March 7, 2011

Dear Nixon Parents,

As part of our school connectedness/antibullying initiative, Nixon and Haynes Schools are piloting the use of a Peer-to-Peer Aggression Rubric. The purpose of the rubric is to make our expectations for behavior and the resulting consequences clear and fair.   

The rubric is based on the children’s own ideas about which behaviors are more and less serious (from last year’s survey of 3rd-5th graders) as well as staff input and with feedback from Stan Davis, national consultant on antibullying. The rubric applies ONLY to student-to-student aggression, not to other forms of misbehavior.  Other behaviors and bus behaviors will continue to be dealt with per the Sudbury Public Schools student behavior and bus policies as outlined in the handbook.   Examples of other types of behaviors not included on the rubric include things like cheating, destruction of school property, defying an adult, breaking safety rules, and all bus infractions.

I have introduced the rubric to the children at the Peace Assemblies and classroom teachers have reviewed them as well.  Our January connection/antibullying survey of students in grades 3-5 indicates that 95% of students feel our discipline expectations are fair, and I think that this is mostly due to the rubric, which we developed with the children and which has been posted around the building.   We are now asking thateach of you review the rubric with your children to ensure that you and your child(ren) have discussed them.

In order to ensure that the rubric is developmentally appropriate and respectful of  the different ways parents may wish to handle sensitive issues, we have a modified version of the rubric for students.  On the student version of the rubric, we have deleted the word “sexual” from the phrases “sexual orientation” and “sexually explicit.”  I leave it to you to determine the best way to make it clear that they may not use phrases such as “you’re so gay” or talk about private body parts, for example.  Many times children know that certain language is insulting or inappropriate but don’t know the meaning. Likewise, we are not making a list of illegal behaviors on student versions of the rubric, because we don’t want to list things like bringing drugs or knives to school. I have included both an adult’s annotated version of the rubricand the children’s version for your reference.   However you choose to discuss these issues with your child(ren),  he or she is responsible for following these expectations. 

It is important for parents to help children understand that language that they may be  exposed to in the media is not appropriate for the school setting, even if they are “kidding” or are allowed to do so at home.   This often shows up as making fun of another and violent language or actions.  Students should understand that they should not talk, write, sing, pantomime or draw about people being seriously harmed with weapons or otherwise or use language such as “I’m going to kill you,” “I’ll blow your head off,” “You’re dead,” as some children find this language threatening and frightening.

I am also attaching a copy of our Consequences chart, which summarizes how each level of behavior will be dealt with by staff and communicated to parents.  For all Yellow and the first two instances of Orange behaviors, the staff member will deal with the behavior with immediate and relatively modest consequences, such as time out from recess, sitting away from peers, etc.     For the third and beyond instance of an Orange behavior and any Red behavior, the student may be referred to an administrator with escalating consequences for repeat offenses.   You will be informed if your child has repeated an Orange Behavior or engaged in any Red behavior.  

We expect that the rubric and consequences will be effective for the vast majority of students.  However, students who repeatedly engage in inappropriate or harmful behaviors may need an individual behavior plan.

At the end of the school year we will ask for your feedback about the rubric from your perspective.  In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.                                                                                                             

Sincerely,                                                                                                                                                                 

Joni Jay