Reprinted with permission from Special Ed Connection™— LRP Publications' one-stop online reference center for all your special education needs. Copyright 2002 by LRP Publications, 747 Dresher Road, P.O. Box 980, Horsham, PA 19044-0980. All rights reserved. For a FREE Special Ed Connection™ trial subscription, go to www.specialedconnection.com/SEC/freetry.htm, complete the registration form and click on SUBMIT. For more information on products published by LRP Publications, please call toll-free 1-800-341-7874, ext. 275 or visit us online at www.lrp.com/store.

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By Stephen Bevilacqua
Special Ed Connection Editor

Ask Jill Farrell how many students in her school are among the "at-risk" population and she'll tell you 99 percent.

"These kids are operating in survival mode," said the San Simon (Ariz.) School's special education teacher. They bring so much stress from their lives, including those attributed to poverty, violence and abuse, she said.

The need to introduce a stress reduction system in Farrell's school environment may appear obvious. Still, two trends bolster your need to ensure your students can display higher cognitive learning, regardless of whether your district serves a large, at-risk population.

Proposed regulations for Title I under the No Child Left Behind Act cap the percentage of students who could be exempted from "regular" assessments, meaning fewer will be allowed alternate platforms to display achievement. And adequate yearly progress, a recurring buzz phrase, hinges on your students' ability to show knowledge, content and skill attainment as early as grade three.

At San Simon, where students often bring anxiety and frustration to school along with their books, the

HeartMath program has been used for about six years. Initially brought in to help special needs and gifted students, HeartMath has reduced test-taking anxiety and helped these students -- troubled by drug abuse, gang activity and unemployment -- manage their emotions.

"It's a great tool for giving special needs students the tools they need to go into the regular classroom," Farrell said. "That's why we initially went schoolwide."

Educators at San Simon, which is located on an Indian reservation, funded HeartMath through a Goals 2000 grant. Farrell confirmed HeartMath's claims the program created "a positive atmosphere where the kids felt heard . . . students learned to pay attention to their emotional signals, communicate, listen and care."

HeartMath's techniques are based on research that points to emotional calmness and well being as

stimulants for students to access higher perceptual parts of the brain, helping them recall and retain information.

Farrell attributed improvement to two HeartMath tools called emWave and TestEdge. emWave is an interactive, software-based learning system designed to help students reduce test, math and reading anxieties. TestEdge is a research-based learning program designed to improve problem solving, focusing and listening skills.

Schools in Minnesota, Texas and California have reported test-score improvement as a result of the program. Students who took the Minnesota Basic Standards Test showed mean increases of 35 percent in math and 14 percent in reading after completing a three-week TestEdge program.

"To me, test scores are really someone else's agenda, but our test scores are up," Farrell said.

"Students are able to "approach a standardized tests and show what they know."

Who wouldn't benefit from these techniques?

It probably wouldn't be appropriate for students with the most severe emotional problems . . . "it's not counseling," Farrell said. Also, "It's nothing you can make someone do."

San Simon approached getting students on board with the program by asking only those who were interested to try it. "You can't force it," Farrell said. "Initially, some students thought it to be too 'touchy feely' By the end of the year, everyone bought in."Farrell's other advice: "There's got to be ongoing support."

A certified HeartMath trainer, who returns to school periodically to provide training and follow-up instruction, is costly, Farrell said. Once you get going, however, it's very inexpensive, as the books, materials and software have already been purchased, she said.

According to the Institute of HeartMath, a non-profit corporation, its goals are to help individuals increase performance by working to:

• Research positive emotions and physiology and develop tools and techniques that improve learning, performance and quality of life.
  
• Help individuals engage their hearts to transform stress and rejuvenate health.
  
• Provide prevention and intervention strategies for emotional security, improved health, decision-making, learning skills and violence reduction in communities, families and schools.

"HeartMath appealed to me because kids have to feel safe or else learning is not going to happen," Farrell said. "It integrates well into any curriculum. As you approach a subject, you want to bring in that level of content. HeartMath creates a climate."

Part of this climate includes the parents of your students, who receive the same tools the district teaches its students. "It's exciting to see what you believe and know to be true to have scientific data to back it up, Farrell said. "It's the most powerful thing I've done in 29 years of teaching."

Stephen Bevilacqua covers special education issues for LRP Publications.

Copyright 2002 © LRP Publications. Posted with Permission.

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