Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School

2009 Community as an Intellectual Space Conference

Working Towards Social Emotional Learning

within the Context of Decolonization

Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School

• Founded in 1972 as a community response to over 70% drop out rates among Puerto Rican youth

• Our mission is to provide a quality educational experience needed to empower students to engage in critical thinking and social transformation, from the classroom to the Puerto Rican community, based on the philosophical foundation of self-determination, a methodology of self-actualization and an ethics of self-reliance

Demographics

• Approximately, 70% Puerto Rican, 15% Mexican, 5% Latin American, 8% African-American, and 4% white

• 85% of our students’ family income is at poverty level

• Most of our students reside in the Humboldt Park, Logan Square and Belmont Craign Communities and transfer from our neighboring public high schools

The Baggage They Bring

• Everyday our students come through our doors with an incredible amount of baggage…

• “You could say I’m not alone all you want, but you don’t come home with me and deal with what I deal with.”

• How can an educational experience outweigh the weight of the world?

Decolonization

• Colonialism translates to issues of self-hate, problems with misdirected anger, negative self-image and inferiority complexes, to name a few.

• The work of the Social Emotional Learning Team at is strengthened to the degree that we actively engage with our students in a process of decolonization to critically understanding their lived experience and be part of the change they want to live

SEL Team at PACHS

• The purpose of the SEL Team is to challenge students to think more critically about their experiences and move towards a level of critical consciousness intent on social transformation. We work to establish a practice that incorporates an understanding of colonialism and seek alternatives within scope of decolonization, humanization and restorative justice. Our goals exceed the Illinois State Standards for Social Emotional Learning and the objectives of the support services/programs. Our challenge is to constantly provide a space where our students’ basic needs are met, within the context of helping them develop a sense of self-discipline based on social responsibility.

Overview Psycho-social Theoretical Overview & Unity for Social

Analysis

• Troy Harden, LCSW, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Chicago State University

Lessons Learned from Support Groups this Year

• Dr. Ida Roldan, Clinical Social Worker Institute for Clinical Social Work and Children’s Place

Performance Improvement Plans

• Cynthia Brito, SEL Mentor

Student Perspective

• Jessie Fuentes, Graduate and NEIU Future Student

Relevance of study

• Social and emotional development for youth of color

• Community engagement

• Socio-political involvement

• Cultural identity

• Most literature on critical consciousness on conceptual level

Critical Consciousness

• A process of growth in a persons knowledge, analytical skills, emotional faculties, and capacity for action in political and social systems (Watts & Serrano-Garcia, 2003)

• Assists in the curricular objective of decolonizing the student’s mentality, aiding in formalized components of identity, cognitive development and action (DeJesus & Antrop-Gonzalez, 2006)

Liberation Psychology/Theology

• Liberation Psychology places an emphasis squarely on • the creation of just societies• strengthening self-determination• healing the effects of oppression

• Analyses of social power

• Common language of US psychology and social welfare is inadequate due to its lack of attention to history and social power

Language of criticism/possibilities

• Inner city• Low income• Underclass• Minority• Empowerment• Disadvantaged• Diversity • LD/BD/CD/ODD

• Hegemony

• Colonialism

• Critical consciousness

• Resistance

• Emancipatory action

• Reconciliation

• Internalized oppression

• Repression

• Structural violence

• Privilege

Data collection

• Culturally and critically-based socio-political theoretical model

• Evaluative study

• Team of Campos faculty, staff, students, and external researchers evaluate and assess existing programming as it relates to social and emotional learning in order to support Campos High School students

Unity for Social Analysis

• Weekly all-school assembly

• Discussion groups

• Youth-led 1x monthly (SLC)

• Space to discuss community problems, solutions

• “Community” defined here as geographical, cultural, school

FindingsThe personal becomes socio-political, and the socio-political, personal

• “I’ve been gentrified…the landlord sold our property, and we had to move, and we moved to Logan Square, and its gentrifying too…a white family moved in…I pass by it everyday and it says “world peace” in the windows”.

Analyzing gentrification

• Frustration, loss, confusion

• Spaced allowed to work through personal issues in a public space, with a socio-political context

Implications for practice

• Socio-political, community and cultural engagement can be significant component of SEL work and school environment and aid in emotional development• Personal experiences connected to collective

experiences• Strength-based approach to school/community

moves from pathologizing youth and their communities as “the problem”

• Socio-political engagement can support emotional and social well-being