Capitol Hill Elementary School                                          
2025-2026

School Climate Plan

What Is School Climate?

School Climate Overview

School Climate encompasses culturally relevant Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), restorative practices and schoolwide social-emotional learning opportunities for all students in their classrooms.  Racial equity and social justice is woven into all aspects of school climate to ensure that all students feel a sense of belonging and have a positive school experience. 

Multi-Tiered System of Support

School climate is an essential component of the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework.  MTSS is a proactive, data-driven practice used at Portland Public Schools to support all students. It uses evidence-based instruction, intervention and assessment practices to ensure that every student receives the appropriate level of support based on their level of need.  Within an MTSS structure, all students receive sustaining universal supports (Tier I). Additional support is provided for students that need it through targeted  interventions (Tier II), and individualized interventions (Tier III). These tiered academic and behavioral interventions help eliminate barriers to learning and enable every student to successfully reach their full potential.

Schoolwide Values and Common Area Expectations

Our School’s Core Values are 

1. Inclusivity and Kindness: Embrace diversity, show kindness and celebrate each other

2. Respect and Honesty: Treat others with respect and always be honest in word and action

3. Safety and Wellbeing: Prioritize safety and wellbeing for everyone in our community

4. Growth MIndset: Believe ALL people do their best if they can.  Meet individuals where they are and provide the support needed for success. 

Our Core Values were created with student, staff, family & community input. Posters are distributed throughout the building in order to make them visible to students, staff and families. The intention is to send a consistent message about what our school community values and  how it looks different in various common areas. This will help Capitol Hill ensure that our core values are inclusive and affirming. 

Students need to understand and exercise our core values on a regular basis to master the skills to be successful and prepared to be college and career ready. All adults acknowledge and reinforce these core values  when interacting with students. 

Our core values are woven into our regular teaching practices in every lesson and in every class period throughout the grade levels. Staff name them consistently and strategically teach and review our core values  throughout the school year.

Teaching Common Area Expectations 

All students are taught the common area expectations at least three times a year after long breaks. 

We used this matrix in the past but we are developing a new matrix centered around our Core Values.

Common Area Expectations

Behavior Matrix

Schoolwide (Tier 1) Climate Practices

Each Capitol Hill student deserves to come to school and feel seen, safe and valued.  In order to make this happen, adults across the school intentionally support all students by implementing the following: 

• A warm greeting by name each morning

• Monthly  Awards focused on SEL

• Classroom Community Agreements

• Community Circles

• “Fish Fins” to acknowledge expected behavior 

• “Rainbow Award” to acknowledge above expected behavior/kindness (school values)

• School counselor classroom lessons

• Social Emotional Learning classroom lessons

• Common Area Expectation lessons three times per year

• Calming spaces in each classroom

• Flexible seating

• Think Sheets to help reflect on behavior

Student Intervention Team:  Additional Behavior & Academic Supports (Tier II and Tier III)

When Tier 1 classroom and schoolwide supports are not enough to ensure student success, students may be brought to the school Student Intervention Team (SIT) to develop and implement Tier II and III interventions. 

The Student Intervention Team (SIT) is a collaborative, general education solution-generating team made up of a variety of school perspectives. The purpose of the SIT is to 

• support teachers in reflecting on and enhancing their Tier I practices and

• implement targeted Tier II and III behavior and Tier III academic interventions when needed.

Utilizing an equity lens, the team considers the whole student when making decisions that affect their long-term educational experience and sense of belonging in PPS. SIT works to provide every student and adult what they need to thrive in the general education setting. Families are notified about student strengths and challenges, as well as planned interventions, at all points in the process.

Defining Behaviors

Defining Stage 1 and Stage 2/3 Behaviors

Behavior level calibration will be conducted by building staff in order to properly reflect the evolving needs of our community and to accommodate the diverse racial, cultural, linguistic and developmental needs of our school.

Personal electronic devices:  

In alignment with the new PPS board policy, students must keep personal electronic devices off and away throughout the school day.  This includes cell phones, tablets, smart watches, and similar devices.  This is reflected in our school’s behavior matrix and discipline flowchart, linked below.

Discipline Policies

Capitol Hill has created and calibrated around a flowchart to describe how staff respond to unexpected behaviors. If a student is escalated such that the flowchart below does not meet their needs, they may utilize the school's deescalation space. De-escalation spaces are a predesignated space in the school, not the classroom, for students to de-escalate with adult support.

CHE Discipline Response Flowchart

Defining Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 Behaviors

Purpose of All Student Behavior Responses:  

De-escalate, Resolve, Restore, Re-teach, Return to Learning

Effective Classroom Practices Plan

Every teacher will have an Effective Classroom Practices Plan (ECP Plan). ECP Plans will be shared with administration no later than the day before back to school night.  Co-creating classroom practices reduces variability between classrooms and makes it more consistent for students. Some sample plans are provided below and professional development time will be provided in the first two weeks of school to complete these documents.

The Effective Classroom Practices Plan template, covers the essential features of effective classroom practices: Structure, teaching expectations, acknowledging positive behaviors, and supporting regulation & restorative practices. 

[Name] Effective Classroom Practices Plan

Feedback and Acknowledgement Systems

Research shows that when staff observe and acknowledge students exhibiting appropriate behaviors, those behaviors will increase and misbehaviors will decrease. Specific praise is extremely important in increasing the recurrence of appropriate behaviors. When observing appropriate behaviors in the common areas/ classrooms/ buses, all staff acknowledge students exhibiting our core values verbally and by along with specific praise. The following was used in the past but we are developing a new and improved system.  

Description of our school-wide acknowledgement system:  As of now we have a cafeteria expectation school wide acknowledgement and we will be working on another that aligns with our Core Values

• Core values posted around the school

• Points system for Cafeteria expectations for a school wide reward

Tier One School Wide Incentive Lanyard system

Every student will be given a lanyard at the beginning of the school year with a grade level charm attached. Every month there will be a school wide focus based on the CASEL wheel. Every month there will be a charm that represents the focus that kids are working on earning. The goal is to use equity based books as read alouds, teachable moments and other meaningful ways to support the focus. Students will earn a charm when they show they are learning the skill. See attached documents for monthly focus and charms. All students will be able to earn all charms. 

Assembly  with CASEL focus and charms

Family Involvement & Feedback 

Fidelity Data

Culturally Responsive Tiered Fidelity Inventory (CR-TFI) & Fidelity Implementation Tool (FIT)

This School Climate Plan is under continuous review using both the CR-TFI and domains in the  FIT Assessment that pertain to strong and positive school culture and inclusive behavior/social emotional instruction. 

These tools guide the action planning for the implementation of a positive school climate and connect directly with this School Climate Plan and the School Continuous Improvement Plan.

Successful Schools Survey (SSS)

• Completed once a year in November by all students (grades 3-12), staff, and families.

• Reviewed by the School Climate Team and shared with staff, students and families. Used to monitor and adjust climate initiatives.

• Accessed via the Panorama dashboard. 

  • Student Feedback 24-25

  • Teachers & Staff Feedback 24-25

  • Families Feedback 24-25