Although Fern Creek’s “War” is Ongoing, It Has Won Some Major Battles

Donovan, M., Galatowitsch, P., Hefferin, K., & Highland, S. (2013). How Fern Creek is Beating Goliath. Educational Leadership, 70 (8), 66-70. 

Type of report: Research report, descriptive/case study

Intro brief:

“Goliath” explores the changes made and discusses the subsequent results as an at-risk elementary school works to overcome academic and community-level obstacles. After implementing Conscious Discipline, the school noted a significant decrease in both discipline referrals and suspensions (from 367 to 44 discipline referrals, and from 109 to 0 suspensions).


After implementing Conscious Discipline, the school recorded a decrease in both discipline referrals and suspensions (from 367 to 44 discipline referrals from teachers, and 109 to 0 suspensions) over a three-year span.


Summary:

Fern Creek Elementary, a small urban school in Orlando, Florida, serves a disadvantaged student population that faces issues such as poverty, homelessness, instability and limited parent involvement. To combat these issues, Fern Creek utilized Conscious Discipline to create a School Family, increase community involvement, and implement best practices in instruction and intervention.

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