BERNE — Timothy Mundell, who became Berne-Knox-Westerlo’s superintendent last summer, told the school board on Monday there are three central goals for this school year — to improve academic achievement, to achieve financial stability, and to improve organization.

“Find it and fix it,” he underlined as the goal.

The board workshop scheduled for Monday was changed to a public presentation of new programs and policies at the rural district.

Paula Dunnells listened from a seat in the front row of the school auditorium. She had requested her 12-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, be sent to another district, saying she attempted suicide after enduring five years of harassment at BKW. Dunnells said that listening to Monday night’s presentations made her blood boil.

She met with the board in closed session after the public portion of the meeting.

Mundell likened what is happening at BKW to moving into a new house. He said systems, structures, and strategies had to be dealt with.

In the way a house has plumbing and heating systems, a school has systems, too. And, in the way a house has structures, like a roof and basement, so, too, does a school have structure, like classes and meeting schedules, he said.

Mundell likened strategies to items in a house like carpets and lighting fixtures.

“We understand we have some outstanding teachers and involved community members,” said Mundell. “We’re in this business to support children…to ensure students are happy, healthy, safe, and educated.”

Mundell went over changes that have already been made.  The code of conduct has been revised and support services have been reorganized under a new title, overseen by a director of Pupil Personnel Services. “We need tight leadership,” said Mundell.

BKW programs highlight character education, and social and emotional skills. When there are disciplinary infractions, or when complaints about bullying are received, investigations are carried out and determinations made, said Mundell.

“We have a broad team with different skills and common beliefs to help our work,” he said.

The district’s philosophy, under the new superintendent’s leadership, is now shaped by Dr. Daniel Goleman’s work on social and emotional learning. “We’ve latched onto these ideas as a framework,” said Mundell.

Goleman, a science journalist, wrote the bestseller “Emotional Intelligence,” which put forth the idea that schools should teach emotional literacy along with regular academic subjects.

In 1993, Goleman co-founded the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, which catalyzed the SEL movement, so that programs in these life skills are now commonplace in thousands of schools around the world.

“Just as important,” writes Goleman, “careful research evaluations are showing that SEL not only improves children’s social and emotional abilities, but also lowers risks like violence, substance abuse, and unwanted teen pregnancies, while making kids better behaved and more positive about learning. Most impressively, academic achievement scores improve by an average of 12 to 15 percent.”

Goleman’s central tenet is, “Nourish your social connections.”

Mundell went over the “five core competencies” of self-management, self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. He also named the “four Cs”: critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration.

“Emotions affect how and what we learn,” said Mundell. He also pointed out, “Schools are social places,” and he said that SEL skills can be taught.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo, he said, now has “a leadership team working to transform a school system.” Mundell went on, “The pride in this community — I see it, I hear it, I want to bring it out.”

Mundell said he has heard, “We need to have higher aspiration,” giving students the desire to go to college. Or, he said, students’ goals “may be vocational and that’s perfectly acceptable.”

Mundell said he has already seen dramatic improvements. Comparing the first quarter last year to the first quarter of this school year, he said, the number of course failures is down 38 percent. He also said that infractions are down and attendance is up.

State reporting

“There’s been some discussion recently about state reporting,” said Mundell. At a school board meeting last month, parents said they had complained to administrators about their children being harassed in 2012-13, a year that both the secondary and elementary schools at BKW reported zero incidents of harassment under the state’s Dignity for All Students Act.

Mundell went over both the VADIR (Violent and Disruptive Incident Report) system, which the state implemented in 2005, and the DASA system, implemented in 2012.

Only incidents resulting in out-of-school suspension or change of placement are reported under VADIR, he said; homicides, sexual offenses, and physical injury get added weight.

For the 2014-15 school year, both the elementary and secondary schools at BKW reported zero VADIR incidents.

In 2013-14, the BKW elementary school, with 427 students, reported two incidents of bullying or harassment, two minor altercations, and three incidents of criminal mischief — all without weapons — and one other disruptive incident.

That year, the secondary school, with 428 students, reported 11 assaults causing physical injury without weapons, 30 incidents of minor altercations without weapons, 21 incidents of harassment or bullying without weapons, nine cases of larceny without weapons, four incidents of weapons possession, six incidents of drug possession, and 613 other disruptive incidents.

In 2012-13, the BKW elementary school reported 26 minor altercations and four acts of criminal mischief — all without weapons.

The secondary school that year reported eight assaults with physical injury without weapons; one incident of reckless endangerment with a weapon; 18 minor altercations without weapons; 16 acts of intimidation, menacing, or bullying without a weapon; one larceny without a weapon; one drug possession; two possessions of alcohol; and 43 other disruptive acts.

In 2011-12, the BKW elementary school reported five minor altercations and eight incidents of intimidation or harassment — all without weapons.

At the secondary school that year, BKW reported four assaults with physical injury, 13 minor altercations without weapons, 10 incidents of intimidation or harassment without weapons, eight drug possessions, three possessions of alcohol, and 30 other disruptive incidents.

DASA includes categories for protected classes, based on gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, and the like. Schools are to self-report all incidents of harassment not just those that fit a protected class.

Schools across the state have been required to keep individual incident reports since July 1, 2012; their self-reported numerical counts are sent in annually to the State Education Department’s DASA reporting system.

For the 2014-15 school year, the secondary school in Berne, with 419 students, reported 26 incidents of discrimination or harassment: four for race; three for sex; two for color; one each for having a disability, sexual orientation, and weight; and 14 others. That same year, the elementary school reported three incidents: one each for race, having a disability, and gender.

In 2013-14, the elementary school reported zero incidents under DASA and the secondary school reported 21: two for gender; and one each for race, ethnicity, and sex; and 16 others. In 2012-13, both the elementary school and the secondary school in Berne reported zero incidents of harassment or discrimination.

 “We want to report all the incidents we have,” said Mundell. “We’re also serving students by creating a loving environment that’s productive and healthy.”

Elementary school

Leslie Smith, the new elementary school principal, said she would  “highlight some of the awesomeness” at her school.

A counselor is new this year, working with students who have identified needs as well as helping with such matters as conflicts on the playground and with programs in the classroom; for example, she’s working with sixth-graders on relational aggression.

The hope is to have a social skills curriculum next year, Smith said, including visits to other schools.

“The foundation of all our work is PBIS,” said Smith, referring to Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, one of the reasons she said she was attracted to the school.

The terminology comes from the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with disabilities Act, known as IDEA. According to the United States Office of special Education Programs, PBIS provides a framework to help school staff, “in adopting and organizing evidence-based behavioral interventions into an integrated continuum that enhances academic and social behavior outcomes for all students.”

“The team approach is what makes this system work,” said Smith. “Every person who is working in the school is aware of the behavioral expectations.”

A small number of behavioral expectations are described in clear terms, she said, and positive behavior is encouraged. The school, for example, has a heart-covered bulletin board, describing “random acts of kindness” performed by students, Smith said.

When it comes to school discipline matters, Smith said, all referrals are tracked and investigated, and parents are notified. Students who have misbehaved fill out “think sheets” that help them understand what went wrong.

Secondary school

Marna McMorris, the new secondary principal, said she worked with Mary Summermatter who had filled in as an interim principal, to sharpen the code of conduct. Summermatter had been the longtime principal of Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland before retiring.

Summermatter stepped into the position at BKW just after a student there had complained of repeated racial slurs that she and her parents said weren’t dealt with by the school.

The new code of conduct, said McMorris, combines academics and athletics. “Every student got an academic planner this year,” she said.

“Mrs. Summermatter and I had long discussions,” said McMorris and BKW returned to a middle-school model, with “a team atmosphere.”

From August though September, McMorris said, disciplinary consequences were reviewed. The system, she said, is now fully electronic and processing is complete within 24 hours.

Superintendent hearings have been held this year, with “serious consequences,” she said.

There was a presentation on the Dignity for All Students Act in September and the differences between bullying and conflict were discussed.

The secondary school, too, has a new counselor,

Fridays are pride days when “everyone wears BKW shirts,” which, McMorris said, is “a lot of fun.”

There was a multi-sport pep rally this year and “pay it forward acts of kindness” are being stressed.

It’s the district’s sixth year holding Point Break sessions and its first year using G6, also a Point Break program. Point Break is operated by the staff of Campus Life/Youth for Christ, which says on its website, “Our purpose in offering the Point Break Workshops is to encourage students as they develop character, confidence and responsibility.”

A BKW alumnus who is now a State Trooper will present a workshop for parents on social media.

McMorris says her school has “quiet hallways, busy classrooms” and students who are “very proud of who they are and where they go to school.”

Pupil services

Susan Sloma said her job has expanded from overseeing special-needs students to overseeing services for all students.

“We’re looking at social-emotional growth boiled down to the whole child,” she said.

The State Education Department has adopted changes that will be rolled out in the 2017-18 school year, said Sloma, involving more counseling, a comprehensive district plan, an advisory committee, and data analysis.

BKW will be undertaking intensive needs assessment, she said, and providing classroom guidance, career awareness, counseling, and college and career readiness.

The school district has formed a partnership with Albany County, new this year, bringing clinical support to families who want it, she said.

Ten families are involved with caseworkers.

“Geographically, sometimes, for some folks, it can be hard to access services,” said Sloma.

A newsletter for parents on counseling has been so popular at the elementary school that it may be extended to the secondary school as well and may include a portion, requested by school nurses, on healthy living.

“When we feel good and know how to problem-solve,” said Sloma, “we’re ready to learn.”

The score of people in the gallery applauded at the close of the hour-long presentation.

“Thank you,” said board President Joan Adriance. “That’s a lot of stuff to absorb.”

Mundell said the PowerPoint images would be posted on the school district’s website.

“What you presented was inspirational,” said Helen Lounsbury, a former board member and retired BKW teacher. She told Mundell, “It’s giving me great hope we are going to recapture the glory days of BKW.”

She went on to encourage the board to look into offering an International Baccalaureate program at BKW, similar to one offered at nearby Greenville. Lounsbury said she had spoken to Mundell about it and he had a response like hers: “If they can do it, why can’t we?”