Defining the Gray Areas: Coaching Teams to Develop Behavior Definitions and Levels for Consistent Responses

Presenters

• Sarah Miller, Clemson UniversityFollow
• Crystal Ceresani, Clemson UniversityFollow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

M.Ed

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2018

First Presenter's Field of Study

Education

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

Kennesaw State University

First Presenter's Institution

Clemson University

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

Sarah Miller, M.Ed, is a Regional Behavior Coach with the Behavior Alliance of South Carolina (BASC), bringing over a decade of experience in education as a teacher, instructional coach, and professional learning facilitator. She designs and leads professional learning for school and district teams focused on strengthening Tier 1 practices and systems within MTSS frameworks. Through data-driven coaching, technical assistance, and collaborative problem-solving, Sarah supports school- and district-level teams in building effective behavior systems that promote consistency, clarity, and positive school climates. Her work centers on empowering educators to lead change, foster belonging, and ensure success for every learner.

Second Presenter's Institution

Clemson University

Second Presenter’s Email Address

cceresa@clemson.edu

Second Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

EdD

Year Second Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2026

Second Presenter's Field of Study

Education

Institution Where Second Presenter Received Highest Degree

Capella University

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

Crystal Ceresani, EdD, is the Program Manager for Curriculum Development and School Climate Programming with the Behavior Alliance of South Carolina (BASC), bringing extensive experience supporting schools and districts in strengthening MTSS-B frameworks. With a background that includes roles as a state-level MTSS specialist, regional MTSS education specialist, school administrator, PBIS/MTSS coordinator, instructional coach, and middle grades teacher, she brings a comprehensive understanding of systems change and sustainable implementation. Crystal partners with school and district teams to build capacity through professional learning, coaching, and data-driven problem-solving. Her work focuses on developing effective MTSS for behavior Tier 1 practices, improving school climate, and empowering educators to create positive, consistent, and inclusive learning environments where all students can succeed.

Location

Sloane

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

School and District Leadership

Relevance to Primary Strand

This session aligns with the School Leadership strand by equipping leaders to empower staff at all levels to lead within their roles and make consistent, confident behavior decisions. Through the process of collaboratively defining contextually inappropriate behaviors and levels of response, staff gain ownership of schoolwide systems, promoting shared responsibility for student success, behavior support, and safety. By learning facilitation and coaching strategies, leaders will strengthen schoolwide consistency, build staff confidence, and foster a positive, predictable climate that supports every student.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Climate and Culture

Brief Program Description

When every staff member defines and responds to behaviors differently, confusion grows and consistency, trust, and safety suffer. This session equips school and district leaders, coaches, and team leads with practical tools to help staff build shared clarity through collaboratively developed behavior definitions and levels of response. Learn how consistent decision-making empowers staff, strengthens student support, and creates a more predictable, positive school climate where everyone understands the “why,” “what,” and “how” behind behavior expectations.

Summary

Consistency in behavior decisions isn’t just about procedures; it’s about trust, clarity, and shared leadership. How can school leaders empower staff to confidently distinguish between classroom-managed and office-managed behaviors?

In this session, school and district leaders, coaches, and team leads will learn how to guide school teams in collaboratively developing contextually inappropriate behavior definitions and levels of response. Participants will explore strategies for coaching staff to take ownership of schoolwide behavior systems, fostering shared responsibility for student success and behavior support.

Using examples, discussion tools, and a step-by-step facilitation process, the session will outline methods for building consensus among staff, aligning behavior definitions with schoolwide norms, and distinguishing classroom-managed from office-managed behaviors through clearly defined levels.

The session will also highlight strategies to engage students and families, offering ways to gather input that supports staff understanding and promotes consistency, while keeping the primary focus on empowering staff to lead the process.

Attendees will leave with practical tools, coaching language, and facilitation strategies to empower staff, promote shared ownership, and strengthen schoolwide consistency. Developing contextually inappropriate behavior definitions and levels becomes not just a procedural task, but a leadership practice that reinforces consistency, clarity, and a positive school climate.

Evidence

This session is grounded in research demonstrating that clearly defined, schoolwide behavior expectations and tiered response levels are a core component of effective Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation (Sugai & Horner, 2002; McIntosh & Goodman, 2016). Studies indicate that collaboratively developing behavior definitions promotes staff consistency, reduced discipline disparities, and improved student outcomes (Simonsen et al., 2015).

The approach has been field-tested across multiple school teams, where participants reported that collaboratively creating behavior definitions and levels led to stronger staff alignment, clearer communication of teacher expectations, and more consistent responses to behavior. Feedback highlighted that teams found the discussion of contextually appropriate versus inappropriate behaviors, the use of graphic organizers, and strategies for achieving schoolwide consistency particularly helpful. Teams also reported that having all staff involved in defining behaviors improved buy-in and clarity across classrooms and offices.

This approach reflects implementation science principles, emphasizing stakeholder engagement, collaborative decision-making, coaching, and sustainability (Fixsen et al., 2019). By empowering staff to lead the process while aligning expectations with schoolwide norms, the session provides practical, replicable strategies for building school- and district-level capacity, fostering shared responsibility, and strengthening schoolwide behavior systems.

Learning Objective 1

Coach school teams in developing clear, shared definitions for contextually inappropriate behaviors aligned with Tier 1 systems.

Learning Objective 2

Facilitate staff collaboration to distinguish classroom-managed and office-managed behaviors through levels of behavior.

Learning Objective 3

Guide teams in creating or refining a behavior flowchart that supports consistency, fairness, and shared responsibility for responding to behavior.

Start Date

6-2-2026 10:15 AM

End Date

6-2-2026 11:30 AM

Recommended Citation

Miller, Sarah and Ceresani, Crystal, "Defining the Gray Areas: Coaching Teams to Develop Behavior Definitions and Levels for Consistent Responses" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 43.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/43

Creative Commons License

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