ADMINISTRATION

• Andy Huber, MMHS Principal
• Morgan Nowicki, MMHS Assistant Principal

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES

• Christopher Bigelow, Director of Behavioral Health Services
• Chris Eldridge, Team Psychologist
• Cecelia Lester, Social Worker
• Jordan Johnson, Behavior Analyst

Our Behavior Health Team helps our students with:

• Identifying skills gaps and individual plans for academic success
• Sharing methods for developing emotional regulation
• Working with families to provide guidance and tools for support

Bullying or other aggressive behavior toward a student is strictly prohibited. This prohibition includes abuse in any form:

• Written
• Physical
• Verbal
• Cyber
• Psychological

Including hazing, gestures, comments, threats, or actions to a student, which cause or threaten to cause bodily harm, reasonable fear for personal safety or personal degradation.

View the full policy at: MMHS Handbook

This policy applies to:

• All “at school” activities in the District
• Activities on school property
• While riding in a school vehicle
• Activities occurring off school property if the student or employee is at any school-sponsored, school-approved or school-related activity or function.
• Misconduct occurring outside of school may also be disciplined if it interferes with the school environment.

Bullying is considered targeted, intentional, and repetitive; it is a pattern of behaviors that harms a student.

• Verbal Bullying– Teasing, name-calling, inappropriate sexual comments, and taunting.
• Social Bullying – Deliberately hurting another’s reputation: spreading rumors, repeatedly excluding someone, and telling other students not to be friends with someone.
• Physical Bullying – Physical harm such as: hitting, pushing, tripping, stealing possessions, and sexual assault.
• Cyber-Bullying – Use of the internet (social media) to target victims during or after school.

Bullying is NOT…

Behaviors that are not deliberate or repetitive are not considered bullying. Conflict and drama between students will not always be defined as bullying.

• Exclusion – Excluding someone in an activity, unless repeated and deliberate.
• Disliking someone – Students may communicate their dislikes. However, starting rumors or verbal abuse is not acceptable.
• Accidental physical harm – Only considered bullying when deliberate.
• Being “bossy” – Learning to lead skillfully is a lifelong process, and most students are still learning how this works.
• Telling a joke about someone – While this is not encouraged behavior, it is not considered bullying unless there are repeated instances.
• Arguments – Arguments and disagreements often happen, only bullying if it escalates to aggressive behavior.

FERPA is a federal act protecting the disclosure of personally identifiable information from student records to outside entities. 

• The district is required to protect the identity of each student involved, the details of the incident, and disciplinary actions that may occur.
• Should an incident occur involving your student, that we’re aware of, you can expect correspondence from the school limited to the details that involve your student.

• Investigation of details begins
• Speak with all individuals involved
• Sort out the details from all perspectives
• Communicate with families about details of incident
• Appropriate follow up action occurs

• We take all factors into consideration when investigating incidents involving our students and applying disciplinary action
• Even though you may not have the details of actions taken, please know that we are following the parameters necessary to properly address behavioral issues
• What may appear as an inconsistency in action taken, may be based upon circumstances that cannot be shared

COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES

Please understand….

• Because of student access to cell phones and social media, often incident details are shared faster than we can collect information and reach out to families
• When we call you, we want to be sure we have the details in order first
• If we ask you questions, it is only for the purpose of reaching a deeper understanding, and is never to discredit you or your student
• It is always our goal to work with you in reaching resolution, but please understand that certain details regarding the incident must be protected

• Monitor your student’s personal device use at home for appropriate use; we can only monitor what happens during school hours and on school devices
• Recognize the warning signs that your student is involved in bullying or being bullied
• Talk to your student about positive behaviors & actions
• Have patience with our process as we work toward resolution
• Stay in communication with us; reach out for support with any concerning behaviors

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING

In our classrooms social-emotional learning is used to help our students learn skills for:

• Building healthy identities
• Managing emotions
• Achieving goals
• Feeling and showing kindness toward others
• Establishing and maintaining supportive relationships
• Making responsible and caring decisions

MORE INFORMATION….

SEL is the process through which students learn skills for identifying and managing their internal thoughts and feelings, establishing and maintaining healthy relationships, and navigating problems and decisions. The SEL skills students are developing fall into the following categories:

• Self-Awareness: Noticing our thoughts, feelings, and urges to act

• Self-Management: Using skills to manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in ways that are helpful in the short- and long-term

• Social Awareness: Understanding the perspectives and feelings of others, and responding to them with empathy and respect

• Relationship Skills: Initiating, defining, and maintaining healthy relationships with others

• Responsible Decision-Making: Approaching problems and decisions systematically, using our values and goals as a guide

SEL helps students to build skills important in and out the classroom, for things like:

• managing stress
• building relationships
• solving problems 

MORE INFORMATION….

The positive impacts of SEL for students are broad and long-lasting! There is a robust amount of research to indicate that students who learn social and emotional skills demonstrate increased academic performance as compared to their peers who do not receive these skills. With SEL, students can better cope with stress, navigate relationships, and solve problems effectively. All students benefit from these skills, which bolster their ability to function most fully in every aspect of their lives. 

TRAILS is the program being taught to teachers to help students build skills in the classroom for managing stress, building relationships, and solving problems.

MORE INFORMATION….

Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students (TRAILS) SEL Curriculum, developed by the University of Michigan, is grounded in cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) and mindfulness, two approaches proven to work in promoting mental health in students. CBT states that the way we think impacts how we feel and what we do. Mindfulness is the act of focusing our attention on what we’re experiencing in the present moment. These core skills help students manage stress, establish and maintain healthy relationships, and problem-solve effectively. 

Caring School Community (CSC) is the program our K-8 teachers are learning for using social-emotional skills in the classroom to help our students learn skills for:

• Managing feelings
• Making good and caring choices
• Building trust
• Feeling and showing kindness
• Growing friendships
• Interest in learning and activities

MORE INFORMATION….

Caring School Community is built around the following principles and key features:

• A focus on the whole school community: Community must include everyone: students, parents, school leaders, teachers, custodians, cafeteria staff, yard supervisors, and support staff.
• Relationships matter: Relationships underpin teaching, learning, and prosocial development. Building relationships and fostering a sense of community are hallmarks of the program.
• Comprehensive leadership guidance: The program includes everything a leader needs for a successful implementation, including step-by-step guidance and resources to help plan for, launch, and support implementation.
• A unique stance on discipline: No more gold stars. A focus on community, not compliance. Caring School Community builds on the powerful insight that when students have strong relationships within their community, they are more likely to acquire self-discipline and feel a sense of responsibility to themselves and to others.
• A year’s worth of teacher-friendly, easy-to-implement, grade-specific instruction: A full 30 weeks of daily, grade-specific lessons across K–8 that only require 30 minutes a day, with a comprehensive scope and sequence to build relationships, social skills, and competencies intentionally over time.
• Creating calm, orderly learning environments: Through consistent use of effective classroom management practices and structures that build relationships, the program helps teachers create calm, safe classrooms that are more conducive to learning.
• Addressing inequitable discipline practices: Our approach to discipline assumes that all children want to and can behave well at school and are capable of learning and changing their behavior. The program encourages teachers to treat students with respect at all times and to treat misbehavior as mistakes akin to those students make with academic work, not as signs of moral or character flaws. In response to misbehavior, Caring School Discipline guides teachers to focus on what students can do to restore relationships and repair any damage they have caused as well as what they might do differently in the future, rather than making students feel guilty or ashamed.
• Robust content for middle school: Grades 6–8 are not an afterthought. The program provides comprehensive Advisory Period lessons as well as guidance for integrating SEL across all subject areas. Lessons address developmentally appropriate and urgent topics for middle school.

A large body of research confirms that building a safe and caring school community and attending to social and emotional learning are essential to students’ overall success.

Classroom instructors are not doing therapy. They are teaching students skills to learn incredibly important social and emotional skills to help them succeed in school and at home.

We recognize that each student has their own set of values, beliefs, and ideas. The SEL program approaches this with and understanding of these differences.

MORE INFORMATION…

Every student comes to school with unique values, families, interests, identities, and perspectives. SEL in the classroom acknowledges that these factors influence how students think about their own experiences, interact with others, and deal with problems. Integrating SEL into the classroom honors the uniqueness of and connections between each student and provides consistent skills and strategies for success individually, in relationships, and in other areas of their lives. 

Be sure to connect with your child’s teacher about the specific SEL skills being practiced in the classroom. Additionally, your child’s teacher may send home informative letters as your student moves from topic-to-topic as it relates to SEL. 

Your student’s teacher can share information about what is being taught and how you can help to support these skills at home.

MORE INFORMATION…

Practicing SEL skills outside of the classroom is incredibly important. Caregivers and families play a crucial role in instilling and reinforcing SEL skills at home. Regular practice of these skills helps to strengthen them in students as they see adults modeling and using the skills alongside them. Your child’s teacher can point you to suggestions and strategies for practicing and reinforcing these skills at home.

The Caring School Community website offers ideas for activities at home to help build these skills: https://sites.google.com/pps.net/socialemotionallearninginpps/family-student-resources?authuser=0