Positive Prevention Project Leads to 35 Percent Reduction in Discipline Referrals at La Porte ISD

 

The Positive Prevention Project, a collaboration between La Porte Independent School District (ISD) and Region 4 Education Service Center (Region 4), is already changing student behavior and classroom culture. Introduced at La Porte ISD in 2022, the new initiative trains teachers on effective strategies to directly address student conduct issues in the classroom.

 

In its first full year, the Positive Prevention Project has led to a 35 percent reduction in office discipline referrals across the district. Region 4 Instructional Behavior Specialist Catherine Landry, who leads the project, says it keeps students where they belong—in class and learning.

 

“The good news is that our kiddos are spending their time in class,” said Landry. “The teachers at La Porte ISD feel empowered in managing student behavior in their classroom. And the other good news is the culture and community that’s being built by having a common language about how we respond to inappropriate student behavior.”

 

According to La Porte ISD’s Student Services Coordinator Tremayne Wickliffe, the project helped clarify which behavior issues teachers should address in the classroom. As a result, teachers are taking more ownership of classroom management.

 

“Previously, teachers were relying on administrators to handle most of the level 1 [and] level 2 misbehavior,” explained Wickliffe. “When counselors started coaching up our staff and administration and designating which should be teacher-taken actions and which should be administrative actions, we saw a decrease in referrals because teachers really started handling their own discipline in the classroom.”

 

Assistant Principal Nekeba Caldwell-George has seen the benefits firsthand at La Porte High School. She believes providing teachers with the tools to reset behavior expectations and rebuild relationships with students has been key to reducing referrals.

 

“Having a system and a way to categorize what fell under a minor versus major incident really empowered the teachers to look at how they could restore their relationship with the student, how they can use intervention and different classroom management strategies to work with that student, and also [how] to work with their parents to address the behavior concerns,” said Caldwell-George.

 

Janci Alfaro, the district’s Social and Emotional Learning and Student Wellness Coordinator, credits the Positive Prevention Project with improving school culture across the district.

 

“I think the biggest change we made district-wide was a mindset—that you aren’t on an island unto yourself, that you are supported,” she said. “That really helped us implement this program and really helped the culture of La Porte.”

 

District leaders, educators, parents, and guardians have also embraced the project, voicing their support at a recent board meeting, where Landry was asked to present.

 

“It is not often that we, as specialists, get asked to present at a school board meeting,” Landry noted. “To be able to have that request, that opportunity to share the important work that they’ve done and how Region 4 has supported it, it was met with wonderful comments from the school board members as well as the stakeholders in the audience that evening.”

 

Looking ahead, Wickliffe hopes to build on the program’s successful first year by expanding its scope to address both behavioral and instructional challenges. The initiative’s promising results have created strong momentum for continued growth and development throughout the district.

 

To learn more about how Region 4 partners with districts like La Porte ISD to transform student behavior and school culture, visit esc4.net/services/special-education-solutions/behavior-discipline-management.