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 to order before they enter the serving area.

The trainer told trustees that the Every Student Succeeds Act requires districts that accept federal funds to demonstrate a functioning MTSS; she emphasized that PBIS is a commonly used framework for meeting that obligation but is not itself a federal mandate. “If you’re gonna take that money, you’ve got to meet the mandates,” she said, explaining the federal context for behavioral and academic supports.

Isaacs described the STOIC framework (Structure, Teach, Observe/active supervision, Interact positively, Correct respectfully) and the CHAMPS classroom-management materials that district teachers received. She said Foundations is designed to be led by representative school teams (about 8–11 members) that regularly present behavior data to staff, revise written procedures, and rehearse routines. Isaacs said Foundations work commonly spans multiple years and that teams usually meet with consultants several times per year during a multi-year implementation cycle.

District staff and board members discussed practical matters during a question-and-answer period: the district’s student-information system name (ARIES) and the ways teams sometimes supplement system data with short observational tools (stopwatch timing and spreadsheets) to measure specific problems such as long cafeteria lines. Isaacs recommended teams review behavioral data every six to nine weeks so staff can respond in near real time rather than relying only on end-of-year summaries.

Board members also asked about Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports. Isaacs said those more intensive services now make up a larger share of student needs in many districts since the pandemic and estimated Tier 3 caseloads have grown to roughly 10–12% of school populations in some places; she urged ready-to-use Tier 2 strategies so specialists aren’t overburdened. “We meet with teams multiple times, usually 3 or 4 times a year, over 3 years,” she said, describing a sustained professional-development model.

Trustees and staff raised broader operational issues, including cell-phone policies and the role of campus officers. Isaacs cited Santa Barbara Unified’s phased cell-phone restrictions as one example and said schools must balance discipline aims with family concerns about emergency contact. On school officers, she said the presence of visible adults (whether sworn officers or other staff) is a strong deterrent when officers are perceived as supporting rather than disciplining students.

Superintendent Janelle Nelson said she will likely ask staff to bring a calendar change for the January board meeting so trustees can attend a Safe and Civil mini-conference without leaving the meeting early. The board adjourned after the presentation.

What’s next: district teams will continue Foundations and CHAMPS coaching this fall; the superintendent plans to propose a board-calendar adjustment to allow trustees to attend a district training conference in January.