No.5 Message for Publication: "Aiming for the Enrichment of Each Individual's Learning"

(Inagi City Education 'Yale' June 15, Issue No. 1)

Message on Publication: "Aiming for Enrichment of Each Individual's Learning"

We are pleased to announce the publication of the Inagi City Board of Education's newsletter "Yell." This will provide information on the overall educational policies of our city. We hope that many citizens will enjoy it alongside the long-standing "Lifelong Learning Newsletter 'Hiroba'". Thank you for your continued support.
"Yell" is a name that combines "Inagi" and "Education" and "Learning," while also conveying the meaning of "cheer." In Inagi City, we hope to create an environment where both children and adults can experience new learning every day, supporting and celebrating each other's growth. With this publication, we are committed to further enhancing our educational policies.

Currently, various educational challenges are being raised, and it is particularly important to recognize that in order to realize the aspirations embedded in "Yale," each child and student must be able to spend their days with hope and security, and advance their learning.
Under this awareness of the challenges, the Inagi City Board of Education held a training session on April 26, 2024, inviting Professor Hajime Arai from Kansai Gaidai University, targeting all faculty and staff of Inagi City Public Schools, with the theme "The Direction of Student Guidance Indicated by the 'New Student Guidance Guidelines.'" The "Student Guidance Guidelines" is a basic text for schools and faculty and staff regarding life guidance, created by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In December 2022, it was revised for the first time in 12 years, taking into account significant changes in the social environment surrounding children. This training session was planned to learn about the perspectives and approaches necessary for children in today's era, and we wanted to receive guidance from Professor Arai, who played a central role in the revision of the "Student Guidance Guidelines."
On the day of the event, Professor Arai first explained that the "New Student Guidance Guidelines" aimed to address four challenges: "Acquiring the ability to survive in a changing society (VUCA era)," "Responding to an increasing number of children and students with diverse backgrounds," "Understanding the laws that protect children," and "Balancing 'work style reform' with the enhancement of student guidance as a 'team school.'" He emphasized the importance of shifting to a "developmentally supportive student guidance" approach as a guiding stance towards children, and we continued to learn the following.

1. "Developmentally Supportive Student Guidance" refers to the efforts made to support the growth and development of all children and students, aiming to help them become members of a symbiotic society in all educational activities.
2. From now on, it is required to advance student guidance based on "developmentally supportive student guidance," according to the level of target range and issues, in four layers ("developmentally supportive student guidance," "preventive education for issues," "early detection and response to issues," "student guidance for difficult issues").

From these discussions, we recognized the need to systematically assess and determine what kind of responses are appropriate for each "layer" regarding issues such as bullying and school refusal, based on individual circumstances, in order to provide more effective support.
Furthermore, we received valuable guidance such as the shift in questioning from "Why don't they come to school?" to "What kind of school would they be able to attend?", the establishment of opportunities for building relationships through direct experiences, the understanding that "problem behaviors" are "problem-posing behaviors", and that "troubled children" are "children in trouble". We also received a strong message to support children through a "team school" where schools become "learning communities of professionals". This deepened our commitment as education professionals to learn together and support the development and growth of children.

Now, the Inagi City Board of Education has been working to ensure that children can spend their time with hope and safety, and feel fulfilled in their learning. Regarding support for students who find it difficult to enter classrooms or attend school, we are taking the following measures.
First, in response to individual concerns, each school has class teachers and staff responsible for life guidance, as well as specialized professionals such as school counselors and school social workers. Outside of school, the Inagi City Education Center's Educational Consultation Room (located within the complex facility Friend Hirao) and the branch of the Educational Consultation Room (opening in fiscal year 2024) have psychological counselors available for consultations, and the instructors at the "Pear Room" (renamed from the Adaptation Guidance Classroom) are also available for support. Additionally, each elementary and junior high school provides online classes according to requests, and each junior high school has established "in-school separate rooms." The "additional teachers for non-attendance" from the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education (Inagi Dai 4 Junior High School) and the "visiting teachers for non-attendance" (for junior high schools other than Inagi Dai 4 Junior High School), along with in-school separate room support staff, provide individual learning guidance and support. As for the "Pear Room," which serves as an external learning space, it was previously set up in a classroom of a city-run elementary school, but was relocated in 2015 to the current Inagi City Education Center to utilize a more spacious facility and enhance diverse learning opportunities. In this "Pear Room," teachers with experience as principals and vice-principals of Inagi City Public Schools develop curricula and instruction based on the learning guidelines, implementing individualized learning, practical subjects utilizing the facility, group activities, and experiential activities through external learning. Furthermore, recognizing that each case of non-attendance has its own circumstances, we have established a consultation window within the Educational Consultation Room starting in fiscal year 2024 to provide information on consultation destinations and nearby free schools, enabling tailored support for each situation.
Moreover, for students to spend their days with peace of mind, it is important that schools are places where "everyone can learn safely." Therefore, starting in fiscal year 2024, we are independently implementing measures such as "multiple homeroom teachers" and "subject-specific teachers" in all elementary schools, without waiting for teacher placements from Tokyo. This allows for appropriate support by observing each child's condition from multiple teachers' perspectives, enabling consultations with multiple teachers, and addressing issues and concerns that arise in each class or for each child through multiple responses, thereby creating a system that contributes to a safe school environment for children.
We will continue to promote such initiatives and strive to realize the thoughts embedded in "Yale" concretely through our efforts and ingenuity.

Director of Inagi City Board of Education, Makiko Sugimoto