Dip in Data?

I'm about to dive back into the discipline data and I am a little nervous quite honestly.  There was a point at which I felt our discipline framework was the "magic bullet" if you will, but as the school year approached Spring Break, it was evident that tolerance levels might be being "pushed" and student discipline was on the rise.  The reduction in referrals that was observed and a diminished need for administrative response to "walkie" calls was no more.  What is the problem? 

Getting to the bottom of this discipline dilemma is where I am at ...

So ... what does this mean in reflection?  Well, a hypothesis that the incidents of defiance and disrespect have lessened in frequency due to the enhanced relationships.

A concern that we still have is with the number of fights and Physical Aggression that has occurred on campus.  In all honesty, this is one check box on the referral, but if we break the instances down, there are more instances of Physical Aggression than actual fighting. There are very few instances of actual fighting. 

210 Referrals in 2011-2012

85 Referrals to date in 2012-2013 

(There are 7 weeks of school left, final data will encompass the remainder of the year for a true comparative analysis.)

The referral instances on whole with the school show a reduction of 148%. 

So ...while there has been an increase in the frequency since Spring Break, the instances are still down. However, wrapping our head around why is where we need to go.  Is there a reduced tolerance for behavior from the staff or a true increase in episodes OR a combination of both?

My hypothesis is that the teachers and students are presently exhausted.  Many of our staff begins their instructional day (doing morning clubs during their planning time) at 7:45.  They then will move into regular instructional day which runs from 8:30-2:50.  There is planing time built into that day, but the staff is often engaged in voluntarily planning with coaches during their planning periods. Additionally, we have a 30 minute planning period outside the student day from 2:50-3:15.  Many teachers will work this time as it is time for students to work on their homework as well as have their snack before they move into our state mandated EXTENDED HOUR.  The students and staff are then re-engaged in instruction from 3:15-4:15.  At dismissal, half of our student body remains in Supplemental Tutoring Programs from 4:15-6:15.  That's right ...  Many of our students and staff are engaged in instruction from 7:45-6:15 daily.  This can make for an exceptionally exhausted staff and student body.

We are meeting with the paraprofessionals tomorrow, as an administrative team to re-establish expectations and put some strategies into place to help support our high-frequency students with regard to behavior in an effort to get a better handle on the instances of Physical Aggression.  An interesting correlation that I would like to make is that the instances are occurring frequently with the paraprofessionals.  One could draw a correlation between the fact that the paraprofessionals, with the exception of one, have not participated in the PLC: Why Culture Counts: Teaching Children of Poverty.  The final wave of the PLC will be extended to the paraprofessionals this month.