High Structure-High Love: OPSRC
On Oct. 29, 2019, Positive Tomorrows’ Director of Education, Amy Brewer, led a three-hour workshop on the High Structure-High Love™ model for educators, administrators and staff at the Oklahoma Public School Resource Center (OPSRC). The model, which focuses on working with children experiencing deep poverty, combines information about trauma and the brain with observations Brewer has collected over years of teaching at Positive Tomorrows and other school systems.
“The strength of this model is creating a culture of kindness and empathy to help kiddos get where they need to be,” Brewer says. “We also emphasize providing structure and support and setting expectations, which the children are more than capable of meeting.”
While High Structure-High Love™ focuses on understanding the struggles and experiences of students living in deep poverty and how to support those students in the classroom and across the school, the model can be applied in a variety of situations and organizations.
In its first year, High Structure-High Love™ training and workshops have been presented at more than 20 sessions throughout the state, region and country at schools, nonprofits, agencies and conferences, including the most recent training with OPSRC.
With more than 6,000 students experiencing homelessness in the Oklahoma City Public Schools and Putnam City Schools systems, the High Structure-High Love™ training is a vital tool to helping our OKC educators and school staff understand the unique circumstances many of the children in their schools may be facing and how to appropriately work with them toward successful outcomes!
*all photos courtesy of Oklahoma Public School Resource Center