Lutheran Family Services of Virginia

FALL 2015

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Teacher Leanne Decker & students

Photo by Dan Montgomery

Today is a typical school day, and the six rising first-

Positive Behavior System (SWPBS) that the LFSVA Minnick

and second-graders in Leanne Deckers Minnick School

Schools implemented last year.

summer session class are doing what kids do during

recessplaying at warp speed.
They collect playground artifacts, shoot baskets, play tag
and pet imaginary dogs. There are a lot of good jobs,
a lot of I love those manners or Thank you for using
your words from Ms. Decker and her two assistants, Tony
Hostetler and Sean Powers.
So far not very different from many school or family
practices. But something is different: during recess Decker
is busy filling out communication sheets that briefly
describe each childs behavior in 15-minute increments. At
the end of the day, the sheets go home with the child, along
with any concerns noted by Decker.

Looking at this data over weeks and months helps us see

You want to
teach children
to make good
choices; that
is where the
art is.
Brenda Showalter,
Harrisonburg
Minnick Principal

what days were good and where

the problems are so that we can
help head them off, said Decker.
To help her students stay on track,
Deckers classroom has a picture
schedule and a red countdown
clock to help students build time
awareness and transition to the
next activity. There are lots of
snacks available and the dispensing
of tickets, lots of tickets.

Tickets are a big part of the school-wide behavior

It is this continuous information-gathering and recording

system, which emphasizes incentives and other positive

that is the foundation of the successful School-Wide

reinforcement from all of the adults in a childs environment.

cantinued inside...

Can a new approach... continued

Anyone in the school who sees a student showing good
behavior can hand out tickets that are redeemable in
the school store. With SWPBS everyone is focused on
reinforcing good behavior, said Brenda Showalter,
Harrisonburg Minnick Principal.
Teaching is the difference between SWPBS and
typical discipline. Often students are disciplined after
the behavior occurs, and there is not a lot of attention
given to making sure the student understands the
better behavior, said Showalter. With this system
you teach the replacement behavior and then work
with students to help them use the new behaviors
more and the inappropriate ones less.
Now it is after lunch and Chris has hit the wall. For
most of the day this tall, quick-to-smile rising firstgrader has happily transitioned from subject to subject,
from group to individual activitieseven leading his
classmates in from the playground.
He doesnt want to do math and is yelling I wanna
play over and over.
Hostetler and Powers come immediately to his side.
One holds up a large screen to shield him from the
overwhelming sensory input that has most likely
triggered his meltdown, and the other hustles him out
of the classroom.
And all the while, the rest of the students ignore him.
Completely. And for doing so, they receive a ticket.
The classroom assistants offer Chris choices: Do you want
a break? Do you want to continue working? Do
you want to sit in the bean bag chair? When he
makes the better choice, he gets a ticket.
The system is going well and the staff is seeing
improvement in behavior and learning what
works and what doesnt. No system works
for all children, said Showalter. Modifying
behavior is a dance. You look to de-escalate,

Everyone is invested
in helping Chris learn
With the entire Minnick School invested in his
success, Chris, the young fellow in the story, has
made huge strides in classroom behavior. And
that means he can focus better on learning.
At the end of the summer, Minnick School
Principal Brenda Showalter sat down with the
team working with Chris to look at his behavior
data from the previous 12 months, mostly to make
sure that he would continue to get the support he
needed in the new school year.
What she saw was amazing progress. His
aggression graph was like a ski slope, said
Showalter.
Even with a month between the summer session
and the start of school in August, Showalter said
that Chriss transition has been phenomenal
and his progress steady.
Now Chris remains in the classroom; last spring,
he was running out multiple times a day. Now
outbursts are the exception, not the rule. Now
he is able to learn and practice better ways to
interact with his peers.
Its not just handing out tickets for incentives or
collecting data, she said, it is looking at patterns
and seeing what individual students need. In
Chriss case, it is down time. He likes to retreat to
a little spot in the school and be by himself.
The key is that Chris has learned that he needs
to earn his time alone, said Showalter.
Its likely that Chris will be able to return to
his home school.
Showalter and her
team will work with
teachers and staff
there to make sure
that he has some
of the supports that
have helped him
succeed so well at
the Minnick School.
For now, his Minnick village will
continue to help
him learn the important lessons of
schooland life.

share the power, and offer reasonable options.

You want to teach children to make good choices;
that is where the art is. Carole Todd

LFSVA has Minnick Schools in Roanoke,

Harrisonburg, Wytheviille and Wise with a new

campus opening in Bristol at the end of the year!
Would you like more information about our Minnick
Schools? Visit lfsva.org or call 1.800.359.3834.

Chris
gomery
Photo by Dan Mont

Carole Todd

Part of the best team

ever: A new family
Nick grips the bark of a backyard tree

A pivotal moment came one

and scrambles up to a perch among its

Sunday morning before church.

broad leaves. Its a pretty good spot

They were watching NBC4-TV

for a photo with his parents. Nick was

Washingtons weekly program,

adopted by Kelly and Mary Clanahan

Wednesdays Child, which

last month, so he is, after all, the

profiles area children in need of

newest branch on the family tree.

families. They saw a segment

The Clanahans had prior experience

blending families. Nick, 16, has a

about a girl who said, I want a

place to call home.

The Clanahan family

Photo by Dan Montgomery

brother and sister from his fathers

Kelly

previous marriage and two brothers

nothing came of that inquiry,

from his mothers.

the Clanahans began checking the

Knox, treatment foster care manager in

programs web site each week and

LFSVAs Winchester office. They work

praying

another

well with Nick in particular: They are

child. When they saw Nicks bio, in

able to have discussions with him, versus

late 2013, it felt right, and they called.

getting into a power struggle. They are a

Lutheran Family Services called back

great family to work with.

In addition, Kelly and Mary are high

school track and cross-country coaches
of the sort who treat their teams like
family. They have lent a sympathetic
ear to many a teenager with a problem
to share and quietly helped athletes
with food, shoes, and clothes.
So while the Clanahans had enjoyed the
quiet after their youngest moved out, they
still had time, energy and love to share.

Just dont quit. Whatever

happens, dont ever quit.
Nick Clanahan

called,

about

and

though

parenting

within 30 minutes, and the ball

started rolling, Mary said.

Nick shares his parents philosophy

about

celebrating

the

good

and

You take that leap of faith, Mary

accepting the bad. That approach fits

said. To do that, you take in the

perfectly with his favorite sports (he

whole scope, you accept what God has

is serious about basketball and long-

blessed you with.

distance runningand yes, his parents

There were signs this was going to

work. Marys eldest son and Nick look
like, well, brothers; after meeting the
Clanahans, Nick asked his caseworker

are his coaches at Stonewall Jackson

High in Quicksburg), but it proved
especially valuable during his years
without a permanent family.

when he could see them again; his first

Nicks advice for teenagers in foster care:

full weekend with the Clanahans was

Just dont quit. Whatever happens,

on Mothers Day weekend; he moved

dont ever quit. You dont know how your

in with them on Fathers Day.

But there was more here than just
the stars aligning.
The Clanahans are very patient,
very understanding, said Lauren

storys going to go, so you have to make

the best of it at every turn. You have to
keep on trucking, but also step back
every once in a while and take in what
youre doing.
Dan Montgomery

Are you thinking about foster care or adoption? Or do you know someone who

might be considering these life-affirming options? Call 1.800.359.3834 for more

information or visit our web site at lfsva.org. We walk with you every step of the way.

2609 McVitty Road, Roanoke, VA 24018

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ymissionmoments
After the adoption.

When adoptive families run into

difficulties, they need knowledgeable professionals who can

help. Lutheran Family Services is offering outpatient mental
health services in Southwestern Virginia and Tidewater to help
adoptive families cope with the trauma and loss that can be
part of adoption. This service is available through a grant from
the Virginia Department of Social Services and the Center for
Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.). LFSVA also offers
W.I.S.E. UP, developed by C.A.S.E. to help children, teens and
their parents cope with questions about adoption. For more
information, call Leslie Wright, a licensed, adoption-competent
counselor, at 804.288.0122, ext. 6604, or email lwright@lfsva.org.

Making your planned gift is easy. Your annual gifts are very

Wish list
We are humbled and grateful for your gifts,
many of which have come by way of Amazon.
There are two great ways to support LFSVA
through Amazon:
Go to AmazonSmile and designate us as
your favorite charitable organization. When
you shop at smile.amazon.com, Amazon
will donate a portion of the purchase
price to LFSVA at no cost to you.
Take a look at our wish list on Amazon where
you will find books, PE equipment and other
items to buy for the individuals we serve.

important to the nearly 730 individuals and children touched by

LFSVA each day, and they are very much appreciated! Estate gifts
have an even greater impact because they help ensure the future
of these services at LFSVA. Making a planned gift can be as easy

For more information, please contact

Leah Hatcher at lhatcher@lfsva.org or call
1.800.359.3834. Get your smile on!

as adding a few simple sentences to your will or designating a

beneficiary to your life insurance or annuities. If you would like
more information on making an estate gift, please contact Ellen
Bushman; ebushman@lfsva.org or call 757.722.4707, ext. 1302.

Our MissionWorks is published by LFSVA. Editor: Carole Todd,

ctodd@Lfsva.org. Staff writer & photographer: Dan Montgomery,
dmontgomery@lfsva.org. Learn more at lfsva.org!