| Summary |
Duckton is a township part of Eastern County Schools, a community of schools comprising three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Based on data collected from an at-risk referral database, Duckton Middle School experienced a sharp increase in student mental health referrals. The school community endured three student suicides over the last three years. Several parents of students also committed suicide, resulting in increased advocacy and support for their children in response. Separately, sixth-grade males consistently demonstrated a higher number of discipline referrals than any other grade level in the school, as indicated by a three-year trend in the school's discipline report. Student connectedness and belonging play a pivotal role in discipline and at-risk behaviors. Given the concerning trends with disciplinary incidences with male students as well as the increase in mental health referrals and suicidality, the purpose of this study was to monitor the effects of implementation of the Responsive Classroom social emotional learning framework on student connectedness and a sense of belonging. A mixed method, action research design was employed. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and triangulated from discipline incidents, student and teacher focus groups, and the administration of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Through the use of action research, the collaborative inquiry partners and the scholarly practitioner applied incremental changes as appropriate based on data collected throughout the study. The findings of this study were shared with the school's strategic leadership team to determine if continued use of this SEL framework would occur. The implementation of Responsive Classroom had a positive relationship on the development of a sense of belonging and school connectedness. |
