Relationships are the foundation of everything we do at Schmitt. We champion for equity and inclusion. It is important that students have what they need, academically AND behaviorally, to access instruction. This is why we invest in more Paras, Interventions, Essentials (PE and music–they are not “Special”, they are “ESSENTIAL”), and Mental Health Support per student than most schools in DPS. A big part of our vision for inclusive success is to shift the majority of mental health services to push-in coaching, instead of exclusive pull-out services. Supporting students at documented times of struggle and/or times involving more unstructured social interaction such as recess, lunch, and Essentials. This is a shift suggested by Central Office Supervisors in the DPS Mental Health, Trauma Informed Practices, and Restorative Approach Departments. Schmitt is excited for the impact this shift will have on students because focusing for several years on pull-out skill building has not proven to transfer to other settings, especially those involving more social lift.
We know that social emotional/behavior needs can be fluid or relevant to stimuli. Schmitt recognizes the importance of consistent collaboration and goal setting for adult actions with classroom teachers and paras that respond to 95% of student behaviors. We can’t expect student behaviors to change if we are not nurturing adult behaviors as well. Teachers of Tier 3 behavior students need weekly check-ins to leverage strengths and learn or fine-tune one action step: i.e., “There has been a positive response to welcoming the student back in from elopement. Keep it up! Now let’s focus on trying to engage the student in the lesson.