Policies, Handbook and Guidelines

  • Boise-Eliot/Humboldt School has a comprehensive school climate plan.

    School Climate
    School Climate encompasses CR-PBIS (Culturally-Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports), Restorative Practices with the lens of Equity and practices of CARE (Collaborative Action Research for Equity) explicitly called out and woven in.

    pbis


    CR-PBIS
    CR-PBIS (Culturally-Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) uses implementation science to help students to develop positive behaviors. At the most basic level, CR-PBIS can be described as a three-pronged approach:

    1. Explicitly teach what is expected
    2. Actively acknowledge kids when they are following the expectations
    3. Instructionally correct kids when they are not following the expectations

    Research shows that when school staff acknowledge positive behaviors at least three times more often than correcting behavioral mistakes, misbehaviors decrease significantly.

    CR-PBIS uses disaggregated data to make decisions and to develop the systems and practices of a school. The unique racial, cultural and linguistic makeup of the school is explicitly addressed at every decision point.

    More specifically:

    • Accesses all stakeholders to develop and promote school values
    • Develops common area expectations for all parts of the building
    • Designs lesson plans and schedules to teach common area expectations throughout the year.
    • Creates and maintains systems to acknowledge students who are following the school values and expectations. This may be acknowledgement tickets, regular assemblies, or awards for individuals, classes, grade levels, etc. 
    • Develops school wide policies that are proactive, preventative and restorative.
    • Utilizes staff input to build corrective discipline systems (i.e. a flowchart) and calibrate clear definitions of student behaviors. 

    How do we make certain that PBIS is culturally responsive?

    • We systematically assess and review student and family voices and adjust our practices to reflect the needs of our community (See Tier I Evaluation)

    Restorative Practices
    Restorative Practices, also referred to as Restorative Justice, is a range of community building, peacemaking practices adapted to the school setting. The intention is to build trusting relationships and offer restorative alternatives to punitive discipline.

    Restorative Inquiry is an essential restorative practice. A series of guiding questions are asked:

    • What happened?
    • Who was affected/impacted?
    • What can be done to make and keep things right?
    • How can others support you? 

    Equity/CARE
    This handbook is intended to inform Boise-Eliot/Humboldt PK-8 School staff of the processes that support the reduction of exclusionary discipline to provide our students with equitable access to education. Our main goal is to reduce disproportionality in exclusionary discipline by 50% in support of the district wide goal.

    Our CARE work is intentionally focused on increasing classroom engagement for every learning style and our capacity for being culturally competent in our instructional practices and inclusive of our diverse learning styles.

    “Portland Public Schools is committed to academic excellence and personal success for all students. Central to this commitment is educational equity. We are committed to providing instruction with the rigor, cultural relevance, and relationships that ignite the potential of each and every student. In order to do so, we must shift our practices to see students as individuals—including their race, their language, their gender, their sexual orientation, and their various abilities.

    This work is necessary to serve a diverse student body well and prepare every student to navigate and compete in a culturally rich society and global economy, now and into the future.”

    –Chief Equity Officer, Lolenzo Poe