How
it Works
The Comer Process provides a structure as well as a process for
mobilizing adults to support students' learning and overall development.
It is a different way of conceptualizing and working in schools and
replaces traditional school organization and management with an
operating system that works for schools and the students they serve.
The
following three structures comprise the basic framework on which the
Comer Process operating system is built:
- The
School Planning and Management Team
develops a comprehensive school plan, sets academic, social and
community relations goals and coordinates all school activities,
including staff development programs. The team creates critical
dialogue around teaching and learning and monitors progress to
identify needed adjustments to the school plan as well as
opportunities to support the plan. Members of the team include
administrators, teachers, support staff and parents.
- The
Student and Staff Support Team
promotes desirable social conditions and relationships. It connects
all of the school’s student services, facilitates the sharing of
information and advice, addresses individual student needs, accesses
resources outside the school and develops prevention programs.
Serving on this team are the principal and staff members with
expertise in child development and mental health, such as a
counselor, social worker, psychologist, or nurse.
This
framework places the students' developmental needs at the center of the
school's agenda and establishes shared responsibility. Concerned adults
work together to provide students with the developmental activities that
may be lacking outside the school. They also work together to make
effective decisions about the program and curriculum of the school based
on student needs.
Central to
their work are the following three school operations, which are
supervised by the School Planning and Management Team:
- Development
of the Comprehensive School Plan
including curriculum, instruction and assessment, as well as social
and academic climate goals based on a developmental understanding of
students
- Provision
of Staff Development
in the service of achieving the goals of the Comprehensive School
Plan
- Assessment
& Modification
that provides new information and identifies new opportunities based
on the data of the school’s population
An
Operating System
The Comer Process provides a structure as well as a process for
mobilizing adults to support students' learning and overall development.
It is a different way of conceptualizing and working in schools and
replaces traditional school organization and management with an
operating system that works for schools and the students they serve.
Like the
operating system of a computer that allows the software to do its
specialized work, the Comer Process provides the organizational,
management and communication framework for planning and managing all the
activities of the school based on the developmental needs of its
students. When fully implemented, the process brings a highly positive
school climate, a stability and an instructional focus that supports all
of the school's curriculum and renewal efforts.
In its
second generation, the Comer Process has evolved into a systemic reform
program as well as a school reform program. While still bringing change
to one school at a time, the program has been expanded to the district
level. This new systemic focus is based on experience that shows the
process works best when the "community" of support for each
school includes the central office and school board.
Research
and Evaluation
The School Development Program has a substantial history of evaluation
and research, both by its own staff and by outside evaluators. Comer
Schools have been assessed on a variety of factors at different levels,
including school climate, level of program implementation and students'
self-concepts, behavior, social competence and achievement.
Studies of
Comer Schools conducted by the SDP and by independent researchers
indicate significant effects on school climate, student attendance, and
student achievement. Effects are generally first manifested in the
improvement of school climate (indicated by improved relationships among
the adults and students in the school), better collaboration among staff
members, and greater focus on the child as the center of the education
process.
Research has
also shown that in schools where the Comer Process was followed
consistently, there was a significantly greater reduction in absenteeism
and suspension than in the district as a whole. Comparative studies of
Comer and non-Comer schools also demonstrated that student
self-competence, self-concept and achievement was significantly more
improved for Comer students than for non-Comer students.
Founding
Assumptions
The Comer Process is based on certain key assumptions:
- Due to a
lack of developmental support in their homes and communities, many
of today’s children come to school with developmental gaps that
impair their ability to learn.
- While
more children come to school with experience deficits, we expect all
students to meet the high standards dictated by today’s workplace
and citizenship needs.
- The
School Development Program recognizes and addresses the experience
deficit that inhibits the development of many of today’s children.
On the other hand, the SDP does not accept the academic deficit
theory that leads to tracking and lowered expectations of minority
and ESL students.
- The Comer
Process is based on the premise that all students can reach high
levels of academic achievement. They are entitled to the opportunity
to reach their highest potential.
- Academic
learning rests on a foundation of solid development along six
pathways critical to human development. These Six Developmental
Pathways are the physical, psychological, language, social, ethical
and cognitive pathways.
- For
students with experience deficits to learn to their highest
potential, schools must provide them with the developmental
opportunities they lack.
- Schools
cannot meet this challenge alone, but can mobilize other adult
stakeholders, including parents, to help meet the developmental
needs of the students.
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