1. We build relationships to build community.
We know that a student’s range of experiences — their home life, their neighborhood and the overall atmosphere of the school — has an outsized impact on their behavior in class. [1]
By building relationships with students, we gain insight into these experiences and can address a number of behaviors without having to resort to suspensions and other punitive methods of discipline.
Managing student behavior in the context of the community happens by:
Addressing and discussing the needs of the school community
Building healthy relationships between educators and students
Reducing, preventing and improving harmful behavior
Repairing harmful and restoring positive relationships
Resolving conflict, holding individuals and groups accountable
2. Being in the community is the reward.
Classroom management is about building relationships with students and teaching social skills along with academic skills. [2]
For as long as school has been school, educators have used punishments and rewards to control student behaviors. However, it is often the same children receiving the punishments over and over, and the same children receiving the rewards.
When students have strong, trusting relationships both with the adults in the school and with their peers, and when their lessons are interesting and relevant, they are more likely behave positively and participate in the community. [3]
“There are two aspects of great learning environments: building relationships and providing high-quality instruction.”
-Steve Watson, Maricopa County School Superintendent
3. Here you are safe.
Locked campuses, safety drills, security cameras, etc. are important components of a campus safety plan. But those things are in place for when something has already gone wrong.
We are committed to reducing the likelihood that violence, intimidation and humiliation will take place in our schools.
We weave our commitment to building a caring community through everything we do. It is as pervasive as our commitment to teaching students how to read, solve problems and think creatively.
This approach ensures every student feels the safety and security of the larger community. It is rooted in the restorative justice movement which commits to teaching offenders how to be successful in a community and heals the hearts of those that have been victimized.
4. COVID and Other Illness Mitigation
The health and well-being of students and staff is the district’s number one priority. The following procedures are in place to ensure that school campuses and district sites remain healthy environments for in-person teaching, learning and working environments.
Illness Mitigation
Staff will encourage frequent hand washing
Hand sanitizer provided
Air filtration devices
Enhanced cleaning procedures
Disinfecting as needed
If there is an outbreak of any communicable disease, the school will work with the district’s Facilities and Student Safety Coordinator to provide targeted response and support. Masks are not required. Students who are absent from school for any illness should contact their teacher for make-up work while they are not in school.
Download the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan (ARP Act)
