The Discipline Dilemma

Discipline....Discipline....Discipline.... Already, with just a handful of surveys in, this topic is a common thread. I imagine this will be the first of many blog entries about the topic. Suffice it to say, I believe the culture of the school has a direct impact on student success and staff satisfaction. I believe it is important that we establish and maintain high expectations for ourselves, our students and our families. I believe a school community should work collaboratively to develop common expectations. I believe a school should focus on helping students acquire "replacement skills" and should commit to teaching appropriate procedures and routines. Can a principal do all of this alone? No way! Creating this type of school is a collaborative effort. It requires all stakeholders to be actively involved; to work the plan; and to think outside the box. Personally, I look forward to working to help assure the students and staff at Renner have this type of learning environment. You, and the students, deserve it.

Specifically, someone asked will I accept office referrals or will that remain a teacher responsibility. I will and do accept office referrals. This, however, does not mean discipline is solely the responsibility of the principal's office. Student management (as I prefer to call it) is everyone's responsibility. We will work together to put into place a student management plan that capitalizes on the strengths of BIST while supporting both students and staff. In fact, next week I will be attending a meeting to explore whether or not the PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) model might be appropriate for Renner. This model, which can be used hand in hand with RtI, is a state recommended model with research to support it. If you're interested in learning more, check out the PBIS link. http://www.pbis.org/

Whether PBIS is the right student management plan or not, please know that I am committed to developing the right plan to help our students achieve greater success academically, behaviorally, and socially.