District reports steep drop in office referrals after rollout of Safe & Civil Schools and Kickboard
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Summary
District staff reported a 29.6% decrease in office referrals and other improvements after adopting Safe & Civil Schools practices and Kickboard data tracking; staff emphasized follow-up work on consistency, tiered supports and parent engagement.
District leaders and members of the behavior task force presented interim results on June 9 showing declines in behavior referrals, incidents and suspension days after the district adopted the Safe & Civil Schools framework and a unified Kickboard referral system.
Presenters said office referrals declined 29.6% compared with the prior year; they reported about 7,820 referrals this year compared with a little over 11,000 the previous year. They also reported a 35.6% decrease in suspension days (from about 10,634 days to 6,849) and a 43.1% decrease in long-term suspensions and expulsions (72 down to 41). The district said part of the reduction is attributable to a unified referral system (Kickboard) that was deployed this year; staff cautioned that last year’s inconsistent recording methods mean the true decrease could be larger.
Task-force members said they had established classroom management expectations (CHAMPS/Safe & Civil Schools), a response playbook for 75 common behaviors, a three-tiered support structure and school-based behavior plans. “We developed a list of common behaviors, which is 75 on that list, and then developed a response system,” one presenter said. The district also reported a 53.7% decline in manifestation determinations (disciplinary reviews required after 10 days of suspension).
Staff acknowledged areas that require further work: inconsistent implementation across classrooms and buildings, administrative follow-through on repeat severe behaviors, parent accountability and expanded training for tier 2/3 interventions. Trustees asked for concrete next steps; staff said they would finalize school-based behavior plans in July, activate the Kickboard parent portal in the fall and provide a semester-one implementation report in January.
Trustees and staff also discussed cell-phone policy enforcement during the meeting. Several trustees and staff said they hear persistent concerns from teachers about phones undermining classroom management and asked whether districtwide, bell-to-bell phone restrictions or consistent implementation across buildings could reduce incidents. District staff said building-level practices vary (lockboxes, bags, backpacks) and that enforcement and consistent administrative follow-through would be part of ongoing implementation work.
