Helping Educators Transform Behavior in Hortonville Area School District

At Hortonville Area School District in Wisconsin, Director of Pupil Services Lori Smits saw a recurring pattern among middle school staff. Disruptive student behavior was often met with traditional punishments, but those strategies weren’t solving the problem. 

“Our middle school teams were still holding on to the belief that if we just hand out more detentions, we’ll get better behavior,” Smits said. “But it wasn’t working.  

That realization led Hortonville to discover Reframing Behavior^TM, a schoolwide training program developed by CPI that helps educators understand how trauma and stress affect student behavior through a lens of modern neuroscience. 

“CPI’s neuroscience research really aligned with what we believe leads to lasting change,” Smits said.  

“We needed to help our educators understand the why behind behavior and how to help students improve.” 

She also liked that the training fit within their existing school structures, and the delivery was customizable so that they could tailor it for their educators. 

Flexible Rollout Championed by Educators 

Hortonville’s professional development time is limited. So, rather than plan a one-time workshop, Smits embedded the Reframing Behavior content into the district’s annual educator book study program. 

Middle school staff were divided into small discussion groups of 8–10 people. Each group worked through six self-paced “mini-units” that combined CPI’s video content with reflection prompts. Then, during scheduled sessions, educators came together to discuss their takeaways. 

“We didn’t want a top-down lecture model,” Smits explained. “Instead of a sage on a stage, we created space for staff to reflect, learn from each other, and apply the material in real time.” 

To increase engagement and ownership, group facilitators were intentionally selected.  

Smits said, “We wanted to show that you didn’t need to be an expert to solve behavioral problems. So, we asked teachers who were already practicing this work in their classrooms to lead the groups.” 

As the six-unit series wrapped up, Hortonville surveyed educators who had completed the training.  

Smits said the open-ended responses were telling. When asked how their students had benefited from the training, educators shared examples of improved behavior, calmer classrooms, and stronger student-teacher relationships. Even staff who didn’t feel the content was entirely new acknowledged its positive impact. 

“I felt validated by the survey results. The training accomplished what we set out to do,” she said. “Seeing actual benefits. That’s what matters most.”  

Next Steps: Keep the Practice Growing 

Smits is now advocating for bringing Reframing Behavior to Hortonville’s high school staff and building deeper, long-term habits at the middle school level. One of the tools she’s most excited about is CPI’s Habit Development Activities, which help teams reinforce strategies through real-world application. 

“The short activities let teams focus on a single concept, practice it for a few weeks, and then reflect together,” she explained. “I’d really love to see our middle school principals incorporate those into their professional learning next year.”  

She’s also coordinating with CPI’s training team to provide her principals with additional support in using the activities effectively and tailoring them to their school’s needs. 

Creating a Fundamental Culture Shift  

For Smits, the biggest win so far isn’t just the content, it’s the shift in mindset. 

“We can put structures in place, but if staff still believe punishment is the only way to manage behavior, we’re not going to get very far,” she said.  

“Reframing Behavior helps our educators see the science. It shows them why students act the way they do and gives them tools to respond in ways that actually help.”