District staff describe expanded behavior framework, restorative practices for common areas

Staff member told the Saint Marys Area SD board the district is expanding its behavior framework and creating resources for staff and students. "We continue to grow our framework. We know we're not finished with it yet. We're creating more resources for our staff. We're trying to include our students," Staff member said. "We've talked about having our students teach lessons on and recording them as videos so that the teachers targeting specific skills with our guidance lessons."

The presenter said administrators and behavior coaches plan to highlight successes and use shared expectations in high-traffic areas. "That's a common practice, actually, in a lot of behavior frameworks. And I think, you know, with those common areas, that's where you tend to see the most concerning of behaviors," Staff member said, referring to hallways and cafeterias where supervision is less structured.

Board member asked whether staff would assign coaches by location or school; Staff member said location-based coaching is typical for addressing large-group behavior in common areas. The presenter also described a threshold system for referrals to the office and said students are told about the threshold during staff-led discussions. "Yes. Yeah. So staff goes over that with the kids. And, when they're doing their discussions and stuff, a lot of restorative practices take place before they even hit Mrs. Klein and I," Staff member said, adding that teachers try to give students opportunities to fix choices before administrative intervention.

The presentation was informational; no formal action or vote was recorded on the framework at this meeting. Staff said the framework has been under development for more than a year and that administrators plan to continue refining resources and highlighting successes at future meetings.

Staff member invited questions before moving to other agenda items.