Firing Positive Neurons: Gratitude at BCS

Throughout this school year, the BCS Faculty has been studying Teaching Kids to Thrive: Essential Skills for Success by Debbie Thompson Silver and Dedra A. Stafford as part of our work on improving the social-emotional skills of our students. At a faculty learning time meeting a couple of weeks ago, we discussed the chapter on Gratitude. After a debate about whether gratitude was in fact something that can be taught, we decided to heed the words from page 221, “When we purposefully practice gratitude, we are firing positive neurons.” We agreed that a couple of days later, at DENS (our weekly k-8 advisory groups) we would complete a simple gratitude activity mentioned in the chapter. Each student would write down something at school for which she is grateful. Then, we would post all the papers on a gratitude board in the hall.

Well, I’d forgotten that I was not going to be at school that Friday. Also, I forgot to prepare the activity (oops, too busy for my own good sometimes). Turns out, there were a number of other staff absences so we canceled DENS altogether that day. So, with this reprieve in hand, I put off creating the activity for a few more days. The following Friday, I was saved once again by the huge amount of staff absences this time of year; we canceled DENS again.

Finally, this past week, I remembered to create the papers, clear the bulletin board, and make a sign. The papers are simple: 1/3 of a page with lines, the BCS logo, and the words “At BCS, I am grateful for…” Since I had time before a Board meeting, I wrote a memo with the very simple instructions. Friday morning, I handed out the memo and the papers to all of the DENS staff (all teachers, most paras). They handed the papers back to me later in the day. I hung them in a brick-like pattern at the suggestion of Chloe.

All afternoon, students and staff stopped to look at the gratitude wall. No surprises, but I think the cook got the most mentions.

The kicker to all of this is that this week had been one of the toughest all year in terms of student behavior. The gratitude that we started the day with helped us end this hard week on a high note. I guess that all that positive-neuron-firing really works.

Silver Buckshot, Positive climate at BCS

Creating a positive school climate cannot be done with a silver bullet. There is no one thing, that if we just implement, will “fix” a school’s climate. We can’t go to School Speciality and order the positive climate silver bullet.

Instead, creating and nurturing a positive school climate requires a Silver Buckshot approach. A wide variety of small strategies that together add up to positive school climate.

Here is most of what we do to ensure our school climate gets more positive every day:

Whole School Efforts (Tier I)

• Bear Cave: Weekly Whole School Meeting
• Daily Morning Meeting in each classroom (Responsive Classroom style)
• DENS: Doesn’t Everyone Need Support. Small group, like advisory, six students from K-8 with one staff member, 15 minutes each week
• Recognition and celebrations of meeting the school wide expectations, PBIS. We use a system of links to hand to the students. Then we fill a tube with spheres to track milestones around the building. We celebrate when the use is halfway and completely full.
• Positive Postcards home. We are working on making sure that every family gets some positive words from the school/teacher.
• Teachers eating lunch with students
• CLAWS, Community Leaders Advising With Support. A scheduled time for students to share their thoughts about the school.
• Social/Emotional Learning
• Second Step
• Teachings Kids to Thrive book study

For students who demonstrate some kind of need (Tier II/III)

• Increased counseling. From 0.0 FTE two years ago to 0.6 FTE now
• Student Support Supervisor/Para to work with students when they are sent out of class. Create behavior support plans
• PAWS: Positive Action With Support, a Check-in, check-out intervention
• Thorough investigation and reaction to reports of bullying and harassment
• Track some classroom-level discipline data in addition to office discipline referrals

Staff

• Staff raffles
• Woohoo! Board in Staff Room to share kudos or ideas
• Wellness Champions bringing staff wellness to the forefront
• Chocolate at every FLT/Faculty Meeting 
• Sleuth Leadership Team: shared decision making
• Transparency and honesty
• Principal visibility: classroom visits of every teacher several times each month
• Improving communication

Silver Buckshot references

I did not come up with the phrase “silver buckshot.” I heard it mentioned on a podcast sometime in January 2018, but I cannot figure out which one (I listen to a couple dozen shows during my commute). So, as much as I’d like to give credit for the phrase, I cannot. I was able to find a reference to the phrase “silver buckshot” all the way back to 2000 in an article about cockroach control. More common usage seems to start with a 2006 climate article from Bill McKibben.

A “Silver Buckshot” Guide to Cockroach Control

By: LT Daniel Szumlas, Ph.D.

Date Posted: January 22, 2000

http://www.japanupdate.com/archive/index.php?id=1242

Welcome to the Climate Crisis

By: Bill McKibben

Date Posted: May 27, 2006

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/26/AR2006052601549.html

They Should Know Better...

They should know better than to:

Talk out of turn,

Argue with each other,

Ignore the rules,

Disrespect adults,

Give up quickly,

Choose so poorly,

(insert your least favorite student behavior here)...

... but they don't. 

They don't know better. Many students struggle to accept authority, think for themselves, or manage their own emotions. Students affected by poverty or the opioid epidemic are not getting many of the basic social-emotional skills they need. They don't arrive at our schools with the Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-making that we believe they need to be successful students and members of society (see CASEL, https://casel.org, for loads of info).

They need us, the adults at school, to teach them. Whether we teach them through a formal curriculum (such as Second Step), a classroom approach (such as Responsive Classroom), school wide expectations and celebrations (as included in PBIS), or in the "hidden curriculum" so many of us have always been sure to focus on, it is now a necessary part of many public schools to teach students how to get by in a community. Kindergarten teachers are chuckling now that the rest of us have caught up to them; they've been teaching the "hidden curriculum" for ever. The problem is that kids are starting school with so few of these skills mastered that it takes far more than one year to catch up. We have to teach social-emotional skills through the grades.

Many teachers start their career thinking that they will focus mostly on academic skills. People dream of teaching kids to read in first grade, divide fractions in sixth grade, or recite Shakespeare with high school juniors. When they hit reality and realize that teaching involves tons beyond the content, some teachers run with it. Other teachers start complaining that the students should know better. Well, they don't; it is our job to teach them. When we put in the time to teach Social-Emotional skills, fractions and Shakespeare are not far behind

cross-posted to Connected Principals

Lunch and Recess, Positive Climate, part 5

At many schools, the cafeteria and the playground are behavior hotspots. It stands to reason that those two places, during lunch and recess, will be the least structured. Less structure leads to bad behavior. Many principals shudder at the prospect of lunch duty and then spend the afternoon dealing with problems from the playground. That used to be me and Wolcott Elementary. Well, the playground used to be tough, the cafeteria has been easy for years.

You see, many years ago, the Wolcott teachers began eating lunch with their students; it was their duty instead of recess. Every day, every class is joined at their table(s) by their teacher or one of the specialists. The adults eat and talk with their students. The benefits are easy to see. The caf is humming but not loud. The adults and students are mostly calm. Small problems between kids get noticed right away and never become big problems. Teachers keep cliques from getting out of hand and loners from being too lonely. The Wolcott Caf is a civil place to eat.

So, while the caf has not generated discipline referrals for a long time, the playground has changed much in the last few years. Five years ago, there were frequent discipline problems that started on the playground. There small fights, arguments, frustrations over sports or friends. The Paraeducators that covered recess felt like the area was too large to supervise well. So, four years ago, we found a way to increase recess supervision by 50% -- we added one monitor to our old schedule of two monitors. This increase made a difference right away as more eyes-on led to earlier intervention.

A couple of years later, we noticed that the remaining discipline problems were mostly from the end of recess line up. The procedure was to line up each class, wait for quiet, then send in the best behaved class. The problems here were many. First, instead of calming down kids while they lined up, many kids fooled around in line, got in trouble, and re-entered the building more escalated. In their effort to get a quiet line, the monitors were also getting more upset (thus making referrals for things like dropping gloves in a puddle or talking too much at recess). The recess committee (the paras, the principal, and the counselor) agreed to stop lining up the kids at the end of recess. After a flawless pilot, we gradually spread this to all grades. Now, at the end of recess, on monitor goes into the driveway to signal that recess is over (and provide crossing guard services). One monitor leads the students into the building, while the third brings up the rear.

This last bit about splitting up the responsibilities of the monitors at the end of recess came out of a great process (in fact, much of our best change came from this as well). The recess monitors meet every week as a committee. We discuss rules, challenging student strategies, playground conditions and more. This year we spend some time carefully defining exactly what our Handbook means by "Active Supervision." Even though most of what we decided was already in place, having it all written out solved a few small problems and will allow new recess monitors to fit in even faster. We plan on including the document we created in next year's Staff Handbook.

These changes: building relationships with the kids, increased supervision, changes to procedures, and clarification of the responsibilies of the adults has led to a school with few recess discipline referrals and a peaceful cafeteria.

(Hmmm...relationships, supervision, procedures, responsibilies. Sounds like I am describing some sort of schoolwide behavior approach.)

Improving climate and student behavior has been a major focus of the last few years at Wolcott Elementary. Now that the fruits of our labor have become apparent, it is time to share what is working. Our positive behavior data looks great, our numbers of discipline cases keeps dropping. There are many factors; this was another one.

Eagle's Nest, Monday Morning Meeting Update, Positive Climate, part 4

Image from Penna Game Commission

Way back in September 2011, I wrote about Wolcott Elementary School embarking on a journey of weekly, all-school meetings. That fifrst meeting, held a few days into the school year was truly just the beginning. Since then, over the last five years, the all-school gathering has become fully integrated into our culture.

Once I showed the teachers the basic structure, I turned over the reigns. Classes started leading the meeting with a variety of curriculum presentations and performances. We started using the Monday Morning Meeting to reinforce the schoolwide expectations as part of our PBIS implementation. At every meeting, we celebrate birthdays and share the Wes Awards for student of the week in each class and the staff. We even introduce new students or staff to the whole community.

Years ago, a staff member, with student input, created a song, "Eye of the Eagle" (to the tune of Eye of the Tiger). We still sing it every once in a while at our weekly meeting. A couple of years later, we renamed the meeting, "Eagle's Nest" to tie it into the whole system of building school culture. Thankfully, Eagle's Nest has remained fully part of that culture. Recently, we had a snow day on the day we were to return from a vacation. When we did resume classes, the entire school community showed up for the meeting without being prompted.

Eagle's Nest, the whole school gathering, has been an important piece of our improved school culture. 

Trauma Informed: Positive Climate, part 3

We do not let trauma be an excuse. Wolcott Elementary has become a trauma-informed school during the last couple of years. This means that our staff and our programs are designed so that those students suffering from trauma (whether it be the more benign traumas stemming from neglect or the more direct traumas related to violence) can be successful. First, we talk frequently about these issues; we’ve stopped complaining about kids, and we now focus on solutions. Most teachers and paraeducators have completed de-escalation/restraint training (CPI), about ten staff members have completed a two-day training on Functional Behavioral Assessments/Behavior Intervention Plans, we share articles and training materials, many staff have listened to presentations about the effects of poverty and trauma on the development of the brain, and we created the A-Team (a crisis response team to help de-escalate or restrain safely). All this work undergirds the behavior systems we have put into place recently.

Improving climate and student behavior has been a major focus of the last few years at Wolcott Elementary. Now that the fruits of our labor have become apparent, it is time to share what is working. Our positive behavior data looks great, our numbers of discipline cases keeps dropping. There are many factors; this was another one.

Eagle Stamps: Positive Climate, part 2

At Wolcott Elementary School, we are getting great results with the Eagle Stamp system. 

Each day, the teachers and/or paraeducators will ink-stamp a chart for each student who meets the school wide expectations of being "Responsible, Respectful, and Ready in Thoughts, Words, and Actions.” If the child does not earn the stamp, the staff write a very brief note of explanation. The chart is sent home every day. Most parents sign the chart or write comments back. This high level of communication is time consuming, but has proven to be well worth it. Visits to the Nest (our version of a student support center) are down, and major discipline referrals have dropped dramatically. We also tied the data from the Eagle Stamps into a rewards and celebration system. We alternate between small, individually earned rewards (e.g. 30-minute game time, extra recess, or a cookie) and school wide celebrations (e.g. a hike on Mt. Elmore, ice skating, or Field Day). We have filled our Facebook page with photos of these great events.

The combination of daily behavior feedback and acknowledgement with a robust system of celebrations has helped to make our school climate much more positive.

Improving climate and student behavior has been a major focus of the last few years at Wolcott Elementary. Now that the fruits of our labor have become apparent, it is time to share what is working. Our positive behavior data looks great, our numbers of discipline cases keeps dropping. There are many factors; this was another one.

Expanded Check-ins: Positive Climate, part 1

Late fall 2015, Wolcott Elementary School began an expanded check-in program designed to make sure that all students are successful and feel a sense of belonging. Expanded Check-ins are a brief, daily connection between small groups of students and our behavior paraprofessional. Students are selected based on parent concerns, teacher observations, counselor recommendation, or patterns of behavior that suggest some extra attention is in order. A daily check-in will give students a chance for increased, positive connections and interactions – a cheery face with a few minutes to listen and give encouragement. This will give the group one extra dose of attention that should be enough to get them through their day.

Improving climate and student behavior has been a major focus of the last few years at Wolcott Elementary. Now that the fruits of our labor have become apparent, it is time to share what is working. Our positive behavior data looks great, our numbers of discipline cases keeps dropping. There are many factors; this was one.

Proud PBIS Principal

The following is a short note that I shared with the staff at Wolcott Elementary School. 

I am so proud to be the principal of Wolcott Elementary School.  

It is clear to me that in the last year or so, we have come together to make our school better for those students who struggle the most.  

At the PBIS Leadership Forum, on Friday, I was able to share all of the work that you have done these last couple of years. It is a story of a staff that has made many systematic shifts at the universal level and beyond. More importantly, ours is a story of a staff whose thinking about struggling kids is changing in fantastic ways. I rarely hear complaints about behavior anymore; instead, I hear questions about why the behavior exists, and I hear adults reflecting on how they can do something different to meet the students’ needs. I’ve repeated several times in the last week the comment that came my way last year from an anonymous teacher: it seems like we only focus on behavior at WES. I now respond to that: we needed to, and it worked. 

Now, we still spend time on behavior, but it is not our main focus. I am proud that we are once again in a place to focus on things like reading, writing, and math. 

I am proud to be the principal of Wolcott Elementary School.

Note: please see the brief slide deck from a brief presentation at the Vermont PBIS Leadership Forum.

The students win when it is RC v. PBIS

As part of a class I am currently taking, I was asked to read and respond to an article (https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/sites/default/files/pdf_files/RC_PBIS_white_paper.pdf) that discussed how Responsive Classroom (RC) works with Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS). This assignment was perfect for me as both approaches are in heavy use at my school.

Instead of writing something new about the relationship between RC and PBIS, I figured I would just publish my assignment.


PBIS and the Responsive Classroom Approach article: Reflective Question

Both PBIS and Responsive Classroom fit well with my philosophy of education (my complete statement can be found here: http://principalspov.blogspot.com/p/philosophy-of-education.html). Essentially, PBIS, RC, and I all agree that it is up to the teacher to change the environment to support student success. We all agree that positive approaches work and "that punitive or ‘get tough’ strategies can be counterproductive and are harmful to children." Over time, my philosophy of education has shifted to include student behavior into the belief that all children can learn and be successful.

The complementary approaches of PBIS and RC are focused on supporting all children to find success. The article explains that using RC can help with a successful PBIS implementation. While RC does not provide meaningful systems for intensive behaviors, it does provide the foundation for the Universal Tier of PBIS. Classroom environment, rule creation, teaching and reteaching procedures and behaviors, and positive adult language all work together to set the stage for students to be successful. RC fills in some of the ‘how’ in the PBIS system.

These two systems are in-sync with one another. Staff who are fully trained in RC (as many Wolcott staff have been when at JSC) are primed for work in a PBIS system. The small differences (language v. material reinforcement, universal v. leveled tiers) are surmountable when some flexibility and creativity are applied. Those staff who truly adhere to either can usually adapt to use the other. The challenge is not whether RC and PBIS fit together. The challenge is helping staff evolve their thinking from punitive to positive, from reactive to preventive. Together, RC and PBIS support my philosophy that all children can learn and succeed.

Posted with Blogsy