The USD 253 Board of Education took a deep dive into the data behind student behavior as part of its regular meeting Wednesday night.
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning and Student Services Judy Stanley presented the student behavior data review Wednesday evening which showed the district had a total of 3,279 “major behavior” incidents involving 960 students over the past school year. According to Stanley, “major behaviors” are defined as behaviors that are harmful, illegal or demonstrate disorderly conduct.
The data review showed the majority of incidents – 1,541 – occurred at the elementary level while the fewest – 694 – occurred at Emporia High School. Stanley also noted that less than 15 percent of districtwide incidents involved violent or harmful behavior to others.
While speaking with KVOE News, Stanley stated that many individuals believe an uptick in student behavioral problems is a recent issue that developed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stanley notes that is not fully accurate as behavioral issues have been a rising statistic for quite some time.
With the 2023-24 school year right around the corner, Stanley says the district is planning to implement a number of initiatives to help curb behavioral issues starting with ensuring all staff are fully supported and “on the same page” when it comes to handling behavioral issues.
In other business Wednesday, Director of Human Relations Jared Giffin presented the annual district teacher turnover rate report. According to Giffin a total of 63 classified staff left the district over the course of the past year, down considerably from the 86 who left in the 2021-22 school year.
Of the 63 teachers, 29 left the profession outright. Giffin says while they do not want to see teachers leave for any reason, he is happy the numbers are showing some moderate improvement.
That being said, he tells KVOE News that exit interview data showed the district a number of areas that need to be addressed in order to help keep those numbers below previous years including salaries, student behaviors, workload and staffing just to name a few. Giffin says the good news is the district has already put a high level of effort into addressing many of these areas over the past year alone.
Both the student behavior data review and teacher turnover rate report are available for viewing at USD253.org under the Board of Education tab.
The USD 253 Board of Education will next convene on Wednesday, August 9 at 6:30 pm.
