By: Diana Boroski

My school consists of over 400 students, all different from one

another, requiring different levels of social and academic support

This year, due to budget cuts, we have less aides, less special education
faculty, and our school psychologist and social worker positions have
been split between schools (part time)

Individualized Education Plans consist of hours that seem near
impossible to meet; This year, we have some students under the ED
(Emotionally Disturbed) label, without enough strategies put in place for
them

Due to the shortage of staff and pressure for students to score well on
tests, most of the focus is on students struggling academically.
Students who are performing well, but lacking in other areas, such as
motivation, ability to maintain relationships, etc. are missing out on
some support

I strongly believe there needs to be a clearer process to follow to meet
the needs of our students who need social support. New Behavioral
Interventions should be put in place.

What are Behavioral
Interventions?
The Crisis Prevention Institute (2012) defines Behavioral
Intervention as a dynamic, problem-solving process involving goal
identification, information gathering, hypothesis development,
support plan design, implementation, and monitoring.

Part of effective behavioral interventions is that students are
provided with a continuum of support

A range of intervention strategies are developed Simple
behavior charts and rewards are not enough

Teaching is proactive with the goal being to improve social
behaviors, or prevent hazardous social behaviors

Providing Behavioral Intervention Support means working hard
to teach socially appropriate behaviors
More data We know there is a problem. We need to have data that shows if a
child is trying to gain something (control, attention), or escape something. This
data will DRIVE our instruction.

More opportunities for Professional Development on Behavioral Interventions

Clearer rules, and more modeling of appropriate behaviors

To teach logical consequences and provide more repercussions for students
acting out

Consequently, we need to provide incentives to students showing positive
behaviors

More In Class support and social lessons, not only pull out hours

More focus on variables

Clearer communication with parents being consistent

More willingness to change our ways to help students offer more choice, create
smoother transitions, help students to learn the appropriate ways to act during
unstructured times




Collect data. Approaches must be data-driven. As soon as a classroom
teacher feels that a student needs social support, they should keep a
log of observable behaviors and social concerns. Baseline data is
important. In the end, we want to see how far a student has come and if
there is improved quality of life for them. If a student is acting out or
becoming defiant during math time every day, then maybe math is an
area of weakness and an anxiety builder. Just figuring this out is the
first of many steps to take to lesson anxiety and promote motivation
and positive attitudes.

I feel there are sometimes discrepancies between teachers and what
they feel are at risk behaviors. Professional Development and baseline
forms created together by our teachers could help keep everyone on
the same page and following correct protocol. Better behavior
contracts, charts, forms need to be created. One form does not fit
each child.

We cant teach students socially appropriate behaviors without clear
rules, expectations, and modeling. We need to make sure we have
common language and common rules used throughout the school. If we
tell students to be respectful, we need evidence that they understand
what that word means, and how to adhere to it. We have to teach, re-
teach, and reinforce behaviors.

We need to utilize our support staff, even if theyre not in the
building each day of the week. We do not always have all the
answers ourselves. Scheduling OBAs (Observational
Assessments) and collaborating with other professionals helps
ensure data is valid and support is necessary.

Explain logical consequences to students. They need to
understand that consequences arent punishments. We need to
spend more time on the why, eliminate empty apologies and
make students more accountable.

We need to provide meaningful incentives, not only
consequences. I feel that we use stickers and rewards very
often. I feel we need to come up with less tangible rewards for
students. For example, earning attention, creating more lunch
bunch groups, letting a student be a buddy or helper to a
younger student, etc. could provide much more and enhance
student feelings of self-worth.


Students often leave the classroom to work with the psychologist and
social worker. Perhaps these professionals could spend some time IN
the classrooms teaching whole group social skills lessons, to all
students. This makes every child equal. The messages are clear to all.
Its also a great opportunity to seek out positive peer role models to
interact in small groups with at-risk students. Teachers are not the only
models. Other students are, too.

To provide support, we have to pay more attention to variables. What
triggers certain behaviors? Keeping track as to when a child is
demonstrating a behavior could be helpful. This helps teachers to
redirect and decrease undesirable behaviors.

Parental Contact is of utmost importance and unfortunately, parents
often feel surprised to hear that their child is not socially growing to
the best of their ability. Children model adults. The adults in their
home and the adults in their school need to communicate and use similar
strategies to keep rules and routines consistent for children. We must
work harder to document home-school communication, meetings, etc. so
that parents are informed and working with us for the best interest of
their child.

We need to be willing to change and be
flexible enough where students are
getting what they need. Coming up with
signals, songs, chants, etc. to help
students better handle transition times
would be effective. Providing more
choice can be helpful.
According to CPI (2012), staff members are encouraged to
really listen to students, and believe that behaviors are a way of
communicating? Staff should pay attention to not only facts, but
what it is the student is trying to relay. What lies beneath their
social struggles?

Teachers sometime forget to look at ALL the factors that may
influence behavior. Is a classroom too noisy? Are students being
challenged enough? Is the work too challenging for students?
Are many new teachers coming in and out of a room? Are
students on medications? When an at-risk child is identified, the
factors influencing their behavior must also be identified. Being
proactive is part of this. What small changes might make a large
difference? Is there too much choice in a classroom, resulting in
chaos? Is the classroom too structured, preventing creativity?
As teachers, we also must assess ourselves and our strategies.
A presentation by the Partners Resource
Network (2004) compared 2 attitudes that
adults have in viewing student behavior:

The child IS a problem.
The child HAS a problem.

What is your view? Lets change our attitudes,
remain proactive, positive, and reach as many
students as we can. We need to put in the
effort if we want to see results.
Positive Behavior Support and the Nonviolent
Crisis Intervention Training Program,
http://www.crisisprevention.com/Resources/Kno
wledge-Base/Positive-Behavior-Support, retrieved
on October 14, 2012

Postive Behavior Interventions & IDEA 2004,
http://www.partnerstx.org/PDF/Positive_Behavi
oral_Interventions.pdf, retrieved on October 16,
2012