KAUKAUNA — Park Community Charter School welcomed two internationally recognized leaders in education on April 6, as Dr. Becky Bailey, founder of Conscious Discipline, and Kim Jackson, Lead Certified Instructor, visited the school as part of the organization’s 30th anniversary celebration.
According to a news release, the visit highlighted Park’s role as a model school for Conscious Discipline, a distinction held by only a small number of schools worldwide. Park Community Charter School has been implementing Conscious Discipline for more than 14 years, embedding the approach into daily classroom practices and school-wide systems.
Conscious Discipline is an adult-first, brain-based approach focused on safety, connection, and problem solving. Grounded in neuroscience, it helps schools create emotionally safe, regulated environments where adults and children can learn, lead, and thrive. Conscious Discipline changes behavior by helping adults understand what the brain needs in the moment and respond with composure and empathy, seeing behavior as an opportunity to teach a new skill.
A key focus of the visit was the classroom of Jennie Gries, a 2nd grade teacher at Park Community Charter School and Conscious Discipline Certified Instructor. Jennie was specifically selected for observation, as Dr. Bailey and Kim Jackson were eager to see how her classroom practices, built on the foundation of neuroscience, are embedded into every aspect of the day to support all students.
“I’ve only been here a short time, and I’ve had wow moments off the chart,” said Dr. Becky Bailey. “The school-wide approach, the way students support one another, and how deeply they understand how to regulate themselves is extraordinary. I wish I lived in this community. I wish this was my neighborhood, my city, my country. That’s how powerful what’s happening at Park is.”
Dr. Bailey is the creator of Conscious Discipline and a leading expert in childhood education, developmental psychology, and trauma-responsive practices. An award-winning author and educator for more than 35 years, she has reached over 20 million children and inspired more than 3.5 million educators and caregivers in over 100 countries through her work. Her movement sparked a shift from control-based discipline to approaches that develop self-regulation and personal responsibility, fostering compassionate and empowered learning environments.
“I have never seen anything like this in all my years of traveling across the country and around the world visiting schools,” said Kim Jackson. “The level of school-wide implementation at Park is extraordinary.”
Throughout the visit, both leaders noted the consistency of practices across classrooms and how students take ownership of their learning and behavior. They also observed Park’s school-wide systems that support executive function skills, including School-Wide practices, Acts of Service, Playground Play Club, I Love You Rituals, Active Calming Centers, and the Motor Lab. Their visit focused on seeing how the school-wide implementation of Conscious Discipline creates transformational change for adults, children, and families.
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