Organizational development and strategic planning for the millennium: A blueprint toward effective school discipline, safety, and crisis prevention

Abstract

As we approach the millennium, there are numerous opportunities to expand the role of the school psychologist toward more desired consultation and prevention activities. To do this, however, school psychologists need to embrace an organizational development and strategic planning perspective, to see themselves as part of the school system and as systems change agents, and to position themselves to be seen by others as experts who understand both the change process and the school situations needing change. Two major issues continue to confront our nation's schools: the ever-increasing numbers of special education students and the need to directly address issues of discipline, behavior management, and safety. This article presents a blueprint from Project ACHIEVE toward effective school discipline, safety, and crisis prevention both (a) to provide an example of how school psychologists can expand their role using organizational and strategic planning principles and activities and (b) to alert school psychologists as to a field-tested process that addresses the behavioral needs of all students and the safety and security needs of all schools. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.