“Proactive!” In a word, it is the highest compliment Joakim Lartey, Ulster BOCES Instructional Services coordinator for Supportive Learning Environments and Positive Youth Development (SLE/PYD), can bestow upon the four districts and three private schools represented at a recent orientation at the Ulster BOCES Conference Center. It signals the beginning of a dynamic process to academically and emotionally benefit their students. Working with Christine Downs, Ulster BOCES Positive Behavior Supports Specialist, Lartey oversees Instructional Services’ new SLE/PYD cooperatively-shared service, which provides specialized training, in-depth analysis, and on-going guidance to participating districts.

 

“This new Co-Ser activity continues the highly-effective work of the Student Support Services Center and PBIS project, but goes beyond it,” says Lartey. “We are infusing our schools with the principles and practices of SLE and PYD as a solid backbone for Positive Behavior Systems. Our participating districts have different needs and may have situations that change, so the process cannot be ‘one size fits all.’ Beyond guiding our participants to think proactively and to utilize research-based ‘best practices’ to influence student behavior, we provide in-school specialized support – from data collection and analysis to classroom interventions. The SLE/PYD activity opens the door to new directions because it’s customized for each district.” 

According to Lartey, negative consequences for inappropriate student behavior – detention, removal of privileges, and other punitive measures – do not address the cause of the behavior, nor do they provide incentive for students to change underlying attitudes. Constructive steps begin with a philosophical overhaul – what he calls a “Systems Change” – he and Downs work with each district’s multi-disciplinary team to align their educational philosophies with positive and consistent behavioral expectations and structures. The goal is to inspire a climate of cooperation, constructive discussion, and a problem-solving approach to behavior. The comprehensive SLE/PYD process may require a commitment of three to five years to fully impact a cultural change in the system.

“One of the tenets of SLE/PYD is that leadership is collaborative and lateral within a supportive learning environment,” he states. “When young people are treated as effective, valuable, and functioning members of the learning community, most will rise to the occasion. Giving young people a voice and leadership opportunities in our adult-based world is empowering; it allows them to earn the respect of adults and peers because they are seen not as a problem, but as part of the solution.”

Also fundamental is the conviction that individuals are life-long learners. This means that teachers and students learn from each other, encouraging young people to form intellectual partnerships and mentoring relationships with positively minded adults.  

The adults work to ensure that students feel respected by the learning community. 

“Everyone deserves a mentor to keep them on track,” explains Lartey. “Some students exhibiting behavior problems may also need ‘wrap-around’ interventions to address outside issues; we focus on strengthening all of their support systems.” 

The multi-disciplinary school building teams overseeing the project include teachers, administrators, parents, and non-teaching staff representatives who will share in providing feedback that encourages open communication with all school, home, and agency stakeholders. Clear, consistent behavior expectations, practiced and reinforced through research-based Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) techniques, will put everyone “on the same page.” Schoolwide, the goal is bringing students to a greater point of readiness for academic performance.

To assess progress, participating districts will be trained to do behavioral data collection through quantitative and qualitative assessments. Ulster BOCES will then conduct district-appropriate information analysis and provide them with customized reports, what Lartey calls “authentic feedback for effective planning.”

“Every crisis is potentially an opportunity for transformative change,” he concludes. “At the end of the day, we have the ability to heal and bring balance. When we respect our students, we help them to manifest their gifts.”