Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Well, hello there and welcome back to another Just say Something weekly podcast here at Just say Something. We help parents have those hard conversations. When it comes to your kids and your relationship with their risky behaviors, are some of our little darlings under the influence of drugs and alcohol?
As we look at our family dynamics and our adverse childhood experiences, things that we think about when we're working with parents. And so today we have a great partner and a great guest with us we have Dr. Edward Anderson. He is the executive director of on Track Greenville. Dr. Anderson, thank you for being here.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: Thanks for having me.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: So for our listeners that have no idea what on track is, give us, Give us the lowdown.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Yeah. So I think the most simple way to put on track's work is that about eight years ago, Greenville county schools got with the United Way of Greenville county and said that we have a challenge in some of our highest poverty schools around dropout and we got to do something about it. And so the research at the time showed that students physically dropped out of high school when they became of age 16 or 17 years old, but they already mentally disengaged when they were in middle school. And so let's do something very different. And so we looked back at the feeder middle schools at the time were Berea Middle, Lakeview Middle and Tanglewood Middle and put a series of interventions in place. Those interventions included school based health. So working with PRISMA Health to make sure students had medical homes.
They were summer programming for fifth to sixth graders. So that transition is very difficult. So to make sure kids come to middle school prepared, the next one was communities and Schools case managers. So for those really complicate complex cases where there may be academic challenges or behavioral challenges or home issues, really putting a case manager in place in school all day to really work with a group of students on whatever their needs may be. And then our last was a mental health counselor. And that mental health counselor is the one who every week looks at the data to see if kids are on track or off track. And the way we determine whether a kid is on track or off track or through the ABC's Academics Behavior and attendance or attendance behavior and course performance, actually.
[00:02:40] Speaker A: So that's the data that you look at. So if you look at attendance, what, what are some of the red flags? Like how many days can a child miss? I know there's probably different levels. And so give our listeners and maybe some of the moms and dads out there a little bit more background about that piece.
[00:03:03] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And so with the ABCs for for attendance. The research shows that if a student misses more than 10% out of the school year or out of a course, so typically of 180 days of school, they miss more than 18 days, then their flag red, or if they own pace to hit 18, then they have a great likelihood of not graduating within four years of high school. And they can be predicted as early as middle school, whether it's excused or unexcused. So that vacation or whatever, it just means that they've missed too much time away from school and from class to be able to really adequately catch up without like some extreme resources or intervention within behavior. If they're missing too many days due to referrals, usually around five, and they're in ISS or OSS or constantly in trouble. And then when it comes to behuse me Coursework, if a sixth grader fails an academic course in the sixth grade, they have over 30% less likelihood of graduating from on time.
[00:04:09] Speaker A: Wait a minute, Say that again. In the sixth grade, if, in the.
[00:04:14] Speaker B: Sixth grade, if a student fails an academic course, their likelihood of graduation on time decreases by over 30%.
[00:04:23] Speaker A: Wow, that's, that's, that's heavy.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: And so as we look at the typical kid in school right now, especially the schools that On Track is in, I mean, my mind's kind of boggled.
Wow, that's a lot.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: Yeah. And the students schools that we serve predominantly are 90 to 100% pupils in poverty.
And I believe the current federal poverty line is a family of three making less than $25,000 a year. That's the majority of the families that we serve. So the challenges associated with housing and transportation and food and clothing and so forth, already on top of just your typical challenges as a, an adolescent trying to go to school and trying to move forward add such a layer of complexity and which is why on track exists. So we can remove those barriers as much as we, we can so they can have a good chance of graduating and, and moving forward to college and career success.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: And. Well, you know, and I'm sure our listeners know there's several transitions within a adolescent's life as they grow. It's the one from fifth to sixth grade, and then the next one is the eighth to ninth grade.
If a child at one of your schools is having an issue and is flagged for grades, what's. What happens?
[00:06:04] Speaker B: Yeah. So each week that mental health counselor, our on track facilitator, is what we call them now, they meet with the nurse practitioner from prisma, they meet with the social worker they meet with the counsel, the administrator and a teacher representative and they determine what the root cause is, why is this student missing class or why is the student misbehaving. And they take all that information and they've been trained each year through the district on how to analyze for the root cause or root issue and then they determine the right intervention. So then once those students are matched to an intervention that either the school provides or on track provides, that intervention is tracked over time to see how well is doing and making sure students are on track. On track started in just those schools, but it then it moved into those high schools, Carolina and Berea High. And then the process moved into every single Greenville county school. So every single Greenville county school, all 100 plus centers and schools, have an on track team that meets and discusses kids. But we at On Track Greenville particularly raise money to provide supports for students in the highest poverty schools.
[00:07:12] Speaker A: So as we think about that, those kids in those schools and with the interventions that need to be provided for them, if you had to, I guess I'm trying to say what's the number one issue?
I know our families, especially the ones that we see, they have so many issues that one program can't do it all.
[00:07:47] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:07:49] Speaker A: And so. And part of that speaks to our partnership between On Track Greenville and just say something.
But what is that one thing that if you had more of, would help you and your team be more successful for our kids?
[00:08:10] Speaker B: So all of our interventions have some level of success, obviously because we invest in them.
The to answer your question, I believe there's two areas actually that have been really key investments and have key impact.
One is in student case management.
When you have individuals that can work alongside students every day to determine what their needs are, their immediate needs, how they walked into the school building, how they get off the school bus. They know what's happening with them at home, and they can help students navigate life in and out of school. That has proven to be highly effective. But what we also learned is you can't program your way out of systems issues.
And if the whole system has hundreds and thousands of students that have these complicated issues, there's not enough money or funding or people to do all of that one by one. And so the second, at least to the second piece, which is empowerment and agency. And so how do we create strong families?
How do we create students who feel like they belong and have agency? How do we create community members that know how to collaborate with the school and help support and when it comes to that Family piece. Our relationship with. Just say something.
The programming that you all have has been tremendous, and we're looking forward to continuing to evolve that partnership. But, you know, strengthening family partnerships for years, paying for individual families or groups of families to go through that particular program, and then obviously, the advocacy that you all provide in regards to drug and alcohol prevention for our students. We know through our PRISMA health clinics that there's been over a 200% increase of psychosocial challenges for our students in the last couple of years, meaning anxiety, adhd, mental health, just mental health challenges. And some of that is induced further by drug and alcohol use, vaping, and so forth, and things that students get addicted to and can't let go. And so your work is so vital and so critical to the whole process and the whole system. Honestly, the system can't move forward without the work y'all are doing in terms of prevention.
[00:10:39] Speaker A: Well, I appreciate that. And we're growing, so the need is there. I think for us, it's getting parents to realize that every child that they have is different.
What makes that child tick? Where's their interest? What do they want to do? And so part of our goal is how do we teach parents the ability to be able to do that? What skills do we give those parents? And, you know, I've said it more than on more than one podcast. There's so many out there that we've touched on the positive side, but in. And I know we don't live in a perfect world, but, you know, some of the things that I asked adults now who started when they were in the fifth grade or sixth grade, what was missing in your life at that point that you felt like you had to self medicate and start taking something?
Because what we know is that one hit of nicotine, the brain's forever changed, and they're always chasing that high.
So parental engagement and involvement for us is key. And I also know that the numbers show that that's key for a child to be successful.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Yes, there's a direct correlation between increased family engagement and overall student success, student attendance, and no matter socioeconomic status, you know, it's. If a family is engaged in the school, they know what's going on. That student has a higher morale.
That parent can advocate for the right classes for their student. They can advocate, and they're aware of what resources are available if they need them, and then they're able to access them. Sometimes a lot of families don't get what they need because they don't know resources exist, but they're out there.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: Right.
[00:12:42] Speaker B: But those really engaged families, they're up on, you know, the notifications and the updates and they're taking advantage of those resources and their students are doing better as a result. So, yes, family engagement equals higher student success.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: Right, right. Man, there's a lot.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: It is. That's why we do this. Good work. Right?
[00:13:06] Speaker A: That's right. That's right. So.
And I've heard you before, and I feel as though, well, I know you have an amazing story.
I'm a Greenville native, and you're a Greenville native.
Our paths completely different.
And if you don't mind sharing a little bit about your story, because I think that can be a game changer for some of the parents.
And maybe if there's a high schooler or college kid out there that's listening, the impact I think you can have with your story is tremendous.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I'll share a little bit of my story.
So, yeah, like you said, I was born and raised here in Greenville. My mom actually gave birth to me when she, she was 14.
And so I lived at home with grandparents and aunts and uncles. And my mom, of course, while she was going through high school in the Berea area when I was born, because when she was pregnant, no one knew she was pregnant. There was no prenatal care.
So I was born with a lot of health challenges, respiratory challenges like asthma and heart disease and crazy allergies, and later on diagnosed with a brain tumor. And, you know, just health was a huge barrier for me as a child. Many medical visits, emergency room visits in the middle of the night from frequent nosebleeds and other health issues that my family took serious because they knew all the issues that I had a lot of sleepless nights. And so when I was in the, when I was in kindergarten, I had a cousin who made it to the NBA. And that cousin actually sent money home to his aunts and uncles in Greenville. And my grandmother's dream was always to move us out of kind of the poor neighborhood and move us into a more middle class neighborhood. And so she took her money each month and moved us into a middle class neighborhood. During that time, I got to see something very different than what I was always around.
And I think I developed my hope, a lot of hopes and dreams based on that new surrounding. When I was in the fourth grade, unfortunately, my grandmother passed away, a massive heart attack, actually in her late 40s.
And we were unstable for a while. And so we were living with different relatives. And until my mom was able to kind of get back on her feet.
And I kind of made a challenge to myself at that time. I had some teachers that were incredible, surrounded me, and really were compassionate. And so I made up my mind then and I wanted to do the thing that made other kids feel the way that I felt during that time. And so I made up my mind. I wanted to be a teacher, so I did that. I kind of persevered through health issues by doing the opposite of what anyone expected and running back to try to build my immune system up and my, you know, fitness and was a great runner and ran state level and so forth. And then I came back to my community to teach. And as a principal, I was able to hire my 4th grade teacher back at principal.
And so lots of challenges. Growing up around poverty, we moved about 12 times in 13 years.
But I would say that while we didn't have financial capital for most of that time, we did have other forms of capital. We had community capital, we had faith.
I had a huge family. And so I think one of the things that I take away from my story is that you have to think about what forms of capital you have that and leverage that until you get the one you want. And so I was able to leverage my community until I got to the position I am in now. Now I do have the financial means and I can help other people now. So that's just a little bit of my story. There's some other elements to it, but my mom wasn't able. Able to always be there because she was working multiple jobs or she stayed up with me all night.
But I was a very resilient child, and I had great aunts and uncles that kind of took the mantle when she couldn't be there.
[00:17:37] Speaker A: So the old saying, it really takes a village.
[00:17:41] Speaker B: It takes a village.
[00:17:42] Speaker A: You had a village.
[00:17:43] Speaker B: I had one.
[00:17:44] Speaker A: And thank God for that village.
How many of our kids out there don't have that village?
[00:17:50] Speaker B: And honestly, Phil, you know, until I became a teacher and then really a principal and started really looking at all the students in my building, I took for granted how many did not have a village, because I knew that was my story. And it was always like, well, where's their family? And then you realize some people aren't blessed to have a large family or they don't have siblings, or they don't have, you know, the numbers that I was fortunate enough to have. And so I think we take for granted the privilege sometimes that we do have. That, you know, I didn't see that as a privilege. I saw, I thought Everybody had that. And they don't.
[00:18:22] Speaker A: Yeah. No, they don't. And so one of the opportunities that we have at Just say something, and I know Stacy loves to do it, is to be able to take kids to Clemson football game or a Furman football game. We've even taken kids to Atlanta Falcons game. And for some of them, it's the only time they've ever been out of Greenville County.
[00:18:47] Speaker B: And so that exposure makes a world.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: Of difference to be able to let them see there's another life out there that just because you're here now doesn't mean you have to stay there.
So if there was one thing that you would want our listeners to know about On Track, what would that one thing be?
[00:19:15] Speaker B: That it is the responsibility of the entire community to make sure our students are okay. And that burden cannot just rest on the shoulders of the school or the teachers.
And that there are multiple ways to engage in this work.
You can become a mentor and you can give up your finances just giving your time, volunteering, sending letters to teachers to support them, because a better teacher morale equals a better classroom environment.
And so, again, there's all of our. All of our responsibilities. And you can find out more@ontrack greenville.org but really reach out if you want to invest your time or resources in making sure our kids are okay.
[00:20:00] Speaker A: All right, that's perfect. That's great. Well, Dr. Anderson, thank you.
[00:20:05] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:20:05] Speaker A: I appreciate you being here with us today, and I hope I didn't put you on the spot, but, you know, I've heard you tell your story before, and it. It's always very moving when I hear that, because now I get to say, and I always do, Dr. Anderson, I know a lot of people call you by your initials, E.J.
i can't. It's always going to be Dr. Anderson with me. So I appreciate you, your staff, and the team that you've built at On Track Greenville and look forward to continued successes.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:20:43] Speaker A: And that's it for another podcast. You can reach us@justsaysomethingsc.org or you can always pick up the phone and dial us at 864-467-4099. This is Philip Clark signing off for another week and hope to see you soon. Thank you.
