“Thanks Mr. E. I’m never coming here again.” Since a student said this at a school, it might not sound like such a good thing. But for Appling Middle School in Macon, Georgia, it’s not just a good thing–it’s a great thing. “Here” is Appling’s In School Suspension Center. Late last Spring, this middle school, along with Bibb County’s 39 other schools, started using Ripple Effects software programs in its In School Suspension or “ISS” program, to help kids change their behavior, and reduce repeat referrals.

Bibb chose Ripple Effects, according to Valeria Patterson (Ripple Effects Software Coordinator for Bibb County Public Schools), “Because it has helped us take a more proactive approach (to ISS), helped to get to the root cause of why these behaviors are happening. The trigger event that gets a kid sent to ISS isn’t the whole reason why. In ISS, facilitators can give the kids specific lessons to address the trigger event, but they can also give kids a chance to explore the program, and seek out the issues that may be causing them grief.”

And it’s working. Over at Central High School, ISS teacher Gary Faulkner is finding himself with time on his hands. At the start of the 2005-06 school year, he was averaging 18 kids a day referred to him for behavior problems. Since he started doing Ripple Effects, that number has dropped every month. Now, it’s down to just six kids. With his repeat referrals down dramatically, and kids behaving better, it’s surprising to hear that Faulkner has most kids on the program for under 50 minutes. “It must be something subliminal,” marvels Faulkner, “because they change so quickly.”

Bibb has their school counselors using Ripple Effects, as well. Burghard Elementary School counselor Danielle Sweet Jones is the first point of contact for kids who are referred for minor infractions. She updated her school’s referral form, so that it includes all the topics in the Ripple Effects for Kids program. Teachers simply check off the problem behavior, and students go to Jones' office to do that topic in the program. Students are then given the chance to come back and choose one more topic in the program, the following week.

Today, both the quality and the quantity of her interactions with students is up. Before she started using the program, Jones was able to work with only about 15-20 kids a month. Even with those kids, Jones explains, “I would NEVER know what individual problems my students were dealing with.” Now says Jones, “I reach more kids – about 45 a month - that I couldn’t know about before. Now they’ll seek it out. They’ll look it up. And, they’re opening up about other issues that I’d never know were going on for them. Ripple Effects helps me reach more students than I ever could before.”

Middle school ISS teacher Warren Ellington has also observed big changes in kids after using the program. “It teaches them that they can succeed in the classroom without being disruptive,” explains Ellington. “I’ve seen a change in their aggressiveness. They are less likely to attack, or talk back, or blurt out. These kids are coming from tough situations,” he continues. “Now they’ve adopted some basic housekeeping rules. Before, they didn’t care – they just reacted. Now they think it through.”

Music to a teacher's ears.