 |
| Keelie Stucker, Assistant Principal, Excelsior Springs Middle School |
Earlier this fall I attended
the Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders (MSLBD) in Overland Park, Kansas. When educators gather for conferences with
hundreds or maybe even a thousand people, the keynote can seem just like
another face or a distant voice. Many
times keynote speakers arrive in a narrow window, rush onto stage, and then
quickly hurry off to the next engagement.
But not MSLBD, this conference experience was different.
The keynote speakers Dr. Richard Van Acker and Dr. Jerry D. Weast were informative, engaging, and shared
valuable messages. However, what truly
set this conference apart from other educational experiences was the
collaborative environment that existed where participants were encouraged to
share ideas. Dr. Van Acker participated
in the smaller breakout sessions. He sat
in the sessions, listened and asked questions, just like me. He was very approachable, in fact I went to
Dr. Van Acker and asked him about resources from his presentation. The speakers give me hope. These experts are still learning, just like
the rest of us. They are not afraid to
ask questions, humble themselves and let others know they don’t know
everything. This was my first visit to the MSLBD and perhaps this is a one-time
thing at MSLBD, but I think the planners are intentional in keeping it a
welcoming environment and will continue to choose presenters that are
knowledgeable and helpful.
During his keynote at MSLBD,
Dr. Van Acker shared his thoughts on student discipline in our current
system. All too often our schools are
heavy on punishment, but what children need is more positive praise. Teachers don’t always realize the amount of
reprimands or the absence of positive feedback.
From the presentation I brought back a system to provide teachers information
on the specific kinds of feedback they are giving students. During observations I now track these
comments with the hope that teachers will use this information for reflection
and work to increase the rate of positive praise in their classroom.
Dr. Weast, a former
superintendent covered several topics of interest at MSLBD. He said, “Teachers can do great things when
you ask them the right questions.” When
we provide professional development it is mostly about telling teachers what to
do. Instead of telling, we need to
collaborate and listen to each other.
Dr. Weast said we need to encourage our teachers to conduct action
research and work together to improve student achievement.
So many of the presentations
got me thinking about our behavioral practices at Excelsior Springs Middle
School. At the pre-conference sessions I
was challenged to think outside the box with our suspensions. During another session I learned more about
universal screenings and implementing a social skills curriculum. Dr. Reese Peterson shared a website with a
wealth of resources located at http://k12engagement.unl.edu. This
website will be utilized by our PBIS teams. The MSLBD was worth my investment
of time. It is always hard to be away
from the building, but it gave me information, ideas, and helpful resources I
can bring back to my school and use immediately.
About Keelie
Mrs. Keelie Stucker is the 2014-2015 GKCMPA Assistant Principal of the Year. She has served as assistant principal for 5 years at Excelsior Springs Middle School, successfully leading the implementation of Tier 2 and 3 supports and providing leadership for PBIS practices. During her tenure in Excelsior Springs her school has received multiple recognitions from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for PBIS efforts including the following: Silver Level Award (2011, 2012), Gold Level Award (2013, 2014), Statewide Video Project (2014), and the Dr. Mary Richter Missouri SW-PBS District of Distinction Award (2014). Prior to administration, Mrs. Stucker served as a band director and District PDC chairperson in Excelsior Springs.
Visit Keelie's blog: http://keeliestucker.blogspot.com/
