Format
Individual Presentation
First Presenter's Institution
Newton County School System
Second Presenter's Institution
NA
Third Presenter's Institution
NA
Fourth Presenter's Institution
NA
Fifth Presenter's Institution
NA
Location
Harborside West 2
Strand #1
Academic Achievement & School Leadership
Strand #2
Social & Emotional Skills
Relevance
The purpose of this presentation is to show how discipline issues directly hinder student achievement. Teaching and learning will always be limited if there are rampant discipline problems. Discipline issues are often rooted in poverty and race misunderstandings that inhibit a teacher's ability to effectively engage and reach all students. The presenter served as principal in two Title I schools, one in a rural elementary setting and the other in a suburban high school setting. Both schools were successfully "turned around" through the use of a variety of strategies including the school climate strategies shared in this humorous, thought-provoking presentation.
Brief Program Description
This presentation discusses, exposes, and confronts how student achievement is negatively impacted by poor school culture and climate. Discipline practices will be reviewed, and methods for establishing and sustaining a viable school-wide behavior management plan will be provided. This presentation equips the audience with the strategies to improve conditions in schools wishing to move to a better state of performance.
Summary
This proposal addresses factors that interfere with the academic achievement of students across socioeconomic and racial lines. The presentation highlights actual experiences of a school leader who served as principal in two at-risk schools. These schools sere as case studies of how discipline was viewed and administered in these settings. The principal in these schools discovered methods that can naturally improve culture and climate in schools, and this ultimately improves student achievement. The research base comes from theoretical underpinnings and practical work in Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), poverty research by Dr. Donna Beegle, the federal SAMHSA mental health awareness grant known as Project AWARE, and action research with a prevention-intervention program named Task Force Uplift. The work led to the development of a Division of School Climate that actively confronts issues of poverty and its effects on student achievement. The Division combines the efforts of the aforementioned entities along with social workers, psychologists, graduation coaches, and counselors to provide targeted aligned services for students and families. When implemented with fidelity, increased student achievement and an improved school climate are direct results. The practices shared were implemented at both the school and district levels, and progress was witnessed in all scenarios. The presentation will show the audience what needs to be done and how these efforts work. The audience will be given strategies to implement in their school settings as well as thought-provoking dialogue that can be continued in their home districts. Academic gains and discipline data will be provided.
Evidence
The practices discussed in this proposal based on Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports also known as PBIS. The presenter implemented this program in an at-risk high school and saw improvements in both the school culture and the academic programming. The proposal will show how office discipline referrals were positively impacted.
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Craig Lockhart is the Deputy Superintendent of Schools in Newton County, a district that serves 19,700 students. He was formerly the principal of Newton High School in Covington Georgia, and under his leadership Newton High was name a Title I Reward School in 2012 and 2013. He also served as principal of Taylor County Upper Elementary School, which he moved from a NI-6 school to a Title I Distinguished School in 2009. He was named Outstanding Educator of the Year for Elementary Administrators at the summer 2009 GAEL conference, and he is nationally board certified in the area of science. He is the author of School Genetics: The BluePrint for Saving Public Schools and has presented his experiences to local state, and national audiences for over nine years
Keyword Descriptors
Discipline, Behavior, Achievement, PBIS, Leadership, School, At-Risk
Presentation Year
2017
Start Date
3-8-2017 9:45 AM
End Date
3-8-2017 11:00 AM
Recommended Citation
Lockhart, Craig, "Confessions of a Recovering Disciplinarian" (2017). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 132.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2017/2017/132
Included in
Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons
Confessions of a Recovering Disciplinarian
Harborside West 2
This presentation discusses, exposes, and confronts how student achievement is negatively impacted by poor school culture and climate. Discipline practices will be reviewed, and methods for establishing and sustaining a viable school-wide behavior management plan will be provided. This presentation equips the audience with the strategies to improve conditions in schools wishing to move to a better state of performance.
