Where I Stand: An Honest Conversation About Student Behavior in Schools

By Curtis Campogni, Candidate for Pinellas County School Board (District 3 – At-Large)

Over the past several months, I’ve had a lot of conversations about student behavior in schools.

Some of those conversations came through community Listen & Learns.

Some came through discussions around the weapon detection pilot program.

And some came from my own experience working with youth for more than a decade across juvenile justice, workforce development, and child welfare systems.

What I’ve realized is this:

Most people agree there are growing concerns around:

• classroom disruptions,

• fights and altercations,

• bullying,

• student accountability,

• and overall school culture.

Where people disagree is how schools should respond.

Some people believe schools simply need stronger discipline and stricter consequences.

Others believe behavior is usually connected to deeper issues that require more support and intervention.

In reality, I think both sides are partially right.

Because policies and expectations absolutely matter.

If students believe rules are inconsistent, optional, or rarely enforced, then eventually the policies themselves lose credibility.

But at the same time, if schools focus only on compliance without understanding behavior, then we may temporarily stop a behavior without actually changing it.

And that distinction matters.

Because schools are not just responsible for controlling behavior in the moment.

They are also helping shape the future adults our communities will eventually live beside, work beside, and depend on.

That is why I believe student behavior conversations have to balance both accountability and change.

Not one or the other.

Both.

Let’s Keep It Real for a Minute

Now, before this turns into one of those “kids these days” conversations, let me be honest:

These issues are not brand new to schools.

And I do not want to be the “back in my day” guy pretending student behavior problems suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Actually, we should talk about "back in my day."

From 6th grade through 11th grade, I was suspended from school at least once almost every year.

Mostly for fighting.

Some of those situations involved me being bullied.

Other times, I simply did not know how to use words, communication, or emotional control the way I should have.

But either way, if someone only looked at my discipline record from the outside, they probably would have said:

“Get this kid out of here.”

But if someone had actually slowed down and talked to me, they would have discovered something important:

I was not fighting because I wanted to fight.

Honestly, I was terrified of it.

I fought because, at the time, I felt like I had limited options.

Why is that context important?

Because when a student feels trapped, overwhelmed, embarrassed, threatened, disconnected, or unable to navigate a situation differently, the consequences of their behavior often seem less consequential in the moment.

(Read that sentence one more time...)

That does not mean there should not be accountability.

There absolutely should be.

But it does mean that if adults only focus on punishment without understanding behavior, then we may remove a student from a classroom temporarily without actually changing what caused the behavior in the first place.

And eventually, those unresolved issues tend to show back up somewhere else.

Sometimes in another classroom.

Sometimes in another school.

And sometimes years later in adulthood.

The Uncomfortable Part of This Conversation

Now let’s talk about the part of this conversation that makes people uncomfortable.

None of this gets fixed without a top-down and bottom-up approach at the same time.

And that is exactly why student behavior conversations become so frustrating.

Because everyone is looking at someone else to solve the problem.

The reality is:

A student often cannot fully change behavior without support from home.

A parent cannot fully address school behavior issues without partnership from teachers and school staff.

A teacher cannot effectively manage serious classroom behavior challenges without support from leadership.

School leadership cannot create long-term culture change without support from the district.

The district cannot prioritize these efforts without support from the School Board and broader community.

And even then, some students still need additional layers of support that schools alone cannot provide.

That may include:

• mentors,

• after-school programs,

• recreation centers,

• counseling,

• therapy,

• medical services,

• behavioral specialists,

• or trusted adults outside the school system.

That is the reality.

And honestly, that is part of the reason responses like:

“Just kick them out.”

or

“Ignore it and hope it improves.”

can become so appealing.

Because those responses are simpler.

The real issue is much harder.

It requires coordination.

It requires consistency.

It requires adults working together even when they disagree politically, emotionally, or philosophically.

And it requires us to stop pretending there is one single policy that magically fixes school behavior overnight.

But despite how complicated this issue is, I still believe there are real opportunities to improve school culture, strengthen accountability, support teachers, and create better outcomes for students.

So let’s talk about what that could actually look like.

So What Does This Actually Look Like?

Now, for this conversation, I could spend time explaining evidence-based approaches like:

• Motivational Interviewing,

• trauma-informed care,

• Therapeutic Crisis Intervention,

• restorative practices,

• and behavioral intervention models used across the country.

And to be clear, those approaches matter.

Because a purely punitive approach often does not eliminate behavior problems.

It simply moves them somewhere else without solving what caused them in the first place.

But I also understand the reality of these conversations.

Some people will immediately respond with:

“We don’t have funding for all of that.”

Or:

“No. If students break the rules, they should just be removed.”

So instead of turning this into an academic debate, I want to keep it practical.

Because over the last decade working with youth, I have seen strategies work consistently, not just in Florida, but across the country.

Not perfectly.

Not overnight.

But consistently enough to know there are approaches that help reduce escalation, improve communication, and create better outcomes for both students and staff.

So let’s walk through a few real-world examples.

Scenario One: Preventing a Fight Before It Happens

One thing I learned while running at-risk youth programs is that fights rarely “come out of nowhere.”

There are usually signs.

The problem is whether adults are trained, supported, and attentive enough to recognize them early.

In our programs, we had youth on-site every day with very different behaviors, personalities, emotional needs, and histories.

We hosted athletic events. Went to community activities. Attended outings across the area.

And staff understood something very clearly:

Under no circumstances were fights supposed to happen on our watch.

Not because we believed youth were perfect.

But because we understood what an altercation could mean:

• for student safety,

• for the environment,

• for community trust,

• and for the program itself.

That meant staff stayed alert.

Not paranoid. Not aggressive. Alert.

We were constantly:

• identifying signs of escalation,

• building strong relationships with youth,

• intervening early,

• and actively managing the environment.

For example, imagine a flag football game during one of our youth events.

At first, things look normal.

But then staff notice:

• a few overly aggressive plays,

• tension building between two specific youth,

• certain looks being exchanged,

• voices getting louder,

• body language changing,

• peers starting to gather around.

At that point, we would intervene early.

Not after punches were thrown.

Before.

Sometimes that meant pulling one or both youth aside to speak privately with a trusted mentor or staff member.

And yes, occasionally I would get pushback from staff or others saying:

“They’re just being competitive.”

Maybe.

But I was never willing to gamble on what an altercation could mean for the event, the youth involved, or everyone else attending.

And honestly, I learned that lesson the hard way years earlier while working in a group home.

I once transported a youth to a community event where I noticed signs of escalation beforehand.

I saw the tension.

I saw the emotional buildup.

But part of me believed:

“He won’t actually take it that far.”

I was wrong.

He got into a fight.

And afterward, there were consequences.

He was removed from the event and lost the opportunity to attend the next outing, which was a water park trip he had really wanted to go to.

That experience taught me something important:

By the time a fight becomes physical, adults have often already missed multiple earlier opportunities to intervene.

That is why I believe schools should focus not only on punishment after fights happen, but also on:

• relationship-building,

• emotional regulation,

• staff training,

• psychological safety,

• early intervention,

• and creating environments where students feel comfortable alerting trusted adults before situations escalate.

Because accountability matters.

But preventing harm before it happens matters too.

Scenario Two: Responding to Ongoing Classroom Disruption

Let’s walk through a real classroom scenario.

A student is constantly disrupting instruction.

Talking during lessons. Making jokes while the teacher is speaking. Distracting classmates. Arguing when redirected.

At this point, many classrooms reach a breaking point quickly because everyone becomes frustrated:

• the teacher,

• the other students,

• administration,

• and eventually parents.

And to be clear, classrooms absolutely need accountability and structure.

Teachers deserve environments where they can teach without constant disruption. And when behavior issues become constant without support, burnout follows quickly.

But effective behavior management usually works best when schools respond comprehensively instead of relying on only one solution.

Because in reality, all of the following pieces are needed together to adequately address these situations long term.

What Is Needed: Early Redirection and Observation

One of the first things effective educators do is identify patterns early before behavior completely takes over the classroom.

A skilled teacher may notice:

• the student escalates during independent work,

• becomes disruptive after peer interactions,

• struggles more in one subject,

• or reacts strongly when corrected publicly.

Instead of immediately escalating the situation in front of peers, the teacher may first try:

• proximity,

• redirection,

• offering a task,

• moving seating,

• brief check-ins,

• or speaking privately after class.

For example:

“Hey, you seem off today. I need you focused, but I also want to check in. What’s going on?”

That does not remove accountability.

The expectation is still clear:

The behavior needs to stop.

But the approach also leaves room for understanding before escalation.

Because students often respond differently when they feel corrected without feeling publicly embarrassed.

What Is Needed: Parent Communication and Support Staff Involvement

If the behavior continues, then stronger collaboration becomes necessary.

This is where schools often need partnership between:

• teachers,

• parents,

• counselors,

• behavior specialists,

• administrators,

• and support staff.

At this stage, the school may:

• contact parents,

• create a behavior plan,

• involve a mentor,

• refer the student to counseling support,

• identify academic struggles,

• or explore whether something outside school is affecting behavior.

And this part matters:

The goal should not simply be:

“How do we punish this student?”

The question should also be:

“Why is this behavior continuing despite correction?”

Because if the student is:

• academically behind,

• emotionally overwhelmed,

• attention-seeking,

• or constantly dysregulated,

then punishment alone may temporarily remove the disruption without changing the underlying pattern.

What Is Needed: Leadership Support and Consistency

This is also the point where strong communication and trust between teachers and school leadership becomes critical.

Because one of the fastest ways to lose classroom control is when staff begin feeling unsupported.

Teachers need to know:

• if they contact parents, leadership will support them,

• if they ask for help, someone will respond,

• and if they remove a student after repeated interventions, administration understands that decision was not made lightly.

In other words, teachers need to feel comfortable saying:

“I need your support with this.”

Or:

“I need to know when I contact this parent, leadership will have my back.”

Or:

“I need you to understand that I already tried multiple interventions, and right now removal from class is the safest and most appropriate option for the learning environment.”

That level of trust matters.

Because if teachers begin feeling like they are managing major behavior challenges alone, frustration grows quickly.

And students notice inconsistency faster than adults realize.

They notice:

• when expectations differ classroom to classroom,

• when consequences are unpredictable,

• or when adults are not aligned.

Strong school culture requires consistency between:

• classrooms,

• leadership,

• support staff,

• and families.

Not perfection.

Consistency.

What Is Needed: Accountability and Consequences

Now let’s be clear.

If the disruption continues after interventions, support, parent involvement, and repeated redirection, then stronger consequences absolutely become necessary.

At some point, schools must protect the learning environment for the rest of the classroom.

That may include:

• office referrals,

• progressive discipline,

• temporary removal,

• behavioral contracts,

• or alternative placement discussions depending on severity and frequency.

Because students deserve classrooms where learning can actually happen.

But effective schools do not stop at punishment alone.

They continue asking:

“What changes this behavior long term?”

Because if behavior never changes, the cycle simply repeats:

• in another classroom,

• another school,

• a workplace,

• or eventually in adult life.

That is why I believe schools have to balance accountability with behavioral change.

Not one or the other.

Both.

Where I Stand

Here is the bottom line.

The approaches and strategies I outlined in this blog will not fix every behavioral issue or prevent every serious incident in schools.

In the end, every student and every adult still has responsibility and agency over their own choices.

You do.

I do.

And so did the version of me in 9th grade who got suspended for fighting.

Accountability matters.

It always will.

But how adults intervene, how schools respond, and what happens afterward matters too.

Because there is no scenario where pretending these issues will simply disappear if we ignore them actually solves anything.

And there is no long-term solution in constantly moving problems somewhere else without addressing what caused them in the first place.

That does not create safer schools.

It usually just relocates the issue temporarily until it shows back up somewhere else:

• another classroom,

• another school,

• another workplace,

• or another part of the community later in life.

And that is why I believe behavior conversations have to be bigger than:

“Punish them.”

or

“Excuse them.”

It has to be both accountability and opportunity for change.

Because at the end of the day, we are constantly sending messages to young people through the environments we create, the expectations we reinforce, and the way adults respond during difficult moments.

And we ultimately get to decide what kind of message we want schools, families, and communities across Pinellas County to send:

• to our students,

• to our teachers,

• to our families,

• and to each other.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of Curtis Campogni, Candidate for Pinellas County School Board, District 3 (At-Large), and do not represent the official position of any organization or governing body.