{"id":30736,"date":"2018-09-06T16:36:32","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T21:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=30736"},"modified":"2018-09-07T10:34:00","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T15:34:00","slug":"why-some-oklahoma-schools-are-shifting-the-way-they-respond-to-students-bad-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/09\/06\/why-some-oklahoma-schools-are-shifting-the-way-they-respond-to-students-bad-behavior\/","title":{"rendered":"Why some Oklahoma schools are shifting the way they respond to students\u2019 bad behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_30739\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 5263px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30739\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Kristin-Atchley_Trauma_WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5263\" height=\"3508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Kristin-Atchley_Trauma_WEB.jpg 5263w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Kristin-Atchley_Trauma_WEB-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Kristin-Atchley_Trauma_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Kristin-Atchley_Trauma_WEB-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Kristin-Atchley_Trauma_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Kristin-Atchley_Trauma_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Kristin-Atchley_Trauma_WEB-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Kristin-Atchley_Trauma_WEB-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 5263px) 100vw, 5263px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Emily Wendler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kristin Atchley, the Executive Director of Counseling for the State Department of Education, educates teachers about student trauma.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Kristin Atchley, the Executive Director of Counseling for the State Department of Education said it\u2019s standard practice for Oklahoma school teachers to yell at kids who are causing trouble, send them to the principal\u2019s office, or tell them to put their head down without much regard for what might be driving their poor behavior.<\/p><p>Now she\u2019s trying to change that.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/496239192&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p><p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t know what we didn\u2019t know,\u201d she told a group of teachers in a training session at Duncan High School. \u201cWell now we know it, and we can\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p><p>Atchley has traveled around the state for the last seven months sharing research with teachers about student trauma, and how that trauma affects kids\u2019 brains and behavior. She\u2019s telling teachers that simply disciplining a child who\u2019s experienced trauma can do more harm than good.<\/p><p>Atchley\u2019s goal for these training sessions is to help teachers make small tweaks in the way they react to kids\u2019 poor behavior, which she said can add up to big, positive changes.<\/p>\n<h3>Oklahoma students and trauma<\/h3><p>Trauma can mean many different things, but the kinds of trauma Atchley is focusing on are called Adverse Childhood Experiences \u2014 often referred to as ACEs.<\/p><p>ACEs are a list of 10 types of trauma that children experience, including physical and emotional neglect, physical and emotional abuse, and household drug and alcohol abuse.<\/p><p>In Oklahoma, <a href=\"http:\/\/childhealthdata.org\/browse\/survey\/allstates?q=4783\">54 percent\u00a0<\/a>of children reported at least one Adverse Childhood Experience \u2014the second highest rate in the country.<\/p><p>Atchley said researchers and schools are learning more about how trauma affects a child\u2019s developing brain.<\/p><p>\u201cKids who experience trauma learn to respond to that trauma with survival skills instead of reasoning skills, which can look like bad behavior and poor decision making to teachers and school administrators,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>Atchley said disciplining or yelling at a traumatized child can re-traumatize them, making it difficult for them to calm down and continue learning. She\u2019s teaching educators alternative ways of dealing with students who are acting out.<\/p>\n<h3>Mid-Del Public Schools<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_30738\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 5563px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30738\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Meagan-Bryant_Mid-Del_WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5563\" height=\"3709\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Meagan-Bryant_Mid-Del_WEB.jpg 5563w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Meagan-Bryant_Mid-Del_WEB-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Meagan-Bryant_Mid-Del_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Meagan-Bryant_Mid-Del_WEB-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Meagan-Bryant_Mid-Del_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Meagan-Bryant_Mid-Del_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Meagan-Bryant_Mid-Del_WEB-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Meagan-Bryant_Mid-Del_WEB-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 5563px) 100vw, 5563px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Emily Wendler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meagan Bryant, Mid Del Public Schools&#8217; Coordinator of Counseling, is training the district staff to be more trauma-informed.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Officials at the Mid-Del Public Schools district have taken Atchley\u2019s training and are running with it.<\/p><p>Meagan Bryant, Mid-Del\u2019s Coordinator of Counseling who\u2019s leading the change, calls it a \u201cshift in mindset,\u201d and said the first step is to educate staff about student trauma.<\/p><p>She said support staff, including janitors and cafeteria workers, received trauma training while schools were closed during the nine-day teacher walkout. Bryant also incorporated lessons for teachers in their mandatory professional development sessions before school started.<\/p><p>Bryant\u2019s second step to becoming a more trauma-informed district is to give staff new tools for dealing with students who are acting out, which she said is an ongoing process.<\/p><p>\u201cThey can have a regulation station \u2014 an area where the kids can go and cool down,\u201d she said. Another idea is for school staff to help students practice breathing techniques when their emotions get out of control.<\/p><p>Sometimes the strategy she encourages teachers to adopt is to just be more empathetic towards students. But she tells them that having this kind of empathy doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re letting kids off the hook for their actions.<\/p><p>Instead, she said the idea is to make sure students who are struggling with trauma feel safe and calm during the discipline process so that they ultimately stay engaged in school.<\/p>\n<h3>Teachers want more<\/h3><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ascd.org\/publications\/educational-leadership\/apr05\/vol62\/num07\/A-Case-for-School-Connectedness.aspx\">Research\u00a0<\/a>shows that students who feel safe in school and emotionally supported by their teachers do better academically.<\/p><p>Atchley said schools are catching on to this research \u2014 and want to know more.<\/p><p>\u201cI can\u2019t even keep up with the requests coming to my office, for me to come out and speak on this topic,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>She said every time she puts on a training session about student trauma the room is packed, and when it\u2019s over, teachers thank her and say, \u201cthis information just makes sense.\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fifty-four percent of Oklahoma children reported at least one Adverse Childhood Experience, the second highest rate in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":30737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[946],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30736"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30736"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30749,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30736\/revisions\/30749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}