Running head: POSITIVE ATTITUDES FOR SUCCESS

Positive Attitudes for Success:

A Positive Atmosphere for Emotionally Disturbed Students
Maria Moussa
The University of North Texas

Introduction
The Allen Independent School District serves the city of Allen, Texas, located
approximately twenty-three miles north of Dallas, Texas. It is home to over 20,780 students
ranging from kindergarten through twelfth grade. This rapidly growing community contains
seventeen elementary schools, three middle schools, one freshman center, and one high school.
Since 1989, the district has doubled in size, and continues to expand with a growing rate of four
percent. Allen Independent School Districts mission statement is Allen ISD cultivates innovation
in education that empowers every learner to realize his or her full potential. The vision statement
in Allen is Allen ISD: Where Eagles Soar (About Allen ISD, 2016).
Within the large community of Allen and its school district, there lies a diverse range
of students with an even more diverse set of educational needs. There are several different
special education programs and classes that Allen ISD has established in order to better meet the

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needs of students with disabilities. Although the district has always maintained some students in
a self-contained class for behavioral reasons, in 1995 The Positive Attitudes for Success (PAS)
program was officially started to provide a positive learning environment for students who were
identified as emotionally disturbed. An emotional disturbance is classified as
a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period
of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational
performance which includes: (A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by
intellectual, sensory, or health factors; (B) An inability to build or maintain
satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers; (C) Inappropriate
types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances; (D) A general pervasive
mood of unhappiness or depression; (E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms
or fears associated with personal or school problems. (Individuals With Disabilities
Education Act, 2004)
History
The first PAS class was established at Flossie Floyd Green Elementary and serviced
students in Kindergarten through grade six with an emotional disturbance. Within the first year of
the program, PAS quickly went from one class to three classes with the grade levels divided.
Currently, there are nine classes in the district, each serving certain grade levels and skill levels.
The PAS program provides a structured and cooperative environment to students. Through the
use of a behavior management system that is based on positive reinforcement techniques,
students are held accountable for their own behaviors and learn to accept the consequences of
their actions. Students in the program participate in personal and social skills development
through ongoing class instruction. PAS is considered to be the most restrictive placement in the
district. It is a therapeutic environment, rather than a disciplinary placement. The goal of the
program is to have students return to a fully mainstream classroom as soon as they are able. Each

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student goes through a customized transition process which provides the eligible students
academic assistance as well as organizational and study skills instruction to promote a smooth
transition into each mainstreamed class (K. Hemmenway, personal communication, August 31,
2016).
Overview
The PAS program serves on average, 45-60 students within a school year mainly
ranging from third to twelfth grade students. These students are considered to be at risk, and can
have various life experiences such as abuse, neglect, extreme poverty, loneliness, hunger, a
parent in jail, lack of social skills, and mental illness; all of which are characteristics that
contribute to their emotional disturbance.
Though the intent of PAS is to correct the behavior of students before focusing on
academics, success in academic areas is an integral part of the PAS program. Students receive
individualized or small group instruction within the PAS classroom. Teachers in the PAS
classroom follow the same curriculum and pacing calendar as outlined by the district, however,
the lessons are modified on an individual basis based on the needs of each student and the
accommodations and modifications outlined in their Individualized Education Plan. The students
are encouraged to set their own academic goals and discuss their methods for meeting those
goals as well. The PAS program materials are selected for each student based on learning style,
academic ability, and motivational interest level. Instruction is sequenced in small units to
promote a high level of success. Although there is a PAS curriculum plan, the staff is encouraged
to elicit the general education classroom teachers lesson plans as well. Accessing the general
education teachers lesson plans can help students have a more successful re-entry into the
general education classroom, when their behavior is no longer hindering their learning, which
can take place at any given time.

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Staffing within a PAS classroom consists of one certified classroom teacher and two
paraprofessionals. Many teachers within the program come from a general education
background, while some teachers are only special education certified. The role of a
paraprofessional within the PAS classroom is to help with inclusion support as well as difficult
periods of behavior outburst within the self-contained environment.
PAS program classes are monitored and mentored by the Boys Town Trainers; a
program that works with schools and districts nationally to provide an inclusive approach to
addressing the emotional, social and behavioral needs of students
(http://www.boystown.org/what-we-do/Pages/default.aspx). District special education
coordinators and behavior specialists monitor and evaluate the program at the district level as
well. Data is collected 3-4 times per year from each PAS classroom to compile a district data
sheet, which is used to reteach and improve the program, as well as complete long-term
implementation plans for each classroom and the district. The success of each classroom is
measured based on a number of competencies which include: Boys Town life skills, planned
teaching interaction, corrective teaching interaction, effective praise, classroom rules, classroom
procedures, daily schedule (reflecting social skills time, minimal unstructured time, inclusion
time per ARD), clearly identifiable spaces, direct instruction area, natural environment training,
praise, proactive teaching, and evidence of corrective teaching, opportunity to practice, deescalation strategies, inclusion check sheet, and end of day conferencing (K. Hemmenway,
personal communication, August 31, 2016).
Because the special education director for the district facilitates trainings, staff
development, and monitoring of the PAS programs, the school administrators role within the
program is to support and collaborate with the PAS staff in any possible way. When needed,
administrators contact behavior specialists from the district to help with particular students who

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are not responsive to traditional PAS behavior plans. Constant communication between the
specialists who work at the district level is imperative in order to maintain a successful transition
for all students. By communicating specific needs, behavior specialists are able to come into the
PAS class with a variety of strategies that target the specified behavior. The administrator also
assists the PAS teacher and support staff as needed when a students behavior becomes an
immediate threat to themselves or others within the classroom. They are also called in to
collaborate with the teacher to determine how specific situations should be handled. The
administrator also monitors the daily schedule of the PAS classroom and provides relief to
teachers by giving them a break on days that their schedules have been altered. In order to build
a positive relationship with the students the administrator can also be used as a reward for
students, and when they have met their behavior goals for a given period of time students can
visit with the administrator and/or play a game in the office. It is crucial for the school
administrator to maintain involvement within the PAS classroom to build a positive rapport with
students and to continue to support and collaborate with the staff as needed.
Analysis
The PAS program in Allen ISD is a means of serving students who are emotionally or
behaviorally disturbed and who are unresponsive to traditional interventions. Students in the PAS
classroom have had multiple interventions within the general education setting including
universal interventions and individually focused interventions that have proved to be
unsuccessful; thus, resulting in the student ultimately be referred for special education testing
and being placed in the PAS program. The structure of the PAS program can be compared to a
behavioral Response To Intervention (RTI) model for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed
(EBD) students. Gresham (2005) states that RTI for EBD students is founded on the idea that
when a students behavioral deficits are regularly maintained at an unacceptable level following

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an intervention system with integrity, a student can and should be eligible for emotional
disturbance services. The PAS program in this RTI model would represent the most intensive
intervention for the students that continue to be unresponsive to traditional interventions.
According to Gresham (2005) targeted/ intensive interventions represent the most intense level
of intervention and target students with the most severe and resistant behaviors (p. 340).
Students at this stage of the model require intense individualized interventions that can include
services from other agencies as well. Because each student in the program is able to receive
individualized attention, teachers within the PAS classroom are better able to provide each
student with a safe environment to build social skills, communication sills, and coping skills to
apply in their lives both in school and outside of school.
Several studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of programs, like
PAS, that focus on behavior and targeting the needs of students with EBD. While the major
strength of the program is that students are more likely to respond to interventions and have the
desired behavior after a period of time there continue to be challenges that the students and
teachers face as well. The major challenge of programs that support the needs of EBD students is
the lack of academic success. In one study, Jennings, Mendelsohn, May, and Brown (1987) argue
that despite small classes with a high teacher-student ratio, academic performance continues to
be below average (p. 75). This conclusion was made after observing 147 elementary school
students who were observed as being in special education classes for students who were
classified as EBD. In this study, data was collected over three years in order to track student
progress and to capture the essence of progress that can be made with students in the special
education setting. All the students observed in this study were students who were enrolled in a
self-contained special education classroom in a regular public school. After three years of
observations, the study suggests that students behavior had been adjusted and was more similar

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to students in regular education settings, but that they were academically unprepared (Jennings et
al., 1987).
Another study that aimed to evaluate the impact on student outcomes in a behaviorfocused school or classroom found that attending behavior-focused programs did indeed result in
a significantly lower number of office referrals in comparison to a traditional school program
(Wilkerson, Afacan, Perzigian, Justin, & Lequia, 2016). This study suggests that when students
are placed in an environment that allows them to have targeted behavior instruction, students
behavior is more likely to make positive changes and have the desired outcome. This same study
however also noted that attending a behavior-focused program had a direct impact on the level of
credits students in high school were earning. According to Wilkerson et al., (2016) placing
students in behavior-focused programs is failing to meet the needs of students in the most basic
way. These conclusions came after observing a selected school over the course of an entire
school year and comparing the data collected on office referrals and credits earned to traditional
school and classroom environments within the same district from the same year.
Conclusion
Identifying the role of the administrator within the PAS program, use of the RTI
behavior model, and constant communication with behavior specialists from central office are all
connections that can be made to our course content. Our textbook states Response to
Intervention has been referred to as a process with the aim of encouraging schools to help
students who are struggling academically and behaviorally (Pankake & Littleton, 2012, p. 254).
By training PAS teachers and classroom aides how to apply RTI to students who are emotionally
disturbed, they can receive the individualized interventions they need in order to be successful.
Working alongside behavior specialists and communicating with proper personnel from central
office is also imperative for program success. When PAS classroom teachers and administrators
clearly state their needs in regards to the support needed they can ensure that the help received is

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relevant to the needs of their students (Pankake & Littleton 2012). According to Scanlon and
Barnes-Holmes (2013), teachers receiving support from specialists when integrating students
with emotional and behavioral difficulties into the mainstream classroom is essential for a
successful transition.
The PAS program, like many other programs for students identified with EBD, is
designed to improve students behavior based on an individualized set of goals and strategies for
students. Research suggests that these restricted environments provide students with the
environment in which they can freely express their thoughts and learn strategies to better manage
and cope with their feelings. Though the program has strengths and weaknesses, it is imperative
that these types of programs remain in our school systems to continue to serve the population of
students who are identified with an emotional disturbance. Without PAS, students with EBD
remain in an educational setting that is not conducive to their educational needs, and cannot only
be a disruption to themselves, but in turn affect and hinder the education of other students as
well.

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References
Allen ISD. (2016). About Allen ISD. Retrieved from http://www.allenisd.org/domain/65
Gresham, F. M. (2005). Response to intervention: An alternative means of identifying students as
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Hawken, L. S., Vincent, C. G., & Schumann, J. (2008). Response to intervention for social
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Hemmenway, K. (2016, August 31). Personal interview.
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Pankake, A., & Littleton, M. (2012). The Adminstration & Supervsion of Special Programs in
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Wilkerson, K., Afacan, K., Perzigian, A., Justin, W., & Lequia, J. (2016). Behavior-focused
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