Reaching and Teaching Kids Who Don't Fit in The Box

Outline

Introduction (5 minute): I'll help participants make a personal connection to "The Box" through their own experiences as a student and/or as an educator. This includes high-energy interactions with the presenter.

New information (15 minutes): I'll share the top 6 underlying causes for students struggling in school, disengaging, and dropping out. I'll ask participants to reflect on each and to put a name (of a student in their orbit) with each item on the list. This helps to make it even more real and pressing.

Invitation to pick one (3 minutes): We'll use an interactive technology tool to identify which of the 6 we'd like to investigate in further detail today. (I'll be ready with presentations for each of the 6.) Top vote-getter wins!

Detailed presentation (20 minutes): I'll dig into the most pressing underlying cause (determined by participants' votes) by sharing the research (briefly), the goal, mirror-cleaning strategies so our own thoughts stop getting in the way, and a handful of strategies we can employ to support our struggling kids.

Application (10 minutes): With partners, participants will explore their own case studies, propose the use of one of the strategies I've shared, and hypothesize the successful outcomes. I'll share a simple, replicable protocol for this conversation. This is when folks prepare to put their money where their mouths are.

Reflection & Q&A (7 minutes): I'll provide reflective prompts for participants and open the floor for questions, clarifications, and additional comments.

Outcomes

...identify the underlying causes for kids who struggle in school.
...analyze an array of strategies for building connections, igniting curiosity, and/or enhancing the relevance of education for kids who struggle in school.
...select a strategy that matches their "case-study" student's underlying cause to create a proactive plan for reaching and teaching that kid!

Supporting research

"Reaching and Teaching Kids Who Don't Fit in The Box," by Pete Hall (me). In-press, due for publication in fall, 2026.

https://www.ascd.org/books/creating-a-culture-of-reflective-practice?variant=117006

https://www.ascd.org/books/the-new-classroom-instruction-that-works?variant=122032

Bushaw, W.J., & Lopez, S.J. (2012). Highlights of the 2012 PDK/Gallup Poll: What Americans said about the Public Schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 94(1), 16–30.

Davis, B. (2021, December 6). Holding Students Back – An Inequitable and Ineffective Response to Unfinished Learning. EdTrust. Retrieved from https://edtrust.org/rti/holding-students-back-an-inequitable-and-ineffective-response-to-unfinished-learning/.

Medina, J. (2008). Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Pear Press.

N., K. (2025, September). Navigating Academic Rigor: What It Is and Why It Matters. Crimson Education. Retrieved from https://www.crimsoneducation.org/us/blog/navigating-academic-rigor.

Wallace Foundation (2021, February). How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research. Retrieved from https://wallacefoundation.org/report/how-principals-affect-students-and-schools-systematic-synthesis-two-decades-research#:~:text=Principal%20Impact,including%20job%20satisfaction%20and%20turnover.