Lincoln Academy Positive Behavioral Support System

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Philosophy

We want this to be the most successful year your student has had. School safety as well as student physical and psychological safety is essential in providing an optimal learning environment. We feel that it is essential to build responsibility and accountability in students. Students need to realize that their choices have positive and negative consequences. Positive student choice can lead to good grades, increased personal satisfaction, increased self esteem, and an optimal learning environment. Negative student choice can jeopardize the safety of the student or others as well as diminish the optimal learning environment. In order to help students realize this process, we are implementing a demerit system where negative student choice determines student discipline.

Once negative choices have been made and discipline occurs the discipline process has just begun. Helping the student improve and trying to help them make positive choices in the future is our goal at Lincoln Academy.

Support

This system will ensure disciplinary actions are consistent for everyone. The demerit system offers an even-handed approach, allowing the administration to give children appropriate consequences for inappropriate behavior. It also allows students to earn back points lost through creating a plan encouraging positive choices.

Approach

As an administrative staff, we will train and encourage our teachers to use interventions in their classroom management. Teachers and/or administrators may use various means in an attempt to influence student behavior including, but not limited to, counseling with the student, assigning detentions, having conferences with parents, assigning extra responsibilities or time in school, or an in-school suspension. With any minor classroom disturbance the teacher will follow the following guidelines before sending students to the office:

1st offense	Warning from teacher
2nd offense	Teacher discipline
3rd offense	Teacher discipline- parent communication
4th offense	Teacher discipline- student/teacher team meeting- plan created to improve student behavior- parent notified
5th offense	Teacher discipline- student/ teacher/ parent conference. Notice provided to principal
6th offense	Teacher discipline- student sent to office, student meets with administration and loses demerit points

When the teacher has exhausted all classroom interventions, (6^th offense) he/she will send the student to the office with a citation. Anytime the student is referred to the office, they will begin to lose points.

All students will begin with 100 points. As the year progresses students will receive demerits (lose points) for inappropriate behavior.

Jr. High

Depending on the number of demerits or points lost during the year a specific consequence will follow. Parents are required to sign all notices when demerits are given. After a student has lost 25 or more points, they will be eligible to earn points back. A conference will be held between the administration and student to create a plan to have points reinstated. Most likely, the plan will include not receiving additional citations and applying to have points reinstated. The manner of application will be determined between the student and administration. Specific point values are listed below.

Elementary

The administration reserves the right to discipline students according to the demerit system or with appropriate pedagogical consequences taking the opportunity to teach appropriate choices.

Demerit Level	Consequence
76-95 points	Could include: Lunch or after school detention, in school suspension, parent conference, or other appropriate consequence
75 points	One day suspension
51-74 points	Could include: Lunch or after school detention, in school suspension, parent conference, or other appropriate consequence
50 points	Two day suspension
26-49 points	Could include: Lunch or after school detention, in school suspension, parent conference, or other appropriate consequence
25 points	Three day suspension

There are different levels of offenses for each negative student choice. The levels and brief definitions are listed below; a more extensive list as well as specific definitions are on the following pages.

Offense Level - Definition

Level I - Any level I offense calls for immediate suspension. These consist of acts that threaten the health, welfare, safety and security of the students, teachers and staff at Lincoln Academy. Students will lose 50 points.

Level II - Calls for the assignment of up to 25 points. Depending on the incident, suspension and a citation may be involved.

Level III - Calls for the assignment of 5-15 points. Additional consequences are possible

 

LEVEL I OFFENSES

These offenses, which are taken very seriously by the administration, require parental conferences and may result in legal action. These offenses will result in 50 demerit points being given and an automatic two day suspension. Depending on the extent of the infraction further suspension may be given.

DRUGS, ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, or INHALENTS

? A student shall not possess, use, transmit, distribute or sell tobacco or be under the influence of any drug or alcoholic beverage of any kind

WEAPONS

? A student shall not possess, use, or conceal any object that might be considered a dangerous weapon or instrument of violence.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

? Students shall not participate in sexual comments or behaviors that are unwelcome, offensive, demeaning, humiliating, derogatory, or otherwise inappropriate or fails to respect the dignity of an individual.

TRESPASSING

? Illegal or unauthorized entry into school facilities.

LEVEL II OFFENSES

These offenses, which are taken very seriously by the administration, require parental conferences and may result in legal action. These offenses will result in 25 demerit points being given and an automatic one-day suspension. Depending on the extent of the infraction further suspension may be given.

FIGHTING

? A student shall not cause physical injury to any student, teacher or other

school employee or visitor on school grounds or during a school function or

event.

VANDALISM

? A student shall not steal, cause damage to or destroy school property or

private property if on school grounds or during a school function.

BULLYING

? A student shall not engage in any act that harasses, intimidates, threatens,

degrades or disgraces another fellow student or teacher, by written, verbal or gestural means.

LEVEL III OFFENSES

These offenses will result in 5 to 15 demerit points being given. Once the demerits from these infractions equal 25 points combined the student will be suspended for one day.

DEFIANCE

? Up to 15 demerits for each offense

? A student shall not fail to comply with the directions of teachers, student

teachers, aides, principals or other authorized school personnel.

He/she shall not fail to comply with the rules and regulations of the school.

UNEXCUSED TARDINESS (at the beginning of school)

? 5 demerits for each unexcused tardy.

? Unexcused tardiness applies to late arrival to school.

?TRUANCY- skipping or sluffing class

10 demerits for each offense

? Skipping or cutting class is defined as not being in the assigned classroom,

study hall, lunch period and/or leaving the school building/grounds.

PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION

? 5 demerits

DRESS CODE

? 5 demerits for each offense

Parent is called to bring proper clothing

BREAKING TECHNOLOGY CODE

? 5 to 15 demerits for each offense

? Engaging in any activity prohibited by the technology code

POSSESSION /USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES

? 5 demerits for each offense

? Students are not to possess or use telephone paging devices, cellular telephones,

cameras, ipods, MP3 players or video cameras during school hours. These devices will be confiscated if the student is in violation of this rule.

PROFANITY

? 5 demerits for each offense

? A student shall not use any form of profanity, written, visual or verbal. Included in

this prohibition would be the use of obscene gestures, signs, pictures or

publications, obscene language, phrase or partial phrases

ROUGH HOUSING

?         5 to 15 demerits for each offense

?         Rough Housing includes any inappropriate aggressive or non-aggressive behavior. This could include playing with water, snowballs, food in the lunchroom or halls, pushing, shoving etc.

POSSIBLE DISCIPLINARY MEASURES

Definition of possible disciplinary measures which Lincoln Academy employees may employ according to student choice.

1. Student conference- conference between an employee of Lincoln Academy and the individual student.

2. Parent phone call/parent conference: Prior to a problem becoming quite serious, the parent(s)/guardian(s) will often be asked to come to the school to work with school officials. Many times a student will begin to show progress with the involvement of the parent(s)/guardian(s) in managing the problem.

3. Student/teacher team meeting: Student will meet with teachers who teach the individual student. The teachers will converse with the student and come up with a plan to help remedy the negative student behavior choice.

4. Assignment to Detention: This may be assigned before school, after school or on Saturday. The parent(s)/guardian(s) will be notified a day in advance when detention is assigned.

5. In-school suspension: When an adequate place is available within the building, the Principal/Assistant Principal may assign students to in-school suspension, which allows a student to remain in school, but isolates the student from the rest of the students in attendance.

6. Suspension from school: Serious violations and continued offenses may lead to suspension from school. This can only done by the administration. Unless it involves an emergency removal, the parent(s)/guardian(s) will be notified in advance that the student is being suspended from school.

Lincoln Academy reserves the right to modify or adjust this policy at any time throughout the year to better meet the needs of individual students. If whole policy modifications take place students, parents, teachers and administration will be notified.