Student Involvement Series: Working with Elementary, Middle, and High School Students

WINTER 2021

This guide was produced by the Tennessee Behavior Supports Project at Vanderbilt University—one of three projects across the state funded by the Tennessee Department of Education to provide training and technical assistance to schools as they address social and behavioral needs of students. This brief was authored by Madelaine Ferrell, Melissa C. Hine, A. Dia Davis, Becky Haynes, Tara Axelroth, Brooke C. Shuster, Casey B. Chauvin, Blair P. Lloyd, and Erik W. Carter. 6/2020 PRESSFOTO - FREEPIK.COM

T hree Ways to Engage Elementary School Students:

1. Develop subcommittees. Involve elementary partners in the plan. Collaborating with students students in the school’s RTI2-B plan by on subcommittees is just one way to build developing RTI2-B student subcommittees. relationships. Relationships can also be built Subcommittees can be formed so students by allowing students to submit their input and can reflect and share ideas on topics like: ideas on school initiatives. (a) teaching behavioral expectations, (b) acknowledging student behavior, (c) improving 3. Gather student input. Involve students in the school’s RTI2-B plan, and (d) planning the RTI2-B plan by providing multiple ways for upcoming school-wide events or celebrations. students’ knowledge, opinions, and ideas to be validated. Meetings with students from different 2. Build relationships. Engage students in the grade levels, student subcommittee meetings, RTI2-B plan by building relationships with them. and morning meetings, for example, can be Strong student-staff relationships can help used to gather student input and improve the students feel like significant and accountable school’s RTI2-B plan.

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Three Ways to Engage Middle School Students:

1. Build Relationships. The 2. Survey students. Another 3. Create Subcommittees. transition to middle school way to engage middle school Like student surveys, student typically coincides with students is to gather their subcommittees can also be rapid changes in physical, input through student surveys. used to meaningfully engage emotional, and interpersonal Questionnaires can be used to middle school students. development.1 This transition ask students about all aspects Similar to elementary school may lead to declines in academic of the Tier I plan, including: subcommittees, developing these performance, self-image, the acknowledgement system, subcommittees allows students perceived social support, and types of rewards, the behavioral to share ideas, provide feedback social relationships. A strategy to expectations matrix, teaching on the Tier I plan, and discuss help students in middle school expectations, and the discipline what could be changed to make feel heard and supported is to process. Using the survey results it more successful. Students on intentionally build relationships to make changes to the Tier I plan these committees should have with students. By doing this, their and then telling students how regular contact with faculty, which motivation to participate in class their ideas were used will help will build positive relationships as and engage in positive behavior students feel like they have a say students and staff work together will improve. Just think, would you in what happens at their school. towards a common goal. do well in a class where you felt the teacher didn’t support you?

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Three Ways to Engage High School Students:

1. Form youth-adult partnerships. • Authenticity - Students are of the planning process. These High school students are keenly involved in the planning and initiatives give students an aware of the problems that implementation of RTI2-B because opportunity to participate in face their communities and the initiative directly impacts them. school decisions that will shape their schools. When involving • Meaningful roles – Students are their lives and the lives of their high school students in RTI2-B, given roles on RTI2-B teams or peers. Allowing students to it is important to create youth- subcommittees that utilize their share their voice increases their adult partnerships.2 These strengths and skill sets. sense of belonging, agency, youth-adult partnerships • Trust and safety - Adults and and competence.2 Prioritizing exist in government agencies, students have discussions about student voice also benefits the foundations, community-based the students’ role on the team school by improving teaching, organizations, and businesses; with dedicated time for reflection. curriculum, and student-teacher however, they are less common Strong relationships are built by relationships.2 in schools. In meaningful school- allowing students to fully become based partnerships, students part of the RTI2-B team. This 3. Include students as part of both and adults collaborate by making means students meet regularly planning and implementation. decisions, developing projects, with the adults on the RTI2-B team, When schools are rolling out new and implementing change efforts. review school-wide data, and initiatives, students should be Successful partnerships are action plan as a member of the part of the planning process. This established through authenticity, team. decision improves student buy-in meaningful roles, and trust and and increases the likelihood safety.2 The following bullets 2. Create “student-voice” that it will be well received by describe how these elements intitatives. Another strategy students. As teams implement, are present in meaningful RTI2-B to engage high school students it is important to regularly check partnerships between students is to have “student voice” back with students for their and adults. initiatives which intentionally input and discuss any potential allow for students to be part changes to the plan.

3 Summary Effective Tier I plans andRTI 2-B frameworks involve students in decision-making. Students can be involved in a variety of ways that are based on the needs of their school. RTI2-B teams should collaborate with students throughout the year to ensure that student voices are heard and their ideas are validated and mobilized.

For Further Reading Feuerborn, L., Wallace, C., & Tyre, A. (2016). A qualitative analysis of middle and high school teacher perceptions of school wide positive behavior supports. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 18(4), 219-229.

Mitra, D. (2006). Increasing student voice. The Prevention Researcher, 13(1), 7-10.

Smyth, J. (2006). When students have power. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 9(4), 285-298.

Endnotes 1

Scales, P. C., Van Boekel, M., Pekel, K., PRESSFOTO - FREEPIK.COM Syvertsen, A. K., & Roehlkepartain, E. C. (2020). Effects of developmental relationships with teachers on middle school students’ motivation and performance. Psychology in the Schools, 57, 646-677.

2 Mitra, D. L. (2009). Strengthening student voice initiatives in high school: An examination of the supports needed for school-based youth-adult partnerships. Youth & Society, 40(3), 311-335.

Graphic services supported in part by EKS NICHD Grant 1P50HD103537-01 to the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. vkc.vumc.org

4 Tennessee Behavior Supports Project by Region: 2016-2020

Pickett Hancock Sullivan Macon Clay Claiborne Stewart Robertson Sumner Hawkins Montgomery Scott Johnson Trousdale Fentress Obion Overton Campbell Carter Weakley Henry Jackson Union n Lake Houston Grainger Greene Smith Hamble Washington Morgan nicoi Wilson Putnam Anderson U Dickson Knox Jefferson Dyer Cheatham Davidson Gibson Humphreys Carroll De Kalb Cocke

Benton White Cumberland Williamson Rutherford Roane Crockett Hickman Sevier n Lauderdale Loudon Henderson Cannon Warren Blount

Perry an Bure Madison Maury Rhea Haywood Lewis V Tipton Sequatchie Bledsoe Decatur Bedford Coffee Monroe Chester Grundy Meigs McMinn

Marshall Shelby Fayette McNairy Hardin Wayne Giles Moore Hardeman Lincoln Marion Hamilton Bradley Polk Lawrence Franklin University of Memphis - Lambuth Vanderbilt University University of Tennessee - Knoxville

The Tennessee Behavior Supports Project (TBSP) is funded by the Tennessee Department of Education and consists of three regional support contracts: University of Memphis – Lambuth Campus, Vanderbilt University, and University of Tennessee – Knoxville. TBSP is responsible for providing training and technical assistance to schools as they address the behavioral needs of students through Response to Instruction and Intervention for Behavior (RTI2-B). To locate the project assigned to your region, see below.

University of Memphis, Vanderbilt University University of Tennessee Lambuth Campus Brooke Shuster Knoxville Dr. William Hunter Email: [email protected] Dr. Tara Moore Email: [email protected] Phone: 615-343-0706 Email: [email protected] Phone: 901-678-4932 Website: tennesseebsp.org Phone: 865-974-2760 Website: tbspmemphis.com Website: etbsp.utk.edu

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