MILFORD, Ohio — A Tri-State school district is seeing suspensions decrease by 50% over the last five years at one school after emphasizing a positive approach to discipline.
Melissa Carraher is in her 21st year working in education and her sixth year as the principal of Seipelt Elementary School in Milford.
"I definitely feel that we have seen an evolution of the way students handle what is happening in the school setting and I think sometimes acting out is more prevalent now than it has been in years past," she said.
So to Carraher, it only makes sense for teachers and administrators to change their approach to discipline to help students stay on the right track.
This newer approach has been the standard in Milford schools for years. It's called Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS).
Soar points — or points students get for demonstrating safety, ownership, attitude and respect — are at the heart of the approach.
Points go towards a reward for the whole school or for individual students, like those given for a positive principal referral. The younger students get prizes and older students get lunch with the principal from somewhere like McDonald's for older students.
"They can go shopping at our school store," Carraher said. "They can earn things like sock feet for the day, be a principal for an hour, buy an extra recess for their class. So we hope that something like that is a buy-in for 100% of our students."
One teacher said she sees the change making an impact in her classroom.
"Kids thrive on positive feedback and praise," Sarah Tarpoff said. "They love being acknowledged for doing the right thing."
But for some students, this isn't enough to keep them on the right track.
"Sometimes those students need an extra trinket, sometimes they need an extra check-in during the day, sometimes they need a completely different plan that's very individualized for them," Carraher said.
Consequences are still part of the discipline for certain incidents, including anything from no recess for a day to a suspension or expulsion if needed.
"I believe that this program is so effective because I have an amazing staff who buy into this program and the kids model their teachers on what they buy into," said Carraher.
