How BIST Empowers Teachers

When Jennie Alderman became principal at Franklin Smith Elementary School in Blue Springs, the school had issues she needed to address.

Staff at the school felt isolated and many believed they were operating in silos, or as one put it, “we each felt like we were on our own island.” In particular, teachers needed strategies that worked for them when it came to students who were struggling. They didn’t reach out to their fellow teachers to ask for help for fear of being judged, and they lacked the tools to handle the behaviors themselves.

Fortunately, their new principal knew just what to do. Jennie came into the school as a seasoned BIST-trained professional and immediately began implementing its philosophy and strategies.

Principle Jennie Alderman and staff at her school discuss how they successfully implemented BIST.

BIST, or Behavior Intervention Support Team, is a model of trauma-informed care that recognizes problematic behaviors are most often rooted in traumatic experiences. According to BIST, until students feel that they are safe and able to work toward healing from the trauma they have experienced, it is difficult for them to be academically successful.

When BIST is done successfully, the data is clear: both students and staff in BIST-trained schools perform better in metrics related to student behaviors and staff resilience. Check out our BIST website to learn more about BIST’s philosophy.

As Jennie implemented BIST at Franklin Smith and staff embraced it, a huge shift took place. There was less judgement when students struggled in a classroom. As a result of the way the BIST model works, “instead of it being viewed as I can’t handle this kid, it’s viewed as this kid is missing a skill,” said one fifth grade teacher.

Another teacher said, “I had to call a lot for one student to be taken out of the classroom. Before, I felt judged. After BIST was in place, I felt no judgement when the student needed to be removed for processing. No questions were asked, even if the student seemed calm by the time someone came to take them out. That takes a level of trust that wasn’t there before.” She continued, “After BIST, everyone wanted to grow and do better and help kids as a team approach, instead of on an island as a classroom teacher.”

These topics came up at the Spring 2025 BIST Vision Team Conference held at Bernard Campbell Middle School. BIST Vision teams are a group of educators within a school who oversee aspects of the BIST model, set the tone and model BIST for the rest of the school staff, and make sure it’s running smoothly from the top down in their schools.

Hundreds of BIST Vision team educators across Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and North Dakota came together at the conference to discuss the ways BIST helps grow resilience among adult staff at their schools.

Time and time again, presenters and breakout group discussions highlighted the positive shift in work culture after BIST was introduced into their schools.

Teachers and staff from Comanche Middle School engage in a discussion breakout group.

This came as no surprise to BIST Director Marty Huitt, who said, “We want to emphasize BIST isn’t just about taking care of students. It’s about taking care of adults. It’s about creating a culture of care for all students and all adults in the school. It’s not reliance on one person. It’s about growing reliance on each other. It’s about growing resilience.”

The BIST model works best when everyone is bought in. That’s the case for Marsha Hasty, the principal at Woodland Elementary. “We have 100 percent of our teachers using BIST. BIST is about creating a culture of care for all students AND all adults,” she emphasized. “With BIST,” she continued, “It’s not your student – it’s OUR students.”

Marsha Hasty, the principal at Woodland Elementary, shared how BIST created a culture of care at her school.

Teachers from Comanche Middle School agreed: “It doesn’t matter whose student it is or what grade it is, everyone is ready to jump in and help. If someone sees me struggling that day, all I have to do is send a text and say, ‘can you take so and so that day’ and I’m flooded with ‘I can do it.’ The dynamic actually flipped from ‘that behavior is too much’ to ‘I want to work with that kid.’”

Using the BIST model has implications for adult-to-adult situations too. When a student is struggling, the BIST model emphasizes that the student is missing a skill. Teachers and staff at Comanche Middle School noted that after implementing BIST, when a teacher’s students scored lower on a standardized exam than another class, instead of being embarrassed or ashamed, they viewed it as a set of skills that were missing and needed to be addressed by the teacher with lower scores. It was seen as less of a problem and a shameful situation and more of an opportunity for growth. Teachers and staff were able to be more vulnerable and open with one another in a variety of ways thanks to BIST.

The benefits don’t stop there. Once BIST is in place and working, teachers and staff are able to get creative to make the school a more fun place to work. Oak Grove Elementary in Turner, Kansas saw a 60 percent drop in reportable behaviors after implementing BIST. As a result, they were able to start initiatives like a peer-to-peer coaching program and a dojo reward and trophy system that everyone from the principal to the cafeteria staff to the bus drivers participated in.

BIST gives teachers and staff a common language and processes to follow when students struggle. It also gives teachers the tools they need to be vulnerable and accountable with and to one another. Schools that use BIST have happier students and happier staff – and who doesn’t want that?

There are several ways to get started with BIST. If you are interested:

Reach out to us to discuss setting up a BIST consultant for your school.

Check out our training and conference schedule.

Consider investing in our BIST book.