Behavior Systems

Recommended Initiative 1.2:

Strengthen and revise behavior systems to promote culturally-responsive and restorative practices that minimize disruptions to academic, social, and emotional learning opportunities.

Deliverables & Design Considerations

Click each deliverable below to expand its key design considerations.

TIMING: SPRING 2021

Create a working group to set and communicate a vision for a revised student code of conduct

How will we define the purpose, composition, meeting cadence, and deliverables for a working group?
How does our student code of conduct align with and support our school’s mission, vision, values, and student culture vision, etc.?
How does our code of conduct support us to set high expectations and address students’ off-task and disruptive behaviors through positive supports instead of exclusionary discipline, which is linked to higher rates of dropout, arrest, and incarceration (Batcher Hicks et al 2019)?
How will we include authentic and diverse family and community perspectives in developing our code of conduct?

Organize, disaggregate, and analyze student behavior data to identify key areas of strength and concern

What data will be collected and monitored school-wide? What data will we ask teachers to collect and monitor?
What can we learn from our rates of disciplinary referral and patterns of “offenses”?
What are existing data systems that can help? Where are there gaps?
What can we learn from our data that can help us better guard against racial bias?

Audit current policies and systems including behavior and discipline codes, policies, and practices to determine what challenges can be addressed with changes to current systems for SY21-22 and what challenges require more research and planning time in SY21-22 for implementation in SY22-23 and beyond

What are data from our internal audit telling us about a common set of practices that should be considered?
When is it okay to give a student what they need, even when it looks different?

Identify a small number of opportunities to improve behavior systems for SY21-22, promoting culturally-responsive and restorative practices to minimize disruption to learning

What does research and our school’s community context (school/classroom climate and performance data) suggest should be the focus of strategies?
Given our other priorities this year, what is a reasonable number of practices we can focus on as a school?
What key look-fors will we train our leaders and staff on?

Design a summer training program for teachers on revised behavior systems and restorative practices

What will teachers need to know before the start of the school year and what can they learn throughout the year? How will we reinforce and monitor new systems and practices?
Who from our school team should be trained or lead on training?
Will we need external training or support?

timing: SCHOOL YEAR 2021-22

Implement training for adopted strategies for SY21-22

What will teachers need to know before the start of the school year and what can they learn throughout the year? How will we reinforce and monitor new systems and practices?
Who from our school team should be trained or lead on training?
Will we need external training or support?

Create monitoring tools and data collection system to progress monitor and assess the implementation of adopted strategies

What data will be collected and monitored school-wide? What data will we ask teachers to collect and monitor?
What are existing data systems that can help? Where are there gaps?
How will we communicate progress?

Develop working group for SY22-23

How will we define the purpose, composition, meeting cadence, and deliverables for a working group?

Determine restorative practices for SY22-23

Which restorative practices do we want to incorporate?
What training do we need?
How will we assess the effectiveness of the restorative practices?

Identify strategies to strengthen tier 2 and tier 3 behavior supports and align them to academic supports

What is currently in place to support students needing tier 2 and tier 3 behavior supports?
Where are there strengths and gaps?
How can we combine behavioral intervention with academic support, which can boost achievement and save time and money (Stewart et al 2007)?

Publish a revised discipline policy, student handbook, and/or code of conduct

What key changes or updates do we need to communicate?
How will we update changes for various audiences, e.g., students, staff, families?
Who will be responsible for making these changes?

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