The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Redefining Discipline." Contents include: (1) Stop the Bad; Do the Good --…

Traumatic experiences in children are pervasive, and trauma has been correlated with adverse academic outcomes, including school dropout. This research study aimed to answer the following question: According to selected educators in specialized programs in Ontario, in what ways are trauma-informed frameworks used to support the social-emotional…

The Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework, which uses a systems approach to promote school improvement and support all students in improving academics and behavior using data-based problem-solving, is a key part of the Wake County Public Schools System (WCPSS) Strategic Plan. As of 2017-18, MTSS schools were at the initial stages of MTSS…

Schools in Maryland and Connecticut are rethinking suspension policies and practices. They are finding that promoting positive behavior choices rather than punishing the negative is leading to higher graduation rates, especially among students of color. In the 2003-2004 academic year, Baltimore City Public Schools recorded 26,000 suspensions. Six…

Schools in Maryland and Connecticut are rethinking suspension policies and practices. They are finding that promoting positive behavior choices rather than punishing the negative is leading to higher graduation rates, especially among students of color. In the 2003-2004 academic year, Baltimore City Public Schools recorded 26,000 suspensions. Six…

As states develop their accountability and improvement systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) they can choose high-leverage measures of school progress that, when combined with effective policies, hold promise for supporting success for the youth most marginalized by the education system. This paper suggests that to promote equity and…

The integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions through positive behavior supports (PBS) can provide benefit for students, staff, and families (Bohanon et al., 2006; Turnbull et al., 2002). However, there is limited application of PBS to high schools settings (Sugai, Flannery, & Bohanon, 2004). However, preliminary data is…

Three years ago, the authors accepted positions as high school principals in Buffalo City (NY) Schools after serving as elementary school principals in the district for many years. In their new positions, they were to lead schools that were designated by the New York State Department of Education as "persistently lowest achieving,"…

The impact of the economic crisis in America is having significant consequences across all environments. Children in Alabama are being hit particularly hard, with budget constraints leading to greatly reduced services for marginalized children and families in rural and urban areas. According to the United States Census Bureau, 16.6% of the…

The numbers tell a grim story: By the time students with behavioral or emotional problems get to high school, they may be so alienated from adults or disruptive to their classmates that they simply drop out. According to a 2006 report from the U.S. Department of Education, the high school graduation rate for students identified as emotionally…

Improving the long-term life outcomes of disadvantaged youth remains a top policy priority in the United States, although identifying successful interventions for adolescents--particularly males--has proven challenging. This paper reports results from a large randomized controlled trial of an intervention for disadvantaged male youth grades 7-10…

Title I funds are available to districts and schools with high numbers or percentages of disadvantaged students to provide services, including academic enrichment services through Title I, Part A, so all the nation's children have an equal opportunity to education and can reach proficiency on state academic achievement standards and assessments.…

Evaluates a cognitive-behavioral school-based group intervention for Mexican American pregnant and parenting adolescent girls. At posttest, the young women who participated in the group intervention had statistically significantly better scores on all outcome measures. The cognitive-behavioral group intervention shows promise as an effective…

This issue of the quarterly publication focuses on Achieving Secondary Education and Transition Results for Students with Disabilities. Editorial introduction notes that today's educational systems are being called upon to re-examine how they prepare students with disabilities for adult life. The shift toward greater participation by students with…