Discipline, mental health, building climate addressed
By Erik Buchinger
Clintonville Middle School Principal Troy Kuhn discussed a variety of topics at the school during the Clintonville School Board meeting on Monday, Feb. 11.
Kuhn started by saying he is proud of the work so far from Assistant Principal Nick Brock in his first administrative role in the district.
“I just wanted to say that Nick is doing amazing,” Kuhn said. “He is picking up right where [Tom Burkhalter] left off with discipline and everything, so that’s going good. He does a really good job of calling parents and stays late.”
Brock assists during problem-solving meetings with the teachers in the school.
“They’re giving him any concerns whether it’s academic, behavior, etc.,” Kuhn said. “Then he works with Jody Lehman or Suzette or whoever else needs to help these kids make a behavior or academic plan. He’s been responsible or that and has been doing great.”
Brock said things have been going smoothly in his first administrative position.
“I feel like everything is going really well,” Brock said. “The staff has been incredibly collaborative and very proactive with wanting to solve things. They’ve been great to work with, and it’s a great climate and environment.”
Kuhn said Brock acts as the last bus to go home when elementary students get confused with which bus to get in. He will drive students home in the district’s van.
Mental health initiatives
Kuhn said he is looking to focus on mental health at the middle school once or twice a month, whether it would be a crisis, suicide, eating disorders or other topics.
“We would write a lesson plan and have this as the first Wednesday of the month,” Kuhn said. “We could do a lesson on friendships one month, then the next do something else. It’s an idea we’ve been tossing around. I saw this at a conference and thought it was cool.”
Kuhn said mental health is an important aspect of teaching middle school students.
“I think we could do something like that because at the middle school, I strongly feel we still need to focus on the social and emotional things,” Kuhn said.
Discipline
Kuhn said the middle school has improved with discipline over the course of the school year.
“I would say we’ve had lots of growth, meaning behaviors have gotten better,” Kuhn said. “The first time we presented, we talked about having a lot of fights at the middle school. I would say that’s calmed down.”
Brock said fighting has decreased since the first month of the school year.
“In the first month of school, we had seven major instances of physical aggression between students,” Brock said. “The month after that it was five, then it was four and the last two months we’ve had two.
“Not only has the overall number gone down, but one statistic that’s pretty interesting is there is only one student who has done it twice. Pretty much every student who has done it, there’s been consequences obviously, but there have been collaboration and proactive problem solving to try and figure out how we make sure that kid isn’t in a position where he can make that happen again. We’ve been pretty successful at it.”
Kuhn said they have been working with the district’s social worker Suzette Fountain, guidance counselor Jody Lehman, teachers and police departments to resolve the issue.
“There are certain needs yet that we understand we might not have within the district,” Kuhn said. “We’re reaching out so we can help those individual kids.”
DonorsChoose
The middle school is working with DonorsChoose.org for funding on certain projects. DonorsChoose is a website in which the community can donate money to a cause.
Art teacher Victoria Le Beau reached her fundraising goal for new stools for her classroom.
Tara Huber’s music class will be able to take her eighth-grade band and choir students to Chanhassen Dinner Theater on May 1.
The DonorsChoose for the project was open for less than a week before an anonymous donor came through with $2,417.
“I’m glad we have that community support,” Kuhn said. “It makes everybody feel important.”
Climate and culture
Kuhn said the climate and culture among the staff is better than it was last year.
“I have not had to talk with anyone this year about being out of line in their comments,” Kuhn said. “I’m not in the teachers’ lounge, but from what I hear, things get back to me one way or another, that the comments are proactive and forward-thinking in nature, not cutting everybody down with their ideas.
“We challenge each other and have good discussions. I’m OK when the teacher comes into my office, shuts the door and says that we need to talk. I haven’t really heard of anything inappropriate going on, so I’m really happy about that.”
Kuhn said substitute teachers have done well for the middle school.
“We’ve had some awesome long-term subs,” Kuhn said. “So far, I don’t feel like the staff is stressed out. Last year at this time, it was crazy with teachers subbing for teachers left and right without getting prep. I feel like this year is going better with that.”