Winnisquam plans vacation week training amidst behavior problems

TILTON — The Winnisquam Regional School District will offer a two-day training workshop during vacation week to help address disruptive student behavior.

Superintendent Shannon Bartlett said grant money will allow the district to bring in representatives from Connecting Our Resources Educationally, or CORE, Methods and William J. White Educational and Behavioral Consulting Services, Inc. to work with parents, teachers, special educators and administrators across the district. Bartlett plans to offer a similar professional training workshop during April vacation.

Trying to provide the training during regular school hours is not easy, she said.

“We have [special trainers] embedded in our schools throughout the week, but we really just feel like the more training we can get for our staff, the better,” she told the Winnisquam Regional School Board.

During the public comment period on Feb. 20, Bette Hammond placed blame for the disciplinary problems on the school board.

“To me, the school board is the foundation of our school district,” Hammond said, “and right now, it’s crumbling. You’ve hired behavioral specialists to help with students that are struggling, and it doesn’t seem to be working at this point. ... I see classrooms being evacuated, profanity, staff being punched, kicked, things being thrown.

“What concerns me with all of this interruption,” she continued, “is that test scores are down. Are you going to blame the teachers? And how do you think it affects the staff, as well as the students?”

Hammond said, “Each and every board member should commit themselves to taking one week, each one of you, to come into that school and see exactly what’s going on. And I have to tell you, every time something is going on, the staff members keep a smile on their face. But please don’t forget, when they leave school at the end of the day, they’re going home to their families. Most of them physically and mentally are worn out, so how much do they have left for their families?”

Bartlett said the professional training will equip the staff with the knowledge they need to manage student behavior “and get students back in the place where they can learn, where many are struggling with some dysregulation.”