MISSION:

Sellwood creates a safe and inclusive learning environment where students build their confidence, practice positive social interaction, challenge racial inequities, and explore their academic interests.

VISION:

A graduate of Sellwood Middle School will be a compassionate critical thinker, able to collaborate and solve problems and be prepared to lead a more socially just world.

Table of Contents

What Is School Climate?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------3-7

Culturally Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (CR-PBIS) --------4

Restorative Practices------------------------------------------------------------------------------5

Racial Equity & Social Justice (RESJ) -----------------------------------------------------------6

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) -----------------------------------------------------------------6

Tier I Team------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7-9

School Climate Team-------------------------------------------------------------------------------8

Climate Team Meeting Schedule-----------------------------------------------------------------8-9

Tier I Implementation-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------9-

Behavioral Expectations---------------------------------------------------------------------------9

Defining Minor, Stage 1 reports, 2 and 3 Behaviors-------------------------------------------10-

Discipline Policies----------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

Professional Development------------------------------------------------------------------------11

Classroom Procedures & Guest Teacher Protocols------------------------------------------12

Acknowledgment Systems---------------------------------------------------------------------12-13

Faculty Involvement-------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

Plan for Family, Student &  Community Involvement----------------------------------------13-14

Plan for Welcoming New Students and Families---------------------------------------------14

Tier I Evaluation----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14

Appendix------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15-16

        CR-TFI Action Plan---------------------------------------------------------------------------------15

        Common Area Expectations Lesson Plans----------------------------------------------------16

What Is School Climate?

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

School Climate is the most integral component of a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework at Sellwood (SMS). SMS is focused on prevention and problem solving for all students using data-based decision-making. We use evidence-based instruction, intervention and assessment practices to ensure that every student receives the appropriate level of support based on their level of need. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining Tier I support (universal), Tier II intervention (targeted group), and Tier III intervention (individual) systems to help eliminate barriers to learning and enable every student to reach their full potential successfully.

School Climate Overview

Our School Climate encompasses culturally relevant, restorative practices with a racial equity and social justice lens, as well as school wide social emotional learning opportunities for all students in their classrooms.

Schoolwide (Tier 1) Climate Practices

Each {insert school name} student deserves to come to school and feel seen, safe and valued.  To make this happen, adults across the school intentionally support all students by implementing the following:

• A warm greeting by name each morning
• Classroom Community Agreements
• Community Circles
• School counselor classroom lessons
• Advisory lessons
• Common Area Expectation lessons three times per year
• Calming spaces in each classroom
• Flexible seating
• Think Sheets to help reflect on behavior
• Culturally responsive classroom practices
• Producing, exhibiting, & celebrating student work that is valued, honored, & shared for the benefit of all the community.
• Explicitly teaching specific behaviors (voice level, movement, etc.) you expect students to demonstrate during an activity.
• Acknowledging & reinforcing on-task behaviors (5:1 ratio) by verbal acknowledgment, in the chat bar, or using other incentives/positive interactions with individualized feedback.
• Providing leadership opportunities for students both in the classroom & school-wide through classroom responsibilities
• Developing classroom routines (circle meetings, daily schedules, warm-ups, learning targets, etc.) & teaching them with students’ input.
• Avoiding power struggles (keep voice neutral, restate expectations positively, provide choices instead of ultimatums when appropriate, redirect problematic behaviors privately, & provide students with the time & space to redirect & re-regulate themselves).

Student Intervention Team:

(SIT) Additional Behavior (Tier II and Tier III) & Academic Supports (Tier III)

When Tier 1 classroom and schoolwide supports are not enough to ensure student success, students may be brought to the school Student Intervention Team (SIT) to develop and implement Tier II and III interventions.

The Student Intervention Team (SIT) is a collaborative, general education solution-generating team made up of a variety of school perspectives. The purpose of the SIT is to

• support teachers in reflecting on and enhancing their Tier I practices and
• implement targeted Tier II and III behavior and Tier III academic interventions when needed.

Utilizing an equity lens, the team considers the whole student when making decisions that affect their long-term educational experience and sense of belonging in PPS. SIT works to provide every student and adult what they need to thrive in the general education setting. Families are notified about student strengths and challenges, as well as planned interventions, at all points in the process.

Restorative Practices

Restorative Justice is a philosophy grounded in the belief that positive, healthy relationships help us thrive. When we do things that impact others and create harm to those relationships, it is our individual and collective responsibility to make things right.

Restorative Practices are the skills and processes that help us build, maintain, and repair relationships to form healthy, supportive & inclusive communities. Restorative Practices are best utilized when intentional time is devoted to community building.

Restorative Inquiry is an essential restorative practice. A series of guiding questions are asked to understand all parties involved in a conflict, disagreement and/or any level of harm. The questions get to the root of a conflict and help solve the conflict by giving voice to the person who was harmed.  

• What happened?
• Who was harmed and how?
• What can be done to make things better?
• What do you need to move forward?
• What support do you need to keep this from happening in the future?

Community Building Circles allow classroom communities to develop relationships by asking a series of low impact questions to get to know one another. Circles should be done as often as possible to ensure relational trust is developed over time.

Racial Equity & Social Justice (RESJ)

The Board of Education for Portland Public Schools is committed to the success of every student in each of our schools. The mission of Portland Public Schools is that by the end of elementary, middle, and high school, every student by name will meet or exceed academic standards and will be fully prepared to make productive life decisions. We believe that every student has the potential to achieve, and it is the responsibility of our school district to give each student the opportunity and support to meet his or her highest potential.

Sellwood MS prioritizes racial equity work aligned to the vision set forth in the PPS Graduate Portrait that is committed to Culturally-Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, Restorative Practices, Equity, and Social Emotional Learning.

Social Emotional Learning

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve personal and collective aas, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. (CASEL)

In PPS, we embrace Transformative SEL--which is a form of SEL implementation that concentrates SEL practice on transforming inequitable settings and systems and promoting justice-oriented civic engagement.

“Transformative SEL” is a process whereby young people and adults build strong, respectful, and lasting, relationships that facilitate co-learning to critically examine root causes of inequity and to develop collaborative solutions that lead to personal, community, and societal well-being. This form of SEL is aimed at redistributing power to promote social justice through increased engagement in school and civic life. It emphasizes the development of identity, agency, belonging, curiosity, and collaborative problem-solving within the CASEL framework. (CASEL)

CASEL’s 3 Signature Practices intentionally and explicitly help build a habit of practices through which students enhance their SEL skills: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. They provide a framework for supporting teachers in fostering a supportive environment and promoting SEL.  We seek to incorporate the 3 Signature Practices into any lesson, community meeting, or professional development through carefully choosing, effectively facilitating, and thoughtfully debriefing a: Warm Welcome, Engaging Activity & Optimistic Closure.

To support current and future social and emotional needs, trauma-informed science reminds us of the need to:

• Elevate student’s cultural assets, voice, and agency
• Strengthen relationships, community, and sense of belonging
• Affirm student identities and lived experiences
• Incorporate social and emotional skill building into academic learning 
• Establish consistent and predictable routines
• Build trusting relationships with students and families through clear and transparent communication

The School Climate Team (Tier I)

School Climate Team Information (1.1/1.2)

Climate Team Meetings

Meeting Agenda:

• Climate Team meeting minutes will be available for the community to review  
• Climate and culture within our school and in Advisory classes
• CR-PBIS School-wide Systems (assessing the effectiveness of our Equity Practices on school climate)
• Family and student voice: how we are ensuring 2-way communication and partnerships
• Integration of Restorative Practices

The agenda scheduled for each of our school climate meetings will be driven by prioritized features of our Culturally Responsive Tiered Fidelity (CR-TFI) Action Plan.

Tier I Implementation

Programmatic Supports for all Students

Schoolwide Values and Common Area Expectations (1.3)

Our School Values are:

1.  Perseverance

2. Inclusion

3. Compassion

Posters (with student, staff, family & community-produced values) have been made and distributed throughout the building in order to make them visible to students, staff, and families. The intention is to send a consistent message about what our school community values and how it looks different in various common areas. This will help Sellwood ensure that our school values are inclusive and affirming.

These school values are important for the Sellwood school community because these are the qualities that help students be successful in life. Our students need to understand and exercise perseverance, inclusion, and compassion on a regular basis to master the skills to be successful and prepared to be college and career ready.

• These values are woven into our regular teaching practices into school wide lessons and in every class period throughout the grade levels, naming them with consistency and strategically teaching and reviewing them throughout the school year.

Common Area Expectations 

Voice Level Posters 

SMS Core Values & Expectations Posters 

Teaching Expectations (1.4)

School wide Expectations are taught in September, January, and March after major breaks. In addition, we cover RESJ topics through our Advisory Lessons.

Yearly Schedule for Teaching Common Area Expectations

Teams have a process and procedures for staff to teach students the behaviors necessary to be successful in the school setting regardless of previous learning and without disrespecting families’ beliefs. When expectations differ between home or community and school, staff examine these differences critically, and if determined to be necessary, they explicitly teach the skills (including providing a clear rationale for having a different expectation at school and opportunities for practice and feedback until students demonstrate the skill fluently).         -PBIS CR Field Guide, p.16

Active Supervision 

Active Duty Guidelines

Active supervision is the alert, proactive ability of the staff member to circulate within a group of students while interacting positively and constructively. This includes acknowledging positive behaviors and actions, scanning for potential growth areas, modeling and supporting regulation strategies, and using restorative practices to reduce and repair harm.

Defining Stage 1 and Stage 2/3 Behaviors (1.5)

Behavior level calibration will be conducted by building staff to properly reflect the evolving needs of our community and to accommodate the diverse racial, cultural, linguistic, and developmental needs of our school.

Defining Behaviors

Discipline Policies (1.6)

Discipline Flow Chart

PPS Discipline Handbook 2024/25

Sellwood Problem Solver - Tier 1 &/or to prepare for an RJ Conversation

Professional Development (1.7)

Over the year, staff PD must explicitly address these five essential areas: teaching school wide expectations, acknowledging appropriate behaviors, correcting errors, requesting assistance (SIT Team), and understanding the influence of race, culture, and language on student behavior.

Classroom Procedures (1.8)

Every teacher will have an Effective Classroom Practices Plan (ECPP). ECPPs will be shared with administration no later than the day before back to school night.  Co-creating classroom practices reduces variability between classrooms and makes it more consistent for students. Some sample plans are provided below and PD time will be provided in the first two weeks of school to complete these documents.

The Classroom Practices Plan template, covers the essential features of effective classroom practices: Structure, teaching expectations, acknowledging positive behaviors, and supporting regulation & restorative practices.

Sellwood's Effective Classroom Practices Plan - Template make a copy

Guest Teacher Support at Sellwood MS

Feedback and Acknowledgement Systems (1.9)

Research shows that when staff “catches" a student exhibiting appropriate behaviors, those behaviors will increase and misbehaviors will decrease. Specific praise is extremely important in increasing the recurrence of appropriate behaviors. Some schools decide to give out acknowledgment “tickets”, small slips of paper that are aligned with the school's values. All staff hand out the acknowledgment tickets, along with specific praise, to students as they witness appropriate behaviors in the common areas, in classrooms, on buses, etc.

Description of our school-wide acknowledgment system:

• Students will receive Panther Paws during certain times of the school year. For example, 2 weeks before Valentine’s Day, students will be able to earn a Panther Paw to purchase a Secret Valentine to send to someone special.

Faculty Involvement (1.10)

Schedule for sharing disaggregated data to staff and opportunities for input on Tier I systems

Plan for Family, Student and Community Involvement (1.11)

Schedule for family involvement activities

See the Sellwood Calendar for more information.

Tier I Evaluation

Evaluation of the Effects and Fidelity of the School Climate Practices

Discipline Data (1.12)

Tiered Fidelity Inventory (CR-TFI) guides the action planning for the implementation of a positive school climate.

• Assessment component is completed three times a year in September, January and May
• A score of 80% or better indicates a well-implemented tier
• The TFI action plan is revisited on a monthly basis

Recent TFI Plan:

• 2022-24: TFI Plan  

Successful Schools Survey (SSS)

• Completed once a year in February by all students (grades 3-12), staff, and families.
• Reviewed by the School Climate Team and shared with staff, students and families. Used to monitor and adjust climate initiatives.
• Accessed via the Panorama dashboard.