Edwardsville District 7 Outlines Discipline Policies for 2024-2025 School Year

EDWARDSVILLE - During their regular meeting on June 24, 2024, the Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 heard a presentation on the Behavior Matrix and Responsibility Centered Discipline.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Allen Duncan and Director of Special Education and School Support Andrea Grotefendt presented the school board with an update on discipline policies within the district. These policies seek to increase consistency between the schools, clarify data to help the district determine where students need support, and abide by Senate Bill 100, which encourages districts to minimize incidents where students are excluded from the school.

“When we started this process, we had almost 200 different discipline codes,” Grotefendt explained. “A lot of them were very similar with maybe a word or two different. Some were incredibly outdated.”

Grotefendt began the presentation by talking about the Behavior Matrix. She explained that the matrix is “a document that is used to be a guide in determining appropriate discipline for misconduct.”

There are four levels to the matrix, which range from minor teacher-managed behaviors to major incidents that may result in extended out-of-school suspension, expulsion or alternative placement. While the Behavior Matrix is an internal document, the Parent Teacher Advisory requested that the four levels be included in the 2024–2025 Student Handbook.

Duncan spoke about Responsibility Centered Discipline (RCD). He explained the difference between discipline and consequences.

“We want to be proactive with our discipline to change students’ behaviors,” he said. “Very important in terms of discipline is clear expectations. Students need to know exactly what the expectations are, and not only do students need to know that, but their parents need to know it. Teachers need to know it.

He noted that consequences can lead to students internalizing the feeling that they are “bad kids.” Discipline, however, allows students to understand the expectations and learn from their mistakes, Duncan explained. At the beginning of each semester, schools will outline their expectations for students.

Teachers have autonomy to handle all level one/minor infractions. However, when a teacher foresees that they will need additional support with a student in the future, they are encouraged to log the infractions on PowerSchool.

After the second infraction at the K–5 level, the teacher will reach out to the student’s guardian. The third infraction sends an email to the administrators, and an administrator will have a conversation with the student and the teacher. The guardian will also be contacted. The fourth infraction will lead to a meeting with the student’s guardian.

In the 6–8 level, the second infraction also notifies the student’s counselor, who will talk with the student to “problem-solve the behavior.” At the high school level, the main concerns are the overuse of cell phones, the underuse of student IDs and gross insubordination.

Duncan demonstrated how RCD would look in a classroom setting. He explained that teachers are encouraged to support the student, outline the expectation, break down the importance of meeting the expectation, explain the benefits of meeting the expectation and close on a positive note.

“One thing that I want to make clear, I think over the last couple of years people have assumed that RCD has replaced consequences. RCD has not replaced consequences,” Duncan added. “RCD is pretty much how we go about teaching the kids behavior expectations.”

Duncan and Grotefendt emphasized that everyone in the school environment has a responsibility to teach and enforce expectations, communicate with students and guardians and support students.

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