Grand Star Elementary staff and students describe new BIST behavior program

At the Board of Education meeting, Dr. Dreis, principal of Grand Star Elementary, introduced third- and fourth-grade students and teachers who described their first year implementing BIST, a schoolwide approach for teaching and reinforcing behavior expectations.

The staff said BIST — identified in the meeting as “behavior intervention support team” — trains classroom teachers, creates a common language around three life goals and provides coaching and reteaching when students struggle. “This year our school has been learning life goals…so we have I can make good choices even if I'm mad, I can be okay even though others are not okay, and I can do something even if it's hard or I don't want to,” Hope Sherman, a third-grade teacher, told the board.

“The foundation in common language has really been what has tied it together for our students,” Dr. Dreis said, and teachers described a summer training program that sent one representative from each team to a weeklong session to carry back practices for their grade-level teams.

Students gave brief remarks about the life goals. Xander Cifuentes said the goals help students “do our best at school and in life,” and Oliver Davenport explained the program teaches persistence: “This life goal helps me remember to keep trying even when things are hard.”

Teachers told the board they have observed three main benefits: improved student skills for handling frustration and routines, increased instructional time because students spend less time out of class, and stronger collaboration across grade-level teams supported by a BIST coach who meets regularly with staff. The teachers also described a short classroom routine called TAPS (total and perfect silence), a three-minute refocusing period used to help students calm and return to instruction.

The presenters said staff are reteaching life-goal lessons after breaks to reinforce the expectations and that some students have made “huge gains” in self-regulation when given check-ins and targeted supports. The teachers thanked district administrators for supporting the rollout and for providing a coach on site to help implement the program.

Board members who spoke afterward expressed appreciation for the presentation and encouragement that the program be monitored for results as it expands across the district.

The district presentation did not include formal votes or funding details for wider rollout; teachers described training and coaching provided this year but did not specify additional budget requests.