Submitted by Anthony Brisson and Clare Wurm, Technical Assistance Providers
On October 22, 2015, we were scheduled to conduct the annual fall data review at Derby High School. As we kicked off our third year of partnership, we were greeted by three new team members, two teachers and a resident administrator. The entire team was eager to share their data with us, along with all of the changes they made to practices and policies.
To start, we reviewed their SWIS Data. Right away they were able to identify a problem behavior. Due to the revision of their technology policy, there was an increase in ODRs for the misuse of technology devices. The SPDG Team shared how and why they revised their policy, how the entire staff taught the new policy to their students, and ways to promote and reinforce positive behaviors as students adapted to the new policy. As a result of their efforts, the number of ODRs for the misuse of technology decreased more than 50% in one month’s time. Kudos, Team Derby!
As the team continued to share their data with us, we saw a decrease in ODRs for class tardiness from the beginning of last academic year to the beginning of this academic year. What they revealed to us was a prime example of data-driven decision making. After “digging deeper” into the SWIS Data, they realized that certain classrooms were too far apart from one another resulting in students not having enough passing time to get to their classes promptly. Therefore, the SPDG Team, along with administration, made the recommendation to move classrooms around versus increasing passing time. As of the day of our data review, there were only three ODRs for tardiness to class compared to over 100 last year! This is another excellent example of using data to make a strategic decision to improve policies, practices and systems! Again, great job, Team Derby!
As their TA Providers, Clare and I commend them for the hard work they have done and continue to do for staff and students.
Stay tuned to hear about (and hopefully watch!) their Derby-produced PBIS Teaching Videos….
Best,
Anthony Brisson and Clare Wurm
Published: November 9, 2015