Teach, Learn, Every Day, No Excuses
Step Up
Mission:
At Oakdale Joint Unified we want to ensure that our students are engaging in Respectful, Responsible and Safe behavior. Through the Step Up Program we will be empowering kids to have the tools in order to take action when there is a need or opportunity. We want to ensure that our kids are able to rise to a higher level.
Core Values:
Here at Oakdale Joint Unified we are striving to ensure that students are Respectful, Responsible and Safe. Our campuses have behavioral expectations posted throughout the campus reflecting these values.
Curriculum:
The Step Up Team is pushing into the classroom to teach our core values of Respect, Responsibility and Safety through the curriculum of Second Step. Second Step is an evidenced based curriculum that supports all students and staff to have the same shared language around ways to calm down, empathize with others and engage in effective problem solving strategies. Parents will be receiving Unit Overviews throughout the school year.
Conflict Mediation:
One of the biggest challenges at recess is social conflict. The goal is to reduce staff intervention by teaching students conflict resolution skills based on skills learned from Second Step. Each site has banners posted on the playground listing behavioral expectations during recess. Some schools are training peer mediators to help facilitate peer related struggles.
-
Yard duties are specifically trained to utilize the same strategies of calming down and problem solving that students are learning in the classroom.
-
All staff on campus have lanyards that illustrate the calming down and problem solving steps.
Magnolia:
Magnolia is using interactive hands on murals in order to engage students at recess with the conflict mediation steps.
Cloverland:
Cloverland has trained Peer Mediators for recess to be able to engage in helping students utilize the Calm Down Skills and Problem Solving Skills at recess.
Reinforcement:
Giving Positive Reinforcement for others doing a job well done is not just reserved for academics! The Step Up program is built to positively reinforce desired behaviors. Each school has Step Up tickets so students can be acknowledged when they are caught being Respectful, Responsible and Safe on campus. Step Up tickets are turned in for specific prize drawings at each school.
Tickets are given from various staff where they pair specific verbal reinforcement along with the ticket. For example, they may say, “I like how you waited quietly while I finished talking to Joe. That shows a lot of respect”. The reinforcement clearly defines and communicates desired behaviors and also strengthens the staff/student relationship. Research indicates children who receive adequate positive reinforcement develop confidence in their academic abilities and self perception.
Home Link:
Ensuring that parents are learning as well as reinforcing the strategies and interventions that we are teaching at School is an integral part of the STEP Up Program. Unit Reviews will be sent home surrounding topics and ways to engage your student and learn about what is being taught in the classroom.
2022/2023 Distinguished School Recognition
The Step Up Distinguished Schools Award for the 2022/ 2023 school year was awarded to Cloverland Elementary and Magnolia Elementary. Distinguished schools are identified as schools who have implemented the program to fidelity as well as embedded Step Up into school culture.
