There are many ways to make sure that students are ready to learn and feel safe and supported while at school. At Maercker D60, a renewed focus on student behavior and positive support have resulted in things looking a little different than in the past.
With support from school leadership and Director of Student Services Maureen Kidd, teachers were encouraged to prioritize establishing strong connections and relationships with students with purposeful time and activities in the first weeks of school. By starting the school year with intention and creating opportunities for teachers and students to build those relationships, D60 is setting the foundation for a culture of connection and collaboration.
“The number one protective factor to trauma is positive and protective relationships,” said Kidd. “Having adults and other kids that are meaningful to a student so that they can turn to someone with a need is so important.”
The next step was to develop a set of districtwide commitments around three tiers of support for students. The hope is that the first tier works for about 80% of students with the more targeted supports of the other two tiers being used for a smaller population. With an increase in dysregulation and disruption in the years following the pandemic, schools are teaching skills to help students recognize their emotions and learn replacement behaviors.
Each school has a set of three expectations for behavior along with ways to live that motto throughout the day. At Holmes for example, students learn about being Caring, Safe, and Ready with teachers modeling the behavior and being sure to teach to specific student learning styles. Students who demonstrate these behaviors are given positive reinforcement through things like paws or verbal praise in order to build a collective sense of community and society in the school.
For students who need additional support, Tier 2 and 3 systems are available with the district using data to identify the specific needs of each child and how they can be best met. School teams review data from universal social-emotional screeners, teacher conferences and office discipline referrals to determine which students may require additional support. The support may include interventions from a social worker or other staff member, a specialized WIN series at Westview, or other small group interventions. “Student progress is closely monitored,” said Kidd. “We work closely with teachers and families for a consistent and collaborative approach.”
If the data shows that a student has high risk or a high number of discipline referrals or teacher conferences, a team of additional district staff can be brought together which could include a school social worker, school psychologist, a student services coordinator, learning behavior specialist, administrator, and teacher. The team will dive into what the function of the behavior is and how to meet the needs of the student differently. This is extremely individualized and one-on-one for students, showing a dedication to supporting the unique needs of all learners.
When it comes to discipline, there are multiple methods to look at the data around discipline as an administrative team, which happens every three weeks. Discipline can take many forms aside from traditional approaches such as detention and suspension, including having the student take a break, having a logical consequence like “you break it, you fix it,” repairing relationships, or having restorative conversations with peers and adults when relationships are getting impacted.
“It is important to maintain safety but mostly discipline is meant to be a learning opportunity,” said Kidd. “Everyone makes mistakes but we live to see another day tomorrow. We want to grow and learn from our mistakes in a safe place and it’s a great way for us to reflect on our teaching practices.”
Inspired by the book The Power of Our Words and led by the Holmes Building Leadership Team, K-2 teachers have been learning about the impact our words can have on others, especially children. There is an understanding that language can be powerful and that teachers can use words to encourage and support instead of being punitive and get great results.
As the book says, “Using language this way is associated with greater teacher effectiveness, high student achievement, and improved student climate. This kind of language rests on a deep and abiding faith in the goodness of children, a belief in their desire and ability to learn. It also rests faith in teachers’ ability to teach and bring out the best in children.”
“Kids sometimes make a lot of mistakes throughout the day,” said Kidd. “We need to be able to work with those mistakes and accept it as a teaching opportunity. When we pair those learning experiences with other consequences, we will see a reduction in more restrictive discipline measures, such as suspensions."
As the 2024-25 school year continues, the team will keep a close eye on data and continue to support students in understanding the behavioral expectations of their learning environments.