Student Services

Falcon Families:
Many of you may have noticed our school staff talking about being safe, responsible, respectful, and kind. These four key behaviors are part of our clear expectations for our students across all settings at Cayucos School. Teaching expected behaviors has been shown to help support a more positive school climate for students and staff. One of my favorite leadership authors, Brene Brown, says it best- "Clarity is kindness." This process is called Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS). Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social-emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and well-being. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable, and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.

Please take 3 minutes to watch this quick overview on our first step in implementing PBIS at our school. https://youtu.be/4s4JPqti6Ho

District Expectations for Student Success: Discipline and Behavior Guide

The Cayucos Elementary School District (CESD) is committed to providing a positive school climate that is supportive, and conducive to learning for all members of the school environment. To this end, the CESD utilizes data-based decision-making and multi-tiered systems of support. The CESD believes in creating a School-wide, positive relationship-based culture that supports all members of the school district community. This support is grounded in restorative practices (2023-24), positive behavior, character counts education, interventions and support (PBIS), and trauma-informed practices (2023-24). This multi-tiered system of support is characterized by active parent engagement and the consistent use of effective school and classroom management strategies. A school climate that sets the tone for learning and teaching will minimize the need for disciplinary measures that exclude students from the classrooms and campus that disrupt instruction.

The Cayucos Elementary School District’s goal is to maximize the learning potential of each student by creating school climates that are emotionally safe, trusting, and nurture mutually respectful relationships among students, between students and staff, and between parents and staff. Every student has the right to receive an education in a safe, respectful, and welcoming school environment. Every educator has the right to teach in a school environment in which barriers to learning and teaching are effectively addressed and effective interventions and supports are readily available.

The policy detailed in this document provides a framework for student conduct, the disciplinary interventions and consequences to be used in schools throughout the district, and the rights and responsibilities of students, parents, and school personnel.

Cayucos Discipline GUIDE 2023-24

The Governing Board recognizes the harmful effects of bullying on student learning and school attendance and desires to provide a safe school environment that protects students from physical and emotional harm. District employees shall establish student safety as a high priority and shall not tolerate bullying of any student.

No individual or group shall, through physical, written, verbal, or other means, harass, sexually harass, threaten, intimidate, retaliate, cyberbully, cause bodily injury to, or commit hate violence against any student or school personnel.

Cyberbullying includes the electronic creation or transmission of harassing communications, direct threats, or other harmful texts, sounds, or images as defined in Education Code 48900. Cyberbullying also includes breaking into another person's electronic account and assuming that person's identity in order to damage that person's reputation.

Strategies for addressing bullying in district schools shall be developed with involvement of key stakeholders, including students, parents/guardians, and staff, and may be incorporated into the comprehensive safety plan, the local control and accountability plan, and other applicable district and school plans.

As appropriate, the Superintendent/Principal or designee may collaborate with law enforcement, courts, social services, mental health services, other agencies, and community organizations in the development and implementation of joint strategies to promote safety in schools and the community and to provide services for alleged victims and perpetrators of bullying.

Please see the full Board Policies regarding Bullying and Hate Motivated Behavior:

Policy 5131.2: Bullying

Policy 5145.9: Hate-Motivated Behavior

Olweus Parent Information 2023

Prop 28: Arts and Music in Schools Funding Annual Report

Cayucos Elementary School District (CESD) is located in the heart of San Luis Obispo County on the coast. The school district consists of one school which services students from Transitional Kindergarten to 8th grade. Currently, the enrollment at CESD is 178 students (2023-24). The average class size is 18, with a range from 9 (Transitional Kindergarten) to our largest class of 23 (1st grade). Each elementary classroom is currently staffed with a credentialed teacher and paraeducator for the majority of the day. CESD is a very special school with a plethora of educational program offerings. Every student at CESD receives instruction in visual and performing arts (VAPA). The Cayucos VAPA instructional program includes music instruction (choir, ukulele, guitar, recorder, world drumming, electronic music creation, and musical theatre). Our art program teaches the basic elements of drawing, color wheels, landscape art, painting, and stage design. The CESD Theatre Curriculum centers on the five strands of the California State Standards for Theatre. Each grade level is expected to receive standards-based instruction in Theatre Arts including elements of Artistic Perception, Creative Expression, Historical & Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing, and Connections, Relationships, and Applications. Additionally, the middle school Theatre program is aligned to the California Career Technical Education (CTE) Standards in Arts, Media, and Entertainment and articulates to local high school CTE pathways. In 2024, CESD became one of only a few elementary districts in the State of California that are award recipients for the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program which we are utilizing our mission of making sure every student is college and career-prepared when leaving 8th grade. In addition to our robust electives, our core classes utilize a state-adopted curriculum with Thinking Maps to support K-6th grade to support writing and critical thinking. Cayucos Elementary School District is both a Character Counts and Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) district that believes in teaching social-emotional strategies, conflict resolution, and at the core of our teaching is that kindness matters. We increased our theatre art teacher position to more fully serve our student population with Prop 28 funds.

Planned Activity: Increase FTE of theatre art teacher by .2 annually for greater scope and sequence of arts education for K-8 students at CESD. 2024-25: 21,256 and 2025-26 21,369.

Behavior Guide Video

Cayucos Anti-Bullying Rules

Parent Handout Olweus