Running head: TEAM DISCIPLINE PLAN 1

Boury Middle School Team Discipline Plan

Franciscan University of Steubenville

EDU 360

London Sylvestre, Mary Scanlon, Harry Olenick, and Christine Aubert

December 4, 2016
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Expectations
T- Teachers Teachers will uphold the dignity of each student
while helping them realize their self-worth and the
worth of their peers and faculty.

R- Respect Students, teachers, and faculty will respect school

property and take initiative when caring for the
school and needs of the student body.

Y- You You, as a student, will persevere in your studies

while maintaining a positive and healthy work ethic.

Misconduct & Consequences

MISCONDUCT 1ST OFFENCE 2ND OFFENCE 3RD OFFENCE

UNEXCUSED ABSENCE Student will be Parent will be Student will meet

asked to explain notified again with the principal
All students are unexcused and asked to and teacher
granted three absence and come in to talk regarding the
unexcused absences parent will be with the teacher absences. Student
with no written or notified by the depending on the will complete 5
signed absentee form. teacher. severity of the community
An unexcused absence issue. Student service hours (in
consists of any missed will have lunch addition to the 10
school days that are detention. hours that all
not previously students
approved by the complete over
school. Returning with the course of the
a signed doctor's note year). Parent will
overrides the absentee be notified about
requirement of Boury the meeting and
Middle School. will be asked to
join depending on
the severity.
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PROHIBITED ITEMS

To promote school Item will be Item will be Item will be

safety and the well confiscated and confiscated and confiscated and
being of our students, student will be student will have student will have
any item that prohibits given a formal, lunch detention. an in-school
the learning or safety written warning. Depending on the suspension. The
of our students is not Depending on the seriousness of the teacher will
allowed on campus. seriousness of the item, student will request a
Prohibited items item, student will meet with the conference
include but are not meet with the teacher and other regarding the
limited to: gum, teacher and other appropriate issue. The
electronics, tobacco appropriate faculty including conference will
and related faculty including Boury Middle include the
paraphernalia, drugs, Boury Middle School’s resource teacher, student,
alcohol, firearms, School’s resource officer. The parents/
weapons, and officer. teacher will also guardians, and
unauthorized call the child’s appropriate
medications. parents/ school faculty
guardians. including Boury
Middle School’s
resource officer.

CHEATING & PLAGIARISM

At Boury Middle School Student will Student will Student will

we strive for receive a receive no credit receive no credit
excellence within our maximum of 50% for the for the
studies. Cheating and for their final assessment or assessment or
plagiarism are serious grade on the assignment. assignment.
offences that given assignment Parent will be Parent, teacher
undermine the learning after the student called to come in and student will
and behavior of all re-completes the and meet with meet with the
students. As a assignment or the teacher and principal and
community, we retakes an the student possibly receive a
promote appropriate assessment. regarding the suspension.
ethical conduct in and Parent will be issue.
outside our classrooms. notified.
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Team encouragement strategies

Although Boury Middle School is composed of four unique grade bands,
the students and faculty strive to foster dignity and respect for all in a positive,
healthy, productive, and supportive school community. Therefore, Boury Middle
School offers a variety of team encouragement strategies or school-wide projects and
events that are designed to promote interaction among the grades, maintain the
school grounds and property, and develop a safe, fun, and engaging school community
and environment. The ultimate goal is to promote understanding and positive
relationships within and outside the school as students and faculty engage in rigorous,
active, and meaningful learning. The following are three examples of team
encouragement strategies that Boury Middle School utilizes:

Spirit Week One week each semester is designated as

a Spirit Week in which the students wear
specific colors or costumes. Each day of
the week will be a separate theme. For
instance, one day will be a classroom
pride day in which the students wears
the same color to represent their grade
(i.e. 5th = yellow, 6th = pink, 7th = blue,
& 8th = green). Other themes may
include wearing pajamas and superhero
costumes.

Clean-up Days Periodically, the school will participate

in a clean-up day in which students,
faculty, principals, and teachers
collaborate in a rejuvenation project of
the school grounds. All will submit
proposals for which projects to
undertake (e.g. picking up litter outside,
painting rooms, general maintenance
work, and cleaning/organizing common
areas such as the theatre, gym,
computer labs, lunchrooms, and the
library). All participants will then sign up
for the project that interests them.
Students and faculty may create
fundraisers to raise money for more
involved, complex, and bigger school
projects.
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Talent Show As a recreational activity, students will

have the opportunity to compete in a
community-wide talent show. Students
can showcase any talent (e.g. singing,
dancing, juggling, comedy, acting,
playing instruments). The talent show
encourages participation from the
elementary, middle, and high school
grades in addition to teachers, parents,
faculty, and other community members.
Each student will participate at the same
talent show but within their own age
band (i.e. elementary grades, middle
school, high school, and
adult/community members) in order to
ensure that competition is fair and
balanced. The students may also choose
to sell admission tickets and chances for
door prizes in an effort to raise money
for a specific school or community cause.

Team Procedures
Procedures for Absentees Boury Middle School’s absentee procedures and
consequences for unexcused absences are clearly
defined. All students are granted three unexcused
absences per semester. For an absence to be
considered excused, the student must submit an
Absence Request form to his or her homeroom
teachers. The teacher will initial the form to indicate
that he/she received it, and then the form will be
submitted to the assistant principal’s office. The
decision to excuse an absence is ultimately left to the
assistant principal’s discretion. Absences for school
events such as academic decathlon, band
competitions, and sports games will be considered
excused, as long as the appropriate paperwork is
completed before the event. The student will have
lunch detention for the second unexcused absence. For
the third unexcused absence, the student will have to
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complete an additional 5 community service hours.

Students will not be permitted to make-up work they
missed after their third unexcused absence. After
returning to school after an excused absence(s), the
student will be provided all of his missed class notes
and assignments. The teacher will provide notes from
the missed classes. The student will have as many days
as he was absent to complete the missing assignments.
After this number of days has passed, the grade for the
assignment will go down a letter a day; for example,
the grade will go from an A to a B after one extra day,
from a B to a C after two extra days. The student is
responsible for rescheduling any tests or quizzes
missed while he was absent. The make-up dates are
left to the discretion of the individual teacher.

Use of Lockers Boury Middle School students are expected to respect

school property, others’ property, and themselves.
First, students may only be at their lockers during
designated passing periods or with a hall pass and
teacher permission. Passing periods will be 8 minutes
at the beginning of the school day, 5 minutes between
each period, and 8 minutes at the end of the day.
Students will not be permitted to return to their
lockers during class periods to get any forgotten books
or materials. Students should keep their locker
combinations private and are not permitted to open
another student’s locker. Students are not allowed to
keep any prohibited items in their lockers, including
drugs, alcohol, weapons, explicit materials, and
anything else banned in the school handbook.

Grading Format Students’ academic progress will be outlined on

progress reports and quarterly report cards. Parent-
teacher conferences will be held at the end of both
semesters, but teachers are available for meetings
outside of that time. The procedure for scheduling a
meeting with the teacher is outlined in the parent
conference format below.
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All classes at Boury Middle School will use the following

grading scale:
98%-100%: A+
94%-97%: A
91%-93%: A-
88%-90%: B+
84%-87%: B
81%-83%: B-
78%-80%: C+
74%-77%: C
71%-73%: C-
68%-70%: D+
64%-67%: D
61%-63%: D-
60% and below: F

Parent Conference Format

Boury Middle School created and implemented a detailed parent-teacher
conference format for all students, faculty, teachers, and parents to follow. First, all
parent-teacher conferences will be scheduled via email. In this email, parents and
teachers should clearly state the time, location, general purpose, and participants of
a given parent-teacher conference. Teachers and school faculty will use their school
email addresses in order to provide accessibility, prevent confusion, and encourage
organization and clear communication. When a email is sent, the sender should allow
a 72 hour response window. Parents, who do not have access to a computer or an
email, can call the main office and submit a verbal request for a conference to the
school faculty, who will then relay the information to the appropriate individuals.
Furthermore, unless mitigating work or extraordinary circumstances dictate
otherwise, parent-teacher conferences will occur prior to the beginning of the school
day.
Teachers also have specific procedures to follow before, during, and after each
parent-teacher conference. Teachers must organize, collect, bring, and present
student records, anecdotal notes, observations, grades, student work products,
discipline reports, and any other formal documentation (e.g. Individual Education
Plan). During the meeting, the teacher should keep minutes or notes of the
information covered, concerns raised, and solutions/conclusions proposed. This
information will be placed in the student’s record for future reference and
clarification. If the parent gives permission, the teacher may use a computer or tablet
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to create an audio recording of the meeting. Finally, following the meeting, the
teacher will send an email to the parent and appropriate faculty members
summarizing the minutes and information discussed. Following a meeting with a
parent who does not have access to a computer or email, the teacher will send a
formal letter home that summarizes the same content.

School “Community” plan

Boury Middle School encourages all faculty, staff, and students to follow the
“TRY” model of rules and expectations. This motto, along with the teachers’ team
encouragement strategies, is supported by the school’s community plan. The plan
follows the same three-part “TRY” format.

T- Teachers Teachers will provide opportunities to interact with

the community. These will include guest speakers
coming to speak with individual classes and at school
events; field trips to local businesses, police stations,
and firehouses; and service drives for local causes,
encouraging students to bring in food, clothes, and
money for various charities.

R- Respect Students will respect the local community by

completing the required 10 services hours per year in
settings such as a soup kitchen, a church, an animal
shelter, or a nursing home. It is Boury Middle School’s
expectation that the teachers and faculty will be
involved in these community service projects.

Y- You You, as a student, will help develop a greater

community among all students, faculty, and staff at
Boury Middle School. School clean-up days, spirit
weeks, and talent shows are designed to offer you the
opportunity to develop meaningful, supportive, and
positive relationships.
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Rationale
The rationale behind our behavior management plan is predicated on respect

and responsibility. Teachers will uphold the dignity of each student while helping

them realize their self worth and the worth of their peers and faculty; in return, the

students are expected to respect their teachers. Students will respect school property

and take initiative when caring for the school and needs of the student body. We

want to encourage students to grow in responsibility by giving them personal space,

opportunities for fun, and freedom to express themselves. Additionally, students will

persevere in their studies while maintaining a positive and healthy work ethic. For

every offense that hinders these goals and expectations, the consequences are strict,

applicable to all students with no exceptions, and increase in severity for each repeat

and subsequent violation. Ultimately, parents, teachers, faculty, and principals will

be involved in the discipline process so that students are aware of the high standards

in which they are held. Procedures are written simply and will be reviewed in the

classrooms at the beginning of each semester so that students are aware of the

expectations.

Our behavior management plan is rooted in “Assertive Discipline” by Lee and

Marlene Canter. These theorists believed that discipline in the classroom should be

organized, structured, and systematic. This procedure is meant to implement

consequences so that students can learn and grow from the mistakes they make while

making sure they know the rules and consequences that come along with

inappropriate behavior. The teacher is meant to determine what is best for the

students in the classroom. However, the teacher has the right to determine what
Running head: TEAM DISCIPLINE PLAN 10

discipline strategies will be implemented. No child benefits from a fellow student

acting out, so it is important for the teacher to be in charge and teach the children

acceptable behavior. As an assertive teacher you should “react confidently and

quickly in situations that require the management of student behavior.” Teachers are

actually showing their interest in the youth when they demand and promote respect

and acceptable behavior. Overall, we implemented this theory into our behavior

management plan so that teachers can have control over their classroom while

promoting a healthy learning environment for all students.

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Resources

Assertive discipline/child discipline in the classroom. (n.d.). http://www.behavior

advisor.com/AssertiveDiscipline.html