East Muskingum Local School District
Administrative Guidelines
 

5600A - STUDENT DISCIPLINE

Guidelines for District and Building Administrators

The administration shall take a shared role in the establishment and maintenance of appropriate discipline in the school and in the enforcement of the Code of Conduct in accordance with the following guidelines.

Each principal shall review the Code of Conduct and make any needed changes or additions. The committee should also establish a plan which will ensure that all members of the staff understand what it says and agree to a common approach for supervising and disciplining students.

Since it is in everyone's best interests to have parental understanding and support for appropriate student behavior, the parents should be made aware of:

 A.the Code of Conduct;
 B.the school's disciplinary procedures;
 C.the process for communicating their concerns to the school;
 D.the actions they can take to provide support for proper student behavior and attitudes.

Each principal should also:

 A.give top priority to counseling with any teacher on a disciplinary situation when requested;
 B.in concert with teachers, plan and conduct in-service activities on classroom management, discipline procedures, follow-up, and any other strategies which will help the staff use effective discipline;
 C.provide for supervision for all school-sponsored activities;
 D.refer any parent concerns about student conduct and discipline to the appropriate teacher as the first step in resolving the situation.

Guidelines for Teachers

Teacher effectiveness and purposeful, well-planned activities are prerequisites to good discipline. Most students will exhibit "good" behavior when they perceive the teacher is competent, consistent, fair, and supportive of school policies.

The following guidelines should contribute to effective discipline:

 A.Establish fair, workable, consistent, and educationally-productive procedures by which the classroom and other areas of learning will operate, based on an analysis of the program, the maturity level of the students, and their needs, abilities, and interests.
 B.Plan and conduct learning activities that contribute to accomplishing specified objectives and goals, stimulate and encourage application of thought, and require the active participation of the students. Long and frequent activities of data-gathering through lectures, readings, film, etc. without planned opportunities for students to process and apply the information can lead to boredom and indifference - a seedbed for discipline problems.
 C.Help set the tone for good discipline by modeling the behaviors expected of students.
 D.Inform students of the high expectations regarding discipline and persist in their fulfillment.
 E.Initiate parental contact where appropriate and necessary.
 F.Support District and building administrators in disciplinary matters and avoid undermining the supervisory guidelines.