SCHOOL DISCIPLINE PHILOSOPHY Restorative Justice
Discipline in the Catholic School is to be considered an aspect of moral guidance. The purpose of discipline is to promote genuine pupil development, to increase respect for duly constituted authority, to assist the growth of self-discipline, to provide an orderly atmosphere conducive to learning and to promote character training. The Pastor is the ex-officio head of the parish school. He determines the policies of the school according to the needs of the parish, but always in harmony with the regulations of the Archdiocese. The Pastor will normally leave to the principal direction of the educational program and the ordinary administration of the school. It is the responsibility of the principal to maintain throughout the school a spirit of discipline that is wholesome and reasonable. All concerns should first be addressed to the classroom teacher. If the situation is not remedied, contact the principal. If a satisfactory outcome to the situation is still not reached, the pastor
may be contacted.
Restorative Justice (Implementation 2019)
“Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific of ense and to collectively identify and address
harms, needs and obligations, in order to heal and put things right as possible.” Howard Zehr
In an effort to align our school disciplinary practices with our moral beliefs, as a faculty and staff we will implement a few restorative justice practices. The culture in which we build here at St. Gregory, with the help of all stakeholders, will be positive and affirming. Standing by these principles of Respect, Relationships and
Responsibility, will create an environment conducive to learning and appreciating one another.
The adaptation and implementation of PBIS will be in effect in the fall of 2023.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and wellbeing. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.
Tiered PBIS Framework
Educators and practitioners provide a continuum of academic, behavioral, social, and emotional support matched to students’ needs. We describe this continuum across three tiers of support.
Foundational systems across all three tiers include:
● A shared vision for a positive school social culture
● A representative leadership team that meets regularly and shares expertise in
coaching, social, emotional, behavioral, academic, equity, mental health,
physical health, wellness, and trauma
● Families are actively engaged
● A supportive and involved school administration
● On-going access to professional development for preparing all staff to
implement each tier of PBIS
● Systematic collection of screening, progress-monitoring, outcome, and
fidelity data
● Ongoing use of data for decision making
● Disaggregating data to examine equity among student subgroups
Tier 1: Universal, Primary Prevention (All)
Tier 1 systems, data, and practices support everyone –
students, educators, and staff – across all school
settings. They establish a foundation for positive and
proactive support. Tier 1 support is robust,
differentiated, and enables most (80% or more) students
to experience success. Tier 1 practices include:
● Collaborating with students, families, and
educators to define positive school/program-wide expectations and prioritize
appropriate social, emotional, and behavioral skills
● Aligning classroom expectations with school/program-wide expectations
● Explicitly teaching expectations and skills to set all students up for success
● Encouraging and acknowledging expected behavior
● Preventing and responding to unwanted behavior in a respectful,
instructional manner
● Fostering school/program-family partnerships
Tier 2: Targeted, Secondary Prevention (Some)
In addition to your Tier 1 foundation, students receiving Tier 2 supports get an added layer of systems, data, and practices targeting their specific needs. On average, about 10-15% of your students will need some type of Tier 2 support. The support you provide at Tier 2 is more focused than at Tier 1 and less intensive than at Tier 3.
Tier 2 practices include:
● Providing additional instruction and practice for behavioral, social,
emotional, and academic skills
● Increasing adult support and supervision
● Providing additional opportunities for positive reinforcement
● Increasing prompts or reminders
● Increasing access to academic supports
● Increasing school-family communication
Tier 3: Intensive and Individualized, Tertiary Prevention (Few)
At most schools and programs, there are a small number (1-5%) of students for whom Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports have not been sufficient to experience success. At Tier 3, students receive more intensive, individualized support to improve their outcomes. Tier 3 supports are available to any student with intensive need, whether
they receive special education services or not.
Tier 3 practices include:
● Engaging students, educators, and families in functional behavioral
assessments and intervention planning
● Coordinating support through wraparound and person-centered planning
● Implementing individualized, comprehensive, and function-based support
RESPECT every person. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS with those around
you. Take RESPONSIBILITIES for your choices and actions.
