Owensboro Middle School campuses have been able to reduce behavioral issues by 90 percent due to a new initiative called the STRIVE Program.
George Powell, director of student services, presented the program and its effects on Owensboro Middle School during the Owensboro Public Schools board lunch Thursday.
During the 2016-2017 school year, OMS administration said students were suspended 851 days. That rose to 991 during the 2017-2018 school year.
Seeing that discipline issues were on the rise, officials implemented STRIVE, a 15-day alternative program. Rather than suspending students from school for behavioral infractions for sometimes up to 15 days out of the classroom, STRIVE keeps students in school in a dedicated space with teachers and assistants to maintain regular lesson work.
Powell said that after fifth-grade students were moved back to the elementary schools this year, space was freed up at the OMS-South campus to house STRIVE.
“It’s made a huge difference in this school,” said Principal Anita Burnette, adding that STRIVE has been a deterrent and students are encouraging better behavior among their peers to avoid the alternative program.
So far, in the 2018-2019 school year, there have only been 107.5 suspended days.
OPS Superintendent Nick Brake said the decision is paying off. The combination of the fifth grade moving back to elementary schools and the STRIVE program limiting school suspensions, attendance has been as much as 1 percent higher, which equates to a couple $100,000 more in state funding, Brake said.
It is also changing the culture and the outside perception of the school.
“The school is on a waiting list,” Brake told the school board members Thursday. “That’s a testament that something is right here.”
Brake also told the school board that they will soon see a request for additional positions at the middle school, as a part of fulfilling Senate Bill 1, which requires more school safety measures.
He hopes to hire a mental health counselor and school resource officer, both dedicated to the middle school campus.
