EDUCATION

Borsuk: Here's how Oprah could get another good idea in Milwaukee — visit Penfield Montessori

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

I have a piece of advice for Oprah Winfrey: You should visit Penfield Montessori Academy.

Oprah Winfrey appears on "CBS This Morning" last Tuesday.

Winfrey said last week that she has become more aware and concerned about the impact of trauma on children’s lives, especially in low-income urban communities, and that she has done a television report on this for “60 Minutes,” to be shown on Sunday. Raising her alarm was a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel series that ran in 2017, and her work on the “60 Minutes” segment included reporting in Milwaukee.

It may seem bad news, but Milwaukee has earned the national spotlight when it comes to the effect on children of growing up amid adverse forces, and often many adverse forces.

SPECIAL REPORT: An epidemic of childhood trauma haunts Milwaukee

But amid the big picture of bad news, there are pieces of good news in Milwaukee, and they deserve the spotlight, too.

For one thing, the whole subject is getting more attention, in Milwaukee and nationwide. “Trauma informed” education is a hot subject, as is developing social and emotional skills of students. Awareness of mental health needs of kids, even down to preschool ages, has grown, with some increases in funding (such as in the Wisconsin state budget passed last fall) aimed at providing more help.

More specifically, there are efforts such as Penfield Montessori. What if really good, energized work at a school gave children the best chances of bright futures despite the trauma in their lives? Penfield will be a good place to look for answers, and I am optimistic they will be encouraging answers.

Penfield Children’s Center, at 833 N. 26th St., has been around for a half-century and has a strong reputation, particularly for its work with preschool-age children with physical and mental disabilities.

Penfield Montessori is a new effort, now in its second year. It is based in an old school building at 1441 N. 24th St. that previously was used by the now-closed Urban Day School. Penfield Montessori is a charter school, authorized to operate and receive public money through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The school has about 100 students this year, from age 3 through first grade. About half have special needs and a large majority of the students are from low-income homes. The school has the resources to provide small class sizes and a low ratio of students to staff members.

And the school has a started an ambitious behavior clinic, associated with the main Penfield center, that offers every student and every family continuing help and education on issues such as anger, ways to respond to something going wrong, and how to interact appropriately with others.

Every student and family is involved in programs aimed at good behavior, emotional control, and engagement in school. A smaller number of students with more needs get more attention. And a few students need and get individualized help.

Kim Burg, one of the counselors who works at the school, said the school is teaching kids to do “hard things” that put them on good paths both for academics and behavior.

It requires teachers and counselors to do hard things, too. “There is no quick fix,” said Heather Rotolo, director of the behavior clinic at Penfield Children’s Center. “It takes hard work and determination and just plugging away.”

Alan Burkhard, a professor at Marquette University who works with Ph.D. candidates in counseling, is spending one day a week at Penfield Montessori this year, assessing what is working and helping shape the staff’s work.

It's too early to have research results, but Burkhard is encouraged by the school’s substantial and continuous commitment to the behavior program.

“The longer you persist with this, the better the results you get,” he said. The payoff will be there when the students are in third or fourth grade, and beyond. Conversely, he said, if issues are not addressed early, effective help is much harder when kids are older – say, in high school.

The school has placed emphasis on working with families, and the adults in the students’ lives have been generally receptive, said Kathy Ronco, executive director of the school. She said one reason it is good to have the behavior program embedded in the school is that relationships with both students and adults are more continuous than in other settings.

Sometimes, families aren’t ready at first to make changes, but will take good steps after relationships are built, Ronco said. From more structured programs, including home visits, to informal daily contact when parents arrive at school with their kids, family connections are a priority.

Ronco would like to see the lessons learned from Penfield Montessori spread to schools throughout Milwaukee, which is a worthy goal.

There is one big concern: Cost. Creating a program with strong staffing by well-qualified people isn’t cheap.

Generally, the school gets about $8,300 in state support for 5- and 6-year-old students and around $5,000 for 4-year-olds. Last year, Penfield Children’s Center received a $1.9 million, five-year federal grant to support behavior programs, which helps the overall picture. But the behavior clinic at the school is supported by philanthropic donations, according to Jason Parry, vice president for development for Penfield.

Parry said the behavior clinic program at the school costs about $2,000 per student per year.

Could such resources be brought to bear in a typical Milwaukee public school? Probably not, as things stand now.

But maybe more can be accomplished with current resources. Or maybe we should consider what could be accomplished across the city if more resources were available.

Or maybe consider, as Oprah has, what is and what will be if nothing changes.

Alan J. Borsuk is senior fellow in law and public policy at Marquette Law School. Reach him at alan.borsuk@marquette.edu.