Rockdale Junior High: Improving Teacher Retention Through Student Behavior Management

Location: Rockdale, TX
Website: Rockdale Junior High
Enrollment: 348
Demographics: NCES Data

The Challenge

Rockdale Junior High School was similar to many other junior high schools across the country: they struggled to manage and reinforce positive behavior standards within the student body.  

Rockdale lacked structure, efficient tracking mechanisms, and consistency around the language used with behavior management. Principal Kelly Blair said, “We tried several different methods, including giving strikes and using spreadsheets and documents to track it, but they were timely and none of them were consistent.”

She also mentioned the school wasn’t influencing many positive behaviors by a focused reward incentive for them, nor were they using a well-defined target behavior system. Equity in disciplinary infractions was skewed, as the same students were referred over and over.

Overall, teachers were having difficulty maintaining controlled classrooms and behavior expectations, which led to teacher job dissatisfaction.

The Solution

• Implement SchoolMint Hero to become measurable and data-driven. 
• Champion and train the right teachers early on to reduce teacher resistance.
• Define behavior expectations, start slow, and evolve them over time.
• Improve parent communications with tangible data points.  
• Use behavior data to support coaching initiatives and professional development.
• Train older students to teach incoming sixth-grade students about Hero.
• Use Title 1 funds (that are more difficult to otherwise spend) to purchase Hero as a behavior management tool.

The Results

Students on task and engaged: 46%
Teacher retention (3/1/21): 100%
Positive behaviors recorded (Q1): 20,000+
Teacher fidelity to Hero: 100%

• Saved time and set clear expectations through target behaviors. 
• Behavior reinforcement became consistent and was housed all in one place. 
• Supported teacher and classroom morale while creating positive, controlled classrooms.
• Increase in positive rewards and a major decline in negative infractions to the tune of a 20:1 ratio.
• Created teacher-to-teacher accountability with fidelity to the system.
• Increased classroom morale, increased engagement, and supported SEL needs for all. 
• Served as a conversation starter on behavior occurrences between teachers, admins, and students.