Administrators and teachers at Fulton Middle School are facing a spate of student behavioral issues, board of education members were told Wednesday.
Principal Beth Houf and Assistant Principal Erica Hogan said they have plans for tackling the situation.
"Fulton Middle School has experienced an extraordinary amount of behavior challenges this year," Superintendent Jacque Cowherd explained in the meeting's board packet.
The issues have reached a point where they're impacting the school's attendance records.
"Suspensions count against attendance, but we can't just not suspend kids for dangerous behaviors," Houf said.
She added that parents removing students from school for trips has also affected attendance, which has hovered around 86 percent for the past month-and-a-half.
Houf is no stranger to addressing behavioral issues at the middle school. Board of Education member Todd Gray said student behavior has, in fact, significantly improved since Houf's arrival.
Houf and Hogan explained their strategy for continuing that improvement.
Strategies
The strategy starts with an existing foundation: a positive classroom environment where preferred behavior is modelled and rewarded.
"We're trying to have each teacher write at least one positive referral a day," Hogan said.
When a teacher spots a student going above-and-beyond, they can write a positive office referral. The student gets to visit the principal's office, call home to their parents and post about their wins on the Brag Board. This gives students who struggle in a classroom environment a reference point for what good behavior looks like, plus motivation to demonstrate those behaviors.
The Thrive Hive is another motivator. Students' good behaviors earn fake money, which can be spent in a shop packed with items both useful and more fun. For students in need, there are food items, toiletries and other essentials available.
"For some of our kids, (the Thrive Hive) is how they earn their dinner," Houf said. "Intrinsic motivation (behaving well because the student knows it's the right thing to do) is the ultimate goal, but I know plenty of adults that wouldn't go to work if they didn't get paid."
When a student does misbehave, instead of being sent to the principal's office, Houf or Hogan comes to the classroom.
This recent change serves two purposes. First, it cuts down on incidents where students sent to the office simply don't show up. Second, it gives the administrators a chance to model deescalation tactics for the teachers.
For students who've been involved in multiple incidents and may need extra support to cope and succeed in a structured school environment, the school is introducing the Alternative Resource Classroom.
The classroom will provide specific, targeted instruction for students with intense behavioral and emotional needs, with the goal of eventually re-integrating students into a regular classroom. An FMS teacher with behavioral training will launch the classroom soon.
During Wednesday's meeting, the board of education approved the creation of a new teacher position at FMS to replace the teacher leading the Alternative Resource Classroom.