Professional development and training can help school staff members organize their thinking about problematic behaviors.

In a perfect world, students would never talk back to school staff and never argue or fight with each other. They would complete all their assigned tasks, and disciplinary actions never would be needed.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. Student behavior is a daily concern. Teachers continue to refer students to the office as a result of behavior problems, and disciplinary policies must be in place to handle incidents when a student’s behavior creates a problem. That said, strategies exist that school staff can employ to help prevent these behaviors from escalating to a point where additional disciplinary action is necessary.