Social-Emotional Learning

All students have a responsibility to behave in a way that enables teachers to teach and students to learn.

We believe that consistency is the key; therefore, the following Guidelines for Success have been established at Cascade.

1. Be Safe
2. Be Responsible
3. Be Respectful
4. Do Your Best

We expect that all of our students will learn how to be good self-managers. School is a place for learning how to make good choices, how to get along with others, and how to live in a community.

Conflicts and disagreements are a normal and important part of any community. Learning how to address conflict respectfully and effectively is important for all of us.

The Cascade community encourages all its members to use problem-solving strategies to resolve conflicts. Students are taught these strategies in each classroom.

All school personnel are trained and will assist students as necessary in solving problems in a non-threatening and effective manner.

Class meetings are held on a regular basis at Cascade. They are an opportunity for problem solving, planning, and for celebration.

Students have the opportunity to ask classmates for problem solving help. Problem solving is only initiated in a class meeting after the students have learned the skills and tools of how to be helpful, not hurtful.

We address inappropriate behavior in a respectful, solution-focused manner. This means teaching students the skills needed to be a useful part of the school community.

For this solutions approach to work well, communication is important. Depending on how serious the behavior is, the school may contact the student’s family and ask them to sign a form, speak to the student, or come to a conference at the school. Please make sure your contact information is up to date so we can reach you easily.

When students are not following Guidelines for Success and behavioral expectations, the school may communicate with you:

• You may receive a warning slip if there is a minor discipline issue. It is to tell you what happened and what problem-solving strategies were used. Please sign and return the slip if received. You can contact your child’s teacher if there are questions.
• The child’s family will be contacted if a student is having a major behavior problem. In this case a Behavior Referral will be written. A student may be suspended if a serious problem requires an extended calming down period. Suspension is not a punishment or a long-term solution. It is simply the first step until a conference can be held to create a plan.