Case
Student is a runner!

We have a third grade student who is a runner! Last week in transitioning to another class, I found him outside climbing the fence. He has been at our school for the last three years, and somehow, teachers have been able to manage. This year his teacher is overwhelmed and is not willing to have the student in his class. The team met and decided to have the student rotate every 30 minutes to a new teacher where he will be distracted until they are able to get this student into a self-contained ESE school. I do not agree with this as I was one of the teachers he worked with in his rotation. Working one on one, this student is great. He is smart, he loves to read, and he has good conversation skills. After more students joined our group, I noticed he started to be disruptive and stomp his feet.

Do you have any suggestions on how we can work with this child without disrupting the entire class in doing so?

Solution #1
I would think that by having the student rotate around to different classes everyday would become very distracting for the classes that he was coming into. Since the student works well on a one-on-one situation, I would suggest that student be paired up with a partner throughout the day. If he had a partner then the two of them could work together on assignments, since he becomes disruptive if he works with a larger group. I would also suggest allowing this student to sit on a yoga ball instead of a traditional chair so the student can wiggle around. I would also try to incorporate some activities where it is okay for the students to be up and walking around.

Great solution.

Giving him a partner is a great idea.

Solution #2
This student needs to be engaged in all activities as well as during the transitions so as not to get the compulsion to run. He could be the child that is first in line to lead the other students to their next class as the teacher walks beside him. He should have his desk close to the teacher so she can keep an eye on him and head off a running incident before it occurs. You should have this child asset by professionals and maybe get an aid in the class to monitor the child.
Solution #3
I think rotating the student would be beneficial if it was a temporary solution. If every teacher within the team tried different strategies with the student while he was in their classroom then at the end of the week the teachers could collaborate to see which strategy was the most effective for the student. I would suggest supplying the teacher with an aide as much as possible during the day because this student needs attention. I do think there should be punishment for his "running" issue but the punishment needs to be something that he holds valuable because you don't want the punishment to become a reward. I would talk with the student while he is calm and discuss rewards for his good behavior, if he doesn't run he earns a star and 5 stars means something out of the treasure box and then set the goals higher once he can earn 5 stars. I would change my groups from 3-4 to 2-3 so the student can begin to build positive relationships with his classmates and they will start to feel the same way.
Solution #4
I would want to do/ see a behavior analysis be done so we can see what is triggering the behavior. It sounds like he likes the attention but acts out once more people are getting the attention. It will be interesting to see what would trigger the behavior and to see if we can get the amount of times decreased for when he runs. It is so important to have the student in class and not have the student suffer because the teacher does not want to put up with it. The teacher should seek advice from other teachers and professionals as well. The student needs consistency.
Solution #5
This student seems to have behavior issues. The sociologist and the counselor need to be very involved to figure out what motivates this student to run. There needs to be clear consequences for his behavior and when this happens he is to lose privileges. Instead of placing him into a self-contained room they should try to get him an aid to be with him to prevent his behavior.

Thank you.

Solution #6
First off, the student should be evaluated to see exactly what it is that he is running from. Is it the work in the classroom, the students, the teacher, or something else. Obviously he is unhappy about his current situation and the first step in solving the problem is figuring out what is making him so unhappy. I do not think he would benefit from moving around to a lot of classrooms throughout the day. I would have him with as few teachers as possible and have a clear reward and consequences system set up. He should also have constant breaks from instruction where he can get up and walk around the class or run a lap around the gym or P.E. field if he needs to release some energy. It also sounds like he works better in small groups, so whenever it is possible for him to work with a partner or a small group, the teacher should facilitate this for him.
Solution #7
The student doesn't necessarily need to be put in an ESE school but should probably be put in an ESE class. It seems as if he gets annoyed when there are too many people involved in lessons so if he was put into an ESE class where there are only about ten students and usually at least two teachers, then he will get the one on one experience he needs and will be less likely to run.
Solution #8
This is putting a great deal of pressure on the teachers who have this student in the rotation. Since the student works so well on a one-to-one basis, why not allow him to complete his work with an aide? There is clearly an issue here that needs to be figured out.
Solution #9
This student should meet with a counselor or a person for his behavior. Since he is a good student other than being a runner, every time he acts good he should be rewarded but when he wants to act out he should face the consequences.
Solution #10
First off i would figure out why the student runs. Maybe he has a problem with the teacher or visa versa. I don't think the constant rotation doe the student any good. I would see if the student would do better in one of the other teacher's classes. Finally, it seems he does better in a smaller classroom when there is more one-on-one time available. I would see if it is possible to get him into a smaller classroom.
Solution #11
I would have this student work in my classroom all day at his own table in the back of the room. I would give him the same assignment and expect him to listen to instruction. I would even write out instruction since he like to read. I would treat him like I was homeschooling him, and be sure to check on him every 15 minutes.

That is a great idea and a great way to monitor their work and the quality of the work they are putting in. Some students do enough to get by and others go above and beyond.

Solution #12
If the school is close to a main road, I would recommend seriously stopping this students behavior. If your school has a resource officer, bring them in a do a lesson on the dangers of traffic. This should stop the students behavior.