to see Parent Handbook - Calgary Board of Education

follow directions when asked
With adult guidance, children take
responsibility for their learning and assume
responsibility for their actions. Our goal is
that each child grows in self-monitoring
his/her own behaviours.
To accomplish this goal we have adopted
the Raise Responsibility System described
as follows:
The Raise Responsibility System
The foundation of The Raise Responsibility
System* developed by Marvin Marshall is to
teach students how to become responsible
before problems occur. How young people
mature after learning the hierarchy is what
makes teaching it so valuable.
Rather than focusing on discipline, think of
the hierarchy as an opportunity for young
people to have a rubric for making
decisions in life. This system can be used
with students from kindergarten to grade
12.
The practice in the implementation of the
system is based on three principles;
1) Positivity: turning negative requests into
positive statement such as saying, “This is
a walking zone” instead of saying “don’t
run.”
2) Choice: students have the choice of
controlling their behaviour by determining at
which level they are behaving and making a
choice to move to the higher level
3) Reflection: asking reflective questions is
the best way for young people to learn to
manage their own behaviour. All staff at the
school received training to understand the
levels used to address behaviour
throughout the school: in class, at lunch and
at recess on the playground.
We use the following four levels of social
development to help us teach our students
how to succeed at school and in life.
The top two levels are both acceptable
and the ones that students strive for.
D: Democracy is the highest level on the
hierarchy and our goal for all students. This
level is characterized by self-discipline,
initiative, and displaying responsibility. At this
level, a person's motivation is internal.
C: Cooperation is when a person is
considerate and complies with requests,
either from peers or adults. At this level the
motivation is external.
___________________________________
These following two levels are NOT
acceptable.
B: Bothering or Bossing which is
characterized by bothering or bossing others
and breaking our standards at school.
A: Anarchy is the absence of order and is
characterized by chaos.
We believe that by teaching these levels, we
are encouraging students to learn how to
make responsible choices as well as
supporting the goals of our school and
community to develop active responsible
citizenship and character in our students.
However, since this is a system for teaching
responsibility, when a student is unable to
move his behaviour to the acceptable levels
and if expectations are not met, the
classroom teacher, educational assistant or
lunchroom supervisor will initially deal with
the situation. If they deem it necessary, they
will involve an administrator. Emphasis is on
the insights which a staff member gains from
speaking with the student and solving the
problem together.
Consequences for poor choices may include
the loss of privileges within the classroom or
school, written assignments or apologies, a
“cooling off” time outside the classroom,
finding solutions on how to “make it right” or
a phone call home.
At times, when an incident is more serious or
there have been repeat incidents, a Student
Incident form is completed and sent home
requiring a parent’s signature. Whenever
possible, parents are informed by phone.
The form includes:
1. What happened?
2. What the child could do differently in
the future.
3. What consequences, if any, have been
assigned.
4. Administrator’s comment
5. Space for parent comment and
signature.
When an administrator is involved they will
determine the consequence depending on
the seriousness of student behaviour. It
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