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Board reviews staff‑injury and behavior data showing incidents involving 135 students and 249 staff victims
Summary
District administrators presented a new baseline of behavior and workers' compensation data: 404 reported behavior incidents involving 135 students and 249 staff victims, and 33 student‑involved workers' compensation incidents through May with most categorized as 'struck by student.' Board discussed training, reporting recoding, and supports such as PBIS and SEM.
District administrators presented aggregated data to the Rapid City Area Schools Board showing staff‑involved incidents and behavior reports across the district and discussed steps to support staff and students.
Dr. Strasser told the board that workers' compensation data through May showed 33 student‑involved incidents—about 24% of all reported worker incidents—with 73% requiring medical care. Teachers accounted for 17 of the 33 reports and paraprofessionals nine; the most common injury category was being struck by a student, followed by tripping/falling and strain injuries. The district pulls behavior incidents from its student information system; the data pull returned 404 reported behavior incidents involving 135 students and 249 staff members indicated as victims.
Administrators cautioned that this is a first‑year baseline because the district recently recoded incidents and improved reporting codes; year‑to‑year trend comparisons are limited until coding stabilizes. Board members asked whether incidents were concentrated by school level; administrators said incidents were spread across elementary and middle schools, not isolated to a single school.
Board discussion emphasized training and behavioral supports. Administrators said the district uses tiered training (tier one through more escalated SEM training) and connects PBIS and conscious discipline efforts with a Stop Violence prevention grant. Mr. Evans said existing behavior programs that remove highly aggressive students from classrooms likely prevented higher counts and are important to staff and student safety.
The board requested a future update on behavior tracking and whether the district can report cohort data to show the impact of summer interventions; administrators said consistent comparisons may require a year for the new coding to produce reliable trend data. No formal board action was taken; the presentation fulfills a negotiated‑agreement reporting requirement added last year with the Rapid City Education Association.
