Today’s post comes from James Hissong, a former teacher within the Kalamazoo Public Schools. James is our Quality & Evaluation Coordinator. He works within the downtown office and out at the CIS school sites, making sure we capture the right information. James assists us in using data to improve our programs, recording the services provided, and sharing the impact the community is having by working through CIS.
Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Communities In Schools site coordinator, Deb Yarbrough, at Kalamazoo Central High School. Although our meeting was intended to be a data review session for Deb, I found myself on the receiving end of a lesson that day. As we scrolled through logs of services she has helped facilitate at the school this year, our meeting had to be put on hold several times as she attended to the needs of multiple students. It was during these moments that I was able to witness the true motto of a site coordinator with CIS (and the title of another great book); “Whatever it takes.” Upon leaving, Deb began telling a story about a young woman who had just received her acceptance letter to Michigan State University. Her story was like so many I have heard since joining the CIS team. Life has given this student every excuse not to succeed but with the support of her school, the Kalamazoo community, and those working incredibly hard to connect the two, a life filled with opportunity awaits.
This young woman’s story of overcoming obstacles, never giving up, and rising to new heights brought the theme of a book that I am currently reading full circle in my mind. The book is titled “Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings,” by Kenneth Ginsburg. Before I go any further I need to explain one important detail to someone who might be reading this. Yes, I am reading a parenting book although I myself do not have any kids, and, no mom, I do not have any sort of related announcement to make! Let me explain. Part of the reason why I enjoy working for CIS is because our focus is on the whole child. I see the importance in the range of resources offered through CIS, from distributing basic needs items, providing services for the physical and emotional health of children, offering enriching experiences, and, of course, reinforcing academics as well. I believe all of these services can help contribute to build resiliency, or the power to overcome, in our students.
In his book, Kenneth Ginsburg focuses on what he calls the “7 C’s of resiliency.” He believes that competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping, and control all form an interlocking web of skills that contribute to whether or not children are able to achieve success, even in the face of adversity. In this book, he lays out both relatively simple and more complex ways to build these skills. To sum up how a few of these “C’s” are interrelated, Ginsburg writes that, “Children need to experience competence to gain confidence. They need connections with an adult to reinforce those points of competence. They need character to know what they should contribute to their families and the world, and character is forged through deep connections to others. Contribution builds character and further strengthens connections.” Many of these terms were exactly what I had the pleasure of watching take place in Deb’s interactions with her students. As a community, I truly believe that if we can find ways to continue to impact these non-cognitive abilities, we will continue to hear more success stories like this one student from Kalamazoo Central. I recommend this book to anyone interested in helping children succeed, not just the parents out there.
So while I may not have a child myself, as part of the CIS team, um, mom, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about my 12,000 kids… just kidding (kind of).
Tags: building resilience, CIS, Communities In Schools, Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo, Deb Yarbrough, James Hissong, Kalamazoo Central High School, Kalamazoo Public Schools, Kenneth Ginsburg, Resilience, Resiliency in children
