School Climate
Dear Parents:
Your child’s school should be a place where students can be safe and provided with the opportunity to learn in the best environment possible. This year, in combination with our Character Education Program, our staff is implementing ideas developed by Randall S. Sprick, Ph.D., Mickey Garrison, Ph.D. and Lisa Howard, B.A. entitled CHAMPs, A Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management. Teachers will strive to ensure that our classrooms are safe and productive by continually emphasizing the importance of being responsible, engaged and motivated. Three basic principles of behavior management will be employed:
Proactive – Positive – Instructional
Classrooms are structured for academic success – efficient routines, focused instruction, clear rules and expectations, the direct teaching of expectations and frequent monitoring.
Teachers will interact frequently with each of their students, providing noncontingent attention/acknowledgment as well as positive recognition when students are behaving appropriately.
Incidents of misbehavior will be viewed as teaching opportunities and staff members will calmly and consistently implement appropriate corrective consequences. Sample corrective consequences are:
- Verbal reprimand
- Positive practice (have the student do it the right way)
- Assign “time-owed” off of recess (or other non-instructional time period)
- Assign a time-out (at desk, within classroom, in another class)
- Assign restitution (restore/repair damage done)
-Assign an after-school detention
Situations involving illegal acts, physically dangerous behavior which cannot be easily defused and/or defiance will be referred to the office with possible consequences such as school suspension and/or contact with an outside agency. These school policies are in conjunction with the Board of Education Policy “Student Responsibilities & Rights” which can be found in the school calendar.
We hope you share the pride in the quality of our school and support our desire to make this a safe and inviting place in which to learn. Please feel free to contact us with any suggestions. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Gail Mink
Linda Boulden