Erik Hines, assistant professor of educational psychology, will serve as faculty director of UConn’s newest Learning Community, set to launch this fall. (Photo credit: Ryan Glista/Neag School)
UConn’s Office of First Year Programs and Learning Communities as well as faculty in the Neag School of Education are in the final stages of opening a new residential Learning Community for African-American males, intended to increase these students’ graduation rates and graduate and/or professional school placement.
UConn’s Learning Community Program, which currently houses about 2,500 undergraduate students across 17 distinct Learning Communities, provides undergraduate students with opportunities to investigate specific areas of interest together through guided courses and co-curricular activities, while assisting them in their transition to academic life.
ScHOLA2RS House – which will be UConn’s 18th Learning Community – is slated to launch this fall to prepare African-American males for success during their undergraduate and post-baccalaureate careers. Making its home in the new NextGen CT residence hall, ScHOLA2RS House will guide 40 Huskies from all fields of study as they prepare for the future by engaging them in faculty and peer mentorship, undergraduate research, career development, Study Abroad, and graduate and/or professional school preparatory opportunities. Erik Hines, assistant professor of educational psychology in the Neag School, will serve as the new Learning Community’s faculty director.
ScHOLA2RS House will guide 40 Huskies from all fields of study as they prepare for the future by engaging them in faculty and peer mentorship, undergraduate research, career development, Study Abroad, and graduate and/or professional school preparatory opportunities.
Building Connections
Although retention and graduation rates at UConn are high – 82.5 percent of students graduate in six years[1] – there has not been support in place designed specifically for African-American male students. Not only are these students least represented on campus, but they also have the lowest retention and graduation rates, says Hines. In 2012, only 54 percent of African-Americans males graduated in six years, the lowest of any racial group at UConn.
Hines says it is not an issue of whether African-American males have the capability to excel in school; rather, it is their environment that sometimes inhibits their potential. At many predominantly white institutions nationwide, he says, elements of African-American culture are harder to find, which can make some students experience a sense of detachment from their universities.
“African-American males already know they have the potential [to succeed],” Hines says. “It’s about facilitating programmatic activities that engage their potential and that they can incorporate into the daily grind of college.”
The mission of ScHOLA2RS House – which stands for Scholastic House of Leaders who are African-American Researchers and Scholars – is not, however, meant to exclude or segregate African-American males from the rest of the community. According to David Ouimette, executive director for UConn’s Learning Communities, its goal is to build connections among members and within the greater University community.
Groundwork for Success
Reuben Pierre-Louis, left, will serve as a resident assistant in UConn’s new Learning Community, ScHOLA2RS House. ScHOLA2RS House will guide 40 Huskies from all fields of study as they prepare for the future by engaging them in faculty and peer mentorship, undergraduate research, career development, Study Abroad, and more. (Photo Credit: Ryan Glista/Neag School)
Members of ScHOLA2RS House, which may include students with racial identities besides African-American, will embark on a two-year course of programs intended to ensure their undergraduate success and prepare them for graduate/professional school. According to Hines, the community’s only required components are the willingness to be prepared for graduate/professional school, and completion of undergraduate research and a first-year experience course focusing on career development, navigating the University, and solving grand challenges.
Other opportunities available to ScHOLA2RS House students include a speaker series with distinguished African-American male faculty from UConn, including the law and medical schools. There will also be graduate-school preparation, field trips to top graduate schools across the country, and Study Abroad excursions – all of which are free for ScHOLA2RS House residents.
Hines says African-American males are less likely to study abroad than other college students, but these experiences are important in developing effective leaders and problem solvers.
“We want them to have those experiences that are global. We want to have global leaders, men that take on those challenges in our complex world,” he says. “We want problem solvers – that’s what we’re having kids go to school to become.”
Perhaps just as important as the formal research and course requirements are the informal discussion sessions that Hines says he plans to hold about twice a month. The discussions will revolve around issues and happenings at UConn as well as topics relevant to the African-American male identity.
“Members will get the opportunity to talk about what they’re facing every single day,” Ouimette adds. “It’s about having a social community network in which they can support each other, but one that also pushes them back out to the community so they can integrate into it and explore.”
For more information about ScHOLA2RS House, contact Erik Hines at erik.hines@uconn.edu. Watch a video about ScHOLA2RS House here.
Growing up in New Canaan, Conn., aspiring educator Lexi Bodick ’16 (ED) attended public school, where she says she learned from white teachers alongside her predominantly white peers. While classmates playfully referred to Bodick as “exotic,” as she identifies as half-white, half-Mexican-American, Bodick says she felt that the absence of classroom diversity stifled her Mexican-American identity, allowing only the “white part” of her to shine through.
“Representation matters,” she says. “[At New Canaan High School], I didn’t get to have those personal interactions with others of color, so I wasn’t able to share and relate as much.”
Aspiring music teacher Lexi Bodick ’16 (ED) is one of the founding members of student organization Leadership In Diversity (L.I.D.), which strives to encourage confidence and success in students of color as they pursue careers in the fields of elementary, secondary and higher education. (Photo credit: Shawn Kornegay/Neag School)
Now a senior music and music education major in the Neag School, Bodick says UConn has not only exposed her to a wide range of people and experiences – but also inspired her to get involved with fellow students of color, encouraging them to consider becoming educators, too, through a student organization called Leadership In Diversity (L.I.D.). Bodick was one of the organization’s original members, along with IB/M curriculum and instruction student Tracey-Ann Lafayette ’15 (ED), the founder and current president.
The primary objective of L.I.D., Lafayette says, is to give students a place to discuss diversity issues that surface in the classroom – conversations that can be difficult to have.
“At UConn, people aren’t always comfortable having conversations about diversity. We need to find out how can we get to a place where people are comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Lafayette says. “L.I.D. works to promote these conversations.”
In addition to holding discussions on diversity issues, L.I.D. works with Neag School faculty advisors and academic advisors who help the organization’s members with school and job application processes, and hold workshops to coach students on developing strong interviewing skills. These initiatives aim to increase confidence among UConn’s students of color in reaching their academic or career goals in the field of education – whether that be acceptance into the Neag School of Education, pursuit of graduate school, or a first-time teaching job.
In Connecticut, student diversity is rapidly increasing while the level of diversity among teachers remains stagnant. Nearly 40 percent of Connecticut students are of color, compared with just 8 percent of the state’s teachers.
‘A new world of possibilities’
Faculty advisor and assistant clinical professor Mark Kohan says an important part of L.I.D. is recruiting students of color to education programs. This is especially vital in Connecticut, where student diversity is rapidly increasing while the level of diversity among teachers remains stagnant. Recent data from the State Education Resource Center indicates that nearly 40 percent of Connecticut students are of color, compared with just 8 percent of the state’s teachers. Meanwhile, Connecticut has one of the largest achievement gaps in the nation.
Teachers of color can enhance success for both white and nonwhite students, Lafayette says. For instance, learning from nonwhite teachers is an opportunity that allows white students to foster positive relationships with people of color. For students of color, research has found that teachers of color tend to hold them to higher standards than do white teachers. At the same time, teachers of color may serve as an inspiration to their minority students.
“It’s helpful for students to see, ‘Here’s someone who looks like me, so I can do this, too,’” Lafayette says. “It opens up a new world of possibilities.”
L.I.D. members are actively working with the Neag School academic advising team to boost diversity in the school of education’s student body. The process of encouraging students of color to become teachers now extends to the high school level, with visits to local schools by the academic advising team and on-campus partnership events that the Neag School academic advisors help facilitate in collaboration with L.I.D. The team also holds recruitment sessions offered at each cultural center on the Storrs campus and all four regional campuses. The admissions process, especially that of the IB/M teacher education program, has been altered as well, with deadlines to submit scores for the PRAXIS exam – the assessment required for entry into the teacher preparation program – having been pushed back. PRAXIS Core study groups, intended to support students in successfully passing the exam, are also being held by Neag School academic advisors Dominique Battle-Lawson and Mia Hines. Kohan says this allows for all students, particularly minorities, to have sufficient time to prepare their best application possible.
Curriculum and instruction student Tracey-Ann Lafayette ’15 (ED) serves as the founder and current president of L.I.D. (Photo Credit: Gabe Rogan/Neag School)
“The Neag School is high-achieving, but there are many ways to attain this [level of achievement],” Kohan says, adding that recruiting a broader spectrum of teacher education students could yield equally successful results for both Connecticut students and the state’s teacher administration.
Partnering With the Neag School
Since L.I.D.’s inception in 2014 the organization has filled its calendar with noteworthy events and activities. This past fall, L.I.D. members traveled to New Orleans to partake in the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) Conference. The representatives from UConn gave a presentation regarding how to “create a pipeline” for students of color in teacher preparation programs.
In addition, L.I.D. teamed up with Neag School faculty and administrators in November to host a Day of Learning, Leading, and Lighting the Way for Equity and Social Justice. The event was a professional development opportunity for students, faculty, and staff, featuring guest speakers Bree Picower of Montclair State University and Antonio Nieves Martinez of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Picower and Nieves Martinez led workshops on equity, social justice, and the art of creating inclusive environments in the classroom and beyond.
Bodick secured $2,000 in Undergraduate Student Government funding for the event, which the Neag School Dean’s Office matched. She says the event would not have been possible without cooperation between L.I.D. and the Neag School.
“It was definitely a student, faculty, and staff event,” Bodick says. “We’re working toward greater collaboration [with the Neag School]. This partnership is key to L.I.D.’s success.”
The organization’s next major project is a student-and-professional mentoring program. Educational professionals will mentor pre-teaching and current undergraduate students in the Neag School IB/M Program. Currently, L.I.D. has 47 practicing teachers, administrators, and University faculty and staff who have agreed to serve as mentors, and 40 student mentees. The mentoring program – called Diverse Educators Making Outstanding Change (D.E.M.O.) – kicked off last month with an event that offered participants an opportunity to discuss the goals of the program and engage in small-group dialogue over dinner.
“Once we set the groundwork for this program, we’ll have professional relationships we can continue and grow,” Lafayette says.
In seeking to grow their relationships with current teachers, L.I.D. members are also strengthening their connections with students at the elementary- and secondary-school level through student teaching. Bodick, an aspiring music teacher, began student teaching last fall. In high school, she was the bass player in the onstage band for the Broadway show “13 The Musical.” She says this experience gave her a nontraditional and more culturally relevant education in music, something she hopes to relay to her future students.
“I want to change the reality of music education,” she says, “and make it more relatable to students.”
When Marissa Gadacy ’17 (CLAS) joined Neag School of Education assistant professor Devin Kearns in his research lab, she proposed exploring a relatively unchartered piece of the puzzle in elementary school students’ reading comprehension skills: spelling.
This fall, the Office of Undergraduate Research selected Gadacy and Kearns for one of its 2016 Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Research Experience (SHARE) Awards, providing their proposed project with $2,000 in funding for use in their collaborative research this semester. The award is given each year to a selection of UConn undergraduate student-and-professor pairs who are conducting research together in the social sciences, humanities, or arts.
The study, titled “Longitudinal Examination of Children’s Polysyllabic Word Reading,” tests children’s development in reading multiple-syllable (polysyllabic) words and its effects on reading comprehension. Last year, Kearns concluded that second-graders’ reading comprehension related more to their polysyllabic word reading than reading for a variety of words on a standardized test. What Gadacy will add to the study in 2016 is an examination of whether students’ ability to spell words correctly impacts their reading comprehension.
Current student Marissa Gadacy and Neag School assistant professor Devin Kearns will collaborate on research examining aspects of elementary school students’ reading comprehension skills, thanks to funding from a UConn Office of Undergraduate Research SHARE Award.
Gadacy predicts that spelling will be related to reading comprehension, perhaps more so than reading, because it requires a number of additional skills. To test this hypothesis, Gadacy and Kearns will be designing and administering a spelling exam to third-graders this winter in more than 10 schools in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Gadacy admits that designing the test is a complex undertaking. Each of the test’s 20 to 40 words (ranging from two to four syllables each) must be selected from a large database that records how frequently specific words are used in elementary school textbooks. In selecting words for the test, the objective is to choose medium-frequency words – words that are familiar to students without being so recognizable that their spelling becomes obvious.
Kearns says he expects students to perform better in spelling words that occur more often and words that have spellings students could guess without knowing spelling rules. For example, “drips” is easy to spell because the letters say what students would expect. Words with ay and ai, however, are hard to spell without knowing a spelling rule. Both make the “a” sound, like in play and plain. Kearns explains that we spell “a” with ay at the end of words, and often ai elsewhere in the word.
“In some schools, children learn to spell by memorizing words,” he says. “That doesn’t build spelling skill as well as teach students well-established pattern like the ones for “a.”
Gadacy, a double major in psychology and human development and family studies, began working with Kearns last year because his work related to her interests in language development.
“I took a psychology of language course that taught me how people read and speak to each other, which I thought was extremely interesting and complex,” she says. Over the course of her time working in the research lab, Gadacy says she has progressed to working with study participants in schools and developing her own research ideas.
Even though her SHARE grant expires after the Fall 2016 semester, Gadacy says she will likely continue to perform undergraduate research. The Wallingford, Conn., native plans to pursue graduate school before beginning a career in psychology research or social work.
“She has worked hard and learned a great deal in a short time,” Kearns says. “I’m thankful to have her on my team and exited to work with her on the SHARE project.”
For teachers, administrators, and school psychologists, finding an easy, efficient way to track student conduct during the school day has long posed a challenge. Thanks to a new online behavioral assessment tool developed by Sandra Chafouleas, professor in the department of educational psychology and associate dean for research in the Neag School, and T. Chris Riley-Tillman, a professor at the University of Missouri, educators and school personnel can now quickly and efficiently monitor behaviors key to school success – with virtually no paperwork.
Launched after more than a decade of research, this innovative behavioral assessment tool – called DBR Connect – “can be used to screen at-risk students and monitor their behavior before, during, and after an intervention is implemented,” says Chafouleas. “It is one of few behavior rating systems that allows users to enter data online and easily chart students’ progress over time.” DBR stands for Direct Behavior Rating.
Chafouleas and Riley-Tillman, who both started their careers as school psychologists, created the system to help school personnel easily monitor students using three research-based, broad behavioral constructs – academically engaged, disruptive, and respectful. Designed to rate behavior over a specific period of time (for instance, over the course of a 45-minute class), DBR Connect can be used by any school staff member as part of ongoing progress monitoring or on an as-needed basis. Each student assessment can be completed in under one minute.
“[DBR Connect] is one of few behavior rating systems that allows users to enter data online and easily chart students’ progress over time.”
– Sandra Chafouleas, co-developer of DBR Connect
Formerly classmates in graduate school at Syracuse University during the 1990s, Chafouleas and Riley-Tillman had worked in the Syracuse City school district. At the time, Chafouleas says, efficient behavior assessment tools were limited in helping to “identify a student in need and then evaluate whether that student was responding to the behavior support plans that were developed.”
“We had comprehensive behavior rating scales – but those could not be administered repeatedly to tell us quickly if a strategy was working,” she says. “Observations are very time-consuming – and, inevitably, as a school psychologist, you would be observing at a time when the problem behavior did not occur.”
Riley-Tillman sees the importance of DBR Connect given the lack of evidence-based assessments for monitoring progress for behavior interventions. “This leaves tens of thousands of teachers out there doing interventions with children in need and not being able to really see if they are effective,” he says. “This tool solves that issue.”
Through DBR Connect’s intuitive online assessment interface, educators and practitioners can screen for problem behaviors and monitor the effectiveness of interventions in just a few clicks, helping educators easily identify at-risk students and track their progress over time. The tool can be customized to include additional behaviors, which can be tailored to the needs of the students or the classroom context. Users are able to view ratings by student, by classroom, or by the school as a whole; results are immediately available through charts and reports.
Chafouleas and Riley-Tillman consulted with Professor Steven Demurjian of UConn’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering to make the initial prototype of the online system. The tool is now published by PAR, a publisher of psychological assessment materials.
DBR Connect is designed for students in kindergarten through eighth grades. Teachers of students in grades 9 through 12 can still use DBR Connect as a screening and progress-monitoring tool; however, research-based risk-level scores for screening are not yet available for high school students.
“This is valuable tool,” says R. Bob Smith III, PAR chairman and CEO. “It can be implemented easily in a classroom setting and doesn’t burden teachers with long, time-consuming forms.”
Below are news and notes from our alumni, faculty, staff, and students. We are proud of all the amazing accomplishments by our Neag family. If you have an accolade to share, we want to hear from you! Please send any news items (and story ideas) to neag-communications@uconn.edu.
Students
Elena Forzani, a Ph.D. student in educational psychology, was named the Neag School of Education’s 2016 Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher.
Symone James ’15, ’16 MA, an elementary education major, was one of nine students nationwide to become a Nancy Larson Foundation Scholar. James was awarded a $1,000 scholarship in recognition of her personal narrative, academic achievement, and community service.
Symone James ’15, ’16 MA is an elementary education major. (Photo Credit: Shawn Kornegay/Neag School)
Yujin Kim, a Ph.D. student in adult learning, was recognized by the Academy of Human Resources Development (AHRD) with the 2015 Dissertation of the Year Award.
Max Klein, a sport management major, was awarded a UConn IDEA grant in support of his undergraduate research regarding the socioeconomic factors that contribute to a high school baseball player going to college or signing a professional contract.
Theus McBee ’16 received a 2015 UConn Intern of the Year Honorable Mention selection. McBee, a sport management major, interned at the National Basketball Association headquarters in New York City during the summer of 2015.
Alumni
Brittany Perotti Agne ’09 (CLAS), ’11 MA, was recently promoted to director of children’s programs at New York Cares, in New York, N.Y.
Brianna Clark ’05 (ED), ’07 MA was inducted into her high school athletic Hall of Fame last fall in Marshfield, Mass.
Jason Cvercko ’11 (ED) has been hired as the director of football recruiting and retention at the University of Hawaii. As a sport management major at UConn, Cvercko served as a football recruiting intern for two seasons.
Classes 4 Classes, a classroom act of kindness initiative founded by former Sandy Hook teacher Kaitlin Roig DeBellis ’05 (ED), ’06 MA, is partnering with The Kraft Family Foundation. The partnership will expand the program to the entire New England region, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island.
Kydani Dover ’05 (CLAS), ’07 MA, who is completing his Ph.D. in higher education at Louisiana State University, will be inducted into her high school athletic Hall of Fame in Newton, Mass. in March.
Joon Han ’08 Ph.D. returned to the Neag School as a visiting scholar to teach an undergraduate course in sport marketing. He is on sabbatical from another alma mater, Yeungham University in South Korea.
Coventry High School Principal Stephen Merlino ’81 (CLAS), ’84 MA, ’08 ELP was selected as the 2016 High School Assistant Principal of the Year. During his five-year tenure at Coventry High School, Merlino has played an integral role in improving CHS’ graduation rate to 98 percent.
Matthew Ross ’02 (CLAS), ’07 MA as the director of technology, launched a new website for the Farmington School District, with the help of a firm, that was launched by another alum, Rob DiMartino ’97 (ED), ’00.
After 35 years of service, Sharon White ’76 MA retired from the University of Connecticut campus in Stamford on Dec. 31. White began her career at UConn – Stamford as an administrative assistant and worked her way up, finishing out her career as the campus director.
Jason Zigmont ’08 MA, ’10 Ph.D. has become a life coach focusing on personal achievement, helping nontraditional students finish college, and offering academic, life, and executive coaching. He has launched a personal website to conduct his business across the United States through a forum called PopExpert.
Faculty
Four faculty members received 2016 research awards from the Neag School of Education. Rachael Gabrieland Sarah Woulfin won the Early Career Researcher honor, while Don Leu and Betsy McCoach were named Distinguished Researchers.
Ronald Beghetto and James Kaufman’s book Teaching for Creativity in the Common Core Classroom(Teachers College Press, 2014) was named a 2015 Choice Magazine “Outstanding Academic Title.”
Sandy Bell was chosen as the Neag School representative for the Center for Excellence for Teaching and Learning (CETL) Innovation Council. The Council comprises faculty representatives from each school across UConn to serve in an advisory capacity to CETL.
Milagros Castillo-Montoya served as a guest speaker at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., on Jan. 27 on the topic of affirmative action. Her presentation focused on the educational benefits of diversity. She also served as the chair of the American Educational Research Association Hispanic Research Special Interest Group-Early Career Scholar award this academic year. The committee has selected a winner and will present the award at the upcoming AERA Hispanic Research/SIG business meeting. Castillo-Montoya was also awarded an UConn Reads grant to support the organization of three dialogues on race to be held at the Neag School this semester. Danielle DeRosa is working with Castillo-Montoya to plan and implement the sessions.
Sandra Chafouleas and Michael Coyne co-wrote, with other colleagues, “Exploring an Ecological Model of Perceived Usability Within a Multi-Tiered Vocabulary Intervention” in the journal Assessment for Effective Intervention, available online as of this January.
Michael Coyne and Brandi Simonsen were announced as the new co-directors for the Center of Behavioral Education and Research (CBER). In a statement, they said, “CBER has established a strong local, state, national, and international presence. As CBER moves forward, our goal is to sustain CBER’s original vision while working to enhance and build on CBER’s current strengths.”
George Sugai, professor of educational psychology, was one of two UConn experts who described to legislators how disruptive student behaviors can be reduced by building a positive school climate during a forum was sponsored by UConn’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education in January 2016. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Shaun Dougherty was named an editorial board member of the AERA journal Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis. He also participated in the University of Arkansas’ Department of Education Reform Series on Feb. 5 with his lecture titled “The Influence of Career and Technical Education on High School Completion, College-Going and Initial Wages.”
Justin Evanovich, along with students Carolina Franco, Sarah Levine, and Ben Briskin, presented at the IMPACT Conference at the University of Massachusetts on Feb. 19 on the topic of “Innovative and Intentional Student-Volunteer Empowerment Through Structured and Systemized Management Practices.”
Rachael Gabriel co-wrote “Engaging in Performance Ethnography in Research Methods Class” for the journal Qualitative Inquiry (December 2015). Gabriel, along with a colleague, was awarded a Connecticut Sea Grant for her research involving the formulation and testing of education strategies to increase coastal literacy.
Tamika La Salle was awarded a $500 Pearson/Trainers of School Psychologists Junior Faculty Scholarship to further professional development at Trainers of School Psychologists and the National Association of School Psychologists conferences.
Don Leu presented at a literacy summit at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, on Feb. 13.
Jennie McGarry will represent UConn’s Office of Public Engagement at the Research University Civic Engagement Network Conference at the Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., on Feb. 26 and 27.
Joseph Renzulli launched an education program in China to help students develop maturity, creativity, and independence. The program, called Renzulli Creativity Programs, will be also offered at UConn. He also recently penned a piece for District Administration Magazine, titled “Involving All Students in Advanced Activities.”
Blanca Rincón will join nine UConn faculty members as a 2016 Service Learning Faculty Fellow. The Service Learning Faculty Fellows program offered by the Office of Public Engagement recognizes faculty engaged in the pedagogy of service learning, a high-impact pedagogy that aims to bridge the needs of communities with active learning opportunities for students.
Blanca Rincón and Justin Evanovich were awarded a $5,000 Provost’s Teaching Innovation Grant for their course, Intergroup Dialogue on Race, which they will be teaching this fall. The grant competition is designed to support faculty innovation in teaching and student learning.
Del Siegle received the 2016 Palmarium Award earlier this month from the University of Denver’s Institute for the Development of Gifted Education. Siegle was awarded $5,000 for exemplifying the Institute’s vision.
Megan Staples recently penned a post for the Furthering Girls’ Math Identity blog titled “Girls’ Math Identity: Increasing Participation by Changing Definitions.”
George Sugai, sponsored by UNICEF and the U.S. Department of Education, will be traveling to South Africa to discuss his work regarding Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and supporting students with disabilities. Sugai will visit Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Cape Town and will meet with leadership in the Department of Basic Education. Sugai also presented at a forum at the state Capitol sponsored by UConn’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education last month, where he spoke with legislators and education leaders about reducing the use of restraints and seclusion in public schools.
Jaci VanHeest has been appointed to the President’s Council of Sport, Fitness, and Nutrition Science Board, which supports President Obama’s SFN Council to enhance Americans’ health and fitness. She was also appointed to the National FitnessGram Scientific Advisory Board, which furthers research on FitnessGram and physical activity and fitness.
Suzanne Wilson chaired the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee that recently published the report “Strengthening Science Education Through a Teacher Learning Continuum.” Wilson, along with a colleague, presented her research findings about what constitutes good teaching at an event titled “What Do We Know About Good Teaching? Results of a Research Synthesis” in Washington, D.C., in December. She also co-authored a paper on this topic.
Sara Woulfin, Morgaen Donaldson, and Richard Gonzales co-wrote “School District Leaders’ Framing of Educator Evaluation Policy,” published in the journal Educational Administration Quarterly this month.
In Memoriam
Patricia A. Belade ’52
Myron A. Cohen ’49
Ann C. Cox ’00
William M. DeMatteo ’58
Betty Domis ’60
Francis J. Duff ’71
Alan W. Gates ’66
Robert P. Horan ’72
Forrest A. Johnson ’76
Harold F. Lawson Sr. ’52
Joseph H. Marks ’71
Richard Mottola ’70
Dolores D. Scrivano ’56
Escott O. Smith ’66
Cody R. Thomas ’13
Audrey F. Thorpe ’58
Emil Salzberger ’77
Connecticut lawmakers and education leaders seeking to reduce the use of restraints and seclusion in public schools were encouraged this week by two UConn experts who offered a successful, research-driven alternative to addressing disruptive student behaviors.
More than 100 people attended a two-hour presentation at the state Capitol on Jan. 27, where professors George Sugai and Nicholas Gelbar described how a prevention and de-escalation strategy known as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) can significantly reduce incidents of seclusion and restraint, while simultaneously improving the classroom climate for all students.
George Sugai, professor of educational psychology, was one of two UConn experts who described to legislators how disruptive student behaviors can be reduced by building a positive school climate during a forum was sponsored by UConn’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education in January 2016. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Citing research from one alternative Connecticut school that implemented the PBIS model, Gelbar said that in the first year, restraints dropped by 25 percent and seclusions by 59 percent. The duration of the incidents that did occur also decreased 46 percent and 58 percent respectively.
The use of seclusion and restraints in Connecticut public schools is a growing concern. There are more than 30,000 incidents of seclusion or restraint each school year, with more than half taking place in elementary schools, and hundreds in preschools. In the past three years, there were more than 1,300 incidents in which students were injured during a restraint or seclusion. The Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate has found that children are being placed in seclusion as punishment for refusing to do a task or being disruptive, rather than on an emergency-only basis as state law stipulates to keep them safe if they pose a danger to themselves or others.
UConn staff and researchers have been working closely with lawmakers, educators, and advocates to reduce the reliance on seclusion and restraints and to raise awareness of alternative programs like school-wide PBIS. Last year, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a law limiting the use of seclusion and restraints in public schools and encouraging school systems to come up with better ways of dealing with challenging behavior.
The PBIS framework is one such option. Supported by the U.S. Department of Education, school-wide PBIS is currently being used in more than 21,000 schools across the country, including many in Connecticut.
“This is important work,” said Isabelina Rodriguez, special education bureau chief for the Connecticut Department of Education. Rodriguez said the department is committed to establishing a statewide support structure that improves the academic performance of students at all levels and particularly students with disabilities, students of color, and students for whom English is a second language. School-wide PBIS is part of that effort, she said, and a program that state officials would like to see extended to hundreds of Connecticut schools through ongoing professional development opportunities.
R is for Respect and Responsibility
So what is the School Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports model?
The main thrust of PBIS is that it teaches behavioral expectations and social skills the same way as any other core part of the curriculum. A school develops three to five behavioral standards that are positively stated and easy to remember. Those behavior expectations and the rules surrounding them are then explained to students, who are encouraged to follow them daily.
Some examples of behavioral standards adopted for students from pre-K to grade 12 would be:
Respect Yourself, Respect Others, Respect Property.
Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful.
Respect Relationships and Respect Responsibilities.
Those standards are then constantly reinforced through prompts and reminders during the school day. They also are monitored and modeled by the entire school staff, from the principal, teachers, and support staff to cafeteria workers, custodians, and bus drivers. Consistency and parental support for the initiative is key.
The use of seclusion and restraints in Connecticut public schools is a growing concern. There are more than 30,000 incidents of seclusion or restraint each school year, with more than half taking place in elementary schools, and hundreds in preschools.
Success, Sugai repeatedly cautioned, depends on a complete buy-in by staff, strong local leadership, broad support, and regular assessment of data to make sure that what is in place is working for individual students. The process usually involves a year’s worth of training and preparation by staff before implementation, and then ongoing development of additional “tiers” to enhance the program’s effectiveness.
“The ‘train and hope’ approach doesn’t work,” Sugai said of some school districts’ interest in taking a partial, one-day, quick-hit approach to PBIS. “This is a strategy and a process so we can pick the best intervention and support for a student and give that teacher or parent a better way to respond.”
Sugai, the Carole J. Neag Endowed Professor in Special Education in the Neag School of Education, was one of the founders of the PBIS model and has been refining it for the past 18 years. He is an international expert in behavior analysis, classroom management, and school discipline, and a speaker in high demand, who has served as a panelist and presented his research during several visits to White House for conferences dealing with school discipline, bullying, and other issues. He currently serves as co-director of UConn’s Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Storrs.
At the core of PBIS is understanding student behavior and how things like the “coercive cycle” can escalate behavior into a crisis. Sugai illustrated the coercive cycle by using the example of a child screaming in a car for their parent to stop for ice cream. At first, the parent may politely decline. The child screams louder. The parent may then raise their voice louder and be more stern. The frustrated child may scream even louder or engage in other difficult behavior in order to get their way. Unless the situation is defused, it can create a crisis.
Using the school model, Sugai said teachers and students likewise respond to and learn from each other’s behavior. When a behavior doesn’t work for either side, it can escalate. A behavior problem is a teaching problem.
When it comes to defusing and addressing troublesome classroom behaviors, he said improving school climate is effective if done properly: “Restraint and seclusion and the coercive cycle are all directly linked to the climate of the classroom, the climate of the hallway, the climate of the school.”
Associate child advocate Mickey Kramer, whose office’s critical reports on the overuse of restraints and seclusion helped prompt the new state law, asked whether PBIS was structured to recognize the role trauma can play in student behavior and potential interventions. Sugai said detailed individual student assessments and screening are a critical component of the first tier of the PBIS program, and incorporating mental health assessments and treatments for students who may need them is an integral part of the process.
Wednesday’s forum was sponsored by UConn’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, along with the legislature’s Committee on Children and Education Committee.
Editor’s Note: The following story originally appeared on UConn Today, the University of Connecticut’s news website. A complete video of Wednesday’s forum can be found here. Additional materials from the presentation are available online here.
