Behavior training keeps student in class and out of the
principal's officeby Tim Post, Minnesota Public Radio ST. PAUL,
Minn. — Often the last resort of frustrated teachers, the
command "Go to the principal's office" is dreaded by students.
But Minnesota schools are trying new ways to keep students in
the classroom and out of trouble. State education officials are
training teachers to better help students understand how to
behave in school and encouraging principals to come up with
alternatives to suspension. It's all part of a Minnesota
Department of Education initiative called Positive Behavioral
Intervention and Supports, or PBIS. For a small group of sixth
graders at Rice Lake Elementary School in Maple Grove, Minn.,
for example, an afternoon literature lesson is about more than
just reading. Teacher Kathleen Kennedy-Budge weaves the school's
mantra "Respect, Learning, Responsibility" into a discussion on
"Black Star, Bright Dawn." The book is about an Eskimo girl who
takes her father's place in the Idita