Jess Silverstein

Holicong Middle School • Assistant Principal • Central Bucks School District 💚💛

[Unami Middle School @CBUnamiMS]

Unami Pride in action! Our @CBUnamiMS students showing off the wall vinyls they created last year and were installed last week in our main hallway.

[Jess Silverstein @MrsJSilverstein]

@CBahendershot @SHAPE_PA @SED_HPE Look at that crew!

[Unami Middle School @CBUnamiMS]

Go Birds!!!

[Unami Middle School @CBUnamiMS]

Whole school Eagles pep rally for the Super Bowl! Dr Massey gave an emphatic speech followed by Fly Eagles Fly! GO BIRDS!!

[Unami Middle School @CBUnamiMS]

In December, our building held a Food Drive to support families in our community. Yesterday, we officially donated 510 lbs of food, personal care products, and paper products to the Bucks County Housing Group Food Pantry. Well done @CBUnamiMS staff and students!

[Unami Middle School @CBUnamiMS]

Happy Halloween from Unami!!

[Unami Middle School @CBUnamiMS]

UMS Community - tonight is the night for Unami Night Out! We’ll have stations set up at the following businesses:

Jules Pizza (78 S Main Street)
Doylestown Bookshop (16 S Main Street)
Evolution Candy (45 E State Street)
Monkey’s Uncle (123 S Main Street)

Bring your KOR Kash!

[Jess Silverstein @MrsJSilverstein]

@MaloneAssist @CBUnamiMS Apology accepted! Everyone makes mistakes Dr. Malone! 😉 Looking forward to a great year at the U.

[Jess Silverstein @MrsJSilverstein]

Looking for suggestions to help support #UnifiedArt - supplies, projects, anything essential for the success of the class! Student ability levels vary vastly!

[𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 @DrBradJohnson]

As the new year begins, let the students know you are glad they're there! https://t.co/hAWnZAU0ve

[CB West High School @CBWestHS]

Our student panel did a great job welcoming next year’s sophomore students and parents at #CBWest’s Curriculum Night.

[Jess Silverstein @MrsJSilverstein]

@alisonstoneBIO I need government names 🤣

[CB West High School @CBWestHS]

88 teams participated in the first ever Dominic Testani Memorial Spike Ball Tournament to raise money for the newly created scholarship fund. #CBWest

[CB West Baseball @CBWestBaseball]

Helping Central Bucks West baseball make school history has familiar feel for Coach Weaver

https://t.co/IByVaU4qaV

[Jess Silverstein @MrsJSilverstein]

This team is on fire! Go Bucks!

[CB West Baseball @CBWestBaseball]

CB West Bucks - 3-0 Win Over Wilson on Phenomenal PERFECT GAME by Julio Ermigiotti

‘23 J Ermigiotti 7IP 0H 9K 🔥🔥🔥
‘23 K Bukowski 2-4, 2RBI
‘23 M Carr 1-2, 1R
‘24 Q Illig 1-3, 1R
‘25 A Valdez 1-3, 1R

Bucks play in Round 2 on Thursday, details to follow! GO BUCKS 🦌

[Dr. Bryan Pearlman #MaslowBeforeBloom @DrP_Principal]

Mikey was a student who exhibited some of the most extreme behaviors for a young student. He had already received three superintendent level suspensions before he completed third grade. Mikey had more days out of school than in school. The behaviors included many physical altercations with students and staff, destruction of school property, consistent and significant disruption of the classroom (and school), and eloping from campus.

As principal, I really should have been listed as the teacher of record for Mikey, since he was in my office every day for several hours. Mikey was off-task pretty close to 100% of the time. Nothing in my toolbox worked well to reduce the negative behaviors.

A colleague suggested that we give him a “special job” in the building with more responsibility than his behaviors had warranted. At first I thought this was a very bad idea. But what choice did I have? Nothing else had worked. Worst case scenario, this too wouldn’t work and I would be in no worse place than where I had started. I asked for his recommendation. He suggested that we put him in charge of announcing the buses at arrival and dismissal. I told him that this sounded like a really bad idea. The thought of giving Mikey a walkie-talkie seemed to be a recipe for disaster. Mikey used words that even made me blush. Each classroom had a walkie in it too. I could just picture the damage control that I would have to do after Mikey used a four-letter word for the whole world to hear. My colleague reminded me about what I had to lose and the fact that nothing else had worked.

I went digging in our school’s basement and found an old bright orange crossing guard vest (circa 1985), a really beat up “Lil Captain” badge, and a Radio Shack walkie-talkie. On Friday afternoon, I called Mikey down to my office. I asked if he would be interested in a job at school. He asked for some information about the job. I told him that we really needed help with buses arriving and leaving each day since Dr. P was really bad at it. Mikey agreed that Dr. P was really bad at it and he said that he would like that job. I gave him his uniform and asked that he report on Monday morning.

Very early on Monday morning, I heard a mini-van door slam closed. I looked out the window and recognized the mini-van and the student walking up our sidewalk. Mikey walked straight into my office with a dry cleaning bag over his shoulder. He sat the bag down and pulled out a perfectly cleaned and ironed crossing guard vest with a very shiny badge on it. Mikey put these items on and saluted me. He said, “Captain Mikey reporting for duty sir”. He then took out the walkie-talkie. It had a “Captain Mikey” label on it (his mom must have used a home labeling machine to make this for him). I looked carefully at him and realized that he was completely serious, completely excited about his new job, and had a big smile across his face (I had never seen him smile before).

Mikey was very successful with calling buses as they arrived. In addition, our dismissal process ran like clockwork with Captain Mikey on the job. I have to admit that he was much better at this job than I was. Captain Mikey expanded his job description to help younger kids as they crossed in front of the buses. He even became the king of giving fellow students high fives and morning greetings. Mikey’s behaviors reduced by at least 95% almost immediately.

Even students with the most challenging behaviors have the potential for turning it around. Mikey rose to the occasion, felt needed, experienced success for perhaps the first time, and his behaviors improved significantly.

Thank you for doing whatever it takes to help students to succeed in school and life!

Join the “Maslow Before Bloom” Facebook group: https://t.co/015cLKjJ1m.

[𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 @DrBradJohnson]

Education is not teacher centered or even student centered, but it is relationship centered. Teachers thrive with positive admin relationships & students thrive with positive teacher relationships. Relationships are the foundation of education.

[Jess Silverstein @MrsJSilverstein]

Thinking of my guy @LoganMorris78 today, an incredible athlete and even stronger person. If you can, help support Logan here: https://t.co/aotF5JdNDb 💛🖤🦌