D65 Strategic Plan Review: Safe and Supportive School Climate

Information

Strategic Plan: Safe and Supportive School Climate

Safe & Supportive School Climate

Goal: Ensure all D65 schools have positive school climates built upon clear and equitable policies and practices where all members of the school community feel emotionally and physically safe, included and accepted.

Strategy 1: Social Emotional Learning Implement Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs at all schools in the District ! Second Step !  Re-train SSWS !  Train classroom teachers !  Determine middle school programming

! PBIS !  Maintain !  Refresh

! Restorative Justice !  2014-2015 : Washington, Dewey, Orrington, Oakton, Lincoln !  2015-2016: Kingsley, Dawes, King Arts, Nichols, Walker

! Additional SEL Programming !  All schools provide a variety of SEL programs

Strategy 2: Professional Development

!  Develop staff knowledge of social and emotional development in children, and its application to classroom routines so that all teachers can work with all students, particularly those with challenges. !  This will require comprehensive training over the next 3-5 years. ! Four Major Areas !  Truancy ! ED students !  Students on the Autism spectrum !  LGBT/Diversity: Work with Biz/ Diversity Training

Strategy 3: School/District Action Teams

! Create school climate action teams in each school that will review data on student academic progress, student social and emotional learning, school wide disciplinary activities, and access to culturally responsive instructional and support strategies. ! School Climate Teams (Each School) ! Oversees school climate work in the school !  Identifies cultural needs, programs, and training needed

! Whole Child Council (District) ! Oversees work of the school teams ! Oversees district wide data/programming ! Develops School Climate Toolkit

School Action Items

2015-16 Local School Action Items

!  Establish School Climate Team (Sept/October)

!  Begin specialized training by Have Dreams

!  Complete a school wide audit of SEL needs identified by school social workers

!  Implement Phase 2 of Restorative Justice Plan

Review and Update of Current Programs

PBIS

!  A Response to Intervention (RtI) model. PBIS applies a three-tiered system of support, and a

problem-solving process, to enhance the capacity of schools to effectively educate all students

!  A proactive systems approach to establishing the behavioral supports and social culture needed for all students in a school to achieve social, emotional, and academic success

PBIS “Recognition Status” Significant Growth District-wide

ALL District schools go through PBIS evaluation process – There are four levels of implementation recognition

!  2013-2014: 3 schools at highest level of implementation, 9 schools at second level

!  2014-2015: 4 schools at highest level of implementation, 5 schools at second level

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Social Emotional Learning

Self-Awareness

Social-Awareness

Relationship Skills

Responsible Decision Making

Self-Management

Committee for Children

!  Talking About Touching: A Personal Safety Curriculum

!  Second Step

!  Steps to Respect: Bully Prevention Program

Social Thinking

!  The Incredible Flexible You

!  You are a Social Detective

!  Superflex: A Superhero Social Thinking Curriculum

Zones of Regulation

!  A Curriculum Designed to Foster Self-Regulation and Emotional Control

Others…

!  Executive Functioning

!  Stop, Walk, and Talk: Bullying Curriculum

!  Skill Streaming

Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum/

Supports Middle School

Second Step: Steps to Respect

! Violence Prevention Program

! Focus on building empathy

Social Academic Instructional Group (SAIG)

!  Based on need (school data: ODR, Truancy, Grades) and referrals (parent/teacher/staff)

!  Short-term 4-8 weeks

!  Examples of targeted behaviors: building self-esteem, social skills training, coping skills for anxiety, anger management, self-advocacy.

Executive Functioning Groups

!  Rush Neurobehavioral Center: Executive Functioning Curriculum

!  Targets organization/planning systems, time management, test-taking and study skills.

!  Data-driven referrals, parents, teacher/staff

!  Small group, short term 4-8 weeks

Girls on the Run

!  Voluntary Program for Girls (Grades 3-5 and 6-8)

!  Short-term (12 weeks)

!  Promotes: Life-long health/fitness, healthy relationships, confidence

SNOWFLAKE

!  Open to all 6th-8th grade students across the district

!  Hosted and organized by Peer Services in conjunction with District 65 social workers and students.

!  Aims to teach important life skills such as decision making, problem solving, communication, and drug refusal techniques in COOL ways!

6th Grade Advisory

!  Building wide interventions take place, such as Erika’s Lighthouse and Anti-bullying.

!  Students work on team building activities, stress and time management skills, disability awareness, decision making skills, goal setting, and organization skills.

Erika’s Lighthouse

!  2-3 day presentation done through advisory

!  Conducted to develop self-awareness to depression , self-management of depression and decision making when it comes to matters of seeking help for yourself or intervening with others.

!  According to Erika’s Lighthouse, “Reduces stigma, encourages early intervention, promotes early identification.”

Anti-bullying

!  Objective is to teach students about the definition of bullying, gossiping, inappropriate remarks, difference between an instigator, bystander, and cyber-bullying.

!  Partnering has been done with Northwestern Athletes in some schools (Project ROARR!)

Project Alert

!  Curriculum done in 7th and 8th grade through PE classes.

!  7th graders receive 12 lessons focus on identifying pressures to use drugs, learning to resist those pressures, and practicing resistance skills.

!  8th graders receive 3 booster sessions focusing on motivating resistance to drugs, practice internal and external pressures to use drugs, and benefits of resisting drugs.

District 65’s Restorative School Communities (RSC) Initiative

“Building Community and Enhancing Learning"

. RSC believes if we strengthen relationships among all school

community members through restorative practices (e.g. Circles), children’s socio-emotional and academic learning will flourish.

Our Circle Guidelines

1. We all sit in a Circle.

2. We use a Talking Piece.

3. We use “I Statements.”

4. What’s said in Circle Stays in Circle.

5. We have Openings and Closings to our Circles.

ALL CIRCLES ARE RESTORATIVE BY NATURE. THEY FOSTER…

*Equity and Inclusion *Self-Exploration and Reflection

*Listening and Speaking with Intent *Empathy for One-Self and Others

*Accountability *Leadership and Academic Competencies

THE RSC CONTINUUM OF RESTORATIVE PRACTICES

The Guidelines Stay the Same, but the Focus can Change:

PHASE 1: Building the Foundation Across Grades

SHARING CIRCLES: Learning Our Circle Guidelines and Values

PHASE 2: Going Deeper

RESPONSIVE CIRCLES: Responding to Issues Together

PEACE CIRCLES: Restoring Relationships and Wrongdoing

PHASE 1 Schools: Kingsley, Dawes, Oakton and Walker

PHASE 2 Schools: Lincoln, Washington, Dewey and Orrington

Overview !  District 65’s goal is to promote positive and sustained school climate that nurtures

social and emotional, ethical, and academic skills to realize students’ fullest potential.

!  D65 will help schools integrate crucial social and emotional learning with academic instruction. Creating healthy relationships among members of the school community creates an environment where all children can learn and grow. Everyone in a school building—the students, staff, parents, and community members—contribute to creating and maintaining a safe and positive school climate.

!  To this end, we are developing in each of our schools throughout the next 3 years, school climate committees to address these issues, to work together to improve and integrate our social emotional learning.

!  Consistent with the National School Climate Center’s recommendations, D65 strives to build capacity with thoughtful use of data to establish best practices, and meaningful guidelines.  We will be developing toolkits to support educators, programs, and services that support a model for whole school improvement with a focus on school climate.

Domains

Interpersonal Relationships

Safety

Teaching and Learning

Institutional Environment

Interpersonal Relationships

• Mutual respect for individual differences (e.g. gender, race, culture, etc.) at all levels of the school—student-student; adult-student; adult-adult; and overall norms for tolerance.

Respect for Diversity

• Pattern of supportive and caring adult relationships for students, including high expectations for students’ success, willingness to listen to students and to get to know them as individuals, and personal concern for students’ problems.

• Foster positive relationships between families and school. • Foster positive relationships between colleagues.

Social Support—Adults

• Pattern of supportive peer relationships for students, including: friendships for socializing, for problems, for academic help, and for new students.

Social Support—Students

Safety

• Clearly communicated rules about physical violence; clearly communicated rules about verbal abuse, harassment, and teasing; clear and consistent enforcement and norms for adult intervention.

Rules and Norms

• Sense that students feel safe from physical harm in the school.

Sense of Physical Security

• Sense that students feel safe from verbal abuse, teasing, and exclusion.

Sense of Social-Emotional Security

Teaching and Learning

• Use of supportive teaching practices, such as: encouragement and constructive feedback; varied opportunities to demonstrate knowledge and skills; support for risk-taking and independent thinking; atmosphere conducive to dialogue and questioning; academic challenge; and individual attention.

Support for Learning

• Support for the development of social and civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions including: effective listening, conflict resolution, self-reflection and emotional regulation, empathy, personal responsibility, and ethical decision making.

Social and Civic Learning

Institutional Environment

• Positive identification with the school and norms for broad participation in school life for students, staff, and families.

School Connectedness/Engagement

• Cleanliness, order, appeal of facilities, adequate resources, and materials.

Physical Surroundings

WCC Members Paul Goren Superintendent

John Price Assistant Superintendent of Schools

Peter Godard RAD Director

Joyce Bartz Assistant Superintendent of Special Services

Maria Allison Chief Strategy Officer

Tricia Murray Kingsley Principal

Karen Bradley Dawes Principal

Wayne Williams Oakton Principal

Julia Milne TWI teacher-Oakton

Natalie Hoss Special Ed teacher-Washington

Betsy Quinn Drama teacher- Haven

Susan Kolian Restorative Justice Coordinator

Andy Friedman PBIS coordinator

Ismalis Nunez Family & Community Engagement Coordinator

Gayle Carpenter General Education Teacher-Nichols

Claire Hiller General Education Math Coach-D65

Advisory Committee

!  Parents

!  Board Member

!  Community Members

WCC Deliverables

!  Messaging

!  Toolkits & Implementation

!  Identifying Target Populations

!  Universal PD

!  Policy Change

!  Best practices

Vision of Climate Committees

!  Plan

!  Structure

!  D65 Support Role

!  Yearly Focus Plan

!  Year 1, Year 2, Year 3

!  Training

!  Partner Schools

2015-16 Schools

Dawes King Arts

Kingsley Lincoln

Lincolnwood Oakton

2016-17 Schools

Dewey Haven

Nichols Rice

Washington Willard

2017-18 Schools

Bessie Rhodes Chute

JEH Orrington

Park Walker

Climate Committee Structure

!  Principal

!  AP (if you have one)

!  ILT member

!  Gen Ed teacher (K-2)

!  Gen Ed teacher (3-5)

!  Gen Ed teacher (6-8)

!  TWI teacher  (if you have one)

!  Social Worker

!  Special Ed

!  Fine Arts / Reading / PE

!  Principal's choice

D65 Support Plan

!  Onboarding

!  Climate Committee (CC) Trainings

!  Toolkits

!  D65 Visit Each Phase

!  Principal Sessions

!  Principal/Climate Committee Support

Yearly Focus

!  Year 1 Interpersonal Relationships

!  Year 2 Safety

!  Year 3 Teaching and Learning

!  Year 4 Institutional Environment

Initiative Timeline

Phase 3 schools implement

differentiated plans and focus on safety

Phase 2 focus on teaching and

learning

Pilot schools focus on institutional environment

Year 4

Phase 3 schools focus on interpersonal

relationships

Phase 2 implement differentiated plans and focus on safety

Pilot schools focus on teaching and

learning

Year 3

Phase 2 schools focus on interpersonal

relationships

Pilot schools implement

differentiated plans and focus on safety

Year 2

Pilot Schools focus on interpersonal

relationships

Year 1

2015-16 Timeline

Sept-Early October

Phase 1 Onboarding

October-December

Phase 2 Inventory

January-February

Phase 3 Action Planning

March-April

Phase 4 Implementation

May

Phase 5 Differentiated Plans

Year 2

Interpersonal Relationships Structure

Student/Student

School/Family

Staff/Student

Staff/Staff

Partner Schools

!  Dawes & Oakton

!  Kingsley & King Arts

!  Lincoln & Lincolnwood