CONTINUED FROM 1
Multitiered systems of support
The Cy-Fair ISD handbook breaks down misbehaviors into ve levels , each with a di erent type of response. Discipline in CFISD
in Cy-Fair ISD, but across the state and country, after COVID[-19], I think parents were just more willing to take a vacation during the school week,” he said. “I think there was more of that. Attendance didn’t seem quite as important when you were online as [when] you were in person.” In her comments to the board, Cock- rell noted teachers also faced added pressures due to the ongoing pandemic and high absenteeism among students. The district reported 999 teacher resig- nations in 2021-22. This 12.1% resigna- tion rate is up from 8.4% in 2017-18. Cy-Fair High School student Saman- tha Reimers nished her eighth-grade year and entered high school during the height of the pandemic when classes were at least partially operat- ing online. She said it was easier for her to complete her assignments from the comfort of her home. “You never had to get ready to go to school. A lot of kids, they would roll out of bed and just go to school in their pajamas and not turn their cam- eras on,” Reimers said. In addition, Reimers said the return to in-person learning was made with limited social interaction at school. She said she believes this negatively impacted how students handled social scenarios, often reverting to violence. “There were a lot more ghts, I guess, and a lot more [tension] between people because they weren’t as accustomed to the situations that Ti any Priska is a licensed profes- sional counselor who owns Cypress Therapy and Counseling o Cypress Rosehill Road. She said she has seen an increase in social anxiety and adoles- cents acting out as a result. “They can’t articulate emotion like adults can; their brain is not fully developed, and so oftentimes they don’t have the verbal capacity. They just don’t know what those emotions are. So instead of saying, ‘Oh, I’m really stressed,’ or, ‘I’m having anxiety,’ they might have a behavior issue,” she said. While the pandemic exacerbated issues for many students, Steph- anie Peterson, a training and edu- cation specialist with Texas State University’s Texas School Safety Cen- ter, said students were already sus- ceptible to high levels of stress before the pandemic. “Stress was something that was an they were in,” she said. Mental health e ects
Per state requirements, Cy-Fair ISD has multitiered systems of support in place. Experts from the Texas School Safety Center said this approach ensures all students are aided while remaining consistent with basic disciplinary measures.
Percentage of students covered:
80% 15% 5%
Corrective action
Infraction examples
SCHOOLWIDE INTERVENTION: social-emotional skills, instruction or behavior expectations SPECIALIZED SUPPORT: social skills groups, restorative circles, con ict resolution skills INTENSIVE INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORT: individual therapy, functional behavior assessments, wraparound supports SOURCE: TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY TEXAS SCHOOL SAFETY CENTER COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
*DAEP (Disciplinary Alternative Educational Program) provides educational services for students who are placed in a district alternative learning center **JJAEP (Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program) provides educational services for youths who are expelled or have committed o -campus felonies
Discipline a growing concern in Cy-Fair ISD following pandemic
SOURCE: CY FAIR ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
LEVEL 1
BY MIKAH BOYD
Behavior violates classroom, campus or school bus rules; can be corrected by a teacher or sta Tardiness, refusal to follow classroom rules Written or spoken correction, loss of extracurricular privileges
Discipline reports in Cy-Fair ISD increased by approximately 224% over ve years from 2017-18 to 2021- 22. Mental health experts said the stress and trauma students faced in recent years compounded with the continued uncertainty of the pan- demic may cause them to act out. District administration is taking steps to address the rising behavior concern and support students’ men- tal health. Superintendent Mark Henry acknowledged the increase in behav- ioral issues during the June 13 board meeting and discussed the district’s desire to alleviate the problem head- ing into 2022-23, the fourth school year a ected by the pandemic. “Probably the biggest concern we had this year on campuses [was] dis- cipline, which we’re going to take a much more hands-on approach this year. … We’re going to start o the year making sure the year goes much smoother,” he said. CFISD’s board of trustees approved $6 million in June in the 2022-23 bud- get to hire either a behavioral inter- ventionist or a testing coordinator for each elementary and middle school campus. Principals will choose based on their school’s needs, so campuses dealing with discipline issues can receive additional support. District o cials said these behav- ioral interventionists will collaborate with teachers to foster a learning-cen- tric environment and model e ective classroom management strategies to assist teachers in managing student behavior as outlined in CFISD’s student
handbook and code of conduct. At the June 13 board meeting, CFISD teacher Danielle Cockrell spoke about the rise in student conduct issues in the last year and the need to address them. “Student behavior was out of con- trol this past year,” Cockrell said. “Students knew administrators were limited to what they were allowed to do, and they did as they pleased.” Behavioral problems In the 2021-22 school year, 28,723 students were disciplined in CFISD, about 25% of students. The discipline record count was 156,069, which trans- lates to an average of 5.4 incidents per disciplined student. Disciplinary infractions can range from being tardy to class to controlled substance and weapon possession. Consequences for each situation are outlined in the student handbook, serving as a road map for teachers to maintain order in the classroom, and they can range from a written or verbal correction to expulsion to the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program. In 2021-22 alone, there were 35,459 in-school suspensions and 14,060 out-of-school suspensions. District o cials cited learning loss and absenteeism as contributing fac- tors to the disciplinary issues and con- tention points throughout the year. Henry noted a trend of increased absenteeism during the June 9 work session. Following the return to in-person learning, attendance in CFISD dropped from 95.4% in 2017-18 to 92.6% in 2021-22. “I’ll be honest with you: I think not
LEVEL 2
Includes more serious acts; may result in referral to an administrator Refusal to wear an ID badge,
harmful physical contact See Level 1 + in-school suspension; grade penalty if student cheated
LEVEL 3
Conduct is more disruptive or serious than levels 1 and 2; may occur within 300 feet of school property Bullying and ghting, possession of any weapon or pornography See levels 1 and 2 + removal to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program*; suspension Actions that require placement in a DAEP; actions can be committed on and o campus False alarm report, harassment of a sta member Students automatically placed in DAEP LEVEL 4 Behavior leading to expulsion and placement into the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program** Firearm violations, aggravated assault Automatic expulsion to JJAEP LEVEL 5
28
COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook