On Monday, February 9, I received a MEASURE award at the Tennessee School Counselors and Administrators Institute. MEASURE encourages school counselors to do more than say, "I saw 50 students last month." It gives them a framework by which to look for ways they can make positive changes in their school and show it with data.

The work I received my MEASURE recognition for I have entitled "The Phoenix Project," named after the mythological bird that regenerates itself after being destroyed. What you're seeing here at TPT is the spreadsheet I developed to track the number of days students spend in In School Suspension (ISS). To do this our ISS teacher logs the students and their days for me. Then, when a student reaches five days, I move them into the Phoenix column. These students then begin meeting with our Phoenix group to learn about making positive choices. In the spring I bring in guest speakers such as lawyers and local police; people who have seen the results of poor choices.

Over the last three years I have discovered several things. Students who reach three days of ISS don't typically stop there. These repeat offenders miss more than a week of school because they spend it in ISS. Also, those who are in Phoenix see an improvement in their behavior even though school wide behavior digresses. This is how I use the Phoenix spreadsheet. You can use it however you wish. The intervention is yours to choose, I am simply providing the tool with which to MEASURE it.

The Phoenix spreadsheet is complete with comparative graphs and even a section for grades and a control group; two things you definitely want in order to show you're making a difference. (They are not available on the preview.) If you want to make an impact in your school, this is a great place to start.

It's cheap at only $5. Why should you buy it? I bet your county has a program that tracks students, costs thousands of dollars, and probably stays down more than it stays up. This is a spreadsheet with directions and even if you know just a little about Excel, you can learn more as you work with this spreadsheet. Also, just email me if you have questions. I'll be glad to help. Right now it's only set up for three grade levels. I'll be uploading files in the future to handle more grades.

Visit my website at www.insearchformore.com.

The Phoenix Program by Dale Sadler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.Based on a work at www.insearchformore.com.Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.insearchformore.com.