A small school relies heavily on all members of the community to hold up its values. Misconduct is not simply a violation of the rules of the school, but it is a violation against people and relationships at Sizer and/or the wider community. Harm done must be explored reflectively through Conferencing and made right through Restorative Action.
Sizer School prohibits all forms of harassment, discrimination, and conduct, including language, expressing animosity and bias based on race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability. The civil rights of all school community members are guaranteed by law. The protection of those rights is of utmost importance and priority to our School. The School prohibits bullying or harassment of school community members for any reason, including those related to their race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability. The School will also not tolerate retaliation against persons who take action consistent with this Policy.
Since our inception, Sizer has built an incredibly safe, supportive and inclusive school culture where students report that they can come to school as themselves and not feel pressured to fit into a particular norm. Each year we survey Students and Parents and ask three separate questions about safety in our annual school climate survey, on average 93% of our students respond. More than 80% agreed that the school is Safe or Very Safe.
In order to achieve a truly safe and supportive school culture, a very clear plan and strategy was put in place with the intent to address conflict and challenging student behaviors. The work of bringing together young people from 30 towns and cities across the region can be challenging and therefore needing a plan to bring about the diversity and inclusivity we espoused in our mission. Since its inception, multiple programs have been added as they are critical to our ability to build and sustain a safe and supportive learning environment for all of our students. These are:
- A vibrant Student Support Services Team including: a Dean of Students, two School Counselors, an Adjustment Counselor, a School Nurse, and Director of Specialized Instruction.
- The Restorative Justice based “Make it Right Approach” to behavior management.
- Contracted relationship with Mediation Services of North Central Massachusetts, Inc to provide an objective 3rd party-run Peer Mediation program.
- 50 students are selected from all grade levels to participate in leadership training as Student Ambassadors, responsible for leading new student orientation and promoting school values throughout the year.
- Partnerships with multiple social services agencies including LUK, Inc., Children’s Aid & Family Services and Licensed Clinical Social Workers in private practice that provide school based mental health services.
- Strong partnerships with Fitchburg Police, Fire, and Probation Departments
- Excellent food service partnership with Fitchburg Public Schools and Sodexho Corp. which provides healthy breakfast and lunch programs.
Sizer has received Safe and Supportive Learning Environment grants from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) throughout our charter and has been selected by the Rennie Center to present our approach to building school culture at several Rennie Center events in the past few years.
These programs have resulted in a safe and supportive environment for all of our students.
BULLING RESOURCES:
Sizer is committed to preventing all forms of bullying and intervening immediately whenever and wherever it occurs. Please review the bullying materials for more information. We maintain a monitored email account at [email protected] to receive and track any incidents that are reported. This address can also be used if you need any bullying-related information.
If you need to report any type of bullying and chose not to report via email, please print and complete the Bullying Report.
MAKE IT RIGHT APPROACH (MIRA):
Making It Right – a developmental approach to behavioral intervention
This initiative ensures that individuals uphold their responsibilities as members of the school community; behavioral expectations are clearly defined (in the Sizer Student Handbook and in daily practice). The response when these expectations are not met is also clearly defined and commonly referred to as “MIRA” – the Make It Right Approach. Built upon a philosophy of discipline developed by Sizer faculty members several years ago, MIRA is a developmental, skill-building, strengths-based response to behavior and discipline. Students at Sizer are held accountable for the choices they make, and they are provided with the support they need to “fix mistakes”, to restore relationships and to make things right. Every time we make an intervention that is restorative in nature, we invest in social capital and strengthen our culture.
“Discipline” in our school is an opportunity to help a student learn a set of skills with direct supervision. We know that supporting all students’ development of healthy behavior patterns takes a commitment to consistency, a community rich in opportunities for its members to have their basic needs met, and a clearly defined and implemented code of conduct.
PEER MEDIATION:
Conflict is all around us. Whether with another student, a family member or a teacher we all deal with conflict. When students are experiencing conflict it impacts their performance both in and out of classes. At Sizer students have a way to work out their conflicts peacefully.
What is mediation? Mediation is a way for students to work out their conflict with the help of a neutral third party, called a Mediator.
How does it work? A mediator is a neutral person who listens to people talk about what happened and helps them figure out a way to make things right. Mediators do not solve the problem. They help the students to solve the problem for themselves.
When mediators work with students, they:
- remain neutral – they don’t take sides or judge
- listen respectfully to each student
- keep information confidential (with exceptions as required by law)
- don’t tell students how to work it out – it’s up to the students to determine how to resolve their conflict
By working with a community agency, Mediation Services of North Central MA, Inc., Sizer is able to have a professional mediator on staff two days a week. Mark Goguen coordinates all mediations and trains the student mediators. Ms. Huston meets with each student prior to scheduling a mediation to determine if the situation is appropriate for mediation.
Mr. Goguen can be reached at the school Monday and Thursday or by email is [email protected]
A Mediation Referral Form is available below:
