Lorain City Schools presents comprehensive behavior support plan; recommends hires, paraprofessionals and "soft start" schedule

Lorain City Schools administrators and teacher representatives on Wednesday presented a collaborative, multi-element plan intended to reduce disruptive behavior and give staff clearer procedures for supporting students.

The district’s collaborative team — which included teacher and administrator representatives — said it developed a comprehensive behavior-support flowchart, clarified staff roles, recommended a new behavior coach and additional paraprofessionals, and proposed professional development and “soft opening/soft closing” unstructured play periods for elementary students.

District presenters said the work grew from multiple meetings with the Lorain Education Association (LEA), the Lorain Administration Association (LAA), central-office staff and two board members. "We believe these measures represent a thoughtful, systematic approach to addressing behavior concerns while creating a supportive environment for all students and staff," the presenters said.

The plan lists seven core recommendations: 1) create and use a behavior-support flowchart that maps interventions and ongoing student-support pathways; 2) clarify the roles of behavior coaches, wellness coaches, counselors, special-education supervisors and other support staff so duties are not duplicated; 3) schedule a series of professional-development sessions beginning in summer and continuing through the school year focused on evidence-based behavior management, trauma-informed practices, Reggio Emilia kindergarten practices and the Panorama data tool; 4) adopt a balanced approach that integrates structured and unstructured play, including designated "soft opening" and "soft closing" periods; 5) recommend hiring an additional behavior coach; 6) recommend hiring paraprofessionals so each kindergarten classroom has a full-time paraprofessional; and 7) clarify procedures for students whose behavior creates a safety risk, using logical consequences that follow Ohio law and the Lorain City Schools code of conduct.

Presenters said the district had deliberated and decided not to expand or open a new alternative school at this time. They emphasized the plan is intended to be iterative: a draft flowchart will be refined and staff will receive training on Panorama, a platform that combines academic, attendance and social-emotional data. "Panorama combines several data sources for us into one place so we can see students' academic scores and their responses on social-emotional learning surveys," a presenter said, adding that the district plans fuller implementation and regular review next school year.

Teacher members who addressed the board described the proposed "soft opening/soft closing" periods in practical terms. For elementary schools, presenters said, the morning soft opening could run roughly 8:00–8:30 a.m. and the afternoon soft closing roughly 2:00–2:30 p.m.; the district said middle- and high-school schedules would look different. Teachers described those intervals as supervised, unstructured time where students may eat breakfast, play low‑cost games, practice social skills and calm before or after the academic day.

Several classroom teachers and union representatives at the meeting asked for clarity about implementation and funding. An educator asked, "Where are the funds coming for this? When are the teachers going to be notified?" District staff replied that many elements are low cost, some funding could come from existing school budgets or endowment grants, and the district will develop a budget and implementation timeline before the new school year.

Presenters also described plans to outfit quiet/sensory rooms in elementary schools and to involve counselors earlier in designing instruction so environments address students' needs before behavior escalates. They said the district will refine who is expected to handle classroom-managed behavior versus office-managed behavior, and will improve family contact strategies so interventions include parents or guardians earlier.

Board members did not take a formal vote on the plan at the meeting; presenters asked for the board’s feedback as implementation continues. The plan’s authors said follow-up work will include finalizing the flowchart, completing a budget for the recommended hires and PD, and reporting progress to the board.

If implemented as proposed, the plan would change daily routines in elementary schools, add staffing lines and expand staff training. District leaders said they expect Panorama records and social-emotional survey results to follow students year to year while limiting long-term disciplinary indexing so early incidents do not become a permanent "rap sheet" carried unchanged into high school.

Public comments and teacher questions at the meeting emphasized the need for clear communication about consequences and consistent use of the district’s code of conduct alongside the new supports. The presenters repeatedly stressed that the recommended supports are intended to run in parallel with — not in lieu of — existing disciplinary procedures.