comes in the form of a “ check in , check out ” system . That is , designated ATS staff members regularly check in on students in the environment in which they had difficulty , to assess the appropriateness and use of the students ’ replacement strategies .
Moreover , ATS staff is looking to ascertain what the antecedent of the behavior is . In this example , ATS staff noted that the tapping on the desk , ( now replaced with finger tapping ) occurs immediately prior to the class participating in a whip around reading activity .
Ah ha ! Upon further observation , it becomes apparent that the prior desk tapping is directly related to this student ’ s difficulty reading . In discussing this with the teacher , they are able to devise a plan whereby the student is front-loaded with information on which paragraph he will be expected to read aloud well ahead of time . This , of course , decreases his anxiety , thereby decreasing his need to tap out of nervousness . Additionally , based on this knowledge , we can provide appropriate interventions and support to address his reading concerns .
Let ’ s unpack a bit . In the traditional scenario , there is a behavior ( incessant tapping ) and a consequence ( sending the student to the office with a referral ). The student returns to class and it is “ business as usual .” Utilizing the ATS model , the student ’ s behavior is addressed , a replacement strategy is created and implemented , the strategy is evaluated for effectiveness , and the underlying causes are identified and addressed , and appropriate ongoing interventions are implemented .
Moreover , from the teacher ’ s perspective , a necessary separation occurred between the action that necessitated the referral and the student returning to class . The student returned , understanding why the behavior was disruptive along with an appropriate strategy to utilize instead . The underlying causes of the behavior are identified and interventions are enacted . Even more importantly , the teacher and student have ongoing support from the ATS staff .
And so , when we talk about operating “ in the with ,” we are truly moving to a scenario in which administrators work with students – as opposed to days of old , where students
agreed obediently with administrators as they admonished them for bad behavior and lectured them about how to do things better the next time . And while the administrator is doing all the heavy lifting , the student is desperately trying to figure out the “ perfect ” response so that they can get out of the office .
Our end game , and the ultimate goal of the ATS Model is simple : Help students recognize how their behavior impacts others , and ultimately help them create and implement the necessary tools to positively impact their behavior in the future . After all , isn ’ t that what we ’ ve really been after all along ?
Barbara Higgins is coordinator of student support services at the San Diego COE . Barry Tyler and Higgins established Blue Water Educational Consulting to bring Restorative Practices to colleagues . Contact them at ( 951 ) 925-3206 ; www . bluewatereducationalconsulting . com . # LeadershipMatters May | June 2017 39