Preventing Violence in Bangor Maine Schools Through Behavioral Intervention Team Training, PBIS, and The Regulated Classroom

In 2018, the Bangor School Department in Bangor, Maine applied for and was awarded a STOP grant that was used to increase protective factors against violence for all K-12 students through social-emotional learning (SEL) delivered to students in the classroom. Data of behavior incidents in the schools collected prior to and during the pandemic, including bullying, physical aggression, illicit drug related behavior, and alcohol-related incidents, indicate that there is a group of students with behavior challenges that require more individualized attention than generalized SEL lessons can deliver. In addition, students and staff at Bangor High School have grieved over four student suicides since 2015.

To continue to address the mental health needs of students, the Bangor School Department will use a three-pronged approach. First, our Behavioral Intervention Teams (BITs), consisting of the school guidance counselor, school social worker, principal, assistant principal, and department heads, will receive best practices training to enhance their implementation of caring intervention plans for students identified as delinquent with schoolwork of exhibiting signs of stress or anxiety. Second, up to 30 Bangor teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, or administrators will be trained in PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) by the Maine Department of Education/University of Southern Maine. These staff members will bring ideas and techniques back to share with other teachers in their schools. Third, up to 70 teachers will be trained in the Maine Department of Education endorsed program The Regulated Classroom, which equips teachers with an effective framework for increasing regulation in the classroom, based on the work of leading neuroscientists and psychiatrists, the fields of occupational therapy, developmental, and somatic psychology. 

Together, all of these tools and practices, which will be embedded into regular classroom time, will enable school staff to support student mental health and prevent school violence.