education

The Behavior Specialist: A Shit Job in Public Schools

I desperately wanted to work with people who have the same training that I have because I desire to grow and excel in the field.

Aphids suck the life out of Hibiscus causing the flower buds to remain closed, drop, and die

When I interviewed for the position of Behavior Specialist back in August 2024, I was excited to return to Hillsborough County Public Schools to see if any progress had been made in the area of behavior. I worked in the District three years ago in the same role, sort of. And as far as the area of "behavior" was concerned, the District was in chaos at that time--which is what happens in every school district where there is a "focus on academics". So, I left [and made almost $20K more in another school district], hoping that Hillsborough--where my heart is--would get its shit together. (Seriously, whose idea was it to get rid of all the Behavior Specialist positions some years ago?)

In my grand delusions, my return to Hillsborough County Public Schools meant I would be again working with a School Psychologist in the District who was also a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst). She had been the District leader over my previous position as "sort of Behavior Specialist". I desperately wanted (and want) to work with people who have the same training that I have because I desire to grow and excel in the field. However, after I got hired, it did not take long for me to discover that Miss School Psychologist BCBA had left the District for greener pastures. It made sense. She was intelligent and kind...and beautiful. And I was secretly hoping that she would leave. But I was not anticipating standing alone, yet again.

A Behavior Specialist is a "specialist" in the area of behavior which, in a school district, means student behavior. A Behavior Specialist is expected to change students' behaviors. What this looks likes and how a Behavior Specialist accomplishes this depends on

THE ADMINISTRATORS AT THE SCHOOL.

And the Administrators at the school set the

CLIMATE AND CULTURE

for what student behavior change looks like and how a Behavior Specialist can accomplish that change. The main problem is that if a Behavior Specialist is trained in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA; and probably any field in psychology), a Behavior Specialist knows that he/she must change the

ENVIRONMENT

which facilitates the observed functional behaviors of the students. And there are

MANY VARIABLES

in the school environment--the most important being...the school leader:

THE PRINCIPAL.