Happy New Year

You may have noticed our blog was very quiet the past few months. It has been a busy time for us at Transformative Education. The chaos of an emotional 2017 was consuming. Stepping back has really helped us to re-define and focus our efforts. I guess that is good advice when problems seem insurmountable. A new perspective to a problem can bring fresh ideas.

With a new year, new month, new day comes the opportunity for renewal.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!

We hope that each day brings you closer to your goals and dreams.

Student Discipline, Behavior Support and The Mom – Part 3

In the last blog post, I highlighted school frameworks that are proven to work for students with a variety of behavior support needs. This time I have tips for you as a parent.

What can you do…

1. Stay calm. Calling the school while angry or being adversarial only puts up walls… even when you are right!
2. Do not blame the school or other students. Instead ask questions such as “Can you tell me more about what happened? “What is the school’s discipline policy for all students who engage in this type of behavior?”, or “Can we meet to problem solve strategies to avoid having this happening in the future? I’d like to work with the school staff to help improve her choices”.
3. Work as a partner with the school, build a positive relationship as much as possible even when it feels one sided.
4. Know your school’s student handbook and discipline policies. Its important to know the written discipline rules so that everyone is working from the same agreements.
5. Know the Principal’s approach to discipline. (This may not be in the handbook, you may need to ask the administrator)
6. Come to the table with solutions or alternative ideas when you do not agree with school’s decision. If you only offer complaints, it’s difficult to see you as a partner for your child.
7. Pick your battles and accept decisions by the school after you have asked them to reconsider. Ultimately, the Principal must follow the rules in the handbook.
8. Document everything. While you really are hoping for a good relationship that fairly supports your child, you have to be prepared to take next steps. If you have a meeting in person or by phone, write down the date, start and end time and important topics. This will be important information incase you have to go to mediate a solution or take legal action.

In the end, it’s important to remember that school staff and parents probably want the same things for children. But sometimes there are differing opinions. Your job is to advocate for fairness and equity. You never know. Your child’s struggle may help another parent or another child.

School Discipline, Behavior Support and the Mom-Part 2

During the first part of this post I showed you how a variety of factors can determine if children with behavioral problems are able to get a fair shake in their schools. In Part 2, I will  give you a few examples of behavior processes that are used widely across the United States.

So what is your child’s approach to discipline?
Knowing this will help you approach them in asking questions of how the discipline incident was handled and is the decision in line with the approach the school says they are using. Here are some examples:

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support(PBIS): A schoolwide approach that focuses on proactive strategies and the creation of standard procedures for teaching positive behavior. The goal is to create a positive school culture for students and staff. Instead of focusing on punishment to change behavior, PBIS focuses on acknowledging students doing good behaviors. PBIS supports staff with identifying specific behavior strategies based upon each student’s individual needs.

Restorative Justice: When a student is referred, Restorative Justice emphasizes teaching the student who misbehaved and offering that student a chance to “repair the harm” that he or she caused. Administrators who decide consequences for behavior can use alternatives to suspension which are much more affective and less harmful.

Responsive Classrooms: This approach offers practical strategies for teaching, rather than formulas that tell teachers what they must do in the classroom. Teachers adapt the strategies as needed to address their students’ needs, so things may look a bit different in each classroom. What you should see and hear: teachers have morning classroom meetings, students resolve conflicts on their own, social skills are embedded into academic lessons, teachers using positive language, and mistakes being treated as a learning opportunity.

Three big questions that you should ask your child’s principal and teacher?

• What is your school’s approach to student discipline?
• Does the administrator consequence match your child’s behavior?
• Will the consequence result in your child being less likely to have inappropriate behavior in the future and more likely to use appropriate behavior?

In part three, I will offer suggestion for when you have to meet with your child’s school.

While we know that the student’s actions and intent are at the heart of decision making when principals determine consequences. There can be so much more going on behind the school scene that impacts the decision.

As a behavior specialist, I support schools in creating their behavior systems, which includes how they will respond to disruptive behavior. There are the non-negotiable behaviors such as weapons, physical fighting resulting in harm, drugs. Principals have very little discretion with theses behaviors because of district policies and state laws. However, it is the gray areas where administrators in the same school district may greatly vary in how they provide discipline consequences. If school administrators rely primarily on student intent and motivation is when bias can creep into to decision making. The result is that students with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by office referrals and suspensions. In other words, the students most at risk of school failure are the ones that are removed the most from the learning environment. There may not be intentional, vindictive behavior on the part of school staff. But if the decisions are made unfairly against students in need of support, then something must be done to protect the student.

As parents, we need to know more than what is in the school handbook. The district’s Code of Conduct, 504 Accommodations Manual and Special Education Law should be available and applied to protect the rights of our children.

The next post will expand on this topic and give some ideas as to how schools shape their student discipline procedures.

Like millions of Americans, we are certainly happy to see 2016 fade to memories. There were many issues in the global, national and personal arenas that were very challenging for everyone. We will certainly welcome the first day of January 2017 with open arms.

Teachers are refreshed from the stress of lesson plans, grading and standardized tests. Students look forward to forgotten peer conflicts and low grades on tests. And parents…they are simply happy for their children to go back to school.

In 2016, the constant barrage of negative news stories left the impression that the future is already written. We should not accept 2016 as “the new normal”. As we set our resolutions for 2017, it is important to remember that the word “resolve” merely means to decide on a plan of action. The goal for the new year is not about being perfect, but actually taking the first step.

Inequity, inequality and injustice thrive when people ignore the plight of their neighbors. Our children deserve more. For the coming year take the first step to show children that they are not helpless and their futures matters.

 

This is the time of year when schools report a rise in problem student behavior. Many parents will agree that they also have to deal with the same problem at home. The bad news is that this happens every year. The good news is that there are proven strategies that can greatly reduce problem student behavior and keep the seasonal feeling of “good cheer” for every one.

First let’s take a look at a couple of the root causes. The months of November, December and January are when school calendars have the majority of instructional breaks. Depending upon your school district, teacher inservice days and holidays account for as many as fifteen days during these there months. This break in the daily routine may impact students both socially and academically. From a social standpoint, when a child does not have normal contact with their peer group they may experience this as a loss. This loss may look to parents as if students are sullen, withdrawn, or moody. At school, the impending loss of peers may cause students to demonstrate anxious almost manic behavior that can appear to be contagious.

Another reason for the rise in problem student behavior is anxiety about the break itself. For many students, Thanksgiving and Christmas are annual holidays with great memories of tasty food, loving family and terrific gifts. But for many students, the holidays are about hunger, strained relationships and empty promises. Consider how it feels for a student to hear their classmates discussing their holiday plans knowing that little to nothing is waiting for them. These feelings may be demonstrated as embarrassment, jealousy, sadness or as anger.

To successfully support students through this time of year, there are a few things that school staff and parents can do. The most important strategy for adults is to continue to expect high standards for student behavior. While we understand why students may demonstrate problem behavior, we should never lower our expectations for their best performance. There is a tendency during this period for adults to relax our behavioral standards. But when students do not live up to our expectations, we become angry. When we become angry, we may say things that we do not mean and apply severe punishment for normal student behaviors. To prevent problem student behavior, school staff and parents must provide daily reminders to themselves and to the students to finish strong.

Another strategy is to increase the rate of verbal praise to students for the expected positive behaviors. But most importantly, look for opportunities to give students verbal praise for their behavior. Catch them being good. Individual and group praise should never be overlooked. During the excitement of the holidays, students may have very short attention spans. The increased reminders and verbal praise is a positive way to keep them focused and remind them of boundaries.

A final strategy, is a simple one. Talk about it. During class or in the evenings, help students acknowledge their feelings. Let them know that this time of year can be tough for everyone. Before, during and after school breaks plan activities which will allow students to connect with peers in a positive manner. But most importantly,  adults must make the time to genuinely connect with students. Education is about relationships.

 

Well what a great day….today is our very first post. We hope that this will be the beginning of the exchange of information and ideas that are useful to the educational community. Our overarching goal at Transformative Education is to collaborate with educators and families to bring about positive educational opportunities for students. Effective, efficient schools do not just happen on their own. Quality schools are built through the collaborative work of school administrators, teachers, parents and students. Supporting everyone under the school umbrella is the commitment of all of us at Transformative Education.

The idea of launching a blog for Transformative Education has been in the works for a while now. As educators, we have seen a great deal of change in the past ten years. On any given day, educators may experience sadness, frustration, joy and laughter. But the two most important emotions we share with parents is pride and hope. We share pride in the tremendous sacrifices that we make for children. We share hope in the tiny steps made everyday by our children. And each of these steps moves them closer to the fulfillment of their dreams.

The team at Transformative Education wants to foster the celebration of pride and hope  for educators, families and communities. Whether as an educator or as a parent… remember to have hope and take pride in the joy and laughter of our children. They need us.