Red Deer Public Schools says its behaviour support team has been making “a positive difference throughout the division.”
In fall 2022, the division received a $706,000 grant through Alberta Education’s Mental Health In Schools pilot program. This grant supported the formation of a three-person behaviour support team, made up of a psychiatric nurse, a teacher with additional training in supporting mental health and behaviour, and a social worker.
The team, which helps develop mental health strategies for students and supports teachers, travels to schools throughout the division as needed to help students, staff and families.
“Once developed, the team was immediately available to classrooms to respond in a timely fashion to a crisis situation in school. They can help de-escalate the situation while maintaining the safety and dignity of the student and allowing the classroom teacher to return to teaching,” said Nicola Golby, associate superintendent of student services.
“This has also led to less disturbance in the classroom and maintains regulation of other students.”
Since December 2022, the team has made more than 360 school team or teacher visits regarding an individual student, four classroom group consultations, 19 school-based professional development sessions, four Division teacher training sessions, and one vice-principal training session.
The behaviour support team has been building capacity throughout Red Deer Public in two main ways. The first is by working with learning teams (teachers, educational assistants, administrators and principals) with a focus on identifying proactive supports and strategies to build capacity in the school team.
“As a large part of their work, the team will go in a teacher’s classroom to model and trial strategies side-by-side with the teacher,” said Golby.
“One piece is to build skills with the teacher and/or school in order to target dysregulation and diminish the resulting anxiety in other students within the class.”
The second way the team has been building capacity is through group professional development.
“Red Deer Public began implementing student support rooms in our elementary and middle schools in fall of 2023. These rooms are part of a strategy to have a place for students to go when they need to regulate their emotions, display big behaviours, or to connect with an adult while maintaining dignity in a more private space,” said Golby.
“The Behaviour Support Team has been training the 18 Student Support Room teachers, primarily using Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model of Education, Gordon Neufeld emotional playgrounds, and Martin Brokenleg’s Circle of Courage. This professional development has been a great way to collaborate and support our teachers.”
Send your news tips
Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter