Exciting News - - The ARKGROUP has a new look on the WEB. The ARKGROUP opened its newly redesigned website in October. We believe the site will provide our most understandable information we have generated to date about the ARK (Adults Relating to Kids) Programs and Processes for Teachers and Schools, Parents and Others who would be Intentional in the lives of Kids, both faith based and secular. Visit our site today. ARK (Adults Relating to Kids) programs and processes are here to help.

Bill
William R. Duffy
National Executive Director
281-537-1301

Don't forget: New training DVDs are available: ARK Facilitator Training, The ARK Group Process and an Introduction to ARK hosted by Pat Summerall. Order yours today at www.thearkgroup.org. This excellent training guides will supplement the ARK lessons DVD's, manuals, workbooks, texts and advertising materials -- equipping you to begin ARK programs today. ARK programs provide breakthrough parenting and teaching "skills courses." With your help, we can make ARKrelationships the norm for the 21st century family, church, school and community.

For our Friends and Followers in the Dallas area, we are excited about our ARK for Churches Programs / with our next Facilitator Training set for Saturday, November 20. Thanks to a wonderful gift by a local benefactor, we are able to provide ARK for Parents Programs to local churches. The program includes facilitator training, lessons on DVDs, books, and a host of supporting materials and services. We invite you to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Contact us today by e-mail, letter or by telephone in Dallas at 817- 268-2100 or Houston at 281-537-1301 to reserve a spot for your church. The seminars will take place at a central location in the 1800 block of North Washington Ave thanks to the generosity of Dr. Curtis Wallace and the Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church. Commit now, to enable your church family to become the parents and intentional adults in the lives of children that will change the world through your care.

Houston Independent School District - Doing the Right Things. When they write the history of Houston's children in 21st century America, it will surely include the contributions of our public school system and the ground-breaking steps taken by the Houston ISD's North Region. During August and September, fifty elementary, middle, and high schools in Superintendent Cynthia Wilson's North Region worked with Dr. Lupita Garcia's staff to implement the ARK (Adults Relating to Kids) Program on their campuses. Over 380 teachers, counselors, PROJECTGRAD and Communities in Schools (CIS) staff were trained to facilitate ARK for Teachers for approximately 3,600 teachers. When fully employed by the Principals and staff at these schools, ARK will play an important role in providing a quality, educational experience for the almost 36,000 children in the Region.

ARK for Teachers focuses on the critical importance of building a nurturing classroom environment and creating caring relationships with students as a means of increasing academic performance and lowering the student dropout rate. The Program is research-based and is predicated on studies conducted through the University Of Texas School Of Public Health and the University of Texas Medical School. The implementation of the ARK Program in Houston ISD schools is being monitored and evaluated through a University of North Texas study. ARK for Teachers is a Professional Learning Communities (PLC) experience. In addition to providing teachers a confidential, peer-mentoring process for the discussion of problems and the sharing of classroom triumphs, ARK also deals with 35 of the 40 Developmental Assets adopted by the District. The teacher networks employ ARK Programs and Processes and provide opportunities for strong communities of support and learning focusing on the care and growth of our teachers. Enriching their lives contributes to enriching the lives of their students.

Mark Twain wrote: "The future of our nation rests in our public schools". Houston ISD's North Region is investing in our students' futures and is actively engaged in "doing the right things" to assure an optimal learning environment for our children an networks of support of teacher support to those teachers caring for our cities children. The Houston Independent School District's efforts-- given daily to each child, each teacher, each classroom, and each school--are helping to enhance the quality of life for the future of our nation.

What a difference they are makling to all the members of their community. These educators, as members of our community, are willing to commit in order to enrich our neighborhood, schools, families, students and each individual therein. What common passions fills your life that you might help a student fulfill to be all that she may be and to benefit the greater good?

How can we help?

Our intentional relationships with one another, makes the opportunities possible in the world for our students and children and holds the promise for contributing to each of our children's and student's future. We can build this future we will build together.

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The rate of change is accelerating, so that more and more change is packed into smaller and smaller amounts of time. Those who study this have indicated that the 20th century was equivalent to about 20 years of progress at today's rate of change. The pace will continue to increase the amount of innovations we pack into just a few years. That means in the next 20 years we will see double the technological change that we saw in the entire 20th century. At that pace, we will see almost four times the rate of change within 25 years.

But that is just technology. There are also profound and rapid changes happening in the world of finance, genetics, micro and macro physics, medicine, and yes, education. A relatively new theory in the world of change is termed "The Power Law Distributiions". To put it as simply as possible while doing a great disservice to the science behind this law: Power laws are far more frequent that was once thought. Natural causes--including things like disasters, epidemics, wars, peaceful times, book sales, internet traffic, poverty levels, income distributions, and the free and the not- so- free markets--cause changes to accelerate.

A fifteen year study of low-income children in Public Studies led by Dr. Arthur J. Reynolds, Dr. Judy A Temple, Dylan L. Robertson and Emily A. Mann revealed that participation in an established early childhood Kindergarten class administered by the Public Schools can promote children's long term success up through age 20. Graduation rates increased 12%, drop outs decreased 9% and juvenile justice statistics improved by over 8%.

One of the things that jumps off the page for me in this research results is the fact that creating nurturing environments of care and learning during the growing years of our children, students and neighborhood kids in this period of history of ever-increasing changes will deliver positive results. We, as humans, adapt to increasing changes. Realtionships developed early in the lives of children have continuing positive impacts over their childhood and young adult years. We may not be able to slow down this ever-increasing speed of change, but we do not have to worry. The intentional time that we do spend with youngsters holds the promise for their development through our mentoring. We do matter in their overall lives. We matter greatly.

Yes, your life's impact, your life's work if you will, is like no other persons' in your ability to grow a young life's options and possibilities.

The little things in our lives that we do have such large impacts on the lives of our kids. I am thankful for those teachers and parents who give their lives to in those powerful and most important relationships with children. .

Please share your ideas and read on...

The frontal cortex is not fully functional until we are about a quarter century old, which explains a lot about the behavior of children and young adults.

If you want to understand what the frontal cortex does -- when deliberating one concept over another--the frontal cortex makes you do the harder thing. If you are in a circumstance where there is the temptation of an easy out and then there is the, "Hold on, don't do it. You will regret it in the long run," option, that is the frontal cortex in operation. The frontal cortex is critical to taking the second option.

The frontal cortex makes you do the harder thing in lots of different realms. It does this in the realm of cognition, of just thinking with pure abstract thought and in keeping facts straight. The frontal cortex plays this role in what's called working memory, not a memory of what happened in childhood, but for when you get a whole bunch of facts in 30 seconds and you need to do something with them.

The more interesting of the roles of the frontal cortex is in the realm of emotion and emotionally-related behavior, of doing the harder thing when the temptation is to do the easier. Do you see your students and children in this? One of the greatest myths out there is not only does the brain not make any more neurons once you are a couple of years old, but that the brain is completely wired up and matured at a very early stage, as early as three. Not so. You are playing hide and seek with your five year old child and they go and hide, and then you come into the room and you say. "Here I am. Where are you?" And they can not stop themselves from saying,"I am under the piano." Since the frontal cortex plays a major role in decison making, we should re-think the behaviors in our students and kids. Since we are well into a quarter century before the frontal cortex can fully do its work, it is essential that we separate the behavior from the person, look for teaching opportunities with every opportunity and be sure that we value the person and love their worth. Care begins, ends, and is in the middle of relatonships with kids. We can encourage their efforts and know that instant gratification of what ever the options will always win out for them. We need to be intentional in caring and assiting their actions. Mistakes are only mistakes. Learning is the harder choice.

We encourage all of you to begin ARK for Parenting and ARK for Teachers classes in your church, school and/or community centers. ARK Teaching and Parenting is for "Great Teachers and Great Parents and Other Intentional Adults" who are searching for a place to grow in a networked, small group environment where ideas can be exchanged and examined without judgement.

Good questions to raise as we think about what skills and attitudes we might want to reinforce in our students and children, knowing that their "frontal cortex is still developing". * Realizing the role of the frontal cortex and its late development in our kids, how can we encourage sound decision making? * What are main characteristics of a child that is still growing his or her frontal cortex? * What disciplinary techniques are most likely to nurture a child and at the same time enable the child to make sound decisions? * What are the characteristics of a supportive environment for your student or child's growth? * What do you hope for your student's or child's future?

Check out this website for Kid Friendly ideas

Your support of The ARKGroup, Inc. creates possibilities in our churches, community centers, and public and private schools. If you have an opportunity, idea, challenge, or destiny to fulfill through helping children to grow into their full potential, please contact us. Together we can improve the quality of life in our communities--one child, one family, one classroom, one school at a time. Helping other people lifts one's spirits and gives hope for the future.

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