West Bend reports large drop in major behavior referrals; staff credit clear expectations, targeted interventions

Emily Melstrand, the West Bend School District director of student services, told the West Bend Joint School District No. 1 school board on Feb. 3, 2025, that first-semester behavior data show fewer major office disciplinary referrals across the district and fewer students with repeated disciplinary problems.

Melstrand said the district has two overarching goals for the year: that 85% of students have 0–1 major office disciplinary referral and that 95% have 0–5 referrals. For a district focus on the “be respectful” pillar for grades 7–10, the district set a targeted goal of 93% in the 0–1 category for those grades.

The report highlighted large declines at the high school level: Melstrand said major referrals are down 44% compared with the same time last year and the number of students in the repeated-behavior category declined 55% at the high school. She said Silverbrook has fewer than 0.5% of students in the repeated category and that several buildings report 0% in that group.

Melstrand credited the results to multiple, coordinated practices: clearly defined and repeatedly communicated expectations; data-driven interventions that trigger support plans when students move from low- to higher-risk bands; calibrated disciplinary rubrics to ensure consistent responses across staff; monthly grade-level assemblies and student advisory input; and building-level teams that reconvene regularly to review cases and adjust supports.

“Students and staff know and understand the clear expectations,” Melstrand said. “When the expectations are clear, the reinforcement is clear and disciplinary practices are consistent, kids do well.”

High-school administrator Jen Potter described concrete practices at the high school that she said contributed to the decline: regular grade-level assemblies to set goals and celebrate progress, a principal advisory committee of students that provides monthly feedback, recalibrated student teams that include administration and counseling to tailor interventions, and a defined approach to personal technology. Potter said these efforts improved student engagement and school culture.

Board members asked whether reduced device use — or stricter enforcement of existing cell-phone rules — may have contributed to improved behavior. Superintendent Wimmer and Melstrand said the district’s cell-phone policy itself has not changed in many grade levels; what changed was school-level work to define precisely what counts as a “learning environment,” to rehearse and communicate that definition to staff and students, and to enforce it more consistently.

A student member of the high-school advisory group described limited, earned spaces where students may use personal devices — for example a library lounge — as a way to teach responsible use rather than a wholesale ban.

Melstrand also said the district is working to engage families when students begin to show difficulties, and that Sean Becker continues to lead the district’s comprehensive mental-health framework to connect students to services when needs extend beyond school-based resources.

The board thanked Melstrand, Potter and the building leaders for the update. Melstrand said the district will continue to report behavior progress to the board twice annually.