There are No Silver Bullets— Only Science to
Preparation to Implementation to Evaluation to Celebration
Dear Colleagues,
This third
installment in our series investigating disproportionality in our schools
reports on a national survey conducted by the School Superintendents
Association (the fourth new national study on disproportionality in the past
six weeks). The survey investigated the
impact of the 2014 “Dear Colleague” Letter—where the U.S. Departments of Justice
and Education informed districts that they would actively investigate reports
of racial discrimination due to disproportionate student discipline responses.
In this Blog
Series, Part III, the results of the survey and critical elements of the “Dear
Colleague” letter are discussed and then integrated into the three other
national studies discussed in Parts I and II of the series.
Part III concludes
that, over the past ten years, we have tried to decrease disproportionality by
tinkering around the policy and administrative decision-making edges.
The four studies
reviewed demonstrate that this has failed.
What schools and
districts have largely not done is to comprehensively and objectively identify
the root causes of why disproportionality is occurring—from a systems,
administrator, teacher and support staff, and student perspective—linking these
root causes to strategically-applied multi-tiered science-to-practice
strategies and interventions.
For example, at the
systems level, the scientific components that result in effective school
discipline, classroom management, and student social, emotional, and behavioral
self-management are missing—along with the field-tested strategies proven to
operationalize them.
At the
administrator level, many principals still are not discriminating between
students’ discipline problems, and the social, emotional, and behavioral
problems that will not be changed through disciplinary actions.
At the grade or
instructional level, training has not occurred to close the classroom
management and behavioral intervention gaps of teachers and others, and we
still have not confronted and corrected the disproportionality occurring due to
prejudice, unconscious bias, and cultural unawareness and incompetence.
Finally, at a student level, we are not
teaching students from minority backgrounds and SWDs (as well as all students),
to learn, master, and apply social, emotional, and behavioral self-management
skills so that they are not exhibiting the behavioral offenses that trigger the
entire disproportionality “chain of events.”
For students demonstrating
more significant or persistent social, emotional, or behavioral challenges, the
multi-tiered services process needs to be implemented to determine the root
causes of the challenges and what strategic or intensive services, supports, or
interventions are needed to address these causes.
_ _ _ _ _
Given the context above, most of this Blog
focuses on the science-to-practice components, strategies, and solutions that
eliminate disproportionality with African-American, male, and disabled
students.
First, the systemic
characteristics of an effective school discipline system are described from an
Appendix that accompanied the Departments of Justice and Education 2014 “Dear
Colleague” Letter.
Then, based on our
35 years of successful, evidence-based work across the country, the scientific
components are detailed, and two practices in particular are emphasized: the development of the Behavioral Matrix—a grade-level
behavioral accountability and motivation tool (fully described in Part II of
this series), and the characteristics of an effective social skills program as
represented by “The Stop & Think Social Skills” approach.
_ _ _ _ _
Summary
While
disproportionality is often seen as a complex issue, it is less complex when
the preventative goals (i.e., self-management) are clear, when sound
research-to-practice components (i.e., the five interdependent components
described above) guide the multi-tiered process, when training and resources
are effectively applied to the components, and when functional assessments
linked to strategic or intensive interventions are used when students are not
responding to a multi-layered progressive discipline blueprint (i.e., the
Behavioral Matrix).
If we have learned
one thing over the past ten or more years, it is that policy changes alone will
not decrease the disproportionate discipline referrals of African-American,
male, and disabled students.
At the same time,
there are successful evidence-based approaches. It’s just that they take training, resources,
commitment, consistency, and time to work.
Not that schools
and districts have been avoiding these approaches. . . but where would our schools be today if they began
implementing the components and strategies discussed in these three Blogs
(there are others) ten years ago?
Would this have taken
a “leap of faith?” Of course. . . .
everything does. But the schools that
have worked with us—and sustained their practices—are better off because of it.
Indeed. . . when
you have the outcome data from schools across the country that successfully
“took the leap” . . . the next leap is smaller, and the potential rewards are
self-evident.
Please read the
entire Blog. What do you think?
Best,
Howie
