The training that is still in place in May.
Two days with your leadership team, then one day with your full staff. Your leaders build your school's own plan first, so the staff training lands on a campus that is ready for it.
Why one-day trainings fade, and why this one does not
Most schools have lived it. The staff leaves a training excited, and by the second week of school almost nothing is in place, because nobody had built the plan to carry it. The 2+1 fixes that in the order it does things: the leadership team goes first, and they build your school's plan before the staff is ever trained.
How the 2+1 works
Three days on site. They do not have to be back to back. Most schools spread them out, because the time between Day 2 and Day 3 is when the leadership team gets everything ready.
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Day 1
Your leadership team learns the system
Dr. Alvarado trains your leadership team in Time To Teach: self-control, rules and procedures taught as Teach-To's, calm responses to challenges, the refocus process, classroom arrangement, and relationships. By the end of the day they understand the system well enough to lead it, not just attend it.
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Day 2
Your leadership team builds your school's plan
This is the day that makes the difference. Working from the Time To Teach Planning Guide (he is one of its authors), the team builds the infrastructure for your campus. They walk out with:
- The school-wide Teach-To list every classroom will teach, and the first-week schedule for teaching it
- What the refocus area looks like in every room, and your school's own refocus form
- Your behavior flow chart, from first warning to office referral, in a teacher version and a student version
- A simple way to track refocus forms and consequences, and what the numbers will be used for
- A plan for short school-wide walk-throughs that show whether the system is in use, shared with the staff as a school, never as individuals
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Day 3
Your full staff is trained, and the plan is ready
Dr. Alvarado trains the whole staff in the system. Then, in the same day, your leadership team hands them your school's plan: the Teach-To schedule, the refocus area, the flow chart, the forms. Teachers leave with the system and their own building's plan at the same time. That is what an ordinary all-staff day cannot do.
What a principal gets out of it
Consistency and predictability
Every adult in the building handling behavior the same way, so students know what to expect in every classroom and hallway.
A plan with your name on it
Not a binder from somewhere else. Your Teach-To's, your refocus area, your flow chart, your forms, built by your leaders.
Leaders who can keep it going
The people who built the plan are down the hall when a teacher needs help, and they can bring a new hire up to speed the week that person starts.
A way to see if it is working
Short walk-throughs, scored simply, shared with the staff as a school. Low numbers send everyone back to the practice. High numbers let you support the few who need it.
The 2+1 is the model he wished every outside trainer had used when he was the principal who had to make the training stick after the presenter went home.
Questions schools ask
Do the three days have to be in a row?
No. You pick the days. Most schools put time between Day 2 and Day 3 so the leadership team can prepare materials and get the refocus areas set up before the staff is trained.
Who should be on the leadership team?
The principal, assistant principals, instructional coaches, counselors, and the teacher leaders staff already listen to. Anyone who will be asked to keep the system going.
What do participants receive?
Every staff member trained on Day 3 receives the Time To Teach classroom management resource manual. The leadership team works from the Planning Guide on Day 2 and keeps it.
Does this work with PBIS or MTSS?
Yes. PBIS and MTSS tell a school what supports to put in place. Time To Teach gives the staff the how: the Teach-To's that teach your expectations and the words to use the moment behavior happens. Your flow chart and refocus area fit inside what you already run.
Can participants earn graduate credit?
Yes. Participants can earn optional graduate units through UMass Global with some additional practicum work. See the college credit page.
Tell him about your school.
A short note about your campus, your staff, and what is going on in your classrooms is enough to start. He will come back with a plan and a quote.