Code of Conduct: Foundational Practices and School-Wide Systems
| WE TEACH |
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If a child doesn’t know how to read... we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to swim... we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to multiply... we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to drive... we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to behave we... teach?...punish?
Why can’t we finish the last sentence as automatically as we finish the others?
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| - Tom Herner, National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDE) President, Counterpoint, 1992 |
Barnstable Public Schools educates the whole child by creating a student-centered school culture that addresses students’ physical, social, emotional, and academic needs and by creating a safe and healthy learning environment in which students are challenged, supported, and engaged.
Barnstable Public Schools recognizes the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning’s (CASEL) definition of Social Emotional Core Competencies as Self Awareness, Self Management, Responsible Decision-Making, Social Awareness, and Relationship Skills. Barnstable Public Schools is committed to fostering every child’s growth in each respective competency through direct social skills curriculum and instruction along with the explicit teaching and reinforcement of expected behavior across the school setting all within a positive school culture and community.
Goals for Responding to Misbehavior
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- Stop the misbehavior and reestablish positive behavior as quickly as possible
- Maintain children’s dignity
- Develop children’s self-control and self-regulation skills
- Help children recognize and fix any harm caused by their mistakes
- Demonstrate that rules help make the classroom a safe place where all can learn
* Adapted from the Responsive Classroom
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We integrate Social Emotional Learning and Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) in order to develop the social and emotional competencies, to teach expected behaviors, to prevent behavior problems, to correct behavior problems, and to meet the academic and social-emotional needs of all students. Students in grades Pre-K through 7 receive explicit social emotional instruction, which supports the development of skills for learning, empathy, emotion management, and problem solving. Students in grades 8 through 12 are also provided opportunities to identify and expand their skills across these competencies within the context of becoming college, career and life ready.
PBIS is a prevention oriented framework or approach for assisting school personnel in adopting and organizing evidence-based behavioral interventions into an integrated continuum that enhances academic and social behavior outcomes for all students. Our school community is aligned around expected Respectful, Responsible, and Safe behavior across all school settings.
Interventions within our positive school culture and climate are meaningful and are skill-building, as is the goal of our response to misbehavior. Adult responses should embrace the philosophy of “logical consequences” and share these characteristics. Logical consequences are respectful, related, and realistic, and help students achieve a meaningful change in their behavior.
