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Signs of obedience
By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE
© St. Petersburg Times, CITRUS SPRINGS -- If students in the Citrus Springs Elementary School cafeteria are confused about what they should should be doing at any particular time during their lunch periods, all they need to do is look up the wall. They will see charts providing them with the information they need to know exactly how to act. The program is called CHAMPs and various forms of it can be found in classrooms throughout the school as well as in the cafeteria. "It is a language spoken across the school," said assistant principal Cicely Thomas, "so kids will know what is expected of them." CHAMPs is an acronym. C stands for conversation. Students can look at the charts where they are to see if they are allowed to talk or must be silent at that time in that room. H is for help. If a student needs anything he can, again, just look up and see if he should raise his hand, consult a fellow student or approach a teacher or teacher's assistant. A indicates what activity is happening. For example, in the cafeteria, a student can look up to the A section of a chart to see if he is still in eating time or if the activity has changed to taking trays up to the window. M provides the guidance for movement. Students know if they must stay in their seats, if they are allowed to circulate, sharpen a pencil or get a drink. P stands for participation. This is a practice of CHAMP skills so students will know what it feels or sounds like to be doing the right thing. Thomas said the school is treating the points of CHAMPs like skills that require practice. "It is just letting them know what to do in any room or situation," she said. For example, the charts posted in the cafeteria tell students at a glance: (C) there is no talking for the first 10 minutes, then they can talk quietly; (H) for help they must raise their hands; (A) students can look at the chart to see when they should be eating, when they should clean-up and when it is time to get in line; (M) the students know when they must stay in their seats; and (P) for participation in CHAMPS in the cafeteria, students just need to listen and do what the charts say. The authors of the program, Thomas said, found through research that schools putting this program into practice had fewer disruptions. "When you have more time for teaching and learning," she said, "you have better performance from the children."
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