BRICK – School administrators are interviewing for a district Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) to help with increased behavioral needs among the students as a result of COVID-19, said Director of Special Needs Kristen Hanson during the January 24 Board of Education meeting.
“We are trying to get at that by providing additional consultative support to our teachers and direct support to our students,” she said.
Also, teachers are being paid to participate in Responsive Classroom Training during after school hours and on weekends.
The program is a student-centered, social and emotional learning approach to teaching and discipline, she said. It is comprised of a set of research and evidence-based practices designed to create a safe, joyful, and engaging classroom and school community for both teacher and student.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said. Every teacher has been excited about taking what they’ve learned and using it in the classroom.
The training is four full days, she said. The district first offered these training sessions last summer, but it’s been difficult to do such an intensive program during the school year when there’s a shortage of substitute teachers. That’s why they’ve had to be done on weekends and evenings.
“We’re really excited that teachers are giving up their weekends and after school because this is such a critical training, and it’s really making a difference in our classrooms,” she said.
Due to the substitute teacher shortage, teachers and paraprofessionals have given up their preparation periods, and every morning principals have to work early and quickly to ensure class coverage, said Superintendent Dr. Thomas Farrell.
“We all continue to adapt, adjust and overcome,” he said.
During his comments, the superintendent said that the mental, social, psychological and emotional well-being of the students and staff has deteriorated during the public health crisis.
“Social and emotional learning continues to be a priority for the district,” Dr. Farrell said. “Teachers, counselors, support staff and administrators continue to help students develop their social and emotional competencies.”
The professionals are helping students reflect, manage their emotions, develop social awareness, improve their relationship skills, and make responsible decisions, the superintendent said.
“Students are encouraged to apply these social skills in the classroom while working independently or on collaborative tasks while eating lunch or playing in recess, while in the hallways, in the gym, on the field, on the bus, or in their daily lives,” he said.
As a result of the pandemic, students missed out on “valuable opportunities” to engage with their peers, and the staff is seeing the consequences and repercussions of remote learning, Dr. Farrell said.
It’s not only Brick students who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19: a recent study released by the US Department of Education says that there is emerging evidence that the pandemic has negatively affected social and emotional growth and academic improvement across the country.
Dr. Farrell said there is a further-widening, pre-existing disparity that existed in math and reading, prior to the pandemic.
“This is a worrisome sign that in some grades, students may be falling even further behind than pre-pandemic expectations,” Dr. Farrell said. “We now see these consequences, and have started increasing our remediation through additional programming and intervention support services…and we will continue on that path so as to combat SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) deterioration and increased problematic behavior.”
The superintendent said that to address these issues, capital and human resources have been redirected, the enrichment and extended school year programs have been increased and improved, and the district would continue to expand these programs as well as increase the support services to remediate behavioral and academic deficiencies.
The next Board of Education meeting will be held at the Professional Development Center on Tuesday, February 15 at 7 p.m.
