BEYOND DISCIPLINE:

USING THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONSTO DECREASE THE REVOLVING DOOR OF

SUSPENSION

SMUHSD Alternatives to Suspension Overall goals of ATS:

To reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions as well as total amount of out-of-school time.

To replace out-of-school time served at home with alternative structured, therapeutic programs that address underlying causes of behavior and increase school success upon reentry.

Objectives for Students:

To increase personal awareness of causes for suspension/expulsion and improve decision-making to avoid re-offending.

To continue to address underlying causes of suspension/expulsion through supportive reentry to campus.

To increase school attendance, decrease disciplinary incidents, and increase overall success in school.

To engage families in addressing underlying behavior issues through services.

Who is Eligible?Students who receive a 3 to 5-day suspensions are

eligible for the Alternatives to Suspension program by referral of a school Dean. At the discretion of the Dean, students may serve the first day at home and then opt to attend the Alternatives to Suspension program for one day in lieu of serving the remainder of the suspension. The program schedules up to 12 students per day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Clinical staff of the Youth Services Bureau facilitate the program, which operates during regular school hours on the campus of the Adult School.

Where do Problem Behaviors Come From?

Lack of skill

Boredom

Opposition for its own sake

Feeling trapped

Shyness

Disengagement

Protection of self and others (especially in family system)

Where Else?

Desire for connection

Inconsistent Caregiving

Expression of past trauma

Learning Differences

Grief and loss

Health Related

Stress and anxiety

Sadness

What do they need?

Teens need someone to feel close to.

Teens need something to feel proud of. School achievement, athletic skill, peer acceptance, good behavior, and physical attractiveness are all cited as important by teens.

Teens, and all children, need adults to be present, attentive, attuned, and responsive in their interactions with them.

The Social Discipline Window

Doing…

Restorative Values and Therapeutic Values

Participation

Respect

Dignity

Honesty

Humility

Interconnectedness

Accountability

Empowerment

Hope

Alternative to Suspension Day Program

A day of contemplation and connection for suspended students

Youth asset development principles. All ATS components are embedded in youth asset practices that place personal strengths at the center of interventions. These include:

A physically and emotionally safe space;

Meaningful connections to adult mental health professionals who provide experience, care and respect in the delivery of services.

Reframing of “how you did wrong” to finding personal assets and strengths for problem solving;

Meaningful activities that promote awareness of behaviors, taking responsibility, and developing alternative solutions to problems.

Alternative to Suspension Day Program

Using Evidence Based Practices

The day includes a schedule of group-based therapy activities to make students address both the disciplinary incident that caused the suspension and reflect on their educational progress and engagement in school.

Cognitive and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Individual and family counseling and the pro-social peer group activities are based in CBT, a method that focuses clients directly on behaviors, their causes, and goal-oriented practice of alternative emotional responses and behaviors and DBT, a method that expands on CBT by teaching mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness skills. In the class, students engage in activities that help them understand and manage emotions, reframe the narrative of their actions, and practice communication and problem solving skills that result in alternative, positive outcomes.

Alternative to Suspension Day ProgramUsing Evidence Based Practices

Restorative Practices. Restorative Practices integrate a sense of social discipline by providing a framework for building community and for responding to challenging behavior through authentic dialogue, coming to understanding, and making things right. The focus is on “doing with” the student rather than “doing to”, “doing nothing”, or “doing for”. The practices recognize and use the inherent value of misbehavior as an opportunity for social and emotional learning. The dialogue generated leads to understanding and action to repair and restore relationships that may have been harmed.

Functional Family and Multisystemic Therapy. Functional Family and Mutlisystemic Therapy are based in CBT, but address problems by including as many family members and other supportive adults as possible. This approach is based in the belief that all factors in the student’s life (home, school, and peers) must be addressed in order to understand and resolve underlying issues. The ATS clinicians make contact with family members before the program day to give directions, answer questions, see if family has additional concerns, and to gain a history about their child. 

Collaboration with Schools

Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities

Cultural Congruent Services/Reducing Disproportionate Effects on Young Men and Women of Color. In our multicultural community, it is imperative for the YSB staff to be culturally aware in the provision of services. The YSBs, along with the counseling profession, have been transforming practices to ensure that divergent culture and family norms, as well as immigrant experiences, are understood and integrated into the provision of services. The YSBs have an agency cultural competency plan and provide continuing training and education to its clinical staff. One of the agency goals is to help Spanish speaking parents better understand and navigate schools and their children’s’ education. In our case management and therapy work, the YSBs are able to match Spanish language services to families. This orientation is also important in reducing disproportionate expulsion and the long term effects of negative educational experiences for Latino and African American students.

Systematic Collaboration with Schools. The ATS program is integrated into the seven schools’ suspension and reentry systems. The clinical staff at the Alternative to Suspension day program will receive referrals directly from the Deans; report attendance each day; follow up with Deans about high-risk students; inform site SSAs about returning students; refer students to existing prevention and intervention services on campus (such as CALM, First Stop and Girls United groups); make referrals to other services; and in some cases, follow up personally with students on campus.

Continuum of Carereducing time out of class and increasing school

success

The therapists at Alternatives to Suspension are able to assess mental health, substances use, and family system problems that may be impairing the student’s success.

The ATS coordinator is also talking with the families to determine the impact of the student’s behavior on the family and what their concerns are before the class.

The ATS coordinator then follows up with the School Safety Advocate and Guided Studies Interns (if available) at the student’s school to share insights, concerns, need for referrals, family needs, and who the identified support person is for the student. This is also communicated to the case manager.

The school administration is informed about student’s participation in program.

Alternative to Suspension Day Program

FIVE QUESTIONS – Restorative Circle

What happened, and what were you thinking at the time?

What have you thought about since?

Who has been affected by what happened and how?

What about this has been the hardest for you?

What do you think needs to be done to make things as right as possible?

SMART GOALS

Creating goals for school and for life that are…

Specific

Measurable

Action-oriented

Realistic

Time- driven

Identifying supports at school who can help with this goal