Adding Rules to the Three R’s: At Logan Elementary and Others, Good Behavior and Positive Discipline Are Key

By Susan Snyder, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Sep. 11–As the school year opened at Logan Elementary in Philadelphia yesterday morning, teacher Jeneen Crawford, as one of her first tasks, reviewed with her second-grade pupils the rules for good behavior when visiting the bathroom.

“Do not scream out the window,” one student said, getting a nod of approval from Crawford.

“Do not go on the floor,” said another.

“Don’t pee out the window,” added a third.

“Oh, God. I hope you all know not to do that,” Crawford said with a smile as she faced her 24 students, sitting at their desks.

The pupils had the message down pat. After all, they had heard the same message the previous two years as well, when they were in kindergarten and first grade.

Establishing a clear set of rules from the first day of school has been part of the mission at Logan for the last five years, a program developed in partnership with Devereux, the Villanova-based behavioral health-care agency.

In the lunchroom, on the playground, in the hallways, in the bathrooms and, especially, in the classrooms, the expectations for good behavior are reviewed orally, and listed on bulletin boards and chalkboards around the school. The school has seen a dramatic drop in disciplinary incidents as a result, principal Mark Wilicki said.

As the 172,000-student Philadelphia district resumed classes yesterday, improving behavior and minimizing disruption were paramount for district leaders. The district last year had several serious teacher assaults, including one at Germantown High in which a teacher’s neck was broken.

In addition to positive discipline programs like Logan’s, the district this year is targeting its most disruptive and largest schools.

Forty schools, including 12 on the state’s persistently-dangerous-schools list, will get additional personnel and special attention, said the district’s chief safety executive, James Golden. “Single school culture” calls for all school personnel to focus on making the buildings safer and at the same time better places for learning.

All staff received training over the summer and last week in how to deal with students suffering from post-traumatic stress, “de-escalate” confrontations, and use restorative justice, which includes making amends for wrongdoing.

“We have been working feverishly to get this in place,” Golden said. “We believe frankly that we can continue our success in reducing violence and serious incidents in our schools.”

Golden said the district has had a 12.5 percent drop in serious incidents over the last two years. That’s a greater dip than that of the district’s student enrollment, which has declined about 7 percent over the last two years when comparing first-day figures.

One of the district’s top academic magnet schools, Central High, is among the 40 schools because of a string of robberies that occurred outside the building last year, district spokesman Fernando Gallard said. The school for the first time has a “climate manager” who will focus on making the area around the school safer.

The district also will continue with other efforts that have been effective, including an anti-bullying program led by the Philadelphia chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility. That program, which operates on $400,000 to $500,000 in state and federal funds, has been in 50 K-8 schools over the last seven years and last year began a pilot program at two small high schools.

District officials are still weighing a request from Mayor Street to include training on peaceful conflict resolution for all students.

The 486-student Logan has seen a large drop in discipline referrals since the Devereux program started in 2003. Reported incidents have gone from 939 to 253 and suspensions from 353 to 123.

“Behaviors are better because they know what’s expected of them,” teacher leader Kathleen Smith said. “We reward them for positive things, not so much punish them for negative behaviors.”

Staff members hand out “star tickets” to students behaving well. The school also uses positive reinforcement for staff. The leadership team grants extra preparation periods or other rewards to staff members who make good use of the program.

“Fight-free” weeks also are used at times of the year known to be particularly disruptive — the end of October, mid-February and the spring. Classrooms that go several days without physical fights or arguments are rewarded with pizza parties and other treats.

Staff at Devereux say the positive reinforcement is key.

“The get-tough approach, unfortunately, just isn’t very successful. When schools emphasize that approach, we actually see an escalation in problem behavior,” said Barry McCurdy, a school psychologist who directs the Devereux Center for Effective Schools.

Devereux has worked with 12 district schools over the last several years and is anticipating a nod from the School Reform Commission this month to continue its work, McCurdy said. The company relies on grants, not district funds.

The program includes schoolwide rules, strategies for dealing with minor disruptions, and methods for helping students with major behavior problems.

Logan school counselor Veronica Belton-Pittman said she had noticed a change in student attitudes since the program began.

“They’re actually a lot nicer. They’ll compliment each other,” she said.

Students say they like knowing what is expected of them and being rewarded for it. Over the years, sixth grader Shaquera Hennix said, she has received a necklace, a bracelet, candy, rings, bubbles and a harmonica.

“It helps people behave better,” said Foster, who stood outside her classroom with the sign “Positive people don’t put others down” hanging on the door.

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Targeted for Help

The 40 Philadelphia public schools targeted for more staff and special attention are:

High schools: Benjamin Franklin, Dobbins, Strawberry Mansion, William Penn, FitzSimons, Martin Luther King, Olney East, Olney West, University City, Edison, Frankford, Kensington CAPA, Kensington International Business, Kensington Culinary Arts, Fels, Gratz, Mastbaum, Lincoln, Northeast, Washington, Central, Germantown, Bartram, Bok, Furness, South Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, Lamberton, Overbrook, Roxborough, Sayre

Middle schools: Roberto Clemente, Stetson, Tilden, Harding, Turner, Jones

K-8 schools: H.R. Edmunds, Carnell, Daroff

Contact staff writer Susan Snyder at 215-854-4693 or ssnyder@phillynews.com.

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