Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools Sept/Oct 2017 | Page 14

Forest Hills and Monroe clusters explore new approaches to school discipline Every school administrator and teacher knows there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” approach to disciplining students. That’s why school staff from the Monroe and Forest Hills clusters recently attended the Safe & Civil Schools Foundations training, a comprehensive approach to managing student behavior that incorporates best practices based on 30 years of research. “The program is structured to help schools develop a school-wide system that supports students basically from the time they enter school to the time they leave. We want to make sure that all of our schools are safe and healthy,” said Brad Breedlove, UCPS Director of School Performance. “It’s really a tool that allows administrators and teachers to assess how their schools are and determine if they have the right elements in place to support students.” The training builds on a district- wide focus of reducing the number of suspensions in schools. An emphasis on data – which includes in-depth surveys – will also be used to help the staff create school discipline plans. “We have to ask, what are we doing proactively as a school to engage students, engage faculty and build a better culture within our schools?” Breedlove said. “This is all about positive behaviors, rewarding those behaviors and setting students up to be successful.” Rocky River Elementary teacher Heather Leonall, who attended the training said, “When talking School staff from the Monroe and Forest Hills about student success, behavior is a clusters recently attended the Safe & Civil Schools huge piece of that. And if you don’t Foundations training, where they discussed managing student behavior through positive have behavior under control then reinforcement. the academics are not going to be there,” Leonall said. “If you have a school culture as well as student success good behavior management system where and outcomes. kids feel good about themselves and the “That includes increasing student adults that are around them, then you’re attendance and student achievement as going to have those academic gains that well as a decreasing student discipline you are looking for.” issues for those schools who have gone What’s nice about the training, through Foundations training,” he said. Breedlove added, is that it includes “So all three of those phases are what we staff from elementary, middle and high really want to improve.” schools, a move that may ultimately lead —This article was provided by the Union the schools to adopt similar behavior County Public Schools Communications management strategies. By the end of the Office. multi-year training, Breedlove said, UCPS’ collective goal is to continue to improve Register for Fall Riding Lessons! Providence EQUESTRIAN CENTER Lessons begin August 21, 2017 Quality Instruction • Professional Training Excellent Horse Care PEC offers Lessons, Leasing, Showing, Camps, IEA Team, Boarding, and Birthday Parties Home of Sales and Leasing, Training, Boarding, and Showing www.stonehavennc.com • Outdoor Arena with European footing • Professional Staff • Convenient to Charlotte • Covered Arena - newly expanded to 70’ x 200’ • Climate Controlled Rooms • Serving the Charlotte area since 1998. www.ProvidenceEquestrian.com 424 Waxhaw-Indian Trail Rd., Waxhaw, NC 28173 • 704-843-5215 • [email protected] 12 • Sept/Oct 2017 • Parent Teacher Magazine