EVALUATION OF

AGGRESSION
INTERVENTION
STRATEGIES PROGRAM
AT DCS ALTERNATIVE
SCHOOL
Submitted to DCS Administration by James Flynn

James Flynn
Boise State University
EDTECH 505

Summary
Five years ago, SL County adopted a countywide Positive Behavior Intervention
support. Each school devised their own behavioral system using a point system that
reinforced positive behavior and a series of leveled consequences to combat negative
behaviors. These plans had helped most schools in the district lower their out-of-school
suspension rates, decrease days students spent in in-school suspension facilities, and
reduce their student referrals. Most importantly, violent incidents between students and
aggression towards teachers and staff had almost disappeared. The only school in the
district that continued to document increasing behavioral incidents was the counties
alternative education placement facility Dan Carter School (DCS). The behaviors at
DCS had escalated to an extreme level partly because of the student population of the
school. DCS students are bused from all over the county but the majority come from
gang-influenced neighborhoods. Students do not elect to attend DCS but are assigned
after being expelled from their home school, are court assigned, or have severe mental
issues that make them a danger to others on a regular campus. After attempting a basic
three tier basic Positive Behavior Support (PBS) plan it was decided by administration
to attempt a more advanced program that still fit within the PBS philosophy. A
combination Applied Behavioral Analysis Program (ABA) and an anger management
treatment was implemented including the CRISIS section, which teaches defense holds
for teachers when controlling an out-of-control student. The program Aggression
Intervention Strategies is currently the same type of program used in the juvenile
detention program and treatment facilities. This program began at the beginning of the
2013-2014 school year after a school-wide training program that took place over the
summer. It was hoped that this program would bring down the violence against
students, teachers, and staff along with controlling the suspension rates. Despite the
short time period of the program being used on campus, administration is considering
not using the program for the upcoming school year because they felt it was too time
consuming and some parents had complained about the lack of materialistic rewards.
However, other teachers, staff, and parents differ with this opinion. They feel the
program was working and after all the training and money spent, the program should be
allowed to continue for at least another year before a decision is made.
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the use of the Aggression Intervention
Strategies program on the suspension rate and violent activity on a group of 50 DCS
students. The students are all members of the same academic pod and are a mixture of
expelled students, juvenile offenders, and emotionally disturbed. The students
behavioral records from the 2013-2014 school year were used as the primary method to
review program effectiveness. The pod also contained four primary teachers of the
basic core subjects, four para-professionals, and two behavior techs who were
surveyed about their experiences with the program and if its use helped with daily
classroom management along with personal safety. Twenty DCS students who were
attending a summer tutoring program also completed a simple survey about the current
behavioral program. Additionally, four parents participated in an interview that was
conducted over the phone or through email.
This evaluation project was conducted to determine if the Aggression
Intervention Strategies program met objective one of having any effect on student
behavior at DCS. Additionally, objective two asked about the opinions of teachers, staff,

and parents about the Aggression Intervention Strategies Program. Objective ones
evaluation results showed that negative student behavior decreased by 54%. The
surveys of teachers, staff, and students showed that most of the participants rated the
program effective to highly effective at reducing or controlling student behaviors. Parent
interviews detailed a lack of communication between the school and home because all
expressed that they were unaware of the schools behavioral program change and did
not know the components of it.
Description of the Program Evaluated
The Aggression Intervention Strategies program does not replace the schools
current PBS behavioral system. Instead, it provides teachers with additional
management skills to attempt to deescalate problems before sending students from the
classroom or having the students forcefully removed. The purpose is to give the student
respect and dignity so that they will see the teacher and the school as an ally, not an
enemy. Teachers are assigned classroom para-professionals to assist in classroom
management and to allow teachers to respond to problems in a timely fashion. The
teachers could then speak with the student in a private area, away from distractions.
This would allow the teacher and student develop a report, provide a break from other
student distractions thus allowing the student a calm down period which would lessen
suspension rates and missed academic time. The benefits for the students would be a
decreased suspension rate, lower referrals, less violent outburst, and an increase in ontask behavior, resulting in academic gains.
Teachers and staff were given more freedom to decide discipline, but each
incidence had to be documented and increases in behaviors must be noted. All
classrooms were outfitted with cameras and speakers for safety and liability purposes.
Teachers were required to keep daily notes for each class and students that were
removed must meet with the school counselor and/or probation officer.
The results of this evaluation will be presented to the school administration
consisting of the school principal, vice principal, guidance counselor, and dean. The
purpose of this evaluations project is to detail if students using the Aggression
Intervention Strategies Program for one school year were able to show progress to the
schools behavioral objectives of lower in and out of school suspensions, lesser violent
and aggressive behaviors toward other students and staff members, and number of
referrals written in one year. It will also detail the opinions of teachers, staff, parents,
and students on the effectiveness of the AIS program.
Program Objectives
This project will evaluate the following program objectives:
1. Did Aggression Intervention Strategies have any effect on student behavior
at DCS?
a. Was there a decrease of suspension rates?
b. Did behavioral incidents in general decrease?
c. Did violent incidents between students and aggression towards
teachers and staff decrease?
2. What was the opinion of teachers, staff, parents, and students of the AIS
program?

a. Did teachers find the program to be too time consuming or did they
see little benefit?
b. What was staffs thoughts on the amount of work asked of them?
c. Did parents see any improvement in students behavior?
d. Did students see the benefit and potential of program?
e. Did the violent level/amount/frequency of violent or aggressive
behaviors from students to other students or staff decrease?
Evaluation Method
For this project, the Goal-Based method was chosen for the program evaluation.
This method of evaluation uses quantitative and qualitative data that is specific to the
objectives and goals of the project.
Participants:
Students in Data Study
In this evaluation project, 50 students behavioral records from the previous year
were chosen randomly by selecting every ninth student listed on the academic pods
roster. All of the students were in grades 8-10 and consisted of 19 girls and 31 boys.
Since the objective of the evaluation was to review the entire years completed data, the
students were not actively involved in the study. Their behavioral data from the 20132014 school year was the primary data measurement used to evaluate the success of
the Aggression Intervention Strategies Program.
Teachers & Staff
The teachers and staff involved in the survey section of the evaluation are 4
teachers, 4 para-professionals, and 2 behavior analysist who works within the same
academic pod as the students whose behavioral data is being used in the evaluation
project. Each of the subject areas are represented within the sample of teachers. All of
the teachers and staff surveyed used the Aggression Intervention Strategies Program
last year and participated in all required training programs at the start of the 2013-2014
school year. The majority of the teachers had been with DCS for more than 3 years, 6
held advanced degrees, and two had military backgrounds. Staff members that
participated with the evaluation included para-professionals and Behavior Analysts.
They had attended the same trainings as the teaching staff and had direct knowledge
and workings with the behavior program.
Parents
Parent involvement and participation is limited at DCS. Parents of all 50 students
involved in the study were sent an administration approved letter asking for participation
in an interview about the schools behavior plan. There were three replies to the letter
agreeing to participate. The interview contained three questions explaining their
thoughts on the behavior program. Parents had the option to answer either through email, telephone, or in person.

Students
Each summer DCS offers a two-week tutoring program open to all students who
attend the school. On the last day of the tutoring program, students were asked to
volunteer to complete a survey about the current behavior plan at DCS. Most of the
students who attend the tutoring program are vocal that they only signed up for tutoring
because of free breakfast and lunch. Students were told the survey was optional and
not compensated, however all 20 students completed the student survey.
Procedures
To discover if the use of the program resulted in any change as defined in the
first objective, the evaluator used the student behavioral data that is collected yearly
and maintained within the students behavior progress records. Using these records, the
evaluator divided the data by behavior incidents included in the project goals and then
listed the number of occurrences for all students for each of the school months. The
evaluator counted each of the following acts as one occurrence listed in monthly tally.
Removal from classroom
Any act of aggression towards any person on campus.
Student in-school suspension
Student out-of school suspension
Written referral
Assistance needed from school officer
Assistance needed from County Sheriffs Department
The teachers were asked to complete a survey that asked about their
experiences with the Aggression Intervention Strategies Program. The survey consisted
of a rating scale that asked about their overall experience with the program, its effect on
classroom management and student academic performance.
The parent surveys were sent home by emails provided to the evaluator by the
parents. These surveys were designed as a three-question interview fill-in style. Parents
were asked to fill-in their brief answers and email the interview back or they could call
the evaluator to complete the interview questions.
The student surveys were distributed to the DCS tutoring students on the final
day of the summer tutoring program. The students had been using the program during
the summer session so the concepts were still fresh to them. Their survey questionnaire
contained 10 questions and used the same rating scale as the teachers.
Data Sources
Students 2013-2014 behavioral data
Teachers surveys
Parent Interviews
Student Surveys
*Examples and results are in the appendix section

Results
The behavioral data of 50 students from the 2013-2014 school year was
evaluated to see any behavioral changes since the implementation of the Aggression
Intervention Strategies Program.

At the start of the school year (Aug 2013) there where 35 behavioral incidences
recorded between the 50 students involved in the project. By the end of the school year,
in May 2014 that number was 16 behavioral incidences recorded among the 50
students. That equals a 54% decrease in behavior while the Aggression Intervention
Strategies Program was in place.
Survey Results
The teacher and student surveys were each 10 questions and were based on a
simple 1-5 rating scale. The questions on the surveys differed but revolved around the
common themes of: understanding of program, effectiveness, safety, and ease of use.
Of the 16 teacher and staff surveys, 10 teachers rated the program effective, 8 felt their
safety had improved, 7 liked the programs use of use, and 12 would like to work with
the program again.
The student survey results followed almost the same pattern, Of the 20 students
surveyed, 14 felt that they liked the program and thought it was effective. Eight students

loved the program for increasing their safety on campus, and 13 would like to work with
the program again because it helped keep them out of trouble last year.
Parent Interviews
Parent interviews were centered on three opinion-based questions. They
included, Did you see any improvement in you students behavior last school year?,
What do you know about the current behavior plan on campus and do you have any
concerns?, and finally If you were offered any type of resource to manage behavior in
your home, what types of resources would you ask for? The interview questions were
answered by students family members including, three caregivers, and two were
grandmothers and one was a stepmother. All but one of the interviews were conducted
over the telephone and the remaining interview was mailed back to the evaluator at the
school site. The answers to the questions varied but all three did report behavioral
changes. Albeit, one change was not positive as the child was currently incarcerated. All
three of the caregivers were not aware of the new behavior program but would be
interested in attending a training session. The last questions brought about several
different types of responses and while funny, none was practical in nature.
Discussion
One of the primary objectives of the evaluation project was to see if the
implementation of the Aggression Intervention Strategies Program had any effect on
behavioral incidences during the 2013-2014 school year. In reviewing the students
data, the evaluation group began the school year with 35 behavior incidents among the
50 students sample. It does need to be noted that incidences were counted as a group
as a whole and not per individual students. When looking at the student sample as a
whole, there was a 54% decrease in behavioral incidents from Aug 2013- May 2014.
The second objective of the evaluation project was to detail the opinions of the
teachers, staff, and students. Specifically survey questions asked about how the
Aggression Intervention Strategies Program had been in the classroom, the students
home life, and if students saw personal or academic growth. The majority of the teacher
and staff surveys listed positive feelings toward the behavior program and felt it had
made an improvement in the general behavior of the students.
Of the ten teachers and staff surveys, eight listed that the Aggression
Intervention Strategies Program as highly effective. Almost the same results were
expressed in the student surveys, on the 20 student surveys twelve said that they were
satisfied with the program and two listed themselves as highly satisfied. Parent
interviews were less successful because all parents maintained that they had been
unaware of the behavior program changes that had taken place at the school. All of the
parents mentioned that there had been some behavioral changes at home but since
they did not know the program, they could not say if it was the cause of the behavior
changes.

Project Cost
James Flynn- Evaluation Project
Lead
Supplies & Materials

10 days @ $500.00 per day

Total

$5000.00
$550.00
$5550.00

This project did not entail any travel expenses because the school site was only
a 10-minute drive. However, since this evaluation was primarily data driven from
previously collected data it was time consuming. Locating all data from 50 students and
then making sure to perform an accurate count for each month took between 6-8 hours
for almost 5 days.

Appendix

TEACHER SURVEY
The following survey is for an evaluation study of the Aggression Intervention Strategies
Program. Your opinions on the following questions would be beneficial. All surveys are
anonymous, when you are finished please put the completed survey back in the
envelope and place in the copy room. Thank you for your time.
For each question below, please circle the number 1-5 that best describes your
opinion .
5- Strongly Agree, 4- Agree, 3- Neutral, 2,-Disagree, 1 Strongly Disagree

Survey Item
1.

The Aggression Intervention Program provided me with

additional classroom management options.

2.

My students violent and/or aggressive behaviors

decreased this school year.
Students had fewer missed school days or class periods
due to suspensions.
I feel safer in my job based on the skills I learned in the
Aggression Intervention Program.
Being Able to take a more active role in the discipline of
my students is something I enjoy.
I felt that there was too much paperwork involved in the
behavior plan.
Removing the teacher from the class to handle one
student takes away from valuable teaching time.
I would like to continue using the Aggression Intervention
Strategies Program next year.

3.
4.

5.
6.
7.

8.

9.

I would like to explore other behavioral programs that are

better suited for our school environment.

10.

I think that additional training is needed for teachers and

students to gain a better understanding of the program.

Dear Parents,
The DCS Pod 2 Team would like to invite you to be part of an important
evaluation study being conducted this summer. This is your chance to make a
difference in your childs education. The process is simple and involves just a 15-minute
time commitment from you.
If you would like to take part in this exciting opportunity, you would provide
your valuable opinions about the schools current behavior program. If you would like to
take part, please contact Mr. James Flynn at 772-429-3600 or send a quick email to
1flynnj@stlucie.k12.fl.us.edu.

Thank you,
DCS School

Parent Interview Questions

1. Did you see any improvement in your students behavior during the last
school year?
Two said they saw some improvement but could not pinpoint what the
exact improvements were.
One said there was a great improvement in the students behavior but
student had been returned to jail for another offense. Grandmother
said improvement was that student was attending church and drug
rehab while incarcerated.

2. What do you know about the current behavior plan on campus and do you
have any concerns?
All caregivers said they had no knowledge of schools new behave
plan. They would be open to attending trainings if they were offered.

3. If you were offered any type of resource to manage behavior in your home,
what types of resources would you ask for?
Answers varied from prison guard, man, shot gun, the lord but none of
the answers were practical in nature.

STUDENT SURVEY
The following survey is about the schools behavior program, The Aggression
Intervention Strategies Program. We are asking you to share your honest opinions on
the following questions. All surveys are private, so please do not ask others about their
answers. When you are finished, please put the completed survey back in the envelope
and place in the basket on the teachers desk. Thank you.
For each question below, please circle the number 1-5 that best describes your
opinion .
5- Strongly Agree, 4- Agree, 3- Neutral, 2,-Disagree, 1 Strongly Disagree

Survey Item

1. The new program was very hard to understand.

2. I was able to control my anger much better this year.

5. I was in trouble less this year than the year before.

6. I liked the point sheet program better.

7. I would like to continue this behavior program next

year.

8. Some of my grades improved this year.

9. When I was angry at home, I remembered some of the

things I learned in the program to help control or limit
my outburst.

10. I did not learn any strategies from the new behavior
program.

3. I like talking with my teacher about my behavior better

than the Dean or Police Officer.
4. I would rather just be suspended then have to discuss
my actions with others.