increase in student behavior problems has prompted the Flandreau School Board to approve the hiring of a behavior specialist.
More students are being considered for placement outside of the district, and disruptive behaviors are interrupting learning, staff with the district said. Principals are spending several hours a day intervening and dealing with mental health needs, preventing them from doing their jobs, as well, they said.
“A lot of kids aren’t being able to access their education because of disruptive behaviors,” said Jaclyn Braa, school psychologist. The problems affect other students in the classrooms where the behavior has escalated and even next door where students in other classrooms can hear the commotion.
The mental health needs, some diagnosed and others undiagnosed, are increasing each year for a variety of reasons, said Marie Ivers, director of special education. Many of the issues are at the elementary and middle school levels, staff said.
The school board gave unanimous approval to the additional staff member being hired to help address the more severe problems. The district will advertise for the position that also includes counseling.
The behaviors are above and beyond what can be addressed with a crisis intervention plan the school district follows and other interventions aren’t working, Ivers said. “These are not run of the mill simple behavior needs,” she said.
These students can be violent to themselves or hurtful to themselves and others. In escalated situations, it can take two hours for them to calm down, and the school district needs a padded room where the students can go so they don’t hurt themselves or others, staff said.

The district middle school and high school counselor, Kari Lena-Helling, said she is so busy with students who have mental health issues, including suicidal ideas, that she isn’t able to spend time helping students plan their academic and career goals. She is working on bullying, assertiveness training and will be starting a group for students with anxiety. With the addition of a behavior specialist, the elementary guidance counselor, Josh Cleveland, could provide that career counseling resource because he also has been a college admissions counselor, she said.
The middle school and high school is being served by one counselor for 400 students, far exceeding the professional recommendation of one counselor for every 200 to 250 students, she said.
Two students are taken to Children’s Home Society for their schooling each day, and another two are on a waiting list. Two more are soon to join that list, Ivers said. Students with behavior issues have to be evaluated to rule out learning deficits, as well. All of that takes time and staff.
“Our principals are overwhelmed this year with the amount of behavioral issues,” she said. “Overall, I think this would assist with teacher retention. We have many, many frustrated teachers.”
Behavior issues that disrupt learning lead to additional problems such as lower test scores, Braa said. “Right now, those students are dangerously close to not being able to function in the classroom. All of those students are suffering.”
School board members asked several questions about how staff prevents the behavior issues from becoming dangerous for other children and options the district might have.
The school district is using its discipline policy for students who escalate out of control and one middle school student has received out-of-school suspension, for example. But most students aren’t afraid of that and aren’t phased by having to meet with the principal.
“They tell you that,” said Brian Relf, middle school principal.
School board member Darren Hamilton said he doesn’t see any other options than hiring a behavior specialist.
“I think in at least my tenure on the board, we’ve probably gotten by with less staff that we should have on the counselor side,” he said. “We need the right person for this position because we’re going to get one chance to do this. We need to do it right the first time.”
Board President Tom Stenger said the district needs to help its teachers with the behavior issues. “We can’t leave our teachers out there in the dark not knowing what’s going to happen the next day.”
Board member Jamie Hemmer said the problems matter to all children and their learning. “The longer we wait, the longer our good students are being penalized, too.”