Beaufort County School District Leadership Academy

1. Effective
Communication &
Discipline
Matters for Aspiring Administrators
Dr. Gregory A. McCord
Chief Auxiliary Services Officer
Beaufort County School District

2. Jot down the
Top 5
things you might
LOVE
about the job of administration…
Think•Pair•Share

3. Jot down the
Top 5
things you might
NOT LOVE
about the job of administration…
What stands out? What is out of your
control? What can you control?
Think•Pair•Share

4. Good communication begins with
proactive thinking, not reactive responses
What is your end goal?

5. …is essential to good communication skills!
• Know your audience
• Know your limitations
• Know how to close
Being Proactive…

6. 10 ways you can currently communicate
with your school community
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
E-mail
Phone Messenger
School Website
Facebook (Live)
Twitter
Communication
is KEY!
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Text Messaging
Snap Chat
Periscope
Youtube
Instagram

7. The following slides are sample letters
that are sent to families regarding school
situations.
• What are the salient points of the letters?
• Who is the primary contact?
• Is there something that could be added/deleted?

8. SAMPLE LETTER FOR A WEAPON BROUGHT ON CAMPUS
Dear parents:
Though no students were injured, I need to make you aware of an incident that happened today on our campus.
Early this morning, we discovered that a student had brought a TYPE OF WEAPON to school in HIS/HER backpack. Our students have all been trained to
notify an adult immediately if they know of safety threats at school, and that is what happened in this instance.
We immediately detained the student, confiscated the weapon and notified law enforcement. You can be assured that appropriate disciplinary action is
being taken in accordance with the Beaufort County School District’s Student Discipline Code of Conduct. Law enforcement also are investigating to
determine how the student obtained the TYPE OF WEAPON.
We commend the students who immediately informed school adults today. It takes our entire community to keep our school safe. These students
responded as good citizens do when they reported to school adults with everyone’s safety in mind.
Please know that we take these situations very seriously because the safety of our students and staff here at SCHOOL NAME is our top priority.
Please take this opportunity to remind your children about the dangers posed by weapons, as well as the importance of reporting unsafe behavior and
objects to adults when they see them. Children often mimic what they see, so it’s important to monitor our children’s behavior and actions, as well as our
own.
We appreciate your continued support. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at ---------------.
Sincerely,
PRINCIPAL’S NAME
SCHOOL NAME

9. SAMPLE LETTER FOR A CAMPUS LOCKDOWN
Dear parents:
Though no students were ever in danger, I need to make you aware of an incident that happened today
on our campus.
Based on a recommendation from law enforcement, we placed the school on a modified lock-down for ---- minutes today while officers searched the
neighborhoods surrounding our building for a suspect in a crime. Under a modified lock-down, student activities outside our building are suspended and
student movement inside our building is restricted and closely monitored.
The lockdown was lifted at ----- a.m., and our school went back to normal operating conditions. I want to stress that our students were safe and never in
any danger. The lock-down was simply a precautionary measure suggested by law enforcement. Teaching and learning continued, uninterrupted, while
we were in secure mode and after the lock-down was lifted.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
PRINCIPAL’S NAME
SCHOOL’S NAME

10. SAMPLE LETTER FOR A BOMB THREAT
Dear parents:
This morning, we were made aware of a non-specific threat that had been made against our school. We immediately notified law
enforcement, and officers quickly located the student who made the threat and determined the threat was not credible. The student
faces criminal charges and will also face appropriate disciplinary action according to the Beaufort County School District Student Code
of Conduct.
Although our students were never in danger, we take all threats seriously because the safety of our students and staff is our top
priority. Should you have any questions, please contact our school office.
Sincerely,
PRINCIPAL NAME
SCHOOL NAME

11. Discipline in
Beaufort County School District
Disparity or not?

13. “If you are a hammer, all you will
see are nails”

14. How do you decide
which to use?
• There are 134
different infractions
in PowerSchool
• There are 40
different action
codes in PowerSchool
Disciplinary Infraction Coding

15. Fall In School Suspension

16. Fall Out of School Suspension

17. A boy and a girl have verbal disagreement but no
profanities are used and no name calling takes
place. The boy walks away and the girl follows
him to his locker. The girl punches the boy
in the eye and runs off. The boy reports it to
the administrator in charge. Is there an
infraction and if so what is it, who is responsible
and what might be the consequences?
Turn-and-Talk
Disciplinary Data Entry

18. Dr. Randy Sprick- Safe & Civil Schools
STOIC Model

20. Restorative Practices Defined
Restorative Practices is a social
science that studies how to
build social capital and achieve
social discipline through
participatory learning and
decision-making.
Ted Wachtel, Defining Restorative

21. Thank You