Carroll Cty, MD: School task force to study "perceived" increase in behavior issues in elementary ed

July 16, 2018, Carroll County (MD) Times: Carroll schools forming task force to tackle early elementary behavioral problems http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/education/cc-boe-elementary-behavior-task-force-20180716-story.html# Carroll County Public Schools is forming a task force to study and investigate possible causes of elementary behavioral trends, after anecdotal evidence from educators suggests an uptick in early childhood struggles. Dana Falls, director of CCPS Student Services said the task force has been formed because of discussion over concerns of an at least perceived increase in elementary behavioral issues… …Many people, including school board members, have called for behavioral specialists, but Falls said school system officials don’t yet know exactly what they need. The answer may be more mental health support instead, he said, but CCPS won’t know until the task force’s work is done. “[We will] try to reach conclusions about what do we believe are the root causes based on actual data,” he added. Anecdotally, Falls said, there have been some concerns that suggest there are more overt, more serious behavioral issues occurring in young children in the early elementary school level. This is more than students not following directions or students who are unable to stay in their seats, he said. “[These are] more aggressive behaviors that we really felt we need to not have a knee-jerk reaction in putting supports in place but let’s be strategic about those supports,” he added. …