Describes Interplay, a program to help problem kids develop the confidence they need to become active learners. The idea is to create a sense of cohesive group identity, using activities that help children respect each other, support each other's learning attempts, and accept each other's mistakes as necessary steps in learning. (MLH)

Reviews problems involved in disciplining disabled students with behavior problems as a result of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The case of "Honig V. Doe" has reached the Supreme Court but may be declared moot. Urges school administrators to warn parents of disabled students that the police will be called if students…

Using two hypothetical case studies (the arrogant athletic director and the amorous band director), this article explains how superintendents and school boards should deal with problem employee behavior. In both cases, consulting the school attorney and confronting the employee appropriately are essential first steps. (MLH)

Ruben Perez, former assistant principal at Horace Mann Middle School in North Denver, achieved folk-hero status when he suspended 97 disruptive students on a single day. The school board reprimanded Perez for deviating from district discipline policy and transferred him to another middle school. Supported by disgruntled teachers, Perez is suing…

Schools must increasingly deal with children who brandish weapons and exhibit antisocial or violent behavior. Psychologists agree that young children are very susceptible to violence and that stored violent images can warp their interpretation of reality. To combat youth violence, many schools have adopted antiviolence curricula and conflict…

An inschool suspension program at a Pennsylvania school district is described. Students spend suspension time completing classroom assignments under strict teacher supervision in detention halls. (TE)

A Spanish teacher successfully sued a student she claimed terrorized her, after school administrators ignored her complaints. Nearly 11% of teachers experience verbal and physical abuse by students. Although some states are stiffening penalties against violent students, educators' best recourse is to publicize the problem, devise policies, and…

Melissa Caudle, principal of a New Orleans high school for behaviorally disordered students, has written a book on crisis-alert systems and confiscated loads of weapons. Her career has been devoted to helping neglected, abused, delinquent, and gang-prone adolescents. The school's program, which stresses personal accountability, conflict…

The disciplinary policy at Chapelle Elementary School in Ypsilanti (Michigan), developed with staff participation, classifies some student behavior as "unacceptable" or "inappropriate." Either behavior requires the teacher to fill out a pink slip and send it with the student to the principal's office, but only unacceptable…