--by JoAnne Malloy, Ph.D. and Dan Habib
In 2006, Somersworth High School had one of the highest dropout rates in the state, and discipline issues were rampant. The school was under intense pressure to improve academic outcomes and improve the school culture and climate. At the same time, the NH Department of Education started up a grant called APEX, providing training and support for high schools to implement an evidence-based framework called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS).
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports is not a program; instead, it provides a structure for organizing of the school environment that emphasizes positive interactions between students and teachers, focuses on teaching pro-social behaviors, ensures consistency of discipline, and helps the school staff to clearly identify students who are struggling with behavior or emotional challenges.
Over the next 3 years, Somersworth High School worked with our staff at the Institute on Disability and formed a leadership team that developed a clear and concise outline of the behaviors that were expected of students, and made it clear how discipline problems were to be addressed. The school also developed a group of specialists who worked on behavior plans for students who were struggling.
For those students who were failing multiple classes, constantly truant, or had other major problems that put them at risk of dropping out of school, Somersworth implemented RENEW, a student-led planning model that has helped hundreds of young people with emotional and behavioral challenges. The results were dramatic: by 2010, Somersworth reduced its dropout rate by 75%, and behavior problems were reduced by 65%.
Kelsey Carroll could have been the poster child for Somersworth High School’s challenges. Diagnosed with ADHD and carrying the emotional scars of homelessness and substance abuse, as well as the actual scars of repeated self-mutilation, Kelsey was volatile, disruptive and, by her own admission, “not a nice person” to be around. As a freshman, she didn’t earn a single academic credit, but she did get suspended for dealing drugs. The new documentary film 'Who Cares About Kelsey?' is the story of Kelsey's participation in RENEW and her transformation from a defiant and disruptive “problem student” to a motivated and self-confident young woman.
Along the way, critical figures in her personal and educational life shape her coming of age and play important roles in an education revolution that's about empowering – not overpowering – youth with emotional and behavioral disabilities. The film project includes a 75-minute feature-length film plus nine mini- films documenting the lives of students with emotional/behavioral challenges. The project also includes extensive educational materials and a national outreach/engagement campaign.
The Who Cares About Kelsey? Project vividly captures innovative educational approaches that help these students to succeed—while improving the overall school culture and climate.
Supported by a Theme Implementation Grant from the Endowment for Health, the film premiered in screenings and discussions at schools, theatres and community centers across New Hampshire in the spring of 2012. More events are planned for the fall. The Educational DVD will be freely distributed to hundreds of schools, non-profits and family groups across NH as part of the grant. For more information on RENEW or Who Cares About Kelsey?, go to www.iod.unh.edu/Projects/renew/ or www.whocaresaboutkelsey.com.
JoAnne Malloy, Ph.D., is Project Director and Clinical Assistant Professor, Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire
Dan Habib is Filmmaker in Residence at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire
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