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Ashby Lee Elementary reports sharp drop in behavioral incidents after teacher-led discipline initiative
Summary
Ashby Lee Elementary told the Shenandoah County School Board the school reduced repeat offenses and instructional time lost after teachers developed common expectations and lessons emphasizing "Be safe, be responsible, be respectful." Presenters provided quarter-by-quarter incident counts and estimated lost instructional minutes.
A presenter for Ashby Lee Elementary told the Shenandoah County School Board on Oct. 9 that a teacher-led discipline initiative produced measurable reductions in behavioral incidents and fewer repeat offenders.
The presenter (identified in the meeting as the Ashby Lee school team) said the school examined last year’s discipline data and found 205 incidents in quarter 1, 211 in quarter 2, 169 in quarter 3 and 193 in quarter 4. The same presentation reported minutes of lost instruction: 4,100 minutes in quarter 1 (68.3 hours), 4,220 minutes in quarter 2 (70.3 hours), 3,380 minutes in quarter 3 (56.3 hours) and 5,860 minutes in quarter 4 (97.6 hours) — a total the presenter summarized as "292.5 hours instruction lost last year, which is the equivalent of 39 school days."
The school said teachers led a committee over the summer to develop common-area expectations and classroom norms. The resulting school motto — "Be safe, be responsible, be respectful — every bee, every day" — and a set of lesson plans for hallways, restrooms, the playground and cafeteria were taught to all students in the first two weeks of school.
"All teachers teaching the same curriculum and expectations the first 2 weeks of school to all students," the presenter said, describing both instruction and practice in common areas. Ashby Lee also introduced a reward system called "suite b's" (tokens earned by a class for demonstrating expectations) and emphasized nonmonetary rewards and teacher-to-teacher professional development to address recurring problems such as "the chatty class."
The presenter provided a year-to-date comparison through Oct. 8 showing reductions in behaviors that "impede academic progress" and large decreases in relationship-related behavior incidents. The school also reported fewer repeat offenders: in 2025 two students had seven offenses each, compared with two students who had 18 offenses in the comparable period last year.
Board members praised the teacher-led approach and the effort to quantify instructional minutes lost. One board member said measuring instructional time lost and setting a baseline is an important first step for improvement.
Why this matters: The school framed the initiative as a way to restore instructional time and improve consistency across classrooms and common areas. The program relied on teacher buy-in, classroom practice, signage, family communication and professional development. The board did not take an action to adopt the model systemwide during this meeting.
