The On Campus Intervention (OCI) Center, is located in room C-210. Two student welfare and attendance specialists provide intervention counseling, conflict mediation, and referrals to restorative justice practices, according to the Berkeley High School website. Students are typically referred to OCI by BHS staff due to disruptive behavior during class, or through problems related to attendance. Students also may appear through walk-ins. Despite the resources offered by OCI, it appears to be continually underutilized by teachers at BHS. Teachers should take advantage of OCI and use it before it becomes a last resort.
“Our job is to get to the root problem and see what's the next step,” Tanzia Mucker, an OCI attendance specialist, said. OCI has multiple levels of disciplinary measures which are used based on the amounts of referrals a student receives. On the first referral, for both behavioral and attendance referrals, the student is counseled and warned as well as their parents or guardians notified. If they are referred additional times, they receive services ranging from Individualized Education Program consultations to parent meetings.
“I feel like (OCI is) effective, and (being referred) really changed my behavior and my demeanor,” Jonavin Battle, a BHS junior who was referred to OCI, said when asked about the effectiveness of the disciplinary measures. Sometimes, even the act of being sent to OCI is enough for students' behavior to turn around. “I think, for most students, when they have a wide variety of adults that are paying attention, generally, that's enough for them to start self correcting,” Hugo Rios, an Ethnic Studies teacher, said.
Even though OCI is effective in changing the behaviors of students, it appears to be underutilized by teachers at BHS. Seven teachers throughout BHS rejected interviews with the Jacket because they don’t send students to OCI. Teachers abstaining from using OCI indicates the disconnect between the resources OCI offers and the utilization of OCI throughout the school. “Historically, I've been a teacher that has sent out students quite frequently, but I think over time, that's actually declined every year,” Rios said. Mucker believes if teachers fully understand how OCI works, it would be used less as a punishment and more of a resource for students.
OCI serves as a structured resource, aiming to correct disruptive behavior. “We give peace, we give patience, and most importantly, we give love,” Mucker said. OCI is successful in this mission with the help of teachers, guardians, and counselors. While the measures taken to improve students behavior have been proven to work, the issue of underutilization is a setback in their mission to be fully effective. Teachers should utilize the resources OCI offers instead of only using OCI on a worst case scenario basis.