Alpine School District outlines new behavior supports, case review process and crisis-response team

Alpine School District student support services presented a year-end report to the board on June 17 detailing new behavior supports, documentation changes, crisis response work and an expanded community outreach effort.

Outgoing director Amy Sysam and incoming director Dr. Kim Jones described a behavior-support toolkit created during the year at the request of school administrators. The district said the toolkit centralizes resources for classroom teachers and administrators and clarifies a multi-tiered system of behavior supports (tier 1 general strategies, tier 2 targeted interventions, tier 3 intensive services).

Staff said they developed in-house, short courses schools can use as behavior‑change interventions; the courses were piloted at several junior highs this year and are being made available to all schools. Previously the district sometimes contracted with third-party vendors for similar courses; district staff said local courses allow school teams to identify root causes and tailor supports.

District staff also described district-wide bullying-prevention efforts: administrators received a decision tree to classify incidents and apply consistent responses, and students K–12 completed brief lessons (elementary teachers delivered Nearpod classroom lessons while secondary students had Canvas modules). Staff said units were intentionally short — under 40 minutes for the secondary modules — so they fit within intervention periods.

To improve discipline documentation and equity of outcomes, the department revised incident codes and user rights in the student information system so entries more accurately reflect incident types. The district has launched monthly case-management reviews led by a facilitator from Safe Schools and Discipline; the panels are made up of trained administrators and service providers who review school-level procedures and evidence to ensure due process and equitable outcomes. Staff said the reviews aim to reduce variation in how similar incidents are handled across schools and that families report feeling “more seen and heard” under the new process.

The district briefing also covered crisis-response work: staff said the district’s crisis-response team supported roughly 25 incidents this year and provided guidance intended to empower school teams to lead most school-based responses with district backup. The team provides training and works with communications staff on family and community messaging in the wake of critical incidents.

Staff training highlights include certification of school-based clinicians in substance-use counseling, training for school counselors on an evidence-informed brief intervention model (RISC), and expanded nurse training (for example, “Stop the Bleed”). The outreach team said family-engagement programs — adult English classes, school pantries and community partnerships — continue and that several community-based programs have measurable student-level results such as increased proficiency and higher participation in dual-enrollment or CTE at participating schools.

Ending: Staff thanked the board for the opportunity to highlight the work and said they will continue training, expand school participation in behavior systems, and support transition planning for the district reconfiguration into three new districts.