Handbook of Individualized Strategies for Building Resiliency in At-Risk Students

W.G. Selig, Ed.D. A.A. Arroyo, Ed.D., L.P. Lloyd-Zannini, Ph.D. & H. Jordan, Ph.D.

This Handbook shows teachers how to build resilience in students who are at risk for educational failure. By assessing a student’s needs, behavior style, and current level of resilience, teachers can create an individualized plan to help the student respond to the adversity and environmental stress that places him at risk.

The Handbook is intended for teachers with the following populations:

• Students who are classified as at risk, or who may lack social competence, communication skills, or a sense of purpose

• Students who have a history of failure and are no longer willing to try

• Students who come from environments that offer little support or encouragement

• Special education students who are being mainstreamed into regular classrooms.

It is particularly helpful to first-year teachers and school personnel who have not been trained to provide encouragement and support for at-risk students. Parents, social workers, probation officers, and juvenile correctional officers will also find this Handbook helpful, especially when it is used in conjunction with the Handbook of Individualized Strategies for Classroom Discipline. The strategies presented can be used with students from kindergarten through high school, regardless of gender, cultural background, or ethnicity. Teachers can adapt, modify, or combine these strategies to increase their effectiveness. A reproducible Resiliency-Building Worksheet is included in this spiralbound handbook.