Social-Emotional Learning

Bradford School follows the Responsive Classroom philosophy, which believes that students need to feel safe and supported at school in order to learn. Responsive Classroom also teaches that appropriate behavior is developed through positive reinforcement and instructive discipline, and it promotes the use of common, positive language when reminding, reinforcing, and redirecting student behavior. Through structured discussions and classroom meetings, and actively involving students in problem solving, we work to reframe potentially negative behaviors into learning experiences in our effort to develop positive behavior.

We recognize that living in the COVID-19 era, in addition to being away from school for so long, have had a detrimental effect on our students. Therefore, we have incorporated a Social Emotional Learning period into the daily schedule this school year, which will allow us to focus on five social emotional learning competencies: relationship skills, social awareness, self-awareness, self-management, and responsible decision making.

We also teach our students to contribute in positive ways to our school community and want our students to understand that 1. Everyone should feel safe and welcome at school. 2. We are kind and helpful to everyone, even people who are not our friends. We apply the following values in all settings so that students can take ownership over their own behavior and help create a peaceful environment:

Be Compassionate
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be in Control

With these tenets as our goals, our discipline system focuses on a few clear and consistent rules for student behavior. Bradford has four basic rules:

1. Students will show respect to other students and staff members.
2. Students will show effort in completing assignments and in helping others learn.
3. Students will keep themselves and others safe.
4. Students will respect our school building and surroundings by keeping it clean.

Parents have an integral role in promoting positive behaviors. Parents will be notified when inappropriate behaviors occur that result in consequences so that the family can work with the school to alleviate such behaviors. We try to have our consequences be logical and restorative, so that students can learn from their experiences.

Please refer to the Code of Conduct Chart for more detailed information regarding student discipline.