Normative Culture program teaches respect, responsibility

By S. ALEXANDER GEROULD, Special to the OBSERVER
RIPLEY – Ripley Central School students may have been in for a new culture when they started school this year. The school, according to Interim Superintendent John Hogan, implemented a new program aimed at improving student behavior. Called Normative Culture, Hogan said the program would help students learn about respect and responsibility. “Normative Culture is a behavioral management approach to change the way kids act in a public school,” Hogan said. “I’ve seen it have a positive impact on students and their commitment to change their behavior.’ Hogan said the program was used extensively while he was superintendent of the Randolph Academy, a school which provides intensive education for special needs students. According to a brochure found online at the Randolph Academy’s Web site, www.randolphacademy.org, Normative Culture uses peer pressure in a positive way among both clients and staff to create shared expectations regarding attitudes and behavior. When someone breaks a rule, or “norm,” the people around him are expected to point out the error in a helpful manner, the brochure said. “Throughout the day, people look at the four norms – respect, responsibility, safety and goals – to guide their behavior,” the brochure said. “They must take responsibility for their actions, show respect for others, keep the situation safe and work towards achieving goals. In this way, adults and children serve as positive role models for one another.” Hogan said the district would use a concept called guided group interaction, which, according to the Randolph Academy brochure, involves students and staff meeting in small groups to take accountability for their actions and listen to advice from their peers. “The piece of this we’re going to use most extensively is guided group interaction,” Hogan said. While the program at Ripley won’t be as intense as the one at Randolph and may take longer to implement, Hogan said it could cause a change in the district’s detention practices. “Hopefully we break the cycle of do the crime, do the time,” he said.