Sweetwater Union High School District

Behavior Support Team Professional Development

Overview

• Scheduling: Available on-demand by request (Date & Location TBD).

• Target Audience: Educators, paraprofessionals, and support staff seeking proactive techniques to manage classroom behaviors.

• Description: Effective behavioral support requires understanding the predictable stages of behavioral escalation and responding with targeted interventions at each phase. This practical session walks educators through the seven distinct phases of the behavior escalation cycle—from Calm to Recovery—and equips staff with actionable adult practices to prevent, manage, and de-escalate challenging behaviors in real time.

Key Learning Outcomes

• Recognize the unique behavioral cues and characteristics across all 7 phases of escalation.

• Apply proactive strategies like precorrection, trigger reduction, and proximity control early on.

• Use non-confrontational adult responses during high-intensity moments to avoid power struggles.

• Implement effective post-crisis debriefing and relationship restoration techniques.

Contact Information

• To Request/Schedule: Contact your district school psychologist or the BeST team to set up a session date and location.

Want resources to train your own staff? Access our slide deck here.