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Central Middle School reports 63% drop in referrals after new behavior systems
Summary
School leaders reported progress against behavioral goals at Central Middle School: students receiving zero-to-one referrals rose to 82%, the group with six-or-more referrals fell to 4%, and overall referrals are down 63% from last year after tiered PBIS and SEL interventions.
Central Middle School administrators reported to the Evergreen Park ESD 124 Board that new, schoolwide behavior systems are producing measurable improvements.
School leaders said their two building-level behavior goals were to increase the share of students receiving zero to one minor referrals from 60% to 70% and to reduce the share with six or more referrals from approximately 17.88% to 15%. At the time of the report, staff said 82% of students were in the 0–1 referral category and 4% had six or more referrals, data they characterized as on track and a 63% reduction in overall referrals compared with the prior year.
Danielle Wesson, one of the deans presenting, described the practical supports that appeared to be driving progress: consistent consequences applied with progressive discipline, incentives through PBIS assemblies ("Fun Olympics," popsicles and other rewards), intentional use of advisory time for SEL lessons and clearer communication with families about expectations and next steps. The school has added dean check-ins as a tier-2 intervention and established monthly PBIS meetings to review data and adjust strategies.
The building team said they are shifting to stronger tier-2 and tier-3 interventions to identify students earlier and provide targeted supports with fidelity. "Being proactive is one of our major goals instead of being reactive," a dean said, summing up the school’s approach.
Administrators asked the board to continue supporting consistent implementation across classrooms and to maintain the multi-tiered supports that school leaders credit with the reduction in referrals.
