WelcomeWelcomeDesigning Positive

School-Wide Discipline Plans

Randy Sprick, Ph.D.

2

Goal:

To create a safe, civil and productive school.

3

Foundations

CHAMPs

Interventions

“Which prom are you

going to?”

From the Dallas Morning News

April, 2004

The most popular question at _____High School this month won’t be “Who are taking to the prom?” or “What are you wearing?” The most pressing question will be, “Which prom are you going to?”

Irked by a school rule that bars many of their classmates from the school-sponsored prom, a group of students is planning an alternative prom to compete with the official prom on April 24th.

High school principal Buddy ____, to encourage classroom attendance, decreed that students who collected eight absences between November 10 and March 31, excused or not , can’t attend the prom.

That didn’t sit well with seniors Ian ___ and Peter ____, who launched the alternative prom idea with the help of friends.

“It was a joke at first, “ said Ian, 17.

“Then we just said, ‘Let’s do it. They can’t stop us,’” added Peter, 18,

“We’re teenagers with time.”

Graduation Rates?

• 2000-2003?• 1946?• 1900?

0

20

40

60

80

100

1900U.S. Dept. of

Education

Percent

1946U.S. Dept. of

Education

2000Manhattan Institute

Graduation Rates??

6%

48%

71%

School-Wide

Classroom

Ind. Student

DistriDistrictct

13

Variables:

There are five variables that staff can manipulate to increase the chances that students will behave in a safe and civil manner.

• Structure/organize all school settings for success.

• Teach students how to behave responsibly in those settings.

• Observe student behavior (supervise!).

• Interact positively with students.

• Correct calmly, consistently and immediately in the setting in which the infraction occurred.

STOIC: One who is admired for patience and endurance in the face of adversity.

Many schools depend too much on punitive consequences

• Punitive consequences have inherent and inescapable drawbacks including, but not limited to:• escape/avoidance• fear• may become neutral• may become reinforcing• can set a negative climate

School-Wide

Classroom

Ind. Student

DistriDistrictct

The Improvement Cycle:

Review

Prioritize

ReviseAdopt

Implement

SurveysObservationsDisc. ReferralInjury reportsFocus groups

Surveys:Middle School Student Survey Responses % Agree

6th 7th 8th

Students feel safebefore school

84% 78% 86%

Students feel safe inthe cafeteria

81% 74% 92%

Students feel safeoutside at noon

78% 62% 94%

Students feel safe inthe halls

93% 77% 95%

Students feel safeafter school

84% 71% 86%

Disciplinary Referrals

Trends and patterns:• Type of offense• Location• Month or week• Day of the week• Time of the day• Referring staff

Structure/organize all school settings for success. For example:

• Physical arrangements/org

1

Structure/organize all school settings for success. For example: Ending Routines1

QuickTime™ and aDV - NTSC decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Structure organize all school settings for success. For example:

• Physical arrangements

• Scheduling issues

• Organizational patterns

• Routines and procedures

• Expectations for students

• Expectations for staff

1

Teach students how to behave responsibly in those settings. For example:

• Lessons on classroom expectations, routines and policies

• Lessons on common area expectations, routines and policies

• Lessons on essential behaviors such as respect, bullying prevention, school pride, and possibly even keeping things neat

2

For example: Restrooms2

Teach students how to behave responsibly in those settings. For example:

• Lessons on classroom expectations, routines and policies

• Lessons on common area expectations, routines and policies

• Lessons on essential behaviors such as respect, bullying prevention, school pride, and possibly even keeping things neat

2

Teach students how to behave responsibly in those settings. For example:

• Lessons on classroom expectations, routines and policies

• Lessons on common area expectations, routines and policies

• Lessons on essential behaviors such as respect, bullying prevention, school pride, and possibly even keeping things neat

• Coaching provides a great model of teaching, and reteaching as needed.

• Coaching also provides a great model of inspirational leadership.

2

Observe student behavior (supervise!).

• Without monitoring, even responsible adults will push the limits.

• In the classroom, this involves circulating and scanning.• In the common areas, this involves organizing

supervision to insure that:– a sufficient number of adults are present.– friendly, respectful behavior is modeled.– the adults are coordinating with and supporting each

other.– students receive consistent information on what is

acceptable and not acceptable.

3

Observe student behavior (supervise!)--Consistently.

QuickTime™ and aDV - NTSC decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Interact positively with students. This involves three different skills.

• A. Interact in a welcoming manner with every student.– Say hello, use students’ names– Show an interest in students—listen, converse.

• B. Provide age appropriate, non-embarrassing positive feedback.

4

• C. Strive to interact more frequently with every student when s/he is engaged in positive behavior than when s/he is engaged in negative behavior.– Some students are starved for attention.– What you pay the most attention to is what will

occur more frequently in the future.– Strive for at least 3:1 positive to negative ratios.

Positively interact with students. This involves three different skills.4

Correct irresponsible behavior calmly, consistently and immediately in the setting in which the infraction occurred.

– Some schools may implement a 3-Level System for responding to misbehavior.

5

Fire in the Lab