FOR SUNNYSIDE FAMILIES |
Climate & Discipline Policy
The staff and community at Sunnyside Elementary School take our mission seriously and endeavor to create and support children in their development as students and as human beings. An important component of this emphasis on developing the whole child is providing an emotionally and physically safe and welcoming environment for our students to grow and prosper both academically and as young citizens. To foster this environment, Sunnyside has the following three big rules.
To foster this environment, Sunnyside has the following three big rules.
The foundation of our school behavior policy is that all members of the community follow these Three Big Rules and that all students, staff, and visitors should be treated with dignity and respect. Classroom rules, agreements, and procedures may vary somewhat from room to room, but they are built off of the same guidelines. When a person does not follow these guidelines, harm is done to their relationships with others and to the community. We use our compassion and believe that follow- through with clear, fair, and consistent consequences and work around restoring relationships harmed by misbehavior are needed to ensure learning empathy and students embracing their place in our community. In order to support this environment, Sunnyside Elementary School is doing the following items:
Developing the Whole Child *Academic Rigor *Creativity *Citizenship *Well Being
Restorative Practices and Resolving Conflict When students do not follow our Three Big Rules, we take a restorative approach where misbehavior or conflict is seen as an opportunity to build, maintain, and rebuild relationships among members of our community and consequences deemed appropriate to the situation may also be applied. Consequences for misbehavior will vary depending on how the behavior harms the health, safety, property, and learning opportunities of other students, staff, or community members. Repairing harm done may reduce or replace consequences for minor misconduct. Behaviors that significantly or severely harm others will result in more stern consequences in addition to work around repairing harm and restoring the relationships of the parties involved. A student who does not accept responsibility for her/his actions and/or shows persistence of the same misbehavior will also indicate the need for more developed intervention, consequences, and deeper restorative work. When a student engages in misbehavior, there are multiple parties involved:
Incident Reporting: Incidents of misbehavior that necessitate intervention by the office staff shall be noted on a behavioral referral form and promptly sent to the office for review by office staff (administrator, elementary advisor, or counselor). The classroom teacher of the student involved shall receive a copy if the incident occurred outside of the classroom. Parent/Guardian Contacts: School staff will use the information on a student’s emergency card to contact parents/guardians regarding misbehavior as deemed appropriate. This may involve the referral form being sent home, phone contact, or in-person conference. Responsible adults for those causing harm as well as those harmed will be contacted as deemed appropriate. Student Misbehavior Affecting Students: The students’ teacher or other staff member shall engage the misbehaving student(s) and those affected or harmed with restorative practices and apply appropriate consequences. Student Misbehavior Affecting Staff/Classroom: When a student misbehaves in ways that significantly affect or undermine the authority of staff, that student may be removed from the classroom. As deemed appropriate, staff members will conduct a restorative circle with the class/group in order to seek repair and restitution. Parents/guardians of the students involved may also be contacted as deemed appropriate. Personal Electronic Devices: Students who need to contact home or be contacted by responsible adults who are not on campus can do so via our school phone (415. ). Possession of any personal electronic devices is not allowed at school. This includes but is not limited to a cell phone, iPod, camera, recording device, electronic games/toy or game system. Having these at school can cause disruptions and distraction from students learning. Having the device at school will result in it being confiscated. 1st Offense: the item will be returned at end of day and home will be contacted. 2nd Offense: the item will be returned only to a parent/guardian. 3rd Offense: the item will be returned on last day of school. Developmentally Inappropriate Touching/Sexual Harassment: The school’s response to inappropriate touching involves several factors including: ages of children involved, details & manner of contact, frequency of this behavior, and the locale where the incident occurred. The follow-up to any such incident is contingent upon these factors; parents/guardians of students involved will be contacted by the school for both minor and more severe incidents. Examples of Possible Misbehaviors and Responses The following charts provide examples of inappropriate student behavior and corresponding actions by staff. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. It is intended to give guidance on how discipline issues are handled at Sunnyside and is meant to supplement and not replace District policy, School Board policy, or California Education Code statutes and guidelines. You will find a more detailed list of misbehaviors in the SFUSD Student and Parent/Guardian Handbook that is distributed by SFUSD each school year. In the handbook, you will also find additional information on the Restorative Practices approach, descriptions of more severe misbehaviors, as well as further information on the procedures for suspension and expulsion. Sunnyside staff members’ input is a key factor in determining the appropriate level of intervention and response to misbehaviors in order to repair harm done and ensure learning about appropriate behavioral choices. Minor Misbehavior • Physically unsafe choices without intent to injure one self or others (climbing equipment, pushing, swinging a backpack) • Not keeping hands to yourself • Littering • Minor graffiti (e.g. writing on desk) • Poor sportsmanship; trash-talking • Teasing, excluding, put-downs • Minor class disruption • Minor misuse of school technology • Refusal to do work; Not following directions • Profanity not directed at others Responses The teacher/staff member will utilize one or more of the following approaches: 1. Intervene in the situation & conference with student to review expectations and consequences, re-teach and praise good behaviors. 2. Provide opportunity to “repair” the problem (ex: apology, mediation). 3. Restorative Practice interventions are considered or attempted before students are sending a student from class or restricting from activities. 4. Change seats or exclude from activity (time-out) 5. Contact parents/guardians. Intermediate Misbehavior • More severe or persistent occurrences of misbehavior listed as minor • Defiance/Insubordination • Cheating • Gambling • Making unauthorized recording • Taunting or inciting conflict/disruption • Hitting, kicking, tripping which causes harm • Throwing items with intent to contact person • Derogatory slurs or other hate-speech • Bullying • Possession of a harmful object • Verbal harassment • Developmentally inappropriate touching • Theft • Property damage • Profanity/vulgarity towards students Upon office referral, office staff will utilize one or more of the following approaches: 1. Intervene in the situation & conference with student to review expectations and consequences, re-teach and praise good behaviors. 2. Provide opportunity to “repair” the problem (ex: apology, mediation). 3. Restorative Practice interventions are considered or attempted before students are sending a student from class or restricting from activities. 4. Contact parents/guardians. 5. In-school suspension including community service and/or social skill building; this is used in conjunction with #1-4. 6. Out-of-school suspension used in conjunction with #1-4. At the end of the suspension, there will be an intake meeting with the staff, student, and parent(s)/guardian(s). 7. Referral for SST (Student Success Team) for linkage to on-site and community resources. 8. Provide information regarding local counseling resources as deemed appropriate. Severe • More severe or persistent occurrences of misbehaviors listed as intermediate • Fighting • Cyberbullying • Extortion/coercion • Threats to staff • Sexually explicit profanity/vulgarity towards students • Profanity/vulgarity directed at adults • Unauthorized recording of students/staff • Using an object to cause physical harm • Hate violence • Sexual harassment The administrator and support staff will utilize one or more of the following in addition to Restorative Practices work:
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Sunnyside Elementary | 250 Foerster Street, San Francisco, CA 94112 |
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