The Portage Township School Board got a briefing Monday on how behavior problems are being addressed in the district’s schools.
“We see a lot of need for behavior improvements throughout our district,” Director of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Stephanie Barrett said.
She showed the board a chart of state-reportable discipline incidents so far this school year, as of Oct. 15.
Among elementary schools, Central led the pack with 35, followed by Jones at 12 and Myers at five. Crisman had none.
Among the secondary schools, Fegeley Intermediate had 107, Willowcreek Middle School had 113, and Portage High School had 214.
There are three tiers for dealing with behavioral issues, Barrett said, with a “ladder of consequences,” depending on the severity of the offense. Repeated offenses are also dealt with.
The second tier targets individual behavior. Often students with similar behavioral difficulties can be brought together to build coping mechanisms, she said.
“We developed a behavior design team last year,” she said, that works at tiers 1 and 2.
“We also did work on a form called ladders of consequence,” with separate ones for elementary and secondary schools, Barrett said. Teachers can look at it and see how far up the hierarchy it needs to go. “All of our buildings have that. All of our teachers have that in their hands to refer to.” The building leader has final say on what action to take.
The third tier is addressed by the district’s two behaviorists. This year, a behavior coach was added, splitting time between Myers and Central.
“We have one elementary school that is significantly higher than the rest,” Central, so it has a program designed to deal with behavior issues, Barrett said.
“We’re not high on expulsion,” she said.
Fegely Intermediate School is new this year. The building, a former middle school, now serves students in grades 5 and 6. Its number of disciplinary issues is similar to Willowcreek’s. “Are we treating our students at intermediate school the same as at middle school?” Barrett posed. She doesn’t want to do that because the students are developmentally different, hence not grouped together.
School advisors, social workers and guidance counselors help students with coping skills.
When students enter tier 3, community partners offering counseling services get involved. The district has memorandums of understanding with Porter-Starke Services, Crown Counseling and Stepping Stones, and Meridian Health.
Barrett is hoping the board will approve an MOU with Teddy Sullivan and Karos Counseling, specializing in counseling for younger elementary students.
“Trying to work with kids that don’t have that ability to identify that emotion” is difficult, she said.
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Some of the counseling is done during the school day. “We are absolutely trying to avoid any of the core instructional times when we are doing this during the school day,” Barrett said.
Getting preschoolers ready to attend school should help, too, she said.
The Birth 2 School program, developed by First Things First Porter County, will help, offering tips on developmentally appropriate activities with their children. “We want to work with parents in the libraries, parks and other public spaces,” Barrett said, to help them get their children learning basic concepts.
The district offers preschool programming, especially for children who qualify for special ed services. “We are full, and we are on a waiting list,” she said. If enough parents put their kids on the waiting list, the district might be convinced to add staff to expand the program, she said.
Preschool not only teaches basic skills to prepare children for kindergarten but also helps them learn how to behave in a school setting.
“Behavior is something I’m going to look at a lot deeper this year,” Barrett said.
She’s also looking at gifted education and alternative education to make sure students are still on a pathway to graduation.
Board Vice President Wilma Vazquez said she wished the district could hire more behaviorists.
“They do consultation services for the rest of the buildings,” not just the ones they’re stationed at, Barrett said. They usually begin with observation, then help build a plan and suggest intervention as needed. “Two people doing that with the entire district, they can’t be everywhere every day,” she said.
Students can’t learn math, reading and other subjects if behavior isn’t under control, Vazquez said.
Board member Matt Ramian said he’d like to know how discipline works in the household for children who need intervention. He asked for demographic data to show how many of the kids who misbehave are being raised by single parents, married parents, custodial parents or grandparents.
“How do you discipline a kid today, in today’s society, that is a habitual offender?” he asked.
For repeat offenders, “We also have to look at that mental health part,” Barrett said. “Those are also kids that have suffered a trauma.”
In other business, the board approved contracts with the transportation team and custodians, each represented by the United Steelworkers. The transportation team negotiated a five-year contract with 3% raises a year. Custodians have the same terms, except their contract is for three years.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.