects for tke Culturally Deprived. Chicago, lEUL. REISSM.N, FRANK. The Culturally Deprived Child. New York: Harper, 1902. REISSM.N, FRANK. Programs for the Educationally Disajvantaged. Washinzton, D.C.: U. S. Government Priziti ng Office, 1963. *,'~.\( " TYX 1' ‘.' I ' ' RCDLAR, nquN. ‘On Understand1ng Lower-Class BehaV1or," Secial ani Economics Studies (December, 1959), SEAY, M URICE F., and CRAWFORD, FERRIS N. The Com— run:tv Scbocl and Community Self-Improvement. Lansizg: Superintenuent of Public Instruction, iJLW- SE/TCE,PA1RICIA C. Education and Income: Inequalities Lf O; OJFIPH‘LJ in Our Public Schools. New York: \/J_ril_rlp1 I 1L%L)1_. SILLER, JERCME. "Socio-economic Status and Conceptual 1n1nkiir " Jourral Lf Abnormal 811d Social Psychology (howemer, 13 )(i ‘o.-J(l THAY .R, V. T. The Rcle th York: Load,1m Lf the Sc hm1)1 l2 American Society a a and Company, 19 THELEN, H. A. Llwcatwon and the Human Quest. New York: Harper, ljUC. TRACER, H. S., and YARROW, M. R. They Learn What They / 3 Live. New York: Harper, 13Le. TURNER, M. B. "All Community Resources Help to Supple— ment Too Small School Staff," School Management, Vol. XVIII (March, 13M9), M-5. U. S. Office of Education. Programs for the Educa: tionalLy Disadvantaged. Washington, D.C.: Govern- ment Printing Office, Document No. GS 5.235z35OAA, 1303. U. S. Office of Education and Office of Economic Oppor- tunity. Education. An Ans wer to Poverty. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Office of Eoucation, l9o5. WA ER, W. LLOYD, HAV EU ST, RCRERT J., and LOEB, MARTIN B. 1110 Sha Be Educated? New York: Harper, IQQM. 135 N G. (ed.) No Room at the Bottom. Washington, 9a. WATSO , D.C. National Education Association, 1963. 9?. WHITELAW, JOHN B. The School_and I,s Community. baltimore: The John Hopkins Press, 1951. "1 96. WHYTE, WILLIAM F. Indust McGraw-Hill Inc., 19L 3 and Society. New York: 0‘ 97. WILLIAHS, RCBIN W., and RYAN, MARGARET. Schools in Transition. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 195A. 93. WILSON, ALLEN B. "class Segregation and Aspirations of Youth," American Sociological Review (December, 1939): bib-6&3, 99. YEAGER, WILLIAM A. School-Communitx Relations. New York: The Dryden Press, 1951. ICC. YOUNG, CLARENCE, and QUINN, WILLIAM. Foundation for Livinfi. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc., l9o3.