EDUCATION

Sioux Falls schools expanding 'proactive' behavior program

Megan Raposa
Argus Leader
A game of rewards Alyssa Vandeputte, a Tier 2 teacher, invented to help students meet their goals at Anne Sullivan Elementary on Wed. on March 16, 2016.

Hundreds of Sioux Falls kids participated in a program to teach social and emotional skills during the last school year,  and that number will increase next year. 

Sioux Falls school board members voted Monday night to expand the program to a seventh school, Laura Wilder Elementary.. 

The program is called Tier 2, and it brings students into a separate classroom to work with a teacher on building social skills such as following directions or accepting "no" for an answer. 

►Previously: Skills, not punishment key to decreasing bad behavior

It's a proactive approach to addressing the increasing number of behavioral issues Sioux Falls schools are seeing, said Brenda Bernard, supervisor of elementary special services. 

"It isn't a consequence to go to Tier 2," said Deb Muilenberg-Wilson, director of special services.

Tier 2 started as a pilot program in 2014 at Anne Sullivan and Terry Redlin Elementary Schools.

In 2016, the program expanded to four more schools, Hayward, Garfield, Hawthorne and Cleveland Elementary Schools, and in the 2017-18 school year, the pilot program will expand to Laura Wilder Elementary. 

"I'd say it's probably no longer a pilot," Superintendent Brian Maher said. 

After the 2017-18 school year,  the district will do a large-scale report on the Tier 2 program and decide at that point whether to expand or continue the program. 

Maher said he doesn't necessarily see Tier 2 becoming a district-wide program, but it will be used where it is needed in schools. 

►More education: University Center looking at new mission to attract students

Students get into the Tier 2 program at the recommendation of their teachers. Once they're in the program, a team of teachers and support staff develop a behavior plan with techniques for teaching social skills and positive reinforcement when the student behaves appropriately. 

The Tier 2 program costs more than $614,000, a price tag that includes training in the Boy's Town Well-Managed Schools system for all employees in buildings piloting the program. 

In 2016-17, 274 students went to Tier 2 classrooms, which Bernard said is about full capacity for the program. 

Muilenberg-Wilson estimates about another 30 students will  be served at Laura Wilder. 

Follow education watchdog reporter Megan Raposa on Twitter @mlraposa and subscribe to The Highlighter, an education newsletter for parents.