Mission Statement

Our mission is to strive to create a positive and engaging environment for lifelong learners to be successful in a global society. 

Guidelines for Success

Alderman Eagles are Scholars, Optimistic, Accountable, and Respectful because we don’t just fly… We S.O.A.R.!

The staff and students of Alderman Elementary participate in a school-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) program to teach behavioral expectations to best meet the academic potential of all students. This program outlines clear expectations to encourage a positive learning environment.  Click here to access our school-wide behavioral expectations.  

STOIC Guidelines

Document how the STOIC guidelines are to be used by all staff to evaluate and revise policies and procedures for common areas, schoolwide policies, and individual classrooms.

• Structure for success
• Teach expectations
• Observe and monitor
• Interact positively
• Correct fluently

Guidelines for Staff

Adult behaviors often set the tone for student behaviors. We will continue to acknowledge and encourage each other to model positive behaviors and be supportive of our colleagues. Staff members have ROARsome cards to write a note of thanks to acknowledge staff. Each classroom will post and review the following:

• School-Wide Expectation Matrix
• Teachers seek student input for class expectations and class agreement that follow the S.O.A.R. expectations. 
• Posting these classroom expectations will serve as a reminder and guide throughout the year that can be revisited to reinforce positive behaviors.

Ratios of Positive Interactions

Discipline with Dignity:  

Educators know that we must have safe schools that promote dignity for all. When misbehavior occurs it must be confronted with firmness and clarity coupled with respect and dignity. More importantly, we must understand the needs that lead students to harm themselves and others, and then develop and implement strategies that work to prevent these problems.

The dignity of all children and all adults should be maintained during all interactions between children and adults:

• Consistency is crucial, student to student and behavior to behavior.
• Private is better than public.
• Avoid power struggles. Give choices to resolve.
• Stay calm. Show compassion. 
• Try to dig deeper as to WHY the student is expressing themselves in this way. Address the underlying issue.
• Classroom Dojo used to provide positive reinforcement

Reinforcement System for Recognizing Positive Behavior

We use a variety of positive reinforcement techniques to acknowledge and celebrate student achievements and improvements. 

• Schoolwide: Daily recognition of student exhibiting positive behavior; monthly itinerant, cafeteria and custodial Golden Awards 
• Classroom: “The Nest” posters to encourage and recognize whole-class positive behavior with student-selected motivational rewards 
• Individual: Soaring Eagle Cards; Positive Notes Home; ClassDojo points

The teaching and support of appropriate behavior is always our objective. Punishment does not promote appropriate behavior in the long run. We believe that convincing students that they are in a caring community encourages cooperation from students. Punishment interferes with the building of relationships, while genuine caring increases authentic relationships. We communicate our highest expectations for students (for both behavior and academic work) and let them know that we are here to ensure that they reach our high expectations.

Gain students’ cooperation in learning:

• Plan and implement meaningful work that is at an appropriate (challenging) level.
• Establishing clear procedures and consistently teaching/re-teaching those procedures can prevent discipline problems.
• Detailed, structured discipline plans (social contracts) should be used with individuals who need them rather than with the whole class.
• School-wide implementation and use of the school-wide behavior steps (listed below) with fidelity to ensure that classrooms and teachers are being supported.  These steps should be documented to assist with MTSS 2 and 3 referrals (if needed).

School-wide Behavior Steps:

• Morning Meeting
• Calm Down Corner with ZONES visual
• Voice Levels
• SOAR Expectations
  • Taught Explicitly, Posted, Modeled, modeled some more, practiced and retaught
• High Level of Supervision
• Minor Icidents Educator Handbook - Documentation of classroom discipline supports and parent contact 
• Office Referrals Educator Handbook (majors) - After the teacher has provided classroom corrections, calm down corner, parent contact, and bounce an office referral will be used

Reinforcement System for Recognizing Positive Behavior

We use a variety of positive reinforcement techniques to acknowledge and celebrate student achievements and improvements. 

• Schoolwide: Daily recognition of student exhibiting positive behavior; monthly itinerant, cafeteria and custodial Golden Awards 
• Classroom: “The Nest” posters to encourage and recognize whole-class positive behavior with student- selected motivational rewards 
• Individual: Soaring Eagle Cards; Positive Notes Home; ClassDojo points

Defined Levels of Misbehavior

We strive to be consistent in addressing both positive and negative behaviors to establish a predictable environment. Click here to access our defined levels of misbehavior. 

Menu of Corrective Consequences

We strive to provide consistent consequences for student misbehavior. Click here to access our corrective consequences document. Click here to access our Behavior Flow Chart. Click here to access our parent communication reference document.
 

Welcoming and Orienting New Students, Families, and Staff

All parents, guardians, returning students, current students, and new families/staff will be made aware of our school-wide behavior plan.  This information is communicated through:

• Teachers to parents via newsletters and class websites.  
• The school at Open House and Title I night
• Alderman Family Compact
• The Alderman website​​​​​​​

Establishing and Working With a Behavior Leadership Team

Document your behavior, leadership team organization and guidelines for operation.

Behavior Leadership Team Organization       Team name: Alderman Leadership Team

 

Behavior Leadership Team Guidelines 

 

Improvement Priority Sequence

Document your long-term plan for working on common areas, schoolwide policies, discipline policies and procedures, and other behavior- and safety-related improvements.

Plan to review and modify your proposed sequence each year, depending on how much you accomplish during previous years and variables such as changes in student demographics, changes in the configuration of the building due to construction, or data that indicate a new area of concern.

Year 1

• Implement SOAR behavior model schoolwide 
• Daily announcements for SOAR
• Teachers will integrate SEL strategies throughout instructional time.
• Student support will collaborate with classroom teachers to meet SEL needs in order to create guidance lessons.

Year 2

• Continue with the implementation of SOAR
  • Visuals posted throughout the school, relevant to that designated area
  • Daily announcements
• Continue to integrate daily SEL lessons within the classroom
• The student support team will continue to provide support and interventions for students
• The entire staff received Darkness To Light Training (August 2023)
• STOIC training was provided to Kinder - 5th Grade staff (October 2023-January 2024)
• Certified staff will complete CHAMPS professional development training (June 2024)

Year 3

• Add awards and nine-week recognition assembly
• Student of the month who exemplifies SOAR

Antibullying Policy

Alderman Elementary follows NHCS policies in regard to Bullying and Harassment. 

• Policy Code: 4329/7311 Bullying and Harassing Behavior Prohibited Policy Code: 1710/4020/7230 Discrimination and Harassment Prohibited by Federal Law
  Policy Code: 4331 Assaults and Threats
  Policy Code: 4340 School-Level Investigations
  2018-Updated-PolicyandProceduresProhibitingHarassmentandBullying.pptx

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance is the key to scholastic success.  Students with strong attendance records perform better academically and socially. Parents, students, and school personnel are responsible for promoting positive attendance attitudes.

Tardiness is a serious problem since students miss valuable instructional time.  The Wrightsboro School staff wants every child to come to school every day and is committed to helping both students and parents achieve this.

If a student is absent:

• An absence note is required for the student’s return to school within three (3) days.  The note should state the child’s full name, date(s) or absence, and specific reason for absence.  The principal or his designee may request verification of illness.
• If a note is not provided by the third (3^rd) day of attendance, the child’s absence will be marked unexcused.
• Excessive absences may result in referral to the school social worker for possible legal action or may result in retention.
• We do not retroactively correct unexcused absences, which is why there is a three (3) day window for providing an excuse note. If notes are provided once the social worker has contacted a family about excessive absences, the absences remain unexcused. The best policy is to send a note immediately after the absence.

According to New Hanover County policy, the following are reasons for an excused absence:

• The illness of the child           
• Death in the immediate family
• Religious observations
• Court proceedings
• Military Deployment Activities

Family vacations are not deemed as excused absences. We do understand that families need to spend quality time together and that does mean missing school periodically.  However, these absences will be documented as unexcused. Students will be responsible for missed assignments, which must be completed within 3 days after returning to school.  An additional day to make up work will be allotted for each day absent over 3.

Educational Opportunity/Experiences must be pre-approved by the principal 2 weeks prior to the trip. Once approved, students will complete a travel journal & share experiences with peers. The journals are available, however, students may create a digital journal as well.

*Repeated requests within a school year may not be approved. 

**Repeated requests for the same educational opportunity over multiple school years may not be approved. (ie., annual trips to Disney World)

If a student is tardy:

• If you arrive at school after 7:40 am, your child(ren) is tardy
• There will be a sign in the car drop off to indicate that you need to park and come into the building with your child(ren) to check them in at the front office. Please use the AIphone to gain access to the building.

According to New Hanover County policy, the following are reasons for tardiness to be counted as excused:

• Medical or dental appointment with a doctor’s note
• Note:  According to county policy, traffic, car trouble, and oversleeping are not excused reasons for tardiness.  If a school bus is late, the students are not counted as tardy.

If a student must be dismissed early:

Dismissal time is 2:35 PM.  If a student needs to be dismissed early, please notify your child’s teacher in advance if at all possible.  If your child is dismissed early for a medical or dental appointment, please remember to send a doctor’s note with your child the following school day for the early dismissal to be counted as excused.  There will be no check outs after 1:45 PM.

Personal Electronics Policy

Students are not permitted to use cell phones on campus. These devices shall be turned off and put away while the students are in class. Picture phones and handheld computers with photographic capabilities present many unique challenges. Therefore, students shall not use these devices to send pictures of other students by email or by other electronic means during class. In addition, these devices, if used in academically reprehensible conduct (cheating), will result in students being punished in accordance with Policy 4302, Student Discipline, Policies, Rules and Procedures. 

Students in violation of this Policy will have their devices confiscated by school officials. The first offense will result in students’ devices being kept for the remainder of the school day. If a child has a second offense, the device will remain with school administration until a parent/guardian picks it up. Students who fail to comply with a request to turn over such devices will be disciplined in accordance with Policy 4302. Neither the school nor the Board assumes liability for the loss or damage of these devices.