Educators recognized for work on student behavior

Successful educators know that behavior is as much a part of school climate as academics. They also know that good behavior is not accidental; it results from a plan. Cape-area schools have implemented plans that suit them, and the results speak for themselves. Cape Girardeau Central Middle School and Jefferson Elementary will be honored for student behavior in the city of Osage Beach at the annual summer institute attended by educators from throughout Missouri.

The plans implemented have led to a decrease in disciplinary referrals and an increase in positive referrals. Morning and afternoon check-ins with students, rewards and formal recognition are among several techniques that encourage students to exemplify appropriate behavior.

And let's not forget old-fashioned relationship-building: "I think one of the biggest things that helps is just our staff getting to know the kids," Rex Crosnoe, the middle school principal, told the Southeast Missourian recently.

RaeAnne Alpers, Jefferson Elementary principal, is pleased with the recognition, but wants to make improvements that will serve to deepen "the expectations and rewards that [they] currently have."

Middle school is a tough age. Students are in that in-between stage where they are no longer little kids but not yet young adults. It's a time of experimenting with what they can get away with and how many buttons they can push. In other words, it can easily be a time where they find themselves in trouble both at home and at school. At school, educators are tasked with keeping them in line for their own benefit, yes, but also for the benefit of the entire academic atmosphere. School personnel sometimes find themselves hard-pressed to be successful in this endeavor. It certainly takes patience and strategy, so congratulations to the Cape-area schools for tapping into what works and being recognized for it.