[CASE STUDY]
Leroy-Ostrander Transforms Student Behavior with Responsibility-Centered Disclipine™
Responsibility-Centered Discipline transformed the educational landscape at Leroy-Ostrander School District. By transitioning from reactive punishments to proactive, relationship-based coaching, the district cultivated a culture of trust, patience and student accountability. As Leroy-Ostrander continues to leverage RCD, they remain fully committed to fostering a thriving environment where teachers love to teach, and students are eager to learn.
Executive Summary
Leroy-Ostrander School District faced ongoing challenges with disruptive student behavior that frequently resulted in students being removed from class and losing valuable educational time. By implementing Responsibility-Centered Discipline (RCD), the district empowered its educators to coach students to take true ownership of their actions. As a result, the school dramatically reduced behavioral referrals, vastly improved the learning environment and experienced a significant boost in overall teacher satisfaction.
Introduction
Leroy-Ostrander School District is a tight-knit public school district located in the rural community of Leroy, Minnesota, approximately 40 miles south of Rochester. Serving around 300 students across its PreK-12 system – which includes Leroy-Ostrander Elementary and Leroy-Ostrander Junior/Senior High School – the district prides itself on intimate, small class sizes and close community ties. Despite this supportive environment, the district recognized a critical need to evolve its approach to classroom management to better serve its students and empower its dedicated educators.
The Problem
Prior to finding a sustainable behavioral framework, educators at Leroy-Ostrander struggled with traditional, punitive classroom management methods. Students exhibiting disruptive behaviors were frequently removed from the classroom, triggering a negative trickle-down effect that hindered academic growth.
Trevor Carrier, Dean of Students, noted the systemic issue: “You’d see kids removed from class for being loud, and these students would fall behind academically. It’s just a constant trickle-down of constantly moving through that process.”
Teachers faced the heavy burden of continuous behavioral redirection. Emily Nehl, a Social Studies Teacher with 21 years of experience, expressed the fatigue many educators feel with the constant influx of new educational trends and behavioral management mandates. The district needed a proven, sustainable solution that addressed the root causes of disruptive behavior – instead of punishing students – and provided teachers with actionable classroom management strategies.
The Result
The impact of Responsibility-Centered Discipline on Leroy-Ostrander’s school culture has been overwhelmingly positive. By focusing on foundational relationship-building, the district successfully kept more kids in the classroom, reduced daily disruptions and increased teachers’ coaching skills.
Key Outcomes and Transformations Include:
- Improved School Culture and Retention: Trevor Carrier, Dean of Students, shared, “I believe RCD has impacted our school culture in the positive. The relationships between student and teacher have cultivated a tremendous level of respect… which helps the process of education. If kids are in the classroom enjoying their time and getting through the lessons, they learn more. We have less disruptions throughout the school day.”
- A Proven Process: “RCD enables you to build a consistent process and have strategies to help students — and not just say, ‘Okay, you’re out.’ Teachers understand that there’s more than one way to get this done,” Carrier added.
- Empowered Students: Tina Offen, a First Grade Teacher, witnessed the transformation firsthand. “To see the look on the kids’ face when they were able to handle that skill on their own and show that they had grasped it… was really neat to see the pride that they had on their face.”
- Teacher Buy-In and Satisfaction: Emily Nehl, Social Studies Teacher, went from a skeptic to an advocate. “Once we started digging into RCD, I became more comfortable with it and am a true believer that it really does work and has made our school a better place. Overall, it makes the whole day a much better time.”
- Stronger Foundational Trust: Principal Aaron Hungerholt summed up the overarching success: “RCD strengthens relationships between students and staff. My true belief is if I can build a relationship with you, I trust you, you trust me. Now I ask you to do something, I believe you’re going to try your hardest.”
Why RCD Stood Out
To combat these challenges, Leroy-Ostrander School District adopted Responsibility-Centered Discipline (RCD). This innovative system fundamentally shifted the paradigm from punitive measures to relationship-building and student empowerment. RCD equips educators with the tools to effectively coach students, helping them take true ownership of their behavior.
When K-12 Principal Aaron Hungerholt first encountered the RCD approach, its focus on building trust deeply resonated with him. “When I heard Larry Thompson, creator of Responsibility-Centered Discipline, start talking about getting students to take ownership and responsibility and making them part of the solution, that really hit home,” Hungerholt noted.
The implementation began in 2019 and involved comprehensive training for the staff, providing them with actionable strategies to handle classroom issues without losing patience or immediately resorting to classroom removal. Instead of merely teaching the “X’s and O’s” of the curriculum, teachers were empowered to effectively manage their classrooms through mutual respect, trust and constructive redirection. RCD gave educators the exact framework needed to turn challenging moments into powerful coaching opportunities.
By transitioning from reactive punishments to proactive, relationship-based coaching, the district cultivated a culture of trust, patience and student accountability.
Responsibility-Centered Discipline Reduces Referrals, Builds Students’ Skills for Success and Elevates School Culture.
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