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Promoting Positive Behaviors
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Promoting Positive Behaviors
An Elementary Principal’s Guide to Structuring the Learning Environment

Foreword by Gail Connelly, Executive Director of NAESP


December 2007 | 136 pages | Corwin

"Paul Young identifies key elements of school structure that every principal must have in place before strides in student achievement and parent engagement can be fully realized."
—Bonnie Tryon, Principal
Golding Elementary School, Cobleskill, NY
President, School Administrators Association of New York State

"Young shares practical ideas that can be implemented in rural, suburban, or urban schools to greatly impact school climate, staff morale, and student achievement. This volume should be in every elementary school principal's professional library."
—Mary Q. Grant, Principal
Takoma Educational Center, Washington, DC
Past President, District of Columbia Association of Elementary School Principals

A hands-on guide for optimizing schoolwide management and increasing student achievement!

Here is an authoritative, commonsense resource for busy principals who face the challenges of establishing and implementing processes that promote positive student behavior and improve schoolwide performance.

This handbook offers valuable lessons from Paul G. Young's experience as a successful elementary school principal and provides practical recommendations that affirm best practices, anticipate potential problems, and achieve a cohesive and cooperative teaching and learning environment. Readers will find procedures for everything from establishing a daily schedule and making announcements to monitoring behaviors for field trips and assemblies. This comprehensive text also includes guidelines for:

  • Revitalizing instruction
  • Supervising the morning playground
  • Communicating expectations to students
  • Using student incentives and recognitions
  • Building relationships with parents
  • Establishing a student council, and more

Organized around the daily and annual school schedule, Promoting Positive Behaviors is sure to be referenced again and again by aspiring, novice, and veteran administrators.


 
Forward by Gail Connelly, Executive Director of NAESP
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Introduction
Purpose of This Book

 
Overview of the Contents

 
 
1. Beginnings: The Day and the Year
Introduction

 
Plan for Effective Morning Playground Supervision

 
Allow Recess in the Morning

 
Form a Safety Patrol

 
Teach Expectations to Students While Lining Up After the Bell Sounds

 
Build Relationships With Parents

 
Teach Children to Move Quietly Through the Hallways

 
Lock the Doors

 
Structure Homeroom Activities

 
Provide Universal Breakfast in the Classroom

 
Make Morning Accouncements

 
Check Bookbags and Homework Planners

 
Do the Shirts and the Pants Touch?

 
No Talking During Emergency Drills

 
Establish a Student Council

 
Establish Student Incentives and Recognitions

 
Empower Staff to Develop Schedules

 
Learn All Students' Names

 
Establish an Effective Intervention Assistance Process

 
Structure Effective Meetings

 
Check Mail and Messages at Least Three Times Daily

 
Establish the Schedule and Goals for the Day

 
Concluding Thoughts

 
Explanation of the Structural Analysis & Assessment Checklists

 
Checklist #1: Beginnings: Structural Analysis and Assessment

 
 
2. Early Focus on Learning and Instruction
Introduction

 
Escort Students to and From Special Classes

 
Establish Procedures for Restroom Breaks

 
Practice Entering and Leaving Assemblies

 
Develop a Substitute Handbook

 
Time on Task

 
Establish Inclusion Practices

 
Establish Procedures for Referring Students to the Office

 
Fully Utilize Volunteer Services

 
Teach a Code of Conduct

 
Common, Grade-Level Planning Increases Student Achievement

 
Concluding Thoughts

 
Checklist #2: Learning and Instruction: Structural Analysis and Assessment

 
 
3. Midpoints of the Day or Year
Introduction

 
Equip Yourself for Playground Supervision

 
Teach Manners and Hygiene

 
Facilitate Efficient Food Serving Lines

 
Schedule Recess First, Eat Afterwards

 
Speak With Inside Voices

 
Practice Forming Lines

 
Structure Playground Games

 
Monitor Students' Behavior and Eating Habits

 
Establish Procedures for Indoor Recess Supervision

 
Take Pictures and Use Recorders

 
Establish Contingency Plans for Crisis Supervision

 
Teach Children to Speak in Complete Sentences

 
Develop a Conflict Mediation Program

 
Concluding Thoughts

 
Checklist #3: Midpoints: Structural Analysis and Assessment

 
 
4. The Second Half of the Day or Year
Introduction

 
Reading Can Be Taught After Lunch

 
Create an "Adam Plan"

 
Supervise Student Suspensions

 
Write Notes and Return Phone Calls

 
Teach Multiple Intelligences

 
Show Evidence of Student Learning

 
Allow Children to Draw

 
Serve Fruit and Vegetable Afternoon Snacks

 
Don't Get Tired and Let Down Your Guard

 
Give Attention to Customer Service

 
Eliminate Loitering in the Hallways and Office

 
Utilize Homework Planners

 
Communicate With Parents

 
Concluding Thoughts

 
Checklist #4: The Second Half: Structural Analysis and Assessment

 
 
5. Endings: Dismissal and Wrap-up of the Year
Introduction

 
Monitor Bus Pickup and Drop-Off Locations

 
Ride School Buses

 
Delineate Walking Students From Parent Pickups, Bus Riders, and Others

 
Walk Students Home

 
Share Positives With Parents

 
How Effective are Detentions?

 
Eliminate Clutter Throughout the Campus

 
Establish Curb Appeal

 
Eliminate Gum

 
Prepare the Classroom for Custodian Cleaning

 
Establish Procedures for Determining Student Classroom Placements

 
Reflect and Take Action on Important Issues

 
Be a Master Motivator

 
Coordinate Learning Opportunities With the Afterschool Program

 
Concluding Thoughts

 
Checklist #5: Endings Dismissal and Wrap-up of the Year: Structural Analysis and Assessment

 
 
Summary Comments
 
Recommended Readings
 
Index

"Paul Young identifies key elements of school structure that every principal and staff must have in place before strides in student achievement and parent engagement can be fully realized."

Bonnie Tryon, President
School Administrators Association of New York State

"Young shares practical ideas that can be implemented in rural, suburban, or urban schools to impact school climate, staff morale, and student achievement. This volume should be in every elementary school principal’s professional library."

Mary Grant, Principal, Takoma Educational Center
Past President, District of Columbia Association of Elementary School Principals

"This book addresses the many benefits of a well-structured school and provides educators with valuable lessons to identify, understand, and capitalize on their strengths to positively shape school structure and improve teaching and learning."

From the Foreword by Gail Connelly, Executive Director of NAESP

"Offers examples from the author's experience as a successful elementary school principal and tips for overall school and student management."

The Bookwatch, June 2008
Midwest Book Review
Key features
  • Indispensable guide for teachers and leaders
  • Identifies and troubleshoots potential student misbehavior
  • Provides chapter summaries and templates for solving problems
  • Organized around the school schedule with procedures for before school, morning instructional block, lunch and recess, afternoon block, school departure
  • All day tips for teachers, leaders, and students
  • Helps new teachers meet biggest challenge—classroom management
  • Helps principals retain high-quality teachers

For instructors

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