Articles

Sometimes a few little numbers can tell a great big story. That's the case with the changing numbers of disciplinary referrals at Palmyra-Macedon Primary School in Palmyra, NY. When the Responsive Classroom approach really began to take hold in this school, disciplinary referrals (overall numbers of referrals as well as…

During my thirty-nine-year teaching career, I’ve walked school hallways in five states and taught many students in public, private, and parochial settings. Over all those years, I’ve seen the power of group gatherings, whether daily, weekly, or monthly. In schools where those gatherings are purposeful, fun, and tied closely to…

When principal Susan Mele arrived four years ago at Stewartsville Elementary School, the discipline was in chaos. More time was being spent on discipline than instruction; teachers were exhausted from dealing with inappropriate behaviors that negatively impacted instruction; students were rude to each other and didn't seem to care. Susan…

A few years ago, at dismissal time at Four Corners Elementary School in Greenfield, Massachusetts, 229 students in grades K through 5 would leave their classrooms simultaneously and head for the school's front door, where a bottleneck formed each day. School staff, recognizing that this situation often left children feeling…

When Rita White stepped into her first principalship at an inner-city school in Memphis, Tennessee, she faced daunting challenges. The school of 980 students was on the state’s “needs improvement” list, students were not making adequate yearly progress, and discipline referrals exceeded 1,000 a year. The approach to discipline was…

"Where should we start?" is a common question for schools that want to implement the Responsive Classroom approach schoolwide. There's not one right answer, although it's definitely helpful to invest early on in helping teachers master the core classroom practices. Besides that, a good way to start is to establish…

At the recent National Staff Development Council (NSDC) conference in St. Louis, I had an opportunity to view The Principal Story. This documentary, which aired on PBS earlier this fall, tells a poignant story about two elementary school leaders who turned around their under-performing urban schools. (Follow the link to…

At a time when many policy makers are concerned primarily with children's cognitive development and how they do on standardized tests, educators from around the country gathered in Amherst, Massachusetts, to reaffirm the importance of educating the whole child and to share effective ways to do so. The two-day conference,…

Sheffield Elementary, a grade 3–6 school in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, faced a challenge familiar to many educators: how to develop a more consistent approach to discipline from classroom to classroom and in common school areas, such as the playground, lunchroom, and hallways. In the fall of 2003, our school community…

A whistle blows, signaling that the day is about to begin. The children scamper to organize themselves into grade-level lines. On an adult’s signal, one line moves toward the building, pausing at the door. “We are about to go inside. What kind of waves will we use?” the adult asks…

Q: The classroom environment is calmer and friendlier when I work with the children to create classroom rules. But I still get reports from lunch, recess, and special area teachers about problematic behaviors in these areas. How can I help the children pay attention to our classroom rules even when…