Who We Are
Denfeld School-Wide Initiatives
- 1. BARR (Building Assets Reducing Risks):
- 2. FULL-SERVICE COMMUNITY SCHOOL MODEL:
- 3. PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports):
- 4. RESTORATIVE PRACTICES:
1. BARR (Building Assets Reducing Risks):
BARR is a nationally-recognized, evidence-based model that strives to improve the academic, social, and emotional outcomes of students in middle and high school. BARR is built on the idea that all students can succeed with the right support. The BARR model uses eight interlocking strategies to help teachers and other school staff build intentional relationships, use real-time data, and improve both academic and non-academic outcomes for all students.
The eight interlocking BARR strategies include:
At Denfeld, our BARR program focuses on our 9th grade and 10th grade students, in order to provide a solid transition into high school and to help build traction for their academic achievement and progress toward graduation. BARR allows us to take a comprehensive approach to meeting the academic, social, and emotional needs of each of our 9th and 10th grade students. We have 5 BARR teams made up of teachers from each core subject (math, science, English, and social studies) who meet weekly to share and discuss both the strengths and the data (academic, attendance, behavioral) of each student on the BARR team. This structure allows creative problem-solving to meet each student where they are at in order to give them what they need to feel successful.
2. FULL-SERVICE COMMUNITY SCHOOL MODEL:
The Duluth Community School Collaborative is a nonprofit that partners with Duluth Public Schools to provide Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) at Myers-Wilkins Elementary, Lincoln Park Middle, and Denfeld High schools. We believe that family, school, and community engagement are necessary to create opportunity for all young people to achieve their full human potential. To that end, we create the conditions necessary to make quality engagement possible. We coordinate community partners and directly provide programming including academic enrichment, arts and cultural experiences, recreation and physical activity, social emotional learning, health and wellness, family and community engagement and employment readiness.
What Community Schools look like at Denfeld: Our Key Practices
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Powerful Student and Family Engagement: a) Engaging families and students in the community and b) Site Leadership Team (family, students, community)
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Collaborative Leadership, Shared Power & Voice: a) Family Co-Design Project with our Continuous Improvement Team (partnering with parents) and b) Student Leadership Teams
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Expanded, Enriched Learning Opportunities: a) DASH After School Programming and b) Black Student Association (BSA)
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Rigorous, Community-Connected Classroom Instruction: a) On-going mapping of community resources and program opportunities and b) Connecting school staff with community
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Culture of Belonging, Safety and Care: a) Hunter Hut-free student resources closet, b) Classroom (1020)- snacks, resources and support, and c) Using student voices for decision making
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Integrated Systems of Support: a) Bringing community partners in for students to build awareness around what our community offer and how to access resources and b) Offer youth employment opportunities, leadership development, advocacy and wellbeing programming.
Learn more about our work and how to get involved! https://www.duluthcsc.org/ OR Denfeld Community School Newsletter
3. PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports):
At Denfeld High School, Hunters SOAR with Spirit, Opportunity, Achievement and Respect. We embrace our school wide expectations to show pride in ourselves, our school, and our community. We have a spirit of engagement, take opportunities to learn, pursue achievement for life, and respect all. We value each other.
The What & Why of PBIS: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. When implemented, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success, and school climate while engaging with families to create locally-meaningful and culturally-relevant outcomes. It is a way to data to make informed decisions that improves the way things work for everyone. PBIS helps schools create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where every student can feel valued, connected to the school community and supported by caring adults.
Schools who build a PBIS framework make an intentional decision to:
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Create a safe and welcoming school community for everyone – students, families, and staff
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Adopt universal and positively stated school expectations
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Regularly teach and practice the school-wide expectation.
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Recognize and acknowledge students who demonstrate positive behaviors and uphold school expectations
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Review and use data frequently to help drive decision making
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Identify and utilize a variety of interventions to help support students who are struggling to be their best selves
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Implement several restorative practices to help build community and relationships
Ways students are recognized for positive behavior at Denfeld:
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SOAR Cards & SOAR Store - When school staff sees a student demonstrating one of our SOAR values, they give the student specific praise and a SOAR card. Students can save up their SOAR cards and exchange them for a number of items at our SOAR store.
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Hunters of the Month - Each month we ask school staff to nominate students they think have best embodied an identified SOAR value. We then select two representatives from each grade and celebrate them with a fancy lunch in their honor.
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Hunter of the Year - Each senior who is recognized as a Hunter of the Month throughout the school year is eligible to be named Hunter of the Year and win a $2,000 scholarship.
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SOARing Hunters - At the end of each quarter we recognize students who go above and beyond in meeting our SOAR expectations - academically, behaviorally, and with their attendance. To celebrate, we hold events for our SOARing Hunters that include: going to a movie, bowling, tubing, and having a “lock-in” event at school. At the end of the year we like to celebrate with a bigger field trip, which in the past has included going to Valley Fair and going to a charity softball game hosted by the Minnesota Vikings.
What role can families play in supporting PBIS: Including families in PBIS implementation means families and school personnel work together and share in the responsibility of making educational decisions and improving student outcomes. Through effective family engagement, families and schools work together to create a positive school environment where all students feel successful, supported, valued and seen.
4. RESTORATIVE PRACTICES:
Denfeld embeds restorative practices throughout much of what we do as a school. Restorative practices are designed to:
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Build a sense of community within classrooms and throughout the school
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Teach interpersonal skills (including conflict response and management skills)
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Address and repair harm when necessary
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Proactively meet student needs
When implemented well, research shows that restorative practices:
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Reduce significant behavioral incidents
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Decrease incidents of fighting and bullying
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Reduce office-managed behavioral referrals and removal from classrooms
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Reduce suspensions and expulsions
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Decrease disciplinary disparities
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Improve overall school climate, including relationships between students and staff and student feelings of connectedness to school
(www.learningpolicyinstitute.org, Improving Student Outcomes Through Restorative Practices Fact Sheet)
Restorative practices at Denfeld focuses on community building, proactive skill-building, harm repair, and addressing behavioral incidents.
Community building & Skill-building include:
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Community check-in circles in classrooms (formerly during WIN)
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Social emotional learning lessons using the BARR I-Time Curriculum for all students in all grades
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All school assemblies
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Class level competitions, Whole-school challenges
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School-wide contribution/collaborative campaigns (e.g., blood drive, Coin Wars for Polar Plunge, donation drives, door decorating)
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Clubs and activities based on shared interests
We strive really hard to prioritize accountability over prescribed consequences when harm occurs or when there is a significant behavioral incident. Over the past several school years, we have developed a menu of behavior response options that allow us to keep students in school and help them to reflect and build skills to make more effective choices in the future. This menu, or continuum, of behavior responses options have helped reduce the number of days of suspension more than 60% over the past two school years.
PAWS (Positive Alternatives Within School) is our most intensive responsive and is an on-site alternative to suspension program. It provides a structured way to help students build the interpersonal, decision-making, and emotional regulation skills they need to be successful in school while still providing access to licensed teachers to provide academic support. Students are assigned to the program for 2-5 days, depending on the intensity and scope of impact of the incident.
The Den is a less intensive program designed to offer more targeted support that narrows the focus of a specific incident. The Den is also able to provide support before a significant behavioral incident occurs, providing students with the space and support needed to talk through conflict before it leads to harm. Students are assigned to The Den for the amount of time needed to reflect on the incident that led to the referral, address the impact of the incident, and make a plan to move forward effectively. This can be as little as one class period to as much as a full school day.
The Conflict Resolution Center (CRC) is a community partner that helps to supplement our ability to offer conflict resolution and harm repair. CRC employees are trained mediators who are able to provide individual conflict coaching, mediation (when both students agree) and harm repair circles. CRC is also able to work with families to address ongoing conflict and harm out in the community.
Because CRC is a community partner, and its employees are not employed by the school district, a Release of Information (ROI) is required for Denfeld staff to make a referral to CRC staff. You will find a release of information for the CRC in the document appendix attached to this handbook.
Returning the form to us signed and dated, allows us to quickly make referrals if a conflict or harm arises that requires immediate attention. We will not make referrals to CRC unless it is determined to be appropriate given the situation. School staff will always notify the parent/guardian, as well as your student, when a referral is made to CRC.
CRC also supports proactive skill-building by providing a conflict management and communication skills class called “Word Can Work.” Families can refer their student to this class or school staff may make a recommendation for the student to attend the class based on a pattern of behavioral incidents. In order to refer your student to the class for skill-building, please reach out to your student’s counselor. A completed and signed release of information is also required to register for the CRC “Words Can Work” class.