You are a school psychologist at an elementary school, and Mrs. Moran came to see you today for a consultation, because she is concerned about a student in her class. Tyrel is a six-year-old African American boy in her first-grade class. She has concerns about Tyrel's academic achievement and his social interactions. He is having trouble with his reading assignments. In addition to that, he is sometimes withdrawn and at other times he is aggressive, lashing out for no apparent reason. She has tried to talk to Tyrel, but he just seems very upset when she asks is what is happening at home. When she attempted to arrange times for a parent-teacher conference, she asked Tyrel if she had passed the notes along to his parents.
Tyrel told his teacher that his father could not miss work to come in for a conference or he would be fired. Mrs. Moran called Tyrel's home and spoke with the boy's mother. She confirmed that her husband was not able to attend a meeting during the day and stated that she has three young children at home and could not afford to pay someone to watch them while she attends a conference. Tyrel's mom confided that they were being evicted and would be moving to the homeless shelter, so she was not sure if Tyrel would be in school for a few weeks. Tyrel later told Mrs. Moran that his parents did not respond to the teacher's notes because they were embarrassed about the eviction and that his mother could not read.
- What considerations along with the family's socioeconomic status, should Mrs. Moran be thinking about in order to help Tyrel, and why are they important?
- In what ways might Tyrel's family's socioeconomic status and other influences from his home environment affect his academic achievements and cognitive development? Discuss the achievement gap and how it can affect Tyrel.
- In what ways might these influences affect his social development?
- Design 3 strategies that Mrs. Moran could use to work with Tyrel's parents and explain why you think these will work. What could be the downside of these strategies?a