Highlands 'reflection room' showing early success, administrators report
An experiment to turn discipline into a learning opportunity is having some early success in the Highlands School District, according to administrators.
Samantha Perlik, principal of Highlands Early Childhood Center and former elementary school principal, and middle school Principal Kimberly Price gave a presentation to the school board Monday on the progress of the “Rams Reflection Room” in use at the elementary and middle schools this year.
Perlik and Price first presented plans for the program, an alternative to suspensions, to the school board in September.
As explained by Price, students in the room talk with a behavior specialist about what they did what got them in trouble and create a plan and develop strategies for how to respond differently in a similar situation in the future.
In the program, students write down and think about their behavior, Price said.
“We are seeing some positive results,” Price said.
As part of the process, students consider how their behavior affected other people around them.
“It gets kids thinking about empathy,” Price said.
According to Perlik and Price, physical aggression and inappropriate language are two of the leading reasons students are placed in the program. Other issues include class and hall disruptions and vaping.
The program is not intended for students who have been in fights or skipping classes, Price said.
In the first semester of the 2019-20 school year, 75 middle school students in fifth through eighth grades were placed in the reflection room. Of those, 30 were there more than once.
At the elementary school, first through fourth grades, 23 students were referred to the room, with 13 there more than one time.
For many of the students sent to the room more than once, their second offense is different from the first, administrators said.
Price said administrators are seeing improvements in behavior across the schools and are hoping to see fewer students returning to the reflection room.
Brian C. Rittmeyer, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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