School Discipline, Classroom Management, and Student Self-Management

Howard M. Knoff, Ph.D. is the creator and Director of Project ACHIEVE. After 22 years as a university professor, he is now a full-time national consultant, author, and lecturer; and he has been the Director of the State Improvement/Personnel Development Grant for the Arkansas Department of Education-Special Education Unit since 2003. Formerly a Professor of School Psychology at the University of South Florida (Tampa, FL) for 18 years and Director of its School Psychology Program for 12 years, Dr. Knoff was also the creator and Director of the Institute for School Reform, Integrated Services, and Child Mental Health and Educational Policy at USF. As Director of Project ACHIEVE, a nationally-known school effectiveness/improvement program that was designated a National Model Prevention Program by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 2000, Dr. Knoff has trained over 1,500 schools or school districts in every state over a 25-year period. As Director of the Arkansas State Improvement/Personnel Development Grant (SIG/SPDG), a multi-million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, he helps to oversee the primary SPDG goals of: the statewide implementation of Project ACHIEVE's Positive Behavioral Support System approach; literacy and mathematics interventions for at-risk, underachieving, and students with disabilities; Response-to-Instruction and Intervention and Closing the Achievement Gap, technical assistance to schools/districts in School Improvement status; and special education and related service recruitment, training, and retention. Dr. Knoff received his Ph.D. degree from Syracuse University in 1980, and has worked as a practitioner, consultant, licensed private psychologist, and university professor since 1978. Dr. Knoff is widely respected for his research and writing on school reform and organizational change, consultation and intervention processes, social skills and behavior management training, Response-to-Intervention, and professional issues. He has authored or co-authored 18 books, published over 75 articles and book chapters, and delivered over 500 papers and workshops nationally-including the Stop & Think Social Skills Program (Preschool through Middle School editions) and the Stop & Think Parent Book: A Guide to Children's Good Behavior. In addition, he was on the writing team that helped produced Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools, the document commissioned by President Clinton after the first wave of school shootings in the Fall of 1998. Dr. Knoff has a long history of working with schools, districts, and community and state agencies and organizations. For example, he has consulted with a number of state departments of education, the Department of Defense Dependents School District during Desert Storm, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court five times, in addition to working on many other state and local cases-largely for legal advocacy firms who are representing special education and other students in need. A recipient of the Lightner Witmer Award from the American Psychological Association's School Psychology Division for early career contributions in 1990, and over $18 million in external grants during his career, Dr. Knoff is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (School Psychology Division), a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, a Licensed Psychologist in Arkansas, and he has been trained in both crisis intervention and mediation processes. Frequently interviewed in all areas of the media, Dr. Knoff has been on the NBC Nightly News, numerous television and radio talk shows, and he was highlighted on an ABC News' 20/20 program on "Being Teased, Taunted, and Bullied." Finally, Dr. Knoff was the 21st President of the National Association of School Psychologists which now represents more than 25,000 school psychologists nationwide. You can view Dr. Knoff's website here: www.projectachieve.net

Foreword by Raymond J. McNulty Preface and Acknowledgments About the Author 1. Integrating a Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Support System (PBSS) Blueprint Into an Effective Schools Process 2. School Readiness and the Steps for PBSS Implementation 3. The School Discipline/PBSS and Other Committees: Effective Team and Group Functioning 4. Behavioral Accountability, Student Motivation, and Staff Consistency 5. Teaching Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills 6. School Safety and Crisis Prevention, Intervention, and Response 7. Teasing, Taunting, Bullying, Harassment, Hazing, and Physical Aggression 8. Functional Assessment and Why Students Become Behaviorally Challenging 9. Behavioral Interventions for Students With Strategic and Intensive Needs 10. Evaluating and Sustaining PBSS Outcomes References Index

"This is a nice 'all in one' book that presents an evidence-based model for school discipline, behavior management and school safety together, with a link to a school improvement framework." -- Angela Whalen, Instructor "The positive behavioral support approaches and the student and staff strategies described in this book significantly contributed to moving us from chaos to excellence. Our school was a racially diverse, inner-city school with virtually every student coming from a home of poverty. This program made every adult in the school a better educator and every student more skilled at self-management. This book offers school-friendly approaches and strategies that are doable and affordable, and that change the way administrators and staff look at students' and their own behavior." -- Judy Zimny, Former Principal "This book does an excellent job of systematically taking administrators and school staff though an array of strategies and steps to help them to effectively implement a school-wide, multi-tiered, Positive Behavioral Support System (PBSS). Guided by this book, administrators will have more time to help teachers to improve their teaching skills rather than their classroom management skills. Teachers will spend less time disciplining their students and more time engaging and teaching them. The result is increased academic achievement for the students, and a more positive, safe, and productive climate for schools." -- Ron Benner, School Psychologist, Bridgeport, CT "This book provides extensive and practical ways to implement school-wide approaches that result in positive and engaged classrooms, proactive and consistent staff, and safe and successful schools. Its focus on building and sustaining students' interpersonal, social problem solving, conflict prevention and resolution, and emotional coping skills reminds us that 'discipline' problems often reflect students' lack of self-management skills. A national expert and past president of NASP, Howard Knoff has written a practical guide that includes step-by-step checklists and procedures to help schools implement successful Positive Behavioral Support systems. This book will be relevant for many years to come." -- Susan Gorin, Executive Director "Dr. Howie Knoff blends his decades of academic and practical experience to offer teachers, administrators and school support professionals practical steps for improving student behavior in a manner that is research-based and building-level applicable. As student behavior challenges increasingly permeate all school grade levels while resources to prevent and intervene become more scare, Dr. Knoff's book can serve as a one-stop-shop reference which educators can use to put immediate measures to work for improving school climate, safety and educational achievement." -- Kenneth S. Trump, President "Schools need successful practices that are comprehensive but easy to learn, implement, and measure. School Discipline, Classroom Management, and Student Self-Management by Dr. Howie Knoff accomplishes this in a thorough compendium full of actionable interventions, how-to guides, and tools/forms for progress monitoring and evaluation. It is a singular valuable resource - a must read for any staff member, building administrator, or school system intent on implementing best practice behavior supports." -- Matthew J. Kamins, School Psychologist and Former School Psychology Supervisor "Grounded in research-based principles, proven and effective practices, and validation through implementation in schools across the country, Dr. Knoff has created a model blueprint for creating and maintaining a Positive Behavioral Support System (PBSS) that results in more effective schools, behaviorally, socially, and academically. As a former state director of special education who worked with Dr. Knoff to successfully establish and implement PBSS in public schools throughout our state, I witnessed firsthand the effectiveness of this PBSS model in producing desired outcomes. The proof is in the 'doing,' and Dr. Knoff's Project ACHIEVE and PBSS model clearly accomplish that. We should do what works, and this works. Isn't that what we all want? -- Marcia Harding, former Director of Special Education "This book teaches the basics of implementing a schoolwide discipline and safe schools program and is based on Project Achieve, a national model of improvement." -- Midwest Book Review, October 2012