Welcome!
BIST in Your School and Community
| There is no question
about it. Today's educational environment looks
entirely different from thirty, twenty or even ten years
ago. All of us involved in education - students,
parents, teachers and administrators - are faced with
new and distinct challenges brought about by dramatic
shifts in lifestyles and behavior over the last generation. |
| As educators, we know that children
are becoming more and more challenging within the public
school setting. Many of our youth are coming from situations
where abuse, drug/alcohol usage, homelessness, and/or
lack of supervision are common. Many of these children
then come to our buildings and demonstrate behavioral
problems. At one time, the old forms of discipline were
effective tools in dealing with these children. However,
these techniques are no longer successful. Consequently,
schools need to create new intervention strategies when
dealing with troubled youth. Due to the increased difficulty
of students within the public school setting, Behavior
Intervention Support Team, (BIST) a unique program of
Ozanam, created the confrontational model in helping students
to be successful in school. Our common goal is to provide
every student with a safe, and productive learning environment. |
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| BIST programs are developed
specifically for your school and can be applied to individuals,
teams or the entire faculty. Regardless of the exact
nature of our work together, the process begins with a
meeting of key people from your organization and BIST
staff for an in-depth look at your situation. This
typically is followed by a three-hour in-service to give
your entire staff a feel for our philosophy and a look
at our specific services. At this point we provide
you with a recommended plan of action. Finally,
we recommend that you let us help you implement the following
systems in order to get the most benefit from our work
together: |
- A communications system of regular meetings, checklists
for student/administrator referral, informal feedback
and check ups.
- Safe places where students who are in trouble can
go and get help.
- Mentors who will support teachers of difficult students.
(Mentors can be teachers - colleagues, volunteers
and others).
- A crisis intervention team of school staff to give
back-up for the teachers and principal.
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| BIST team members are dedicated to
creating a caring community in every learning environment.
Our work with schools is carried out by a group of professionals
which typically comprises educators, therapists and social
workers. |
| Collectively, BIST staff represents
more than 130 years of experience - much of it working
with severely disturbed children and youth. |
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