Rituals and Routines: The Midland Way

Presenters

• Kate Harrell, Midland Middle SchoolFollow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

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Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

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First Presenter's Field of Study

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Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

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First Presenter's Institution

Midland Middle School (Muscogee County School District)

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Kate Harrell is the School Counselor at Midland Middle School, where she’s been working for 10 years to make the middle school experience a little less painful (for staff and students). In addition to counseling, she serves on the leadership, PBIS and admin teams, founded and co-sponsors the Drama program, and assistant coaches the Cheer squad. With a Master of Education from Columbus State University and an Ed.S. in progress at the University of West Georgia, Kate is always learning—just like the students she works with. Ms. Harrell is passionate about building relationships and making middle school a little less intimidating. After all, she didn’t love middle school herself, so she’s on a mission to help students feel seen, supported, and maybe even have some fun along the way.

Second Presenter's Institution

Midland Middle School (Muscogee County School District)

Second Presenter’s Email Address

thorne.jason.a@muscogee.k12.ga.us

Second Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Jason Thorne holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Columbus State University and a Master of Music Education from Kent State University. He currently serves as the Fine Arts Director, PBIS Facilitator, TSC Mentor, and the resident School Dad at Midland Middle School in Columbus, GA, where he has dedicated nearly two decades of his career. Mr. Thorne is also a member of the school’s Leadership Team, House Council, and Tier II teams. You will often find him quoting Captain America and teaching life skills through music. He strives to reach every student with kindness, patience, and a touch of sarcasm. Building strong relationships with students, meeting them where they are, is the foundation of his teaching philosophy. Making these connections and fostering growth in his students is his lifelong passion.

Location

Scarbrough 2

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support

Relevance to Primary Strand

This school-wide initiative mirrors many of the core components of PBIS: establishing clear expectations, reinforcing positive behaviors, fostering a positive school climate, and using data to make informed decisions. By focusing on community-building and ensuring every voice is heard, the program sets the foundation for a PBIS framework that promotes a safe, supportive, and effective learning environment for all students.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Climate and Culture

Brief Program Description

This informative and engaging account details how one middle school successfully implemented a school-wide initiative to familiarize all stakeholders with the rituals and routines essential for its effective functioning. The process fosters community and cultivates a culture of learning where every voice is valued. Explore the history of this initiative, its evolution, and discover how it can be easily replicated for immediate application in the upcoming school year. Attendees will leave with a process that ensures everyone is aligned from the very beginning. Happy New School Year 2025-2026!

Summary

Classroom teachers recognize the significance of establishing classroom expectations and maintaining consistency. However, school-wide expectations are often overlooked, and teaching these guidelines can sometimes become an afterthought at the beginning of a new school year. Introducing the school handbook can be a daunting task, and if it is delegated to only a few individuals, it may lead to misunderstandings about what is truly expected of students. The explicit instruction of both school-wide and classroom expectations, delivered consistently, is essential for the effective operation of any school or organization. Middle schools, in particular, may draw students from as many as 13 feeder elementary schools, accommodate students from multiple households, and employ 6 to 7 new teachers each year, each with their own set of rules and expectations. Therefore, teaching school-wide expectations should be a collective responsibility of all staff members, fostering a united front where both adults and students share a common understanding of school expectations, consequences, and reward systems. This presentation will follow the journey of one middle school during the global pandemic of 2020, which took proactive measures to create a tool that fostered a school culture and climate dedicated to the teaching and consistent implementation of school-wide expectations, consequences, and acknowledgment systems. Participants will leave with a blueprint for teaching their school-wide expectations in a clear and concise manner that enhances understanding and cultivates a cohesive school environment.

Evidence

According to our behavior trends recorded in SWIS (School Wide Information System), upon implementing our School Wide Initiative significantly reduced the increasing behavior issues. During the 2019-2020 school year, our school observed a notable rise in behavior referrals. In response, school leaders developed a comprehensive plan to explicitly address school-wide expectations. However, the school year was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the unavailability of a full year's worth of behavior data. Nevertheless, in the months leading up to the shutdown, referrals surged to an average of six per day. Had we completed the year, the school was on track to nearly double the number of referrals compared to the 2018-2019 school year.

In the 2020-2021 school year, the initiative was implemented with a primary focus on addressing the safety and well-being of both staff and students, shifting away from classroom behaviors and school-wide expectations. The COVID-19 pandemic presented numerous challenges that required the explicit teaching of specific behaviors. We recognized that these behaviors were not only essential but also aligned with practices we had intended to incorporate prior to the pandemic. The data collected during this implementation year is significantly reduced due to the option in our school district for students to attend school virtually, resulting in nearly half of our population being in school while the other half remained homebound.

During the 2021-2022 school year, all students returned to in-person learning, and we began the year with this plan in its second year of implementation. Although some specific behaviors, such as physical aggression and fighting, increased, we were able to significantly reduce overall referrals by the end of the school year when compared to the full 2018-2019 school year and the partial-year data from 2019-2020.

During the third year of implementation, the average daily referrals for 2022-2023 were reduced once again. In the fourth year of implementation, there was an increase in enrollment as well as an overall rise in referrals; however, these figures remained lower than those recorded in 2020-2021.

Year-Total Referrals-Enrollment

18,19-392-414

19,20-485-484

20,21-87-515

21,22-540-437

22,23-358-444

23,24-410-519

24-195-460

Learning Objective 1

explain the connection between school rituals and routines and PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports), understanding how they support positive behavior, consistent expectations, and a supportive school culture.

Learning Objective 2

identify the key components of a successful school-wide initiative aimed at fostering community, collaboration, and shared expectations among students, teachers, staff, and families.

Learning Objective 3

create a process for building school community and culture, leaving with an actionable plan that can be implemented immediately to ensure alignment and engagement from day one.

Start Date

6-3-2025 2:15 PM

End Date

6-3-2025 3:15 PM

Recommended Citation

Harrell, Kate, "Rituals and Routines: The Midland Way" (2025). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 4.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2025/2025/4

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.