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Pause- Crystal feels very angry toward Cameron and recognizes she needs to quickly intervene. She immediately calls to have an additional staff member help with supervision and also requests that a member of the leadership team assist. Sheila, the school administrator, will soon be able to help. This is not the first time there has been an incident of Cameron threatening other students. However, staff have never observed him to use inappropriate sexual touch. Staff are already providing targeted support (Tier 2) for Cameron because he has repeatedly had challenges with handling typical, peer conflicts that occur in school-age students.

Redirect- Crystal calmly redirects, “Cameron, sit here and wait,” as she gestures for him to wait nearby.  When the additional staff member, Josh, arrives, Crystal asks him to closely supervise Cameron while she speaks with Makayla in private. Crystal asks Josh to let Sheila know where they are and to please join.

Listen (Makayla) – Once they are in a private area, Crystal checks in with Makayla, “Are you OK?” Makayla begins to cry as she explains that Cameron is always, “Cutting in line for the swing and doesn’t let anyone else have a turn. He is a bully!” Crystal tries to comfort Makayla. Crystal knows she needs to address the explicit language and inappropriate touching to make sure she knows exactly what happened, per Makayla’s account. Crystal waits for Sheila to arrive before asking Makayla open-ended questions about the incident. When Sheila joins, Crystal explains to Makayla, “When things like this happen we have to have two grown-ups available, so Ms. Sheila is going to sit with us while we talk.” Crystal asks Makayla, “Can you tell me exactly what happened to cause you to be so upset?” Makayla used her own words to describe the incident, and Sheila makes sure to carefully document. Both know they must have detailed documentation, including staff observations and those of the students involved.

Teach (Makayla) - Once Makayla has calmed down, Crystal assures Makayla that no one deserves to be threatened, bullied, or inappropriately touched. She praises Makayla for going to a staff member rather than arguing back or becoming confrontational with Cameron. Makayla is still very upset and wants to see her mom. Crystal suggests they see if Ms. Toni, another teacher, whom Makayla is fond of, is OK with letting Makayla sit with her on the playground. Makayla is agreeable to this. Crystal shares with Toni that Makayla had an upsetting incident and wants to be with someone she feels close to. She is careful to continue to control her emotions and not to speak in detail about the situation around other students.

Listen (Cameron) – Crystal requests that Josh stay so she, Sheila, and Cameron can speak in private. Crystal explains to Cameron that another grown-up must be present and write some things down when there is a serious conflict with students at school. Crystal uses open-ended questions to understand why Cameron engaged in this behavior. “Can you tell me what happened?” Cameron is upset but withdrawn, gesturing that he doesn’t know. Crystal keeps her cool, trying to minimize the anger she feels inside. She tells Cameron, “You are a good person, and I know you care about other people. How do you think Makayla felt when you threatened her and touched her private parts?” Cameron acknowledges that he made Makayla feel “sad” and “scared.” Cameron says, “I get so mad over stupid stuff,” as tears roll down his face.

Teach (Cameron) – Crystal does her best to comfort Cameron. She very calmly speaks about how threatening any kind of violent or sexual behavior is a form of bullying or harassment, and students are never to touch another person’s private parts. She shared with Cameron that if he ever feels like he isn’t sure of what he can do if he disagrees with someone or he is going to lose control of his anger, he should immediately come to her or another school staff member. Normally, Crystal encourages students to talk out conflicts with each other, but she recognizes that Cameron does not have the skills to do this. Cameron is still upset, and Crystal recognizes that he needs direct supervision. Sheila arranges to ensure Cameron has one-to-one supervision.

Reflect- Crystal shares with Sheila her account of what happened. They make sure they are in agreement about what has been documented. They work through the Sexual Development Definition and Factors handout and Sexual Behavior Flow Chart together. You can see their completed forms in the Learn attachments, which also give you more information about Cameron and his family. Sheila and Crystal determine that Cameron’s behavior is non-normative because:

• Cameron used advanced sexual knowledge and forcefully touched another student’s private parts.
• Cameron’s pattern of threatening behavior has not improved with targeted support and redirection.
• Overall behavior is interfering with his ability to have peer relations.
• The incident occurred with a student with a 2 year or greater age gap.

Prepare- Sheila praised Crystal for how she responded to this situation. Crystal followed the Responding in the Moment steps and recognized she needed the assistance of another staff member. Sheila and Crystal discussed that they need to provide more support and guidance at recess. This is not the first issue to arise at the tire swing. Sheila suggests that staff clearly state to everyone the rules for using the tire swing. Also, Crystal will provide all the students at recess with a refresher on respect, safe touching, and bullying. Both agree that until they have a more concrete plan, Cameron needs direct supervision. Sheila will make arrangements to have an educator or staff member available to shadow him until further plans are made to support Cameron.

Communicate- Crystal and Sheila go over other details such as what time the incident occurred and where. Additionally, Sheila has Crystal document all of the steps she did to support both students. They decide on the following communication plan:

• Sheila will call Makayla’s parent and inform them of the incident, what staff did to support Makayla, the school’s plan to provide additional supervision for the other student, and share information about specialized support they can utilize if Makayla needs it. Sheila will follow-up with them in one week and encourage the family to come to her if they need help with anything sooner.
• Sheila will call Cameron’s parent and inform them of the incident, what staff did to support Cameron, plans for additional supervision of Cameron, and recommended next steps. Vanessa and Chris, Cameron’s parents, are aware that the program had been implementing targeted support for Cameron’s difficulty with peers. Sheila will inform them that when that support is unsuccessful or the student escalates their behavior, it is best for the student to have more intensive intervention. She will communicate that the teachers need the guidance of a professional with more expertise to best support Cameron’s learning and development and offer to coordinate that help.
• Tomorrow, before school begins, Sheila will share the incident with other educators or staff that work closely with Cameron. She will highlight Crystal’s responses so staff know what to do if this occurs again. Also, Sheila will make clear which staff member is responsible for shadowing Cameron, until they receive guidance from a specialized professional for intensive intervention. Additionally, Sheila will reinforce issues around confidentiality and the importance of using appropriate language to understand Cameron’s behavior and what Makayla experienced (e.g., “Cameron demonstrated a sexual behavior challenge,” “Makayla was involved in another student’s sexual behavior challenge.”)
• With Sheila’s support, Crystal will share the new procedures for the tire swing with the school staff and the plan to do a refresher for all the students on respect, safe touching, and bullying.