Whole-school or whole-class programs designed to promote positive behavior can enhance the likelihood that effective teaching and learning occur for all students. This practice guide is intended to help elementary education educators, as well as school and district administrators and parents, implement and support effective prevention-focused…

In recent decades, research and practice have shown that investing in a positive school-wide social culture is a key component of effective education. Evidence demonstrates that educators and students succeed when students are present, engaged, socially secure, and academically successful. Developed by 2M Research in conjunction with an expert…

Gang affiliation is not something that students leave behind when they come to school. Gang members do not leave their behaviors, attitudes, and conflicts outside the school environment. Gangs, unchecked and unidentified in a school setting, often engage in threat and intimidation; physical and cyber bullying; fighting; recruiting; and criminal…

School communities in both urban and rural settings need trauma-informed (TI) supports; however, the adversities experienced and access to student supports may be unique to rural school communities. In addition, the contextual challenges experienced by rural schools and communities, as well as the strengths that can be drawn from them, will…

This handbook provides solid, detailed guidelines for implementing and sustaining schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS). Full of engaging anecdotes from expert PBIS coaches, this comprehensive resource helps PBIS teams overcome the obstacles of staff buyin and offers solutions for sustaining a successful program at your…

Our nation's schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence. Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community (Brookmeyer, Fanti, and Henrich 2006;…

Disruptive behaviors requiring intervention occur across multiple school systems, including individual students and classrooms. Such behaviors, including talking aloud in class, getting out of one's seat, or more serious behaviors, can be frustrating for other students as well as teachers, who are trying to help students meet ever-increasing…

Functional behavior assessment (FBA), although mandated by federal law in situations involving students with emotional and behavioral disorders, is not well defined in the literature in terms of how it should best be undertaken in widespread practice in schools. Functional behavior assessment can be defined as a process for determining the reason…

This state-of-the-art practitioner resource and course text provides a comprehensive view of adolescent development and spells out effective ways to help teens who are having difficulties. The book illuminates protective and risk factors in the many contexts of adolescents' lives, from individual attributes to family, school, neighborhood, and…

Practitioners and parents are seeking ways to help children who are not able to integrate sensory information; this has generated recent media attention. A child's inability to integrate sensory information can have implications for the whole family and their everyday routines. Research conducted by occupational therapists has provided a rich…

This article examines various aspects of school physical characteristics relating to problem behavior among students. We hypothesize that an attractive physical environment will be associated with less truancy, cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, whereas a negative physical environment will be associated with higher levels of these behaviors.…

This article uses a question-and-answer format to provide early childhood educators with specific strategies for organizing both the physical classroom environment and the instructional environment to prevent problem behaviors such as running, fighting, getting distracted, or difficulty with transitions. Sample classroom layouts, a sample daily…

Twenty suggestions for building community and empowering students stress the role of community in facilitating inclusion, influence, and openness. Suggestions include mapping the community, finding common threads, conducting community interviews, matching compelling literature with student characteristics, conducting classroom meetings, providing…

This guide is intended to help elementary school educators as well as school and district administrators develop and implement effective prevention and intervention strategies that promote positive student behavior. The guide includes five recommendations and indicates the quality of the evidence that supports them: (1) Identify the specifics of…

One approach to student behavior that may be particularly useful in exclusionary settings is school-wide positive behavior supports (PBS). Increasingly, evidence shows that PBS is an effective approach to student behavior in regular public schools (Sugai & Horner, 2005). While the data on behavioral systems in exclusionary schools are…