Madison's Sennett Middle School Discipline Climate & Security Cameras

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But her enthusiasm for the cameras pales in comparison to a new district-wide middle school program started this year called Positive Behavior Intervention Support, or PBIS.

"This is very good for kids -- very, very good," Lodholz said.

The PBIS program uses positive behavior support coaches like Sennett's Jennifer Tomlinson. She works with students, teachers and staff to teach positive behavior skills to students.

Often the behavior is rewarded and promoted by the students themselves, through handmade posters or activities aimed at showcasing such behaviors, WISC-TV reported.

Officials said the key is to actually instruct kids how to behave correctly, be it through mediation sessions, classroom instruction or other innovative approaches.

"We need to teach kids how to be accountable for their actions and that's what we're doing through this system," Tomlinson said.

Lodholz said the program helps offer instruction to students on how they should be behave. She said the PBIS program builds upon other Sennett school strategies and that it all seems to be working.

Last year incidents of misconduct at Sennett totaled 1,706, and 1,169 suspensions were handed out.

But in the 2007-08 school year to date, with the cameras and new program, Sennett's seen more than 730 fewer misconduct incidents -- at 973 -- and only 94 suspensions.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 24, 2008 10:09 PM
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