School-Wide Expectations
School-wide behavioral expectations were developed at Ridge Meadows as part of the anti-bullying program. The first step in developing an effective bullying prevention program is to make schools safe places for all students. To meet this goal, Ridge Meadows staff felt schools need to develop clear, enforced school-wide standards of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. So they used a staff meeting to have the entire school staff develop the expectations. This provided the staff with voice and a sense of ownership to the project. The areas considered were hallway, restroom, cafeteria, library, classroom, inside recess and outside recess. Teams suggested expectations that would make each area safe. One committee member then made them into poster format with the school name and mascot proudly displayed on each. The following school year we unveiled the finished posters to the staff and presented each teacher with posters for his or her classroom. The posters were also available to the staff in a PowerPoint presentation so that they could be shared with the parents at curriculum nights. During the first week of school all teachers made a point to take their class around the building and talk about the expectations in each area. The posters hang prominently around the building as a constant reminder of the behavior that is expected and are revisited as needed throughout the year.