Model for WV Positive School Climate

1. Model for WV Positive School Climate Respect and Protect McDowell County Schools County Core Team Meeting Amanda Farmer & Bonita Miano

2. Creating a safe learning environment

3. Today’s Agenda • Review some R&P guidelines • Share barriers and ideas • Reenergize Core Teams • Focus on some trouble areas • Collaborate with other schools

4. School Violence

5. Goal for WVMPSC • WV Schools will have a safe, orderly environment conducive to learning for all that promotes good character within a caring culture.

6. Goals of R&P • To ensure safety and well being of both students and teachers. • To reduce the severity and frequency of and eventually eliminate all incidents of violence from the school setting. • To promote an intrinsic social consciousness in our youth. • Eliminate two pervasive attitudes that spawn violence: entitlement and tolerance. • Create a single school climate.

7. “Everyone has a right to a learning environment where he or she feels respected, protected and safe.” Violence is any mean word, look, sign, or act that hurts a person’s body, feelings, or things. Violence is not tolerated at our school. Our Beliefs in McDowell County

8. “Toxic Culture Staff” • 1. View their students as the problem rather than as their valued client. • 2. Are sometimes part of the negative subcultures that are hostile and critical of change. • 3. Believe that they are doing the best that they can and do not search for new ideas. • 4. Frequently share stories and historical perspectives on the school that are often negative, discouraging, and demoralizing.

9. 5. Complain, criticize, and distrust any new ideas, approaches, or suggestions for improvement raised by planning committees. • 6. Rarely share ideas, materials, or solutions to classroom problems. • 7. Have few ceremonies or school traditions that celebrate what is good and hopeful about their place of work.

10. Are you a bully?

11. Norms • Staff • Student • Parents • Community Members

12. Think about your norms • You must have a SINGLE school culture. • A way of organizing and running a school. It begins with shared norms, beliefs, values, and goals. • Everyone must be consistent in their procedures and practice. • It relates to your BEHAVIOR, ACHIEVEMENT, and CLIMATE.

13. Establish Control • 1. Collective stance against violence. • 2. Clear definition is defined, adopted, and communicated to everyone including parents. • 3. Policies and Procedures • 4. Adult Supervision • 5. School-Wide Rules • 6. Extinguish enabling, entitlement, and tolerance. • 7. Prevention and Intervention Programs

14. Extinguish • Enabling • Entitlement • Tolerance Respect and Protect Core Team Meeting

15. Enabling • Enabling is any act or failure to act that protects someone from the unpleasant consequence of doing wrong. … • “Let off the hook” • Do you hear, “Poor Johnny’s grandmother is raising him because his parents are both incarcerated.” • While they are at school – they are safe! They are expected to be treated equally.

16. Entitlement • The moment we tolerate the inappropriate actions of a person who feels entitled to use violence, we’re contributing to a ripple effect that will cover the entire system. • Students become desensitized to violence through life experience and media…violence is normal. • All students WILL BE considered equal during the school hours. • They are safe at school. All rules apply.

17. Tolerance • Teachers take the “I don’t want to deal with it approach.” • They are not my kids.

18. R&P Monitoring • Not your classroom management • Attendance concerns • Reteaching is a MUST! • Do not BUY the students with incentives. The goal is to teach them to make independent choices. • Protect your reading and mathematics time…before your incentive programs. • Do not use writing as a punishment. • Classroom Rules – Stated Positively! Posted!

19. Violence Continuum

20. High Exposure to Media Violence • By the 7th Grade students will have witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence.

21. Bully and Victim Violence

22. Reporting System • Teach expectations of your ENTIRE campus. Do you students know what is expected in the cafeteria and how that is different than the computer lab? • BIF • Strike Sheets • Consistency is key! • Develop a plan for managing BIFs.

23. Don’t pass the buck… • Teach your students that they are to report a problem to the supervising adult. • Do not pass on the buck to the homeroom teacher. • Some students will want to only report to those that they feel they can trust.

24. Reporting vs. Ratting • Teach the difference. • Reporting is when you inform an adult in fear that someone is going to harm them or someone else. • Ratting is when you inform as adult in order to get someone in trouble. (Revenge)

25. How to make a report

26. Four Steps to Intervention • Determine the level of violence • Determine the action to be taken • Determine the consequences to be taken • Therapeutic Interventions

27. Juvenile Behavior Check List • Each affirmative answer is worth 5 points.

28. Behavior Intervention Form • Inappropriate behaviors • Arranged by levels of severity • Includes RSP • Immediate teacher actions • WVEIS Codes • Triplicate • Conduct Grades

30. The life of a BIF Staff member issues a BIF One copy to child to take home. One copy to classroom teacher files. One copy to principal to record onto WEVIS. Core Team discusses “repeat offenders” and tries to match student with a mentor. Mentors review BIFs before sessions. R&P Core Team Member reviews child’s behavior file and determines further interventions needed. Principal reviews action taken by staff member, and places it into R&P Core Team Member’s mailbox.

31. BIF Letters • Letter 1 – After 5 BIFs • Letter 2 - After 10 BIFs • Letter 3 – Continuous Behavior Problem • Letter 4 – Child came to school without parent representative.

32. BIF Daddy

33. WVEIS Concerns

34. Connectors • SAT Referrals – Start the process with your students that exhibit violent behaviors and those that are non-violent.. • Mentors • DHHR – Youth Services • In School Suspension • FRNs • Juvenile Probation • School Nurses • Law Enforcement

35. Scenario 2 • What did you see change in this scenario? • What is the benefit of consistent school-wide behavioral documentation? • If you were an administrator, would you appreciate having this documentation? • If you were a teacher, would you appreciate having this documentation?

36. Scenario 3 • Was this “tattling?” • How does reporting contribute to a safe school climate? • Why is it important for the students to be able to trust the adults in the building?

37. Scenario 5 • What is the value of these reviews? • How could this improve school climate?

38. Core Team Responsibility • Be consistent! Cheerlead! Communicate! • Meet weekly • Teacher Memos • Make referrals • Review BIFs (patterns or frequency) • Responsible for certain grade levels • Inform parents and community • Teach your staff – THEY ARE ALL OUR KIDS!

39. Things you should have in place… • Definition of violence • Say it! Recite it! Believe it! • BIF • Consistent Classroom Management • Core Behavior Team • Surveys • Parent/Teacher Involvement • Teach EXPECTATIONS • Reporting vs. Ratting • School Wide Incentives • Agendas • Build your “tool box” of support services

40. What's working  • Morning pledge • Greeters each morning • Reporting vs. Ratting • Class Meetings • Teaching the BIF • Saying “yes, mam” • Handshake and eye contact • Posting of the definition • Teaching how to control anger • Student leaders

41. Teach your expectations! Motivate!

42. Take a look at a classroom

43. What did you see? • Talk to your neighbor about one thing that you would have done differently if you were the teacher? • What did you see that goes against the R&P Initiative? • Did she tolerate some classroom disruptions? • Did she interrupt the learning process? • Did she make threats?

44. What teachers are saying about R&P?

45. What are principals saying?

46. What are parents saying?

47. Implementation Plan • WVMPSC Plan • Complete as a Core Team

48. Barriers and Challenges • Think of 5 barriers or challenges that you can foresee happening in a school when implementing the R&P Initiative. • Visit survey link on the Technology Department webpage to complete this activity.

49. Monitoring R&P… • County monitoring form Rules and Procedures Posted Evidence of promoting positive behavior Maintains classroom management without interruption Behavior chart displayed Utilizes card chart consistently • On-Site Visitation Form from WVDE

50. Staff Development Council • The Council met and agreed to provide all R&P Schools with 4 hours of professional development for 6 Core Team Members to analyze data, collaborate, and ensure consistent pervasive program implementation. • Teams must submit staff development forms prior to the meeting to Zanetta Thomas.