Beyond Behavior: A Whole Child Approach to Discipline

Presenters

• Kia Harris, City Schools of DecaturFollow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

EdD

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2017

First Presenter's Field of Study

Counseling Psychology

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

Argosy University

First Presenter's Institution

Georgia State University

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

Dr. Kia Harris was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and is a proud graduate of Georgia State University. She has dedicated her career to serving students through a variety of roles, including secondary teacher, school counselor, behavior specialist, assistant principal at both the middle and high school levels, and Academic Support Coordinator. She now serves as the Executive Director of Whole Child Supports and School Climate, where she leads districtwide efforts to integrate mental health, behavioral supports, and well-being into the educational experience. Dr. Harris is passionate about ensuring that every student has access to the tools, relationships, and supports needed to thrive. With research experience in ADHD and neurofeedback, she brings a deep understanding of how brain-based and environmental factors influence behavior. She is also a devoted wife and mother of two: a rising senior at North Carolina A&T and a rising 9th-grade daughter.

Location

Verelst

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Mental Health

Relevance to Primary Strand

My presentation aligns with the Mental Health category because my work centers on helping educators understand that behavior is often an expression of underlying emotional or mental health needs. In my experience leading Whole Child Supports and School Climate, I have seen firsthand that many behavioral challenges are rooted in anxiety, trauma, attention difficulties, academic frustration, or environmental stressors-concepts reflected throughout my Whole Child approach presentation.

In this session, I guide participants in identifying students with mental health and behavioral needs early through patterns in attendance, grades, and discipline trends. I also show how schools can embed evidence-based supports such as Check-In/Check-Out, counseling, restorative conversations, and wraparound services into a tiered PBIS framework. These practices help staff respond to students with care, skill, and mental health awareness rather than relying on exclusionary discipline.

I emphasize the critical role teachers and staff play in emotion regulation, preventive practices, building relational trust, and maintaining consistent routines-key elements in supporting student mental health. My approach integrates PBIS, SEL skills, and mental health supports to create emotionally safe, predictable learning environments where students can thrive.

For these reasons, my session fits within the Mental Health category because it shows educators how to infuse mental health understanding into discipline systems, strengthen Tier 1–3 supports, and ultimately improve outcomes for students who need it most.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Climate and Culture

Brief Program Description

Schools today are navigating a wave of complex behavioral challenges fueled by stress, trauma, and unmet mental health needs. This session introduces a Whole Child approach that elevates discipline from reactive to restorative. Learn how tiered PBIS supports, mental health awareness, and proactive Tier 1 practices can transform classrooms into connected, supportive learning communities. Participants will gain practical tools, meaningful insights, and collaborative strategies that reduce discipline issues, strengthen relationships, and create environments where every student feels understood, supported, and ready to succeed.

Summary

Behavior is communication rather than defiance, and students often express unmet mental health, academic, or environmental needs through challenging behaviors. This session introduces a Whole Child approach that shifts discipline from reaction to understanding by emphasizing prevention, early identification, and supports that address the root causes of behavior.

Participants will explore how emotional regulation, trauma, learning gaps, attendance patterns, and family instability influence student behavior through real-world scenarios. Foundational Tier 1 strategies such as teaching expectations, strengthening social emotional learning, building relationships, and establishing consistent routines will be emphasized as essential for creating safe and supportive classrooms. The session will also highlight broad Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports that provide more targeted and individualized assistance for students with persistent or intensive needs, while reinforcing the importance of coordinated and responsive systems.

With a focus on collaboration among educators, counselors, social workers, behavior specialists, mental health professionals, and community partners, this session demonstrates how integrated supports strengthen school climate and promote equity. Participants will leave with practical tools, reflection prompts, and guiding frameworks to redesign discipline systems that prioritize safety, connection, and student well-being. The goal is to equip leaders and educators to create learning environments where students feel understood, supported, and positioned to succeed academically, socially, and behaviorally.

Evidence

This districtwide initiative has been implemented in every school through strong collaboration between school-based and district Whole Child Support Teams working within the MTSS framework. Together, these teams ensure that student needs are identified early and addressed through coordinated academic, behavioral, social, and emotional supports. The district’s goal was to shift from reactive discipline to a proactive, preventive, and restorative approach by establishing a unified, collaborative system for supporting student behavior.

Schools now use early warning indicators, shared data reviews, and collective problem-solving to understand the root causes of behavior. Collaboration among educators, counselors, social workers, behavior specialists, mental health professionals, and district leaders ensures consistent, tiered supports across all campuses.

This work reflects national research showing that Whole Child approaches lead to reductions in suspensions, improved school climate, and increased student engagement. Findings from ASCD, CASEL, and the PBIS Technical Assistance Center confirm that when schools prioritize relationships, mental health support, and coordinated team-based responses, they see fewer repeat behavioral incidents and stronger student self-regulation.

The district’s results align with these national trends, demonstrating that a collaborative Whole Child framework creates safer, more supportive, and more equitable environments where all students can thrive academically, socially, and behaviorally.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will understand how to apply a Whole Child lens to identify the underlying behavioral, social, and emotional factors that influence student behavior.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will learn how to strengthen Tier 1 schoolwide practices, including social emotional learning, relationship-building, and consistent routines, to create safe and supportive learning environments.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will examine strategies for shifting from punitive discipline to proactive, preventive, and restorative practices that reduce discipline referrals and improve school climate.

Start Date

6-2-2026 2:15 PM

End Date

6-2-2026 3:15 PM

Recommended Citation

Harris, Kia, "Beyond Behavior: A Whole Child Approach to Discipline" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 61.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/61

Creative Commons License

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