Susan Isaacs urges proactive, instructional approach to student behavior at Apple Valley Unified workshop

Susan Isaacs, a trainer with Safe and Civil Schools, told the Apple Valley Unified Board of Trustees on Sept. 18 that the district’s multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) should emphasize prevention, positive reinforcement and explicit instruction of behavioral expectations.

“We’re proactive, we’re positive, and we’re instructional,” Isaacs said, summarizing the Foundations approach she is leading in district schools. She framed the work as a systems change that supports student achievement by removing barriers to learning and reducing adult inconsistency in implementing rules and routines.

Isaacs reviewed how the district’s Foundations teams collect and analyze behavioral incident data — disaggregated by grade, gender, ethnicity, location and time of day — to identify predictable patterns and design low-cost, preventive fixes. As an example, she described a school that reduced cafeteria office referrals by placing a menu board at the start of the line so students decide what…