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By Diane Myers, PhD, SVP, Special Education – Behavior at SESI Brittany Croteau, MSW, LCSW-C, Director of Behavior Support at SESI Ask any educator about the most challenging time of year and you’re likely to get a response related to state or district testing. While we all understand the need for annual assessments as a measure of progress, students and staff alike often experience heightened stress during “testing season.” [...]

The concept of reinforcement is fairly simple, but powerful: Behavior followed by pleasant results (for the person behaving) is likely to be repeated in the future.  Using reinforcement to increase appropriate behavior in the classroom is highly effective but requires careful planning and a thoughtful approach. Let's take a closer look at how we can use reinforcement to increase socially appropriate behavior for all students, including those with disabilities.  [...]

Maximizing structure helps make the most of each school day and proactively sets the stage for student success. The ideal environment is one in which students and staff can efficiently and effectively meet their expectations for the day. We’ll take a look at the five components of how to best maximize structure to create an environment conducive to positive classroom outcomes.  Structure in the Classroom  There are three types [...]

One of the most important aspects of a positive school community is relationships—those between staff and students and between the students themselves. Building strong relationships helps us be proactive and preventative in how we approach student behavior; the better we know our students, the more we know how to help them be successful. Let’s talk about relationships within a school community, why they’re so important to the success of [...]

 By Dr. Diane Myers, SVP, Special Education—Behavior at SESI For many of us, the holiday season is a time for cheer, spending time with family, parties, traditions, and excitement – and a welcome deviation from our normal routines. For others, those deviations, increased social interaction, and different expectations can trigger stress and anxiety. For families of students with emotional and behavioral challenges, extended school breaks [...]

The first day of the 2022-23 school year had all eyes on the Excel Academy of South Shore, as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot selected the school, part of the Chicago Public Schools’ Options Network, as the location for the city’s back-to-school press conference. Members of Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) executive leadership team including CEO Pedro Martinez and CEdO Bogdana Chkoumbova also participated in the press conference. Excel Academy [...]

 By Dr. Diane Myers, SVP, Special Education—Behavior at SESI For many educators, late summer feels more like the beginning of a new year than the first of January. Hopefully the summer provided an opportunity for rest and rejuvenation given the unique challenges we all faced last year. As we begin the 2022-2023 school year, we want to create a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive community [...]

By Jess Miller, BCBA and Regional Instructional Specialist at SESI Think back to your classroom experiences as a child. Most of us would probably say that they were pretty manageable, with a few difficulties here and there as exceptions. We had our classroom schedules memorized, we were able to ask for alternative workspaces if the classroom was too loud, and we could [...]

By Amy Farmer, Regional Instructional Specialist at SESI Creating classrooms and schools that foster curiosity, growth, and a sense of security is vital to a student’s ability to access their academics, generalize skills, and become as independent as possible.  Cultivating these environments for students on the autism spectrum can take some special thought and care. Whether students on the spectrum need minimal [...]