Creating a Culture of Consistency Through Tier 1 and Tier 2 Behavioral Systems and Supports

By Ben Yaucher, Principal of Milton West Elementary (former Associate Principal of Milton Middle School)

Milton Middle School is a place where students and staff know the school wide behavior expectations, and also know there will be reteaching and relearning when expectations are not met. There is a belief that students cannot learn if they are not in the classroom. Teaching staff work with paraprofessionals, a student advocate, student services, and school administration to ensure learners can stay in class, even when they’re struggling to regulate, in order to get the education they deserve.

Universal Behavior Expectations
At the end of the 2023-24 school year, Milton Middle School formed a Culture and Climate team. The team was tasked with making school-wide decisions they felt would improve the culture of learning the next year. Teachers, student services members, administration, and our behavior coach came together to revamp the school’s “Red Hawk Way”. In each location of the school, learners are expected to be polite, prepared, productive, and safe. Staff spend time at the start of the year showing students what that looks and sounds like in each location. Staff also explain the “why” behind each of the expectations, as middle school students are often curious about rules they may not be in favor of. The Culture and Climate team meets monthly to review behavior data and compare trends to years past. Adjustments are discussed and implemented through the lens of what is best for students and their learning.

Behavior Solutions
A smaller team, made up of our behavior coach, a general educator, our school psychologist, a special educator, and an administrator attended the Behavior Solutions conference with John Hannigan. The team highlighted areas of tier 1 behavior systems that were and were not in place. This guided the work of the Culture and Climate team moving forward. The work required honest reflection about practices at MMS, and how we could change to ensure all students and staff were supported. It would have been easy for the team to explain why certain areas of tier 1 systems were lacking and not necessary. Instead, the team dug in and figured out how to implement those systems in order to align with the Behavior Solutions framework.

What Happens when Learners Need a Break?
Learners need breaks and relearning opportunities from time to time. Previously at MMS, this might result in a student missing 40+ minutes of instruction. Now, teachers rely on a "classroom support chat”. If a student is struggling with expectations, teachers use Google Chat and send a message that goes to administration, student service, the student advocate, and a select few paraprofessionals. An adult responds and goes to either, “walk and talk” with the student, spend time in the classroom as an extra set of hands, or sub in for a few minutes so the teacher can have a quick restorative conversation with the student away from other learners. All of these strategies allow the student an opportunity to reset with an adult so they aren’t “kicked out” of class and can continue learning.

MTSS: Wrapping around students who need more than the universal
A small population of students struggle to consistently meet expectations, behaviorally. The MTSS team at MMS meets bi-weekly to review behavior and attendance data. Students who have received three or more behavior referrals for a similar behavior in a two week span are considered for a Behavior Academy. This is a six-eight week academy where the student meets individually with an adult to teach discrete replacement behaviors for actions that are resulting in the referrals. The staff member updates the student’s teachers with the skills that they worked on each week, so the adults who regularly work with the scholar can look for those strategies and positively reinforce the replacement behavior. Progress is monitored throughout the academy, and the team and teachers decide if the student is ready to “graduate” after their six-eight week academy, or if another intervention is necessary.

Results Followed
Milton MIddle School has transformed from a school where students may be sent out for extended periods of time and expectations may be different from class to class and grade level to grade level, to a school where students thrive and staff feel supported. Office discipline referrals have been reduced by 50% each year over a three year period, and satisfaction has significantly increased for both staff and the community as measured by Qualtrics. The work was initially daunting, but everyone associated with the school has reaped the benefits and sees the importance of consistency.

From 2023 to Today
Staff and students are able to focus on student learning and high impact teaching strategies. Universal school wide expectations allow people to arrive at Milton Middle School as their whole and best self where scholars are challenged, people are proud of the work being done, and accomplishments are regularly celebrated.