Long time no see!

Hey guys

No I have not dropped off the face of the earth! As many of you know, Westside is due for monitoring this month, so I am spending lots of time with them. If you need me, I am only a phone call, text or email away.

Today I wanted to drop you a quick note about behavior problems. I know this is a subject that is on all our minds. I think behavior tops my number one list of frequently asked question topics. It seems like it gets worse and worse every year. I'm not sure what the cause is, but I do know we are going to have to work smarter to get ahead of it.

With some of the kiddos I see, we are constantly in a reactive mode. Trying to deal with behavior that has already happened. I'm telling you, if we get to this point, we have already failed. Our concentration needs to be on figuring out what causes the behavior and preventing it. The kids we are dealing with daily on behavior do not seem to have many coping mechanisms. I'm currently reading RTI and Behavior: A guide to Integrating Behavioral and Academic Supports by Jefferey Sprague, et al. One of the most important topics in this book is the impact data-based decision making can have. If we put in the time before hand, maybe we can see some of these growing behavioral issues decrease.

If you're getting fed up with constantly having to react to behavior, let's get together and see what we can come up with. I'm sure we can make some long-lasting changes if we combine our efforts!

Have a great week!
Carla