TEACHER'S CORNER: SCHULTZ TEACHER CARES FOR BEHAVIOR DISORDERS

Michelle Bradshaw wants to get her students out of her class at L.J. Schultz Middle School.

Bradshaw is the seventh-grade behavior disorders teacher.

"We do many individualized activities with the students so they can work on their own weaknesses," Bradshaw said.

"Students who have problems with behavior and social interaction are placed in B-D. Because of this, they need programs adjusted to help them.

"The purpose of the B-D room is to get the students to work on their behaviors so they can get back into the regular classrooms," she said.

Depending on the student, Bradshaw may teach every subject for the B-D student.

"We work at a much slower pace, but we use the same books as the regular classes use," she said. "We make sure that what we do, we do right.

"As the students progress, they get mainstreamed out to the regular classes for a period or two each day.

"It's not like a holding cell to get them through school, but it's to teach them to find alternative ways of handling their negative behavior. Then they can go into the regular classes."

Bradshaw has some former students who have been released from the B-D program. She keeps a check on their progress. Sometimes a student comes back to the B-D room for a period or two a day when a problem develops.

"One child might need isolation when he gets upset," Bradshaw said. "Another might need to just be left alone. You have to gradually learn how they learn redirection."

Bradshaw is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University and has taught for two years.

She and her husband, Scott Bradshaw, have a daughter, Kelsey.