School-wide Student Conduct, Recognition and Discipline System Standards & Expectations From time to time, parents and staff observe that JES has many rules; in fact, there are really only two rules, from which all of the rest flow: first, the "golden rule" -- treat others as you would like to be treated; and two, be safe. The rest of the rules are, first and foremost, for the benefit of adults, that is, to ensure to the greatest extent possible that adults set the same basic standards for students, that they explain their expectations clearly to students and parents alike, and that they enforce those standards fairly and consistently. Rules are never a substitute for common sense and good judgment, and on any given day, it is likely that a new circumstance will require that a given rule be interpreted using both. But rules and procedures, which often follow lengthy discussion and debate, form the backbone of not only the student discipline system, but just about everything else that happens at the school. "School rules" are one of the more tangible aspects of defining expectations for student conduct and more generally establishing a solid framework for students' social development. The Responsive Classroom® philosophy and techniques are used in all JES classrooms. The school counselor, school nurse, and health educator teach age-appropriate social skills and health lessons in classrooms. The school counselor also leads small groups on topics of interest to or in response to particular needs of various students. Recognition & Incentives The school next makes a concerted effort to recognize students who do what is expected of them, and more. All teachers use a variety of techniques of positive reinforcement in their individual classrooms. Many different types of student achievement are recognized through the school's Student of the Month program. Each month, every teacher names a Student of the Month for working hard, showing improvement, demonstrating good citizenship, being helpful or kind, or achieving a particular goal. The teachers write a short narrative explaining the specific accomplishment of each student. At a monthly assembly, the principal announces the Students of the Month, reads the narrative, and gives certificates to the students. The recognition and applause are an exciting and fun way to celebrate students' accomplishments! There is no limit on the number of awards that may be given each month. Parents are always welcome to attend school assemblies. The school's recognition program also includes three "behavior events", one per trimester. All students in grades 1 to 6 who have received fewer than seven pink (aka "detention") slips during the preceding trimester attend a special activity: in recent years, the events have been bowling at Yankee Lanes in Williston, ice skating at Cairns Arena in South Burlington, and a day at the Smuggler's Notch water park. A major focus of these end-of-term events is to allow students to get together with students and staff from other grades and to become familiar with the JES staff as a whole. This is a wonderful opportunity to foster a "school family" feeling. Students have a chance to use the social skills they have been learning and practicing in a less structured environment. This helps many students to feel comfortable and to interact with others in a socially acceptable manner. Those students who do not earn the right to attend the behavior events stay at school and engage in various mixed-age-group activities, coordinated by the school counselor, designed to reinforce areas of social development that are key for these children, including problem-solving, emotional self-regulation and coping skills, and resiliency, as well as general skills in teamwork, cooperation and leadership. Discipline: Consequences for Not Meeting Expectations for Conduct JES has a comprehensive, school-wide discipline system, with appropriate distinctions from team to team that recognize the stage of development of the children. To teach the cause and effect relationship between behavior and consequences, disciplinary consequences are explained clearly and applied consistently. Every child has a "travel folder" that contains a week-at-a-glance discipline chart; it travels with students from class to class. The disciplinary continuum usually begins with "re-direction", and leads, in a structured sequence, to oral warnings, perhaps time out with a buddy teacher, to entries in the travel folder for subsequent infractions, to -- upon completion of four such boxes -- a "pink slip", on which the staff member summarizes the situation and then sends it, along with the student, to the "planning room". Physically dangerous or destructive actions and/or serious profanity or disrespectfulness receive "automatic pink slips". Certain serious infractions are automatically referred to the school counselor and/or principal, as are unusual circumstances. For most "pink slip" infractions, the planning room supervisor meets with the student to discuss what happened; investigates further as needed in order to fully ascertain the facts (which are often in dispute); explains what the child has done wrong; guides the student in "making a plan" for returning to class (for example, writing an apology); follows up with teachers regarding the outcome, as appropriate; and writes a letter to parents about each "pink slip" incident. The student then serves a "detention", which is typically loss of recess or social lunch --after school detention is an option of last resort because children must take the bus home. Serious misconduct means an immediate call to parents and much more serious consequences, such as multiple or full-day detentions, in which the student is tutored at school, outside of the regular classroom; we rarely suspend students out of school. As noted earlier, more than six pink slips results in loss of the privilege of attending the trimester behavior event; however, the slate is wiped clean at the start of each new trimester. The principal reviews all pink slips in order to keep informed about all student misconduct, identify patterns of misconduct that might indicate a more serious underlying problem, and monitor the discipline system for fairness, consistency and effectiveness. Situations in which students begin to exhibit a pattern of serious misconduct are always referred to the principal, who makes a referral to the Educational Support Team, and/or the school counselor, social worker or consulting psychologist, to determine if there is a need for an individual behavior plan and/or other special services. This, in turn, may be the first step toward an eventual special education evaluation to determine if the student has an emotional or behavioral disability. There are many variations on this process, for children can be highly creative in their behavior, but that is the essence of the discipline system.
Disciplinary Procedures At-A-Glance A. Learning what is expected. From the day they first attend JES, students are taught what is expected of them, and those lessons are continually reinforced, formally and informally. B. Students who make poor behavior choices are usually cued, "re-directed" and warned orally, prior to starting the more structured disciplinary process. Also, they may be asked to confer with their teacher during recess. Students who do not respond to initial requests or warnings to correct their behavior receive an entry in their "travel folder", which contains a month-at-a-glance record of disciplinary infractions. Travel folder entries describe the nature of the infraction. ("Travel folders" travel with students throughout the school, from class to class.) C. A student who accumulates four travel folder entries on any given day receives a "pink slip" and is required to go to the Planning Room (or Intervention Room, in some cases). A Planning Room visit normally results in a detention. D. There are occasions when immediate consequences without a warning occur (sometimes referred to as "automatic pink slips"). These include: 1. Students who make behavior choices involving aggressive acts (such as hitting, kicking, shoving, biting, choking), bullying or harassing, arguing, swearing, inappropriate gesturing, or defacing school/personal property are sent immediately to Planning or the Intervention Room. In addition, referral slips are also issued automatically for stealing, tipping in chairs, running in the halls, leaving the classroom without permission, and leaving school grounds without permission. 2. Students who make undesirable behavior choices during recess (such as not following the directions of an adult, forcibly cutting in line, climbing the fences, or entering the building without permission) usually serve a time-out outside for a designated amount of time. They may also lose their next recess privilege. 3. Students who use equipment improperly or demonstrate poor sportsmanship are directed to leave the activity. They are not be allowed to return to that activity for the remainder of that recess period and sometimes the next day as well. 4. Students chewing gum receive a warning and are told to throw the gum away. Repeated gum chewing results in a pink slip. 5. Students who destroy school and/or personal property go immediately to the Planning Room. Parents must make restitution for all damages. 6. Students who use, possess and/or distribute tobacco products, alcohol or drugs on school grounds receive an immediate suspension. Law enforcement officials may also be notified. E. Detention normally means the loss of recess or social lunch privileges. Detention received on any given day of the week is served the following day. The Principal may also hold detention after school in some cases. Parents are notified when their student is required to serve an after school detention. It is the responsibility of the parents to make alternate arrangements for transportation. Detention is normally served in the Planning or Intervention Room. During detention, the student reviews good and bad choices, replacement behavior strategies, and conflict mediation techniques with the Planning Room or Intervention Room Supervisor, or other staff member. An assignment individually geared to help the student develop or reinforce a social or behavioral skill may be given. Parents are sent a letter whenever a child receives a detention. When students receive multiple detentions, parents are usually asked to come in for a conference. If a student is absent on the day a detention or similar consequence is scheduled, it is rescheduled upon the student's return to school. More serious consequences, such as external suspensions, are extremely rare at JES. If called for, such actions are administered according to Board policy. |
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