Polly Bath
- Workshops and Consulting
- Managing & Changing Difficult Classroom Behavior That Interrupts Instruction
- Changing a Student’s Difficult Behaviors: Behavior Consultation with Recommendations
- Managing Classroom Behavior for the New Teacher: So You Know How to Teach Kids, But Do You Know How to Manage Their Behaviors?
- How to Process with Upset & Distressed Students: De-escalate, Relate, Evaluate, Teach New Skills, & Reintegrate
- The Great Paraprofessional: Behavior Management and Other Key Skills
- Managing and Changing Lunchroom & Recess Behavior
- Behavior Intervention Plans to Help Students Succeed
- Working with the Parents of Students with Difficult Behaviors
- Supporting Dr. Mike Mezzocchi Student Support Centers, Core Teams, and Behavior Plans
- “What do I do when a student…?” Troubleshooting today’s most common problematic classroom behaviors
- Designing a Behavior Management and Intervention Plan for Any Student in Your Classroom
- Training: A Clear and Concise FBA©
- Summer Institutes
- Keynotes
- Articles and Videos
- [Video] Do you want a behavior plan to work? Stick to it!
- [Video] Behavior: how to make sure you understand
- [Video] 16 yo ADHD equals 11 yo developmentally
- [Video] One-to-one paras are not personal assistants
- [Blog] Why is “never assume” my first rule of behavior management?
- [Blog] Dahlia’s Out-of-Control School Behavior: Getting a Reluctant Mom Involved
- [Blog] The Boy Who Threw a Book at My Head
- [Blog] Getting Billy to Yes from No, No, NO!
- [Blog] Holding the Door: A High School Boy Learns the Hard Way
- [Blog] Earning the trust of a rough and scary high schooler.
- [Blog] Don’t Take the Bait*
- [Blog] How you can avoid power struggles with your students
- [Blog] How I lost control of my class by asking the wrong question.
- [Blog] Watching an emotional disability in action
- [Video] Meet Polly Bath – Behavior Consultant and Speaker
- [Video] How to stay in control with a young defiant student
- [Video] Want to change difficult behavior? Be consistent and predictable.
- [Video] Students from tough homes can behave in your class
- [Video] The kid who pushes you away
- [Video] When It Seems Like Every Behavior is Disrespectful…
- [Video] Teacher presence in the hallway changes behavior and school climate.
- [Video] A Quick Little Way to Intercept a Behavior Escalation
- [Video] Use objective words, not subjective, to change behavior
- [Video] What does consistent behavior management look like?
- [Video] Behavior: define responsibility in kid-speak
- [Video] Does teaching little kids on the carpet invite behavior problems?
- [Video] How an Automatic Thought can totally rule your brain
- [Video] What’s behind an angry student’s behavior in your classroom?
- [Video] Why you should get down there on the playground
- [Video] Do you require students to make eye contact?
- [Video] Don’t forget, behavior can erupt because of a cognitive disability
- [Video] When a student tries to bait me…
- [Video] Do you know why the school bus driver is such an important person?
- [Video] What is the REAL problem when a student violates the dress code?
- [Video] Why I don’t like to send kids out of my class.
- [Video] Why I don’t call a behavior “inappropriate” or “unacceptable”
- [Video] Do I assume kids DO or DON’T have behavior skills?
- [Video] Should we pay them to behave?
- [Video] Do you use Silent Lunch, or do you teach lunchtime skills?
- [Video] Is “refusal” the most common behavior in your class?
- [Video] Do you use “the wall” to manage recess behavior?
- [Video] How do I choose which behavior to target first?
- [Video] Another reason I avoid sending kids to the office.
- [Video] Why I never tell a student to “act your age.”
- [Video] Do you let a late student interrupt your momentum?
- [Video] Get the desks right or lose the class
- [Video] Does giving attention to an attention-seeker work?
- [Video] Teaching tricks I learned from winning coaches
- [Video] Why I never manage behavior by saying, “I’m going to count to three…”
- [Video] What do you do when a student always blames another student?
- [Video] How do I manage my class when a student acts out?
- [Video] How I helped one student solve his own problem
- [Video] Starting a power struggle is a dead end
- [Video] Do you try to reason with a student who’s escalated?
- [Video] Unrealistic behavior goals will crash and burn
- [Video] Why we don’t want to ban recess games
- [Video] Don’t invite behaviors – identify needed social skills
- [Video] Don’t wait until a kid kicks the desk over
- [Video] Miss, he just gave you the finger!
- [Video] Oops. I forgot my homework. Again.
- [Video] Asking a question is a complex social skill
- [Video] If you give an accommodation, teach ’em how to use it
- [Video] Understand the parents’ heartache or lose the battle.
- [Video] The fastest way to wreck a perfectly good behavior plan
- [Video] Let’s describe good behavior choices as well as poor ones
- [Video] Reduce behaviors by improving curriculum delivery
- [Video] How “thank you” can trigger a power struggle
- [Video] Classroom management – the power of observation
- [Video] Classroom management – keep a little behavior from becoming a big one
- [Video] Develop a menu of consequences for your own classroom
- [Video] Classroom management – if behaviors aren’t getting better, make a change
- [Video] Classroom management – are you sure preferential seating is always in the front?
- [Video] Classroom management – why a boy kept throwing his book at me
- [Video] School climate: look up and say hello in the hall
- [Video] Classroom management: how I respond to an attention seeker
- [Video] Classroom management: recognize behaviors as symptoms
- [Video] School transition: why I start kids WAY early
- [Video] The best way to target a behavior you want to change
- [Video] Should we be teaching kids everyone is a winner?
- [Video] Classroom management: when a kid’s home life is awful
- [Video] Parent-teacher conference: connecting with a reluctant parent
- [Video] Emotional disturbance in the classroom: don’t give up on Bobby
- [Video] Get away from me, I’ll do it myself.
- [Video] Does a kid with emotional disability have control over behavior?
- [Video] Solving the locker-during-class problem
- [Video] Behavior: blurting out answers
- [Video] Behavior: clowning behind your back
- [Video] Avoid behaviors: move desks to fit tasks
- [Video] How to meet oppositional defiance with a consistent limit…
- [Video] Behaviors: too many bathroom breaks?
- [Video] Behavior & preferential seating: think outside the box
- [Video] How to avoid behaviors when a kid needs tutoring
- [Video] Avoid behaviors: a tip for transitioning
- [Video] Classroom behavior: how ‘helping’ can provoke behaviors
- [Video] School behavior: reforming your discipline code
- [Video] One kid’s description of curriculum delivery that wasn’t working.
- [Video] Behavior management: manage vs. change
- [Video] Does taking away recess work?
- [Video] What is Co-Teaching when you boil it down?
- [Video] We learn coping skills in a diverse classroom
- [Video] Lying in school—one way to handle it
- [Video] How to handle an angry student.
- [Video] Working with mean girls and their targets
- [Video] What does a great Behavior Support Team do?
- [Video] Motivating Timmy who never does ANYTHING in school
- [Video] Managing the behavior of the kid who yells out
- [Video] How enforcing school rules makes a BIG difference
- [Video] Behavior: is my way always the right way?
- [Video] Coaching an ADHD kid in math
- [Video] Consequences should relate to the behavior
- [Video] Do you break building rules in your classroom?
- [Video] How to stop a kid from arguing with you
- [Video] Behavior: is it inappropriate, unacceptable, or insubordinate?
- [Video] Behavior: handling impulsivity
- [Video] Behavior: don’t teach kids everyone wins
- [Video] Behavior: do you REQUIRE eye contact?
- [Video] Behavior: don’t let blaming work
- [Video] How to reduce school hallway behavior
- [Video] Documenting behavior? Stick to the facts.
- [Video] Behavior: get in the middle of recess
- [Video] 2 Ways to focus with ADHD
- [Video] Behavior: how giving a LITTLE control can make a BIG difference.
- [Video] Classroom management: teach kids how to wait
- [Video] Classroom management: three rules that are a must!
- [Video] How to avoid power struggles with non-directive cues
- [Video] Behavior: reacting to eye-rolling
- [Video] Classroom management: talking in class
- [Video] Using unconditional attention to teach social/emotional skills
- [Video] Behavior: help stabilize a child by setting limits
- [Video] Classroom behavior: our biggest ADHD mistake
- [Video] What should we do when there is a physical altercation between students?
- [Video] Help kids with short-term memory issues not to fall behind
- [Video] Behavior management: BUILD a child’s confidence
- [Video] De-escalating behavior: LISTEN
- [Video] Behavior: don’t over-reward
- [Video] Classroom management: deal with distractions to help kids focus
- [Video] Use in-school suspension to teach skills
- [Video] Behavior management: consistency with building rules
- [Video] Behavior management: consequences teach skills
- [Video] Behavior management: build rapport with validation
- [Video] Social skills: teach the meaning behind an apology
- [Video] Recess behavior: the wall doesn’t teach anything
- [Video] Behavior: teach skills so they don’t seek avoidance
- [Video] Behavior: when to say yes, when to say no
- [Video] Behavior management: hardwired behaviors
- [Video] Behavior: who are authority figures?
- [Video] Classroom behavior: hand out your own consequences
- [Video] Advice for parents in teacher meeting
- [Video] Behavior: teach kids to control their responses
- [Video] Behavior: don’t exit a kid if you can teach around them
- [Video] Social skills: ‘scuse me
- [Video] When do rewards work?
- [Video] How to measure a child’s behavior
- [Video] State behavior expectations in the positive
- [Video] Do you teach your school mission statement?
- [Video] Behavior: my cell phone rule in class
- [Video] Instead of canceling school events for behavior…
- [Video] Video: do not argue with students
- [Video] Behavior: when they comply AND sigh
- [Video] Are we teaching our school’s values to students?
- [Video] Managing avoidance behavior–bathroom passes
- [Video] Social skills: compliments
- [Video] Don’t over protect from failing
- [Video] The point of detention? To teach skills
- [Video] Kids with one-to-one paras still need to be taught skills
- [Video] Teaching new skills to an upset student
- [Video] Handling work avoidance in class
- [Video] Should parents punish kids for in-school behavior?
- [Video] Kids can behave in school, regardless of home
- [Video] Let’s teach delayed gratification
- [Video] Don’t get tired of enforcing the rules
- [Video] Behavior: over-rewarding will backfire
- [Video] Behavior: disabilities impact development
- [Video] Behavior: the forbidden question
- [Video] A child’s “right” doesn’t make his response correct
- [Video] Behavior: what’s going on back there?
- [Video] Reward programs–don’t use forever
- [Video] Use In-School Suspension as a Tier 2 intervention
- [Video] Dress code violations are refusal
- [Video] I build confidence
- [Video] Tier 1 social coaching after an upsetting recess
- [Video] Don’t ban recess games–teach skills
- [Video] Teach skills in detention
- [Video] What social skills does a kid need for today’s lesson?
- [Video] Behavior: don’t ask, redirect
- [Video] Keep accommodation within school rules
- [Video] Behavior: school vs. home
- [Video] Hung up on criss-cross applesauce?
- [Video] It is okay to lose
- [Video] Behavior: kid sleeping in class?
- [Video] Behavior: are you over-accommodating?
- [Video] Behavior: autism & social skills
- [Video] Punishment: No recess? Detention?
- [Video] Behavior: memory issues
- [Video] Behavior: save time by teaching skills!
- [Video] Behavior: not a language-based learner?
- [Video] Behavior: was I talking to you?
- [Video] Behavior: oppositional defiant disorder
- [Video] Behavior: unconditional attention
- [Video] Behavior: powerful time outs
- [Video] Behavior: teach organization!
- [Video] Behavior: authority issues
- [Video] Behavior: standing/walking in a line
- [Video] Behavior: can you name the 4 causes of anger?
- [Video] Do you improve behavior by teaching delayed gratification?
- [Video] Behavior: how kids are sitting
- [Video] Behavior: DON’T react to eye rolls and muttering!
- [Video] Behavior: do you teach kids HOW to self-regulate?
- [Video] Behavior: low SEL equals poor academic rigor
- [Video] Behavior: management PLUS intervention equals change
- [Video] Does home behavior DICTATE school behavior?
- [Video] Behavior: what is the impact of not belonging?
- [Video] Behavior: teach respect for authority
- [Video] Behavior: are you rewarding tantrums?
- [Video] Behavior: don’t tax attention spans
- [Video] Behavior: avoid winter apparel meltdowns in little kids
- [Video] Do you use questions to manage behavior?
- [Video] Do you make criss-cross applesauce a behavior issue?
- [Video] Behavior: handling distractions!
- [Video] Behavior: why is teaching ‘everybody is a winner’ a problem?
- [Video] Behavior: stop, think, process!
- [Video] Behavior: do you use rewards poorly?
- [Video] Behavior: can I sit with my friends?
- [Video] Behavior expectations: the power of repeating
- [Video] Behavior: are you modeling what you want?
- [Video] Behavior: why I hate to send kids out of class
- [Video] Behavior: 2 strategies for tattling
- [Video] Behavior: kindergarten problem-solving story
- [Video] Behavior: silence or indoor voice?
- [Video] Behavior: do you send kids to the wall at recess?
- [Video] Behavior: consequence of over-rewarding
- [Video] The 4th rule in my classroom: NO
- [Video] Behavior: are you reading non-verbal cues?
- [Video] Teach kids how to de-escalate themselves!
- [Video] Consequences: 4-part rubric for an apology letter
- [Video] Behavior: are your expectations too advanced?
- [Video] Behavior: do you give TOO many breaks?
- [Video] Behavior: build conversation skills
- [Video] Behavior: the kid who keeps running out of class
- [Video] Behavior: showing respect for authority
- [Video] Behavior prevention: teach how to ask questions
- [Video] Behavior: Do NOT use the bench!
- [Video] Angry Kids Make us Angry
- [Video] Behavior: make detention work!
- [Video] Behavior: playground consequences and interventions
- [Video] Behavior: make In-School Suspension WORK!
- [Video] Behavior: teach ’em GROUP skills
- [Video] Behavior: re-entry after School Suspension
- [Video] Classroom management: I establish trust before rigor!
- [Video] Behavior: Don’t argue with a student!
- [Video] Behavior: put the brakes on your reaction
- [Video] Behavior: Are Kids Refusing?
- [Video] Behavior: Maximize the Relationship
- [Video] Behavior: Breaking Classroom Rules?
- [Video] Behavior: Consequences That Make Sense
- [Video] Self-Regulating: Teach Kids How!
- [Video] Bus Drivers: Welcome Each Kid!
- [Video] Losing Your Cool?
- [Video] Behavior: Got a Frequent Flyer?
- [Video] What Does Respect Look Like?
- [Video] Behavior: Chatty Class?
- [Video] Negotiate? Maybe.
- [Video] Improve Behavior With Classroom Setup
- [Video] A Five-Year Old Was Being Teased…
- [Video] Don’t Ignore. Control.
- [Video] Rewards Can Backfire!
- [Video] Confront? Redirect?
- [Video] Behavior: Disruption and Refusal
- [Video] The F-Word in School?
- [Video] Got a Controlling Student?
- [Video] Little Behavior? What I Do.
- [Video] TELL Them WHAT To Do.
- [Video] Limits HELP Chaotic Kids
- [Video] Suspension Repeaters?
- [Video] Don’t Ban! Teach Skills!
- [Video] Your Kid Punched Someone!
- [Video] Why Detentions Don’t Work But Could
- [Video] Gangs & Drug Dealers
- [Video] Don’t Respond Till You are CALM.
- [Video] I HATE Sending Kids to the Office!
- [Video] Teach Kids How to Handle Anger and Frustration
- [Video] Cutting in Line at Recess?
- [Video] Consequence: Saying Sorry
- [Video] Consistent Rules Improve Behaviors
- [Video] Behavior and Basic Tier 1
- [Video] The Mistake We Make in Teaching Respect to Abused and Neglected Children.
- [Video] Behavior: Distractions in Desk?
Polly Bath is a widely recognized behavior expert in New England schools and beyond. She consults to and trains administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals on how to manage and change difficult school behavior. She has gained her reputation most especially by teaching educators how to change the difficult behaviors that have been the most resistant to change.
Her strategies are effective in the inclusive general education classroom as well as in special education settings. Her successful techniques come from her extensive experiences as a teacher of students with emotional and behavioral disorders, plus her extended work as the New England consulting associate of the late behavior legend Dr. Mike Mezzocchi.
Whether you are looking to change the behavior of a child, a classroom, or a school, Polly can help. She is known for her practical and inspiring work and her trademark humor.