Cottonwood Creek Charter School

 

We focus on core values and using respectful communication skills to solve conflicts. We closely monitor and observe the behaviors of students to ensure that bullying is not allowed to occur and we take swift action to deal with any incident. We also work together to ensure that conflict resolution skills are taught and practiced, giving children the necessary tools to deal with Normal Peer Conflict.

 

Bullying is a willful, conscious desire to hurt, frighten, or threaten. It is usually ongoing in nature. Bullying is a series of repeated, intentionally cruel incidents, or threat of harm, that involve the same children, in the same bully and victim roles. It involves an imbalance of power, either real or perceived. It can be physical and/or verbal and may include racial, religious, and sexual harassment. Additionally, it can include offensive gestures, inappropriate touching, intimidation, extortion and social exclusion. The behavior is designed to intentionally hurt, injure, embarrass, upset or discomfort the other person. Due to the willful and conscious nature, preschool children are not characteristically developmentally capable of carrying out bullying and are often involved in Normal Peer Conflicts.

 

Normal Peer Conflict is a part of every child’s life experience. As children learn to give and take, learn about cooperation and social interaction, conflict naturally occurs. Children in the early years do no always think of others. Their goal in both friendship and play is egocentric, or self-centered. They are still learning self-control and developing a sense of personal space. A common response to frustration is one of rejecting the other child, both emotionally and physically. Pushing or getting upset about not being first in line, grabbing an item away from another child, disagreeing about what to play or how to proceed in a game, or saying, “I’m not going to be your friend anymore,” are all examples of Normal Peer Conflict. It is typically characterized by the developmental level of the children involved. Relationship and social struggles often surface in the early elementary years, as children become more independent and attempt to navigate friendships and group dynamics. Aggression and hurtful remarks are part of conflict at all ages; they do not necessarily mean that a bully-victim problem exists.

 

Discipline at Cottonwood Creek Charter School is based on a positive attitude toward children. Students are taught the importance of mutual respect and intentional violence or bullying will not be tolerated. Appropriate use of non-violent communication and frustration tolerance skills are expected and modeled.

 

Cottonwood Creek Charter School requires all employees, and encourages parents, to report any known incidents of bullying or willful or deliberate violence within 24 hours to their child’s teacher and/or the Director. When such an incident is observed, employees are required to report the incident to the Director. Families of the children involved in bullying or willful violence will be notified. Incidents of Normal Peer Conflict may or may not be reported, depending on the details and events.

 

It is the policy of CCCS to assist children in arriving at inner discipline through concentrated work. Students are assisted in developing the skills necessary to control their own actions to develop self-discipline. Natural or logical consequences are used as a means of helping the child to develop inner limits. Classroom guidelines are as follows:

 

Cottonwood Creek Charter School encourages students to show respect for differences in others, including but not limited to race, gender, and religion while fostering a school environment free from all forms of bullying and intimidation. In partnership with families, the school’s focus, based on core principles and active pedagogy, is on preventative measures for such behaviors, by teaching children how to: