School Wide Discipline

CHAMPs, the classroom management piece from Foundations, will be utilized in all classrooms. It is a program of positive and proactive classroom management. The plan uses research on effective classroom and behavior management to structure the classroom and prompt responsible student behavior. This plan will overtly teach students how to behave responsibly in every situation, while focusing time, attention, and energy on acknowledging responsible behavior.

The acronym CHAMPs reflects the behavioral expectations of the school and the teacher for the academic environment.

• C – Conversation – Can students talk to each other during this activity?
• H – Help – How can students get assistance during this activity?
• A – Activity – What is the expected end product of this activity?
• M – Movement – Can students move about freely during this activity?
• P – Participation – What does active and responsible participation for this activity look and sound like?

The specific beliefs for the foundation of the CHAMPs program are:

• All students must be treated with dignity and respect.
• Students should be taught the skills and behaviors necessary for success.
• Staff members should encourage motivation through positive interactions while building relationships with students.
• Student misbehavior provides a teaching opportunity.

Classroom teachers will address general classroom disruptions according to the principles of CHAMPs by taking appropriate in-class disciplinary actions prior to disciplinary referrals. Disciplinary actions include personal calls to parents, parent/teacher conferences, time-out, buddy teachers, and student/teacher conferences.

Each classroom has a system in place for visually reminding students of the rewards and consequences for appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. A behavior chart will be posted in each classroom. Students will each have a pocket on a chart holding five cards (green, orange, yellow, blue, red). Each card represents a reward or consequence (excellent day, good day, warning, time out, teacher interventions, referral). Student misbehavior will be treated as an opportunity for instruction to give them a chance to learn from their mistakes. Students will be required to flip a card after expectations have been clearly stated, and the opportunity for corrective practice has been given. Severe offenses will result in an immediate referral to an administrator for appropriate actions in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct Handbook.

Students who behave inappropriately in resource class (art, computer, media, music, PE, assemblies) may be required to flip a card upon returning to class. This system will also be used during lunch. Resource teachers, cafeteria staff and classroom teachers will work together to establish like expectations for student behavior and determine appropriate consequences.

Guidelines for Success

The Guidelines for Success represent a set of skills, traits and attitudes that everyone in the school always strives to demonstrate. They should remind everyone of our efforts to create a safe, civil and productive school environment. We want to teach children to be good citizens, and take responsibility for their actions. We also want them to respect everyone and do the best they can. Therefore we recite our Guidelines for Success as follows:

I am a good citizen
who is responsible
and shows respect
I will always do my best!

Conduct Pledge

In keeping with our Guidelines for Success, we will remind students of specific, acceptable behavior through our Conduct Pledge.

I pledge to try to do my best every single day
Listening, learning, being fair when I work and play
Keeping hands and feet to myself, treating others with respect
Making sure my things are neat is what you should expect
I'll listen when a grownup speaks and follow every rule
I pledge to be a good citizen in my classroom and my school.

School-wide Attention Signal

1. Stop what you are doing
2. Empty your hands
3. Eyes on the speaker
4. Mouth on silence
5. Hand raised

Voice Levels

In an effort to establish and maintain consistent, clear expectations we will acknowledge voices levels. These voice levels will be referred to when communicating to students the expectations for any activity or transition. Voice levels and corresponding number assignments are as follows:

Level 0 - Silence
Level 1 - Whispering
Level 2 - Conversation
Level 3 - Presentation
Level 4 - Outside

Rules

Specific rules for behavior and expectations for our students at Merrill Road Elementary School are as follows.

School Rules

As students of Merrill Road Elementary School, we will abide by the Duval County Student Code of Conduct. Accordingly we will:

• Follow directions the first time given.
• Keep our hands, feet, and objects to ourselves.
• Show respect for ourselves, adults, other students, and school property. (This includes keeping school property clean, inside and out. Also, avoiding name calling, use of inappropriate language and gestures, teasing, and taking things that do not belong to us.)
• Walk and Stand Mustang Style!
• Be prepared to learn at all times.

Cafeteria Rules

As students of Merrill Road Elementary School, we will:

• Follow directions the first time given.
• Keep our hands, feet, and objects to ourselves.
• Show respect for ourselves, adults, other students, and school property.
• Walk and Stand Mustang Style!
• Remain seated, use our best table manners, & speak in a whisper voice.
• Raise hand for assistance
• Food sharing or swapping is not allowed

Walking Mustang Style consists of...

• Standing directly behind the person in front of you.
• Keeping your eyes looking ahead of you.
• Avoiding touching of the walls or bulletin boards.
• Keeping your mouth closed.
• Using the “Mustang Wave” to speak.

It is important that the students follow these procedures at ALL times while on school grounds. This is a way of being proactive with our students.

School Consequences

Teacher and administrative interventions/disciplinary actions will be in accordance with the Duval County Student Code of Conduct. Children may receive a discipline referral for Class II, III, or IV offenses after an appropriate number of teacher interventions (i.e. time out, phone call home, parent/teacher conference, etc.) have been tried. Depending on the nature of the infraction and direction provided by the code of conduct, one of the following consequences may be administered:

Counseling/Warning
Time-out (own class or another class)
Parent Contacted
Parent Conference
Suspension
Home Visit

Appropriate school behavior is expected of ALL students.

Students who fight and/or use physical contact with malicious intent or commit a Class III or IV offense may be automatically suspended from school depending on the circumstances.

Rewards & Incentices

Daily/Weekly Awards

Students will have an opportunity to earn, at minimum 4 coins each day (5 if they have a resource). The number of coins earned will be determined by the color behavior card they are on following this order: green – 4, orange – 3, yellow – 2, blue – 1, red – 0. Students who behave in resource will earn a bonus 5th coin.

Green Card Celebration

Periodic green card days will be held. Students who are on green at the time of the announcement will receive a treat provided by PTA and/or business partners.

Quarterly Awards Program

Students who earn an “A” in citizenship on their report card will receive a good citizenship ribbon at the end of each quarter.

Student of the Month – “Marvelous Mustang”

We will continue our Student of the Month – “Marvelous Mustang” program. The classroom teachers will select a student from their class each month who displays evidence of the monthly character trait. Teachers will account for their accomplishments in writing. The students will be recognized at our “Marvelous Mustang” celebration each month where the parents will be invited. At that time, we will have a short program to recognize their GREAT accomplishments. In addition, the students will be spotlighted on the “Marvelous Mustang” wall.

Student of the Week

Students will be chosen by their teacher each week for showing good behavior. The teacher will recognize each student according to their desire. The child’s name and picture will be placed on the outside of each classroom. In addition, the students will receive a special treat from PTA and have their name publicized in the school newsletter.

Grade Level/Classroom Incentives

Teachers will reward students who display appropriate behavior with various special incentives.