Educators from across Idaho and beyond gathered at Boise State University to learn how to respond to rising behavioral health issues in schools, as teachers and administrators say they are increasingly overwhelmed by more intensive student behaviors and the pressures of larger class sizes.
Monique Pinczynski, an assistant professor of early childhood education at Boise State, said the conference is designed to give school staff strategies they can put to use right away.
“Today’s main goal is to provide educators and school leaders with practical tools to walk away to support positive behavior in schools — behavior issues are on the rise in schools, and teachers are feeling really overwhelmed in schools. We really wanted to support our local schools to enact research-based strategies in classrooms and schools,” Pinczynski said.
The conference centers on a framework known as Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports, or PBIS, which takes a systemwide approach aimed at preventing behavioral issues. Pinczynski said the methods being taught have immediate applicability and are backed by data and science from the Boise State College of Education and other research institutions across the nation.
Some educators said the training is especially important as class sizes grow and resources are stretched.
“It’s a huge impact, since COVID, it’s just increased… We’re decreasing in funds, when you get larger class sizes, you’re not able to tailor your lessons, time, and attention into as many students as you’d like… We’re spread a lot more thin… That really impacts the teachers and educators’ ability to teach our students in a healthy and productive way, and students feel that as well,” said Taylor Steele, a professional counselor at Sage International.
The conference comes as the Legislature advances a $2.77 billion school funding bill that matches the previous year’s allotment. But educators and school leaders have warned that the cost of operating schools is outpacing that amount, and that a flat year-to-year budget effectively functions as a reduction. That could leave administrators and school boards covering rising costs without additional funding, potentially leading to further cuts.
Dr. Sherry Dismuke, associate dean of Boise State’s College of Education, said the university has been hearing growing concerns from education stakeholders about behavior challenges in classrooms.
“We’ve just been hearing increasing concerns from our stakeholders, for instance, the superintendent of public instruction, legislators that we have met with, including teachers and administrators, and all of our partnership schools about this rise in more intensive behaviors in our classroom… Teachers and admin have been asking for help, not only pre-service teachers, but also provide development support for our teachers in this new context,” Dismuke said.
Teachers attending the Boise State conference said the strategies they are learning are expected to be used frequently in classrooms as schools continue to navigate larger class sizes and increasing behavioral needs.