Behavior Intervention Program Specialists – St. Paul School Staff and Students Value Their Role

St. Paul Youth Services has an 11-year history through our Behavior Intervention Program (BIP) of tackling school suspension by holding students accountable for their behavior and helping them get back on track academically. You can find more information about the program and an example of our work with students here.

This spring, we asked teachers in the four schools we have specialists to tell us how the BIP program helps them be more effective in the classroom. Results from 134 respondents confirm ways BIP Specialists successfully partner with staff:

Source: St. Paul Youth Services, Spring 2011

As an outcome of this partnership, teachers enhance their own skills both in overall classroom behavior management and in the way they work individually with students who are being disruptive in the classroom. In the words of one teacher,

• “Mr. Runsewe has been just what we needed. He is direct, calm, and reasonable when he explains to teachers why a student is acting disruptive or angry, and he is calming, and direct with students. Students and staff are responding to his approach and moving forward in a positive direction. His goal is always to get the student back on track as quickly as possible and puts the focus on what to do about getting their credits and getting their work accomplished instead of the behavior….Mr. Runsewe also provides needed discipline when necessary. Students, who continue to misbehave, even after he is sure that the expectations are clear, are calmly assigned detentions per the schools’ behavior policy. Mr. Runsewe uses that time to counsel students to steer them more positive directions.”

A Specialist tells a story of her recent work with a student:

Camil, a 7^th grade student at the now former Hazel Park Middle School was referred to the Behavior Intervention Program for being frequently  late to class, disrupting the classroom by being confrontational with  teachers and students and refusing to do her class work. She also had a difficult time complying with the school’s uniform policies. Her grades were suffering tremendously – risking that she would find doors to good educational experiences closing on her if she did not change her behavior.

I met with Camil weekly to develop a behavior and academic intervention plan that would help get Camil back on track.  Our relationship became stronger over several months of one-to-one meetings and Camil began to trust me.  During one of our meetings, she admitted she was tired of the way things were and she was ready for a change.  She told me that older girls had bullied her with name-calling and negative comments on her appearance when she attended summer school several months earlier.  As a result, she began to lose confidence in herself. The bullying continued into the school year and she become more and more distressed.   I came to see that Camil took on a ‘tough girl’ or ‘bad-kid’ image with her teachers when other students were around. She hoped that by making this protective shell f at least, no one would ‘mess with’ her. Perhaps the girls who had bullied her would like her more now and choose her as a friend.  In private conversations with the teachers, however, Camil was more herself, respectful and attentive to talking with the teacher; she would not identify the bullies for fear they would hurt her.

I worked with Camil to resolve her school safety concerns and to help her begin to make positive connections with girls in the school who were friendly and wanted to be friends with her.  She joined a S.O.S, (sisters of success) group that I run as a way for her to build friendships.  Now that she was not needing to be the ‘bad-kid’ she was able to go five straight weeks without angry outbursts,  e.g., she was on time for classes most of the time, was not argumentative with teachers  and began to complete her class work. Camil was now enjoying school.

Submitted by Barbie Woodruff – Behavior Intervention Program Counselor

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