Student Services Newsletter
Upland Strong: Responsible - Respectful - Integrity
Your questions... answered!
Do we have a plan for students that are failing 4 or more classes? Typically these students are scheduled an SST with their counselor, parent, admin and stakeholders on campus to come up with a plan to help.
How do teachers figure out if students attended Saturday school? Is it both assigned and attended? You can contact our office and speak to anyone of us to look up and see if a student was assigned and if they attended.
Does the school have a mechanism for students to resolve disputes? I had 8 students suspended because 2 groups were in conflict. We do. Typically, students come in and file a report and we hold a conflict mediation with all students involved. However, sometimes students do not want to resolve their issues this way (because what they want to happen does not occur) and take it upon themselves to handle it which leads to consequences.
Are there any rewards for good behavior? How do we recognize positive on school platform? There are. We currently have the Great Scot Award and 5 Star Rewards for student involvement. We are still working on a more comprehensive program to acknowledge more students consistently that will involve all staff members.
Will you meet every month for the entire year? Is this related to MTSS or PBIS? Yes. Upland Strong encompasses both MTSS and PBIS framework along with Capturing Kids Hearts.
Why is their behavior at the expectations assembly not addressed, and why does it have to take place during the same period per grade? We ended up suspending and giving several Saturday Schools to students who were disruptive in the assembly - we also confiscated around 30 phones. The reason we cancelled the last assembly was due to the behavior and we have learned going forward to do these meetings in smaller groups and only hold the assembly twice in a year with a bigger gap between them.
What can be done to encourage professional behavior in staff meetings? Maybe we as peers can discuss this at the next staff/union meeting.
Tardies? Students will receive Saturday School for every 10 tardies. 60 tardies or more will be referred to SART or SARB; however we have a policy in place as to what is to be done before this -
Tardy Policy - https://uplandhigh.schoolloop.com/attendance
How can I implement the Upland Strong concept in my classroom? Practical strategies. In addition to the Capturing Kids Hearts strategies and the "Four Questions," we will soon be bringing in outside trainers to help with classroom management strategies.
Why do we continue to allow students who are known drug users/dealers to continue to stay at UHS? In a majority of the cases, there are consequences and even removal. Unfortunately, we sometimes do not have enough substantiated evidence to remove the student.
Can we as teachers have access to student discipline records (why suspended)? We are working on a process. Please look in your email for a suspension report.
Upland Strong: can it solve 1st period absences and tardies? In time, yes, it will help students feel more connected to teachers and the school which will result in improved participation.
Why did today’s assembly get cancelled? Due to the outcome of the last assembly. In moving forward we will only have 2 assemblies, spaced out, and have student forums throughout the year to address expectations and concerns.
I’d like for presenters to introduce themselves we don’t know who you are. We will do that next time.
When are students going to be forced to wear their I.D.? We recently implemented new consequences for not having ID’s. Administrators are at the gates in the mornings prompting students to put on their IDs and Seniors are not allowed off campus for lunch without wearing one. Students who enter the Student Services office without wearing an ID receive a Saturday School. Please help us with this new policy by encouraging your students to wear their school IDs.
"Snowball" Activity Results: What is "Upland Strong"?
Here are some of your awesome responses!!
- Upland Strong is a whole campus effort to encourage responsibility and good behavior
- Upland Strong is a program that identifies students with needs, connects students with services, creates an environment of student support and enrichment, and encompasses the culture of servicing the “whole student”.
- A culture of respect, working to a positive school environment.
- Upland Strong is a school-wide program meant to engage and support all students.
- Upland Strong to me is everyone working together to do what is best for kids.
- Positive Reinforcement and capturing student’s hearts.
- Upland Strong to me is teachers, staff, students, and parents all collaborating with each other to make sure we have a great school environment for everyone.
- Upland Strong is a positive climate that promotes unity and strength.
- Upland Strong is a schoolwide mindset to improve behavior
- Upland Strong school culture, school pride, expectations, building community
- Upland Strong setting a positive culture and climate for everyone on campus. School pride and interventions to support students.
- Upland Strong is a culture that supports our school as whole staff and students are listened to and interventions are put into place. Thank you!
- Upland Strong is building community.
- Upland Strong is all feeling at place at upland high school and feeling comfortable and happy here.
- Upland Strong means all stake holders coming together (community, staff students and parents) to help students be successful academically, socially, and better prepared for the world outside of UHS.
Some of your concerns....
Lack of consistency and enforcement
Real change takes 3 to 5 years to be fully implemented. As we move forward with trainings and implementing new programs, we hope to see more consistency and enforcement on campus.
I think that the expectations assembly or assemblies are ineffective and a waste of instructional minutes.
Thank you for your feedback! We realize the assembly needs modifications and that is why we canceled the last one.
There is not enough communication about the program. I’m not really sure what it is.
We are working on being more transparent. Look forward to more information coming to you in the form of newsletters, trainings and staff meetings!
Fistbumps NOT handshakes for hygiene
Agreed :)
There has been major improvement! It is still very tough to talk to kids about behavior when you do not know them. Many times I am met with very bad language.
We hope that as we fully implement our school wide behavior expectations, it becomes easier to acknowledge all students on campus as they are held to the same behavioral standards.
Students not in class lounging around campus.
As we implement Upland Strong over time, more students will feel connected and engaged in classroom activities and participation will increase.
It’s not the 35 individuals; it’s only the couple in each class that needs to be addressed.
That is a great point. Building relationships with students is key and Upland Strong is dedicated to finding solutions that work for those students.
Meet your Upland Strong Leadership Team!
UHS Site Team Members:
Jerry McCanne - Assistant Principal
Kim Bova - Internal Coach
Richard Kim - Facilitator
Laura McMullen - Notetaker
Carolle Artilles - Data Analyst
Bridget Santoyo - Data Analyst
Trevor Fogelsong - Technology Coordinator
Ana Garcia - Communications Coordinator
Sean Piscioneri - District Climate and Culture team member
Jaime Jennings - District Climate and Culture team member
Brian Chavez - Team member
John McNally - Team member