Bluffdale Elementary’s Prevention Plan 2024-2025
Our school’s mission is to:
Connect with every child, every day to ensure social acceptance and academic success!
Prevention Plan Overview
At Bluffdale Elementary, our focus is on the social, emotional and academic well-being of every child. Restorative practices are utilized so that students may learn how to make good choices, work well with others, and resolve future problems before they escalate. Positive behaviors are recognized and rewarded individually as well as school wide.
This prevention plan has been created following Jordan District guidelines, which can be reviewed at wellness.jordandistrict.org.
Our school prioritizes prevention by offering support and services to our students and their families. Some of our everyday efforts, systems and strategies for supporting our students, are listed below:
- School wide behavior system (PAWS) with whole school implementation at the beginning of the year.
- School wide teaching stations to define the expectation for behavior in each area of the school.
- School wide positive reinforcement system.
- Student of the Month recognition for a student in each classroom.
- “Paws-itive” referral opportunities to recognize students with a positive phone call home from administrators.
- Student “shout outs” on the intercom system recognizing student success.
- Behavioral training and expectations for all teachers and support staff.
- Each staff member is trained to use Precision Commands when encountering problematic behaviors.
- School wide implementation of a social emotional wellness program. This program emphasizes essential life skills, dealing with conflict, problem-solving, goal setting, bullying prevention, and emotion recognition and management.
- Our school has opened a Wellness Room that is available to all students.
- Our school psychologist teaches the “zones of regulation” to all students. This allows students to identify which “zone” or emotional level they are in.
- Our school psychologist is available to students who need additional support, including small group sessions that address grief, divorce, anxiety, social skills, etc.
- Check-in and check-out system is in place with the school psychologist or another trusted adult for at-risk students before and after school. This gives each student the opportunity to create positive relationships and be individually recognized for good behavior; concerns are also discussed to help the student improve.
- DARE training for 5th grade students. Our school resource officer works with the students to teach alcohol and drug prevention.
- Student Leaders selected from each class to form a school wide leadership team to assist with assemblies, office runs, positive modeling, etc.
- Student Leadership opportunities in the fifth and sixth grade through Safety Patrol.
- There is music playing both outside and inside the building five minutes before school starts to welcome our students each day.
- Our teachers greet the students at the door to welcome them each day.
- Teachers meet twice a week in a collaborative setting to ensure student needs are being met academically and emotionally.
- Our school has a strong volunteer base, including community leaders, who model positive behavior for our students.
- Our school uses a data management platform to identify students in need of additional support.
- Our school provides access to District mental health and support resources through Student Services which includes the Jordan Family Education Center.
- Our school provides access to academic support through collaboration with Jordan District departments as well as Special Education services to support the success of every student.
- Our school’s mental health providers (school counselors, school psychologists, or clinical support) are trained and supported by District administration to follow current best practices in prevention and intervention efforts.
- Our school intervenes with early warning, content monitoring, and anonymous reporting tools with support from Jordan District specialists to identify and support students who may be at risk.
- Our school provides access to parent and family resources including a district partnership with the Cook Center for Human Connection, evening parent seminars, and classes through the Jordan Family Education Center.
Suicide Prevention Plan
- Our school’s mental health providers and administrators are trained on and review district suicide risk intervention guidelines annually with support from Jordan District’s Student Services Team.
- Our school teaches positive social skills and coping strategies on a weekly basis during social emotional learning instruction.
- Educators have access to resources, including talking points to educate students about suicide prevention. Live On Utah Playbook, Discussion Guide, Student Worksheet
- A check-in and check-out system is in place with the school psychologist or another trusted adult for at- risk students before and after school to help meet their emotional and behavioral needs.
- Our upper grade students learn about the SafeUT app and information regarding the app is sent home to parents.
- All of our school’s licensed staff participate in suicide prevention training for their license renewal.
- Students identified who may be at risk of suicide receive interventions and support appropriate to their individual needs which may include a screening interview, parent/guardian contact, a safety plan, mental health recommendations/referrals JFEC, a re-entry meeting, and regular follow-up.
- Bluffdale Elementary embraces Restorative Practices to encourage kindness, conflict resolution, accountability, and empathy.
Bullying, Harassment, and Discrimination Prevention Plan
- Our school team proactively reviews relevant data on school climate, safety, and bullying by identifying vulnerable populations (e.g., racial and ethnic groups, LGBTQ youth, students with disabilities) and specific spaces where bullying may be likely to plan supports accordingly.
- Our school’s staff is trained on school procedures for recognizing, reporting (SafeUT, content monitoring, etc.), and responding to bullying incidents.
-
- Teachers greet students at the door each morning.
- Teachers are encouraged to have positive interactions with all students in the school whether the student is assigned to their class or not.
- Bluffdale “PAWS” (PBIS): Practice “Paws-itivity”, Act Responsibly, Work and Play Safely, Show Respect
- Flowchart of how to respond to Majors & Minors for when an incident occurs.
- Communication with administration and parents
- Our school staff documents incidents in Skyward according to state requirements.
- Students involved in incidents of bullying as targets, aggressors, or witnesses receive support for their individual needs which may include counseling and mental health services (i.e. school mental health team, JFEC, Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), a student wellness plan and/or parent/guardian contact—recognizing that targets, aggressors, and witnesses of bullying are more susceptible to school problems.
- Through the social emotional learning program, students learn empathy, conflict resolution, problem-solving, kindness, and emotional regulation.
- Students are also taught what bullying is and what to do if it happens to them or someone they know. They are taught the “Stop, Walk and Talk” procedure to help avoid conflict and obtain help when needed.
- Parent Coaching resources are available to parents and guardians through Jordan School District Parent Coaching Flyer English, Parent Coaching Flyer Spanish
Violence Prevention Plan
- Our school’s administrators are trained on the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (C- STAG), along with other members of our school’s threat assessment team which includes: Principal Moore, Assistant Principal Holyoke, and our school psychologist, Miss Hunt.
- Our school has a process for timely response to school threats using Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (C-STAG) and its decision tree. This includes warning potential victims and their parents/guardians.
- Our school’s staff and students are aware of school procedures for recognizing and reporting (SafeUT, content monitoring, etc.) threats of violence.
- Students who are affected by or who make threats of violence receive interventions and support appropriate to their individual needs which may include problem solving, C-STAG interviews, suicide risk assessment, functional behavior assessment (FBA), restorative conferencing, mediation, a behavior intervention plan (BIP), counseling and mental health services (i.e. school mental health team, JFEC, a student wellness plan, and/or parent contact. (Parent Resources)
- Our school implements a social emotional learning program which supports the students’ social and emotional well being. As the students participate in the program, they will practice the skills with classmates so that they can utilize the skills when situations arise.
- Our school psychologist and school counselor work with administration to discuss and develop a plan for students who have been violent or aggressive.
Additional Strategies
At Bluffdale Elementary, community involvement is a positive aspect of our prevention plan. Many of our school strategies involve parents and community members to assist us in creating a sense of unity and acceptance. Some of the activities include:
- Back to School Night
- PTA Red Ribbon Week (Drugs/Alcohol Awareness)
- PTA Yellow Ribbon Week (Kindness)
- PTA White Ribbon Week (Internet Safety)
- PTA Green Ribbon Week (Mental Health Awareness)
- Family Nights (4 per year)
- Parents and Pastries
- PAWS (Dads on our PTA who interact with students at recess)
- Weekly communication by administration with parents through Skylert
- Monthly P.T.A. Newsletter which includes a message from the principal, as well as a wellness section
This prevention plan has been created following Jordan District guidelines, which can be reviewed at wellness.jordandistrict.org.