Red Zone Teams Systematic Support for Struggling Students and Families Presenters: Sally Helton, EBIS Coordinator Tigard Tualatin School District Greg Rush, Care Coordinator, Lifeworks Northwest Susan Winterbourne, Washington County Juvenile Department

Main Message  Wrap-around support for struggling students is available, cost effective, and beneficial for all.  Structured systems, decision rules, training, and coaching are needed to ensure that all children are planned for and receive the support they need.  For our most at-risk students, connecting parents, school, law enforcement and mental health services is essential in helping students stay in school, receive the mental health and parenting support they need, and reduce at-risk behavior.  A structured, integrated process is necessary to ensure that every child with identified mental health needs has access to comprehensive services.

Agenda  Review District Demographics  Review Universal and Secondary Supports and data that reveal their effectiveness  Outline Red Zone Meeting Process  Role of Care Coordination  Juvenile Justice Role  Initial Finding  Successes  Challenges  Preliminary Outcomes

TTSD Demographics  10 Elementary Schools, 3 Middle Schools, 2 High Schools, 1 Alternative School (12,400 students).  Since 2000, rapid increase in total student population, ethnic diversity, and economically disadvantaged students.  Number of schools with over 40% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch has increased 300 percent since 2001  From 2001 to 2007 the number of minority students in the district increased by 78%.  33% non-white, (Ranges from 19% to 48%)  35% Free and Reduced Lunch (11% to 61%)

Existing Features  PBIS in all schools K-12 since 1998  RTI in place with grade level or subject area teams meeting regularly since 2002  Counselors in every school  Multi-tiered Elementary and Secondary Behavior Protocols and Decision Rules established  2 District Level Coaches who attend and provide feedback to PBIS, and EBIS teams since 2008

7 pilot elementary schools implement EBS Board adopts EBS district-wide: 5 more schools implement Remaining (2) schools implement; ongoing training & leadership EBIS OSEP Grant: Reading & SPED initiatives incorporated 2001 Highly focused, ongoing PD with EBIS teams focusing on MTI/RTI principles TTSD develops RTI Technical Assistance Manual for ODE (Rev. Dec ‘07) TTSD has trained 37 Oregon school districts to develop & implement RTI EBIS Development Timeline Awarded SSHS Grant, Began Red Zone Teams 2008

Preliminary Look shows PBIS Systems functioning well And Green Zone Solidly Established!

4 Year SET* Averages * School-wide Evaluation Tool

TTSD PBIS Triangle Triangle Data K-5: 97% Green, 3% Yellow, 0% Red 6-8: 86% Green, 10% Yellow, 3% Red Elementary Middle School

TTSD High School Triangle Data  9-12: 87% Green, 10% Yellow, 4% Red

Great Looking Data! But we dug deeper!

Hispanic/Latino Student Triangle Data  K-5: 96% Green, 3% Yellow, 1% Red  % Green, 17% Yellow, 7% Red  % Green, 17% Yellow, 13% Red

SWIS Referral Data

Percentage of TTSD Students with 2 or more Fs or GPA Below 1.4, At End of Semester, June 2009 by Subgroup

We’re working to shore up our Core for all ethnicities by:  Courageous Conversations about Race  A team works with entire staff to address these concerns  Increasing equity is part of the Improvement Plans at all schools  Coaching at EBIS and PBIS meetings  Meeting in focus groups with our students of color  Opportunity for High School Latino students to become tutors to middle school students  After school groups for recreation and homework help

TTSD’s Multi-Tiered System  All Schools have a PBIS Team that meets monthly to review data to ensure that PBIS systems are in place and to create actions that address school-wide areas of concern.  EBIS Teams meet every 4 to 6 weeks in elementary, weekly in secondary to:  Determine, based on data, which students are in need of secondary supports (interventions)  Review progress-monitoring data of students in interventions and make changes to interventions based on the data  Use Decision Rules to identify students in need of referral to the Red Zone Team

ELEMENTARY STANDARD BEHAVIOR PROTOCOL ( Revised Spring, 2009 )

Red Zone Criteria from Behavior Protocol  Progress is below the expected rate after 6 to 8 weeks of Second Tier Intervention. (Perform a Functional Behavior Assessment and develop a Behavior Support Plan.)  Student receives 6 or more behavior referrals. Perform an appropriate Functional Behavior Assessment & develop a Behavior Support Plan AND consult with the Care Coordinator and/or Juvenile Court Counselor, if applicable.  There is a significant concern regarding mental health issues or anti-social behavior.  Student’s behavior poses a potential risk to self or others.

Red Zone Structure Elementary Schools:  Meet at least one time per month  Counselor, Administrator, and Care Coordinator attend Secondary Schools:  Meet at least two times per month  At least one counselor, an administrator, Care Coordinator, Juvenile Counselor, and Prevention Specialist attend

Red Zone Standardized Procedures  Administrator, Counselor, and Care Coordinator are active participants in the meeting  SRO and Juvenile Counselor are active participants in the meeting in secondary schools. The Multicultural Coordinator and Prevention Specialists attend high school meetings.  Elementary team meets at least once per month. Secondary school teams meet at least two times per month.  Team uses data and follows the Standard Behavior Protocol and Decision Rules when determining which students will be presented at the Red Zone Team Meeting  All students with 6 or more referrals are reviewed and planned for.

Procedures, Continued  At least one Strategic Intervention was attempted prior to referral to the Red Zone Team Meeting, unless the student’s behavior poses a risk to self or others.  A Strategic Intervention continues to be implemented for students in the Red Zone AND an Intensive Intervention is added.  Prior to the meeting, FBA and BSP are completed for each Red Zone Team student except those with suspected complex mental health issues.  The following students are discussed: Students with behavior referrals for drug or alcohol use, students who have received emergency mental health services, students who have expressed suicidal ideation, and students in the behavior program at the school.  There is a procedure for obtaining mental health referrals from school staff for students that may not have behavior problems.  An Intensive Intervention is selected from the Standard Behavior Protocol and put into place for each student.

And a few more  BSPs include procedures for assessing effects of the intervention on problem behavior and for evaluating fidelity of implementation.  Behavior and Attendance Data are collected on all Red Zone students  Intervention Data on students in the Red Zone are projected and reviewed at the meeting.  Interventions are modified or intensified if progress isn’t being made.  Family members are notified when a student is referred to the Red Zone Team  Minutes or log of the meeting listing who is going to do what by when are kept and distributed to team members in a timely manner.  The minutes of the previous meeting are reviewed at the next meeting to ensure that tasks were completed.

Care Coordinator Role  The focus is accessing appropriate mental health services.  The role of the Care Coordinator (CC) is to work with school personnel to identify students with complex mental health issues that have not and cannot be addressed through in-school resources and interventions and link students and families to resources in the community.  CC’s have the ability to meet with families in their homes and in the community in order to better determine issues and needs, explain available services, and support families through the referral process.

Care Coordination Continued  CC’s will stay involved after students are referred to community services to improve follow-through by the student and family.  Increase communication between the community provider and the school.  Care Coordination is one of multiple Intensive Interventions that are available to Red Zone Teams.  CC’s are designated school officials and are covered by FERPA. CC’s can openly discuss students with school staff.

And…  CC’s are not crisis responders.  CC’s can act as an advocate for the student/family.  CC’s can act as a mediator between the school and family.  CC’s work to promote a more positive image of mental health needs and services.  CC’s do not provide treatment.  CC’s work to expand views and perspectives of mental health needs and services.

Juvenile Counselor’s Role “To increase responsible behavior among youth”  Focus on commonality of purposes – risk factors related to education and community investment  Provide enhanced support towards reducing truancy and attendance issues  Facilitate parental/guardian involvement and participation  Coordinate cooperation and connection with other juvenile justice providers

Juvenile Counselor’s Role  Participate in educational meetings and support educational plans  Provide increased safety in schools through identification of behaviors and assist in triage planning  Increase knowledge of the Juvenile Justice system with educational and mental health partners

Challenges  Implementing a new program in schools  Working with multiple school cultures  Educating a broad and varied staff/ Different views of mental health  Communication with multiple parties (schools, community, families, students)  Integrating multiple goals and objectives  Helping families understand the need to make changes after years of maladaptive behavior

More Challenges  Providing totally voluntary services to sometimes reluctant families  Confidentiality – FERPA and HIPPA, Releases of Information  Different/competing goals and objectives among multiple parties (schools, community, families, students)  Under-insured students, lack of appropriate community resources  Creating an efficient system for collecting and using data  Time to develop Functional Behavioral Assessments and create Behavior Support Plans

And More Challenges  Stigma around mental health problems including cultural sensitivities  Difficult conversations  Within schools  With school personnel  With parents  Within the team of partners

Successes  Providing instruction directly to teachers  Integrating into school culture  Expanding knowledge and understanding of mental health, public safety and juvenile justice issues within the school  Advocating for parents/students  Increasing schools resource base and bringing community resources into the schools

And More Successes  Connecting students with mental health services in their community  Meeting families’ needs for concrete resources  Preventing further escalation of unsafe/maladaptive behavior  Improved academic performance, positive behavior, and school attendance  Building/repairing relationships between school and family

And during the first semester :  Percentage of Latino students passing all classes increased by 28%  Absences for students meeting with Juvenile Counselor decreased by 11% and office discipline referrals (ODRs) decreased by 33%  Students in CICO had increased attendance, decreased incidents of ODRs and increased their GPA, so that there was a 50% decrease in failed classes.  All school staffs were trained to recognize signs of mental illness and instructed on the process for referring students with suspected issues.  For students referred to the Red Zone Team, staff reported 56% improved in their ability to succeed in school.

Questions?  Contacts:  Sally Helton:  Greg Rush:  Susan Winterbourne:  This powerpoint is posted on the Tigard Tualatin School District Website at: