Giving Compass' Take:

• Educators share stories on how implementing positive approaches to classroom management has helped decrease suspension rates and office referrals. 

• What are some challenges incorporating positive approaches? 

• Read more about how to improve classroom culture. 

Renee Canales, principal of Betty Best Elementary School in Houston, and Elizabeth Merwald, the school’s behavior and prevention specialist, shared with eSchool News classroom management and student behavior strategies they have used in their high-poverty Title I school to, between 2014 and 2018, reduce office referrals by 37%, in-school suspension days by 52%, and out-of-school suspension days by 97%, while also increasing passing rates on state-administered tests by 17%.

The school began to improve classroom management by implementing Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports and incorporating the CHAMPS framework from Safe and Civil Schools, a proactive approach that teaches responsible behavior. It also began tracking student conduct by using a classroom management app called Kickboard to gain a better sense of each student’s behavioral strengths and weaknesses.

Student behavioral issues affect more than the students themselves. It either boost a school's climate and atmosphere, or it can disrupt valuable learning time and hurt the environment for everyone else in the classroom. And while office referrals and suspensions were once a more standard disciplinary method, there are increasing concerns about inequities between certain student populations. These woes have spurred a need for collecting more data on school discipline issues and how they are handled, as well as a need to revisit current policies and practices.

Data collection can not only identify racial disparities in discipline practices, but it can also be valuable in determining which teachers encounter more issues and what types of issues those might be.

Understanding student behavior patterns can also help reveal to educators insight into what discipline approaches best work in various situations. And from there, results can lead to appropriate mentoring or professional development to start address these problems.

It's clear that there's still disagreement over how educators should approach these issues, and finding the right balance can be difficult. But establishing clear ground rules, teaching social-emotional learning skills and reinforcing positive behavior to create a positive school culture are great places to start.

It's clear that there's still disagreement over how educators should approach these issues, and finding the right balance can be difficult. But establishing clear ground rules, teaching social-emotional learning skills and reinforcing positive behavior to create a positive school culture are great places to start.

Read the full article about a positive approach to classroom management by Amelia Harper at Education Dive