From Conflict to Connection: Supporting Angry Students & Transforming School Climate

Presenters

• Dr. Michele F. Flowers, GADOEFollow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

EdD

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2005

First Presenter's Field of Study

Education

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

Sarasota (Argosy) University

First Presenter's Institution

Georgia Dept of Education /Retired Educator

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

Dr. Michele F. Flowers attended Howard University, Washington, DC, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, Georgia College, Milledgeville, Valdosta State University, and the University of Sarasota, Florida. She has 35 years of experience as a teacher on every level (special and regular education), Reading Specialist, Behavior Specialist, Educational Diagnostician, Special Education Coordinator, District PBIS and School Discipline Coordinator, Pre-K/School Principal, Principal K-8, and Professional Learning Instructor. She worked for the Bibb County Public School System for 25 years and recently retired, having also served 8 additional years with Clayton County Public Schools. She currently supports Districts across the state of Georgia as a consultant and Special Education Support Specialist.

Location

Scarbrough 2

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support

Relevance to Primary Strand

This session will help educators promote evidence-based practices from the three-tiered framework.

1. Develop interventions to be deployed in schools for students who need more intense interventions, including students with disabilities or students considered to be at risk.
2. Promote evidence-based practices for teaching students self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are critical to success in school.

The session From Conflict to Connection: Supporting Angry Students &Transforming School Culture (K–12)is directly aligned with the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework and supports conference strands:

Strand 1: Promotes evidence-based practices across all three tiers of PBIS:

• Tier 1: Universal supports like calm-down corners and climate scans

• Tier 2: Targeted interventions through personalized support plans

• Tier 3: Intensive supports using trauma-informed and restorative practices

Strand 2: Builds educator capacity to teach:

• Self-awareness through emotion mapping and reflection

• Self-control via de-escalation strategies

• Interpersonal skills through restorative dialogue and role-play

By combining hands-on learning, developmentally appropriate strategies, and PBIS-aligned tools, this session empowers educators to create emotionally safe environments where all students can thrive.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Climate and Culture

Brief Program Description

Discover how to turn student anger into connection and growth in this hands-on session. Explore age-appropriate de-escalation strategies, trauma-informed practices, and Positive Behavioral Supports that foster emotional safety and improve school climate. Through interactive activities like anger mapping, role-play, and climate scanning, participants will gain practical tools to support struggling students and build stronger relationships. Leave with a personalized Student Support Blueprint and a toolkit of strategies to promote self-awareness, self-control, and resilience in every classroom.

Summary

Anger in students is often a misunderstood expression of deeper emotional needs, trauma, or environmental stressors. Without the right tools, educators may unintentionally escalate these behaviors, leading to disciplinary action rather than healing. This interactive workshop offers a practical, developmentally responsive framework for understanding and supporting angry students across K–12 settings, while strengthening school climate through Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).

Participants will explore evidence-based strategies aligned with all three tiers of the PBIS framework. At the universal level, attendees will explore implementation of proactive classroom practices such as calm-down corners, emotion check-ins, and predictable routines. At the targeted and intensive levels, the session introduces the Student Support Blueprint, a customizable tool that helps educators identify student triggers, apply de-escalation strategies, and build individualized connection plans. These blueprints are designed to be immediately applicable and adaptable to a variety of classroom and school contexts.

The session also emphasizes the development of students’ social-emotional competencies—specifically self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills—through practical tools like emotion journals, restorative dialogue prompts, and strength-based reflection activities. Participants will engage in hands-on learning through role-play, collaborative planning, and a school climate scan to identify opportunities for systemic improvement.

Participants will leave with a toolkit of ready-to-use resources, including de-escalation strategy cards, a PBIS quick guide, and a fillable Student Support Blueprint. These “take-home” materials are designed to support immediate implementation and long-term cultural change. This session is ideal for educators, counselors, and school leaders seeking to transform conflict into connection and build emotionally safe, inclusive learning environments where all students can thrive.

Evidence

The proposed workshop is grounded in field-tested strategies and research-backed practices that have demonstrated measurable improvements in student behavior, emotional regulation, and school climate.

📊 Evidence of Effectiveness

Numerous studies and national initiatives support the core components of this session:

• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) have been shown to reduce disciplinary referrals, improve academic outcomes, and enhance school climate when implemented across all three tiers. The U.S. Department of Education highlights PBIS as an evidence-based framework for creating safe, supportive learning environments.

• A 2025 review by Effective School Solutions identified six school-based behavior intervention strategies—including de-escalation techniques, trauma-informed responses, and restorative practices—as critical for reducing disruptive behaviors and improving teacher-student relationships.

This session draws from multiple validated frameworks:

• PBIS Tiered Framework: Strategies are aligned with Tier 1 (universal supports like calm-down corners), Tier 2 (targeted interventions like peer mediation), and Tier 3 (individualized support plans using trauma-informed care).

• Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): Activities promote self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills—core SEL competencies linked to long-term academic and behavioral success.

• Restorative Practices: Role-play and dialogue tools reflect restorative justice principles, which have been shown to reduce suspensions and improve student engagement.

• Trauma-Informed Education: The workshop helps educators recognize behavioral expressions of trauma and respond with empathy and structure, consistent with best practices in trauma-sensitive schools.

By combining these models into a hands-on, actionable format, the workshop offers educators a proven pathway to transform conflict into connection and build emotionally safe, inclusive classrooms.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to Identify developmental triggers and expressions of anger in K–12 students.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to Apply age-appropriate de-escalation strategies during emotional dysregulation.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to Analyze school climate factors that contribute to student frustration.

Start Date

6-1-2026 2:15 PM

End Date

6-1-2026 3:15 PM

Recommended Citation

Flowers, Dr. Michele F., "From Conflict to Connection: Supporting Angry Students & Transforming School Climate" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 26.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/26

Creative Commons License

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