About Discipline Matters

"Good discipline doesn't just happen; it is systematic and requires planning and forethought. There are no bad students, only bad systems."

Brenda Cox, PhD

Our Mission

Improve teacher and school quality to increase student achievement and well being.

What We Do

Every school can improve. Discipline Matters provides real solutions to problems besetting today's classrooms. We are problem solvers. We teach classroom management skills that every teacher can easily learn and incorporate into their daily professional lives.

Who is Ferrell Yeokum?

Ferrell Yeokum has 15 years of experience in educational administration. He has served as assistant principal, principal and executive director.

Prior to his administrative experience, he taught Spanish and Life Science and is also certified to teach English as a Second Language.

He earned a BS in Education from North Texas State College. Later he earned an MS in Educational Administration from the University of North Texas.

Mr. Yeokum has a passion for helping young people to learn self-control and self-discipline. He believes that children and young adults can acquire the ability to make good choices.

Mr. Yeokum worked as a principal at three schools including an elementary school (PK – 5). He was employed at district central administration as the Executive Director for Administrative Services. In this position he was responsible for oversight of Student Services including student behavior management for all of the schools in the district. The district became one of the first in the state to implement a district-wide Crisis Management Plan. This plan served as a model that other districts have followed.

Ferrell presents at conferences and schools and has trained hundreds of teachers how to become more effective at classroom management. Several schools, including alternative schools, have used these methods with improved results.

Ferrell’s teacher training seminars are fun and exciting. He uses real life examples from his own experience. He invites participant members to share their own stories of conflicts with students. This makes the training all the more cogent and practical. It is important to note that the practical ideas presented are simple to implement because they are built on common sense. Magic formulas and complex strategies that are difficult to remember or implement do not work very well. Participants often remark that the training is relevant to their everyday classroom needs and can be utilized immediately. Having been empowered, they leave feeling more confident and eager to engage students.

Ferrell is passionate about helping students, teachers and school administrators achieve the effectiveness that is often lacking in many schools today. He knows that teachers and assistant principals truly WANT to be effective. He has personally witnessed positive results in many schools and knows how uplifting it is when success is achieved.

Improving schools is really not so difficult once you know how. And teaching others how to do this is what Ferrell does best.

Mr. Yeokum 's Story

As assistant principal in a middle school, Ferrell noticed that the school-wide discipline plan was not teaching students how to correct negative behavior. The plan produced limited results in improving student behavior. Ferrell's principal supported his efforts to improve classroom management. He worked with students, teachers, and parents and researched several discipline programs available to educators. A plan was crafted to fit the needs of students and teachers in his school.

The results exceeded expectations. Teachers gave the new approach, which became known as T.I.E.R. (Teachers Involved in Educational Responsibility), high marks in improving school-wide discipline. Other schools came to observe the program in action. Many of these schools implemented the concept on their campuses.

Mr. Yeokum was asked to take over a school in desperate need of "turning around". This was a school which at one time maintained a wonderful reputation for success. Teachers were respected and students were successful. People moved to the district because of the district's reputation. However, through the previous several years, things began to falter. The school's reputation changed. Teacher turnover began to accelerate. The summer before Ferrell took over, 50% of the teachers left. Parents began removing their students from the school. A new private school opened up nearby to meet the needs of disgruntled parents. Enrollment declined.

The Texas Education Agency sent letters to the district stating that test scores, attendance and drop out rates were unacceptable. The Board of Trustees was warned that improvement would be expected or the agency would become more involved in school operations.

Mr. Yeokum set about devising a plan for improvement centered on improving student self-control and teacher support through a school-wide student behavior management plan. Using past experience and input from staff, students and parents, a plan was customized based on the specific needs of the school. Within a few weeks of implementation most everyone agreed that the turnaround was already in full swing. Teachers reported that students were treating them and each other more respectfully. Student classroom disruptions were down. Teacher morale was up. Community confidence was increasing. Student performance was improving. Attendance improved. Later that year, scores on the state mandated tests indicated improvement in all areas and categories of testing, in some cases by over 25%.