NASP CQ 32-6: Safe and Civil Schools (Book Review)

NASP Communiqué, Vol. 32, #6
March 2004

Book Review

The Safe and Civil Schools Series

By Randall Sprick & Associates (Sopris West)

Reviewed by Kathy Robison, NCSP

Today's schools are facing issues of safety at an unprecedented rate. If we are to ensure safety in our schools, we must address the attitudes, behaviors and procedures that affect it. As school psychologists, our goal is to provide resources, consultation and support for the establishment and maintenance of a safe, healthy, and productive school environment. Dr. Sprick's Safe and Civil Schools Series is a comprehensive collection of materials that is designed to help improve the safety and civility of schools, thus enhancing student learning. Each resource can be used alone, or in conjunction with other materials from the series. The series promotes using self-reflection, data, structure and collaboration as basic processes for promoting a healthy school environment. The series also proposes the beliefs that students should be treated with respect, taught the skills and behaviors they need to succeed, and encouraged through positive interactions. This review covers five of the components of the Safe and Civil Schools Series.

Foundations: Establishing Positive Discipline Policies

By Randall S. Sprick, Mickey Garrison, & Lisa Howard (Sopris West, 2002, ISBN 0944584721)

This resource is described as a multimedia program designed to help schools (grades K-12) develop and implement their own individualized "proactive and positive school-wide behavior management and motivation practices." The program is divided into three modules.

Module 1 describes the overall vision for a "safe and civil school" and the process for implementing the Foundations program in a school. This includes an introduction to the Foundations program and processes for guiding staff toward implementation of the program, establishing a program team, making data-based decisions, following guidelines for success and defining staff beliefs.

Module 2 explores the reasons for misbehavior in common areas of the school and the processes for addressing that misbehavior. This includes an introduction to improving common areas, guidelines for structuring common areas effectively, teaching responsible behavior in the common areas, and effectively supervising these areas.

Module 3 provides guidelines for addressing safety, discipline and behavior support in the school. This includes an introduction to improving safety, and strategies for increasing discipline and behavior support, addressing safety issues, dealing with discipline problems and enhancing student support.

Each module contains presentation CDs that can be used individually or presented to a group. There are also study guides for each CD presentation, forms for data collection and analysis, lessons and sample policies. The program is designed to be comprehensive, that is, it involves using site-based data and developing an individualized school-wide plan. The authors suggest that the entire process, using all three modules in order, may involve 2-3 years of planning and implementing.

The Administrator's Desk Reference of Behavior Management

By R. Sprick, L. Howard, B.J. Wise, K. Marcum, & M. Haykin (Sopris West, 1998, ISBN 1-57035-333-6)

This resource is a three-volume set specifically designed to support building administrators in addressing school-wide behavior management. It also provides strategies for dealing with students who are referred for disciplinary measures.

Volume I: Leadership Guide focuses on the administrator's role in guiding staff in supporting student motivation and discipline.

Volume II: Referrals and Solutions focuses on specific strategies for dealing with behavior issues from an administrative standpoint.

Volume III: Meaningful Work focuses on engaging students by providing "jobs". The jobs are designed to increase student responsibility, sense of purpose and belonging. This volume includes reproducible contracts, application forms, parent letters and job descriptions.

CHAMPs: A Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management

Randy Sprick, Mickey Garrison, & Lisa M. Howard (Sopris West, 1998, ISBN 1-57035-166-X)

This resource presents a program for creating a classroom management plan for teachers (grades K-9). It includes eight modules:

Vision - this module provides strategies for creating a personal vision for the classroom and for achieving that vision.
Organization - this module provides strategies for organizing the classroom to optimize responsible student behavior.
Expectations - this module provides strategies for clearly defining classroom expectations. The CHAMPs acronym- Conversation Help Activity Movement Participation-is presented here.
The First Month - this module focuses on the importance of establishing a "team" relationship with students within the first month.
Motivation - this module includes strategies designed to support the use of effective motivational procedures with students.
Monitor and Revise - this module focuses on reviewing the implementation of prior procedures and making relevant revisions.
Correction Procedures - this module provides strategies for addressing specific misbehavior in an otherwise well-functioning class.
Classwide Motivation Systems - this module provides information on choosing and implementing a classwide motivational system.

Teacher's Encyclopedia of Behavior Management

By Randall S. Sprick & Lisa Howard (Sopris West, 1995, ISBN 1-57035-031-0)

This resource presents strategies for addressing 100 common classroom behavior problems. There are specific step-by-step strategies to address behavior problems at an individual or classroom level. The strategies are also designed to provide intervention for varying levels/intensities of a given behavior concern.

25 Minutes to Better Behavior

By Randall S. Sprick (Sopris West, 1999, ISBN 1-57035-226-7)

This resource includes a 45-minute video, which guides a team of teachers through a process for developing specific behavior plans for specific behavior issues. The accompanying manual includes reproducible forms to support this process. The purpose of this resource is to provide a model for addressing an individual student's behavior concerns in a positive, proactive and simple way.

Summary

The Safe and Civil Schools Series is an impressive volume of resources; it is well-researched, comprehensive and, for the most part, user friendly. It provides support and concrete strategies for a range of behavioral needs at every level - individual, classroom and system-wide. The relevance of these materials to each school depends on that school's needs. Schools that do not have system-wide discipline plans, for example, may find the Foundations program especially helpful, while schools that are using another system-wide program may have more difficulty incorporating the materials presented with the existing program. Staff "buy-in" is a critical component of the Foundations program given the length of time required to fully implement its design. The Administrator's Desk Reference of Behavior Management seemed to be most relevant for administrators and CHAMPs: A Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management seemed to be most relevant for classroom teachers. I found the Teacher's Encyclopedia of Behavior Management most relevant to my role a school psychologist, as it provides concrete strategies that can be used as part of consultation. 25 Minutes to Better Behavior would be a useful tool for encouraging and supporting teacher collaboration. To the degree that individual teachers, administrators and school staff are willing to take time to use them, all of these resources are excellent. Overall, I would consider the resources reviewed herein as timely, thorough and promising tools for improving the learning environment in our schools.

NASP Communiqué, Vol. 32, #6 March 2004