Page 71 - 2018 Summer Employee Handbook

CODE OF CONDUCT
One of the main objectives of our summer program is to have children actively participating each and every day the site is open. The Participant Code of Conduct should be created with staff and participant involvement. Clear, positive language is advised – do not post a list of “NO’s”. Clear and progressive consequences must also be posted. Code of Conduct, Consequences, and Progressive Discipline Plan must be included in your behavior contracts – which the child and parent must sign and return to the site. These signed contracts should be filed, alphabetically, and kept on site for coaching sessions. Children and staff must adhere to the same rules. You must model the behavior you expect from your children.
Some items that should be addressed include:
 Smoking in buildings or on school grounds is not allowed.
 The use of profane language will not be tolerated.
 Always show respect to others.
 Positive language only.
 Glass containers are not permitted on-site (includes staff).
 Bicycles must be parked in bike racks provided or in a designated and posted bike parking area.
 Climbing on backstops, buildings, trees or fences is not permitted.
 Stones or similar objects should not be thrown.
 Softball should be played only where permitted.
 Lingering in or defacing the rest rooms will not be allowed.
 The staff must see to it that children are not wandering around the school in areas off limits to the program (see the
Building Use Form for areas we are approved to use).
 Children must wear shoes at all times. Bare feet pose too much of a safety risk. Recommend tennis shoes as the
footwear of choice.
 We do not carry children, including piggyback rid
Never send a child home from the site for disciplinary reasons until you have talked directly to their parent/guardian. Be sure there is someone to send the child home to and that the adult is aware of what transpired. Work with the parent to insure that every effort is made to correct the problems and get the child back to the site.
Continual difficulty may require a longer or sometimes permanent suspension. In such cases, consult or discuss problems with your supervisor. Parental contact is critical before suspension. Permanent suspension is a serious decision and requires supervisory and administrative involvement. In most cases, every step of progressive discipline must be followed and documented. In severe cases, your supervisor and the administrative team must be involved.
Progressive discipline is key. In order for a parent to assist you in improving the child’s conduct, they must be made aware that a problem even exists. Therefore, document and share information with the child, parents and the supervisory staff. Establish your system during week one. Track your signed behavior contracts – refer to them when disciplining a child or discussing problems with a parent. Have your supervisor go over your progression and consequences before sharing it with your site.
Implementation
Having a system is one very important part of this process. Implementing the system consistently is the other. Every staff person is responsible for enforcing the plan - every time with every child. Having a plan and then making exceptions will create chaos.
An example of a Progressive System is:
Establish your steps and code them:
When a child commits their first infraction, their name goes on an index card and is placed in the Green Zone – posted on a chart placed on a bulletin board, wall or other obvious place. The child’s name goes on the front of the card and what they did and a staff person’s initials go on the back. When a child commits a second offense the card is moved to yellow with a similar description and staff initials.
In this system, children start over each week with a clean slate. At the end of the week any discipline cards containing an infraction are filed in an index card box. If a parent meeting is necessary – each week’s infractions will be available to show the parent the extent of the problem
1st infraction 2nd infraction 3rd infraction 4th infraction
= Green = Yellow = Blue** = Red
**Call Supervisor before this level to have a confirmation if they can be suspended for the behavior
*An additional courtesy call to the parent before blue may be warranted if the child is doing small infractions that may lead to a blue step.
PAGE | 69 2018