Interview conducted by Student Contributor Edgar Sanchez, article written and edited by Faculty Advisor and Editor-in-Chief Giselle Kendall.
Mr. Corella, a new administrator on our campus this year, is a product of our community. He grew up in Rubidoux, attended Pacific Avenue Elementary, Mission Middle, and graduated from Rubidoux High School in 2006, back when the school was physically located on our campus. He remembers walking the same halls as a senior, sitting in the same classrooms, and being a young man with dreams of becoming a teacher for his graduating school of Rubidoux. He spent one year as a middle school teacher at Jurupa Middle, then became a Rubidoux teacher, just like he had planned. He spent the next 12 years in the classroom connecting with his students and staff.
This year he made a change and became the Assistant Principal of Discipline at PHS. In his first year, he has much work to do to make a difference on our campus. I sat with him in his discipline office for a very insightful conversation about what discipline means on our campus.
The Importance of Discipline
I wanted to know why he thinks discipline is important on our campus. His response was not the one I was expecting. He referred to discipline, in the bigger picture, as a lesson in life and a value for success in life. The word “discipline” is seen at times in schools in a negative way. When in reality, it’s a word that connects us to habits of success.
“For me, discipline is doing the right thing when no one is looking. Discipline goes hand in hand with integrity. For example, when kids go home they get to choose to stay focused and study for that test, finish their homework OR go on the gaming system and play games for the next few hours or get distracted by other habits they choose. So part of discipline is forming habits that will help you in life," Mr. Corella states.
What is the Philosophy of Discipline on our Campus?
Mr. Corella says that discipline on our campus is restorative and not punitive. I had to ask him what restorative meant within this conversation. He explained it best by saying that the Student Management and Accountability (SMA) Discipline Office uses techniques for curbing unwanted behaviors, instead of punishing. We've all made decisions that might not be the best for us in the long term — students and adults alike. With restorative discipline some of these behaviors can be fixed by asking, “What can we do to support the student so they won’t repeat the behavior again?”
Every student is a part of this community and belonging is an essential need of every human being.
With minor issues in behavior the discipline team wants to investigate and have a conversation with that student about what’s going on. They might ask parents for input as well, because they’re part of the team. Overall, "We want to break cycles and not just punish students. We want to support students to have positive relationships with their teachers and with themselves," Mr. Corella states.
While this approach is geared towards minor mishaps, there are different responses depending on the behavior being addressed. If the behavior is not minor, there are bigger consequences.
Levels of Discipline
The most common level of discipline includes types of intervention like conflict mediations between students and the SMA office team. It also includes conversations about disagreements between two people or groups. The discipline team helps guide the conversation toward a resolution. Guided conflict resolution is important with high tension situations because emotions not handled correctly can lead to a fight. This past semester, the SMA office had 18 conflict mediations which were all successful in preventing any further unwanted situations. Some other important interventions include counseling sessions before something negative happens and conversations with parents. Mr. Corella notes the importance of parental awareness of any situation is an important technique of discipline.
Other types of discipline for more serious behaviors include:
Lunch detention
Tier 3 suspension
And Saturday School
The highest level of discipline is suspensions and expulsions. Mr. Corella says that while these don’t happen too often, when it does happen, it has been necessary because his number one priority is safety for our students and to provide a place where students can learn and have fun.
The Human Side of Discipline
Mr. Corella operates from the lens that everyone is a human being who makes mistakes. He may not be your friend while at school, but he always remembers the human side of discipline. Corella knows that every student is a part of this community and belonging is an essential need of every human being. He believes that we can make a difference if we teach behavior at all times.
“Behavior can be taught, just like math or anything else. That’s my mindset.”
Corella also believes that punitive discipline, without talking to students to make sure they take accountability or understand why they have these consequences, creates negative effects.
Discipline is Mr. Corella’s passion as he aims to be understanding and not come from a place of judgement. At the same time, he expects PHS students to not be rude to staff and feel free to enter his office for any conversation, and to report things that they see are unjust.
According to our school data, fights are happening less often on our campus, which means Mr. Corella’s philosophy is being seen and felt on campus.
The End Goal of Discipline
There are many goals of discipline, but at the end of the day, any disciplinary action takes place out of a decision that a student makes. “We have to make a decision based on the student's decisions,” says Mr. Corella.
A major goal of discipline is to teach accountability. He shares, “We are not out to get kids. But students get themselves in trouble so we have things in place like communicating expectations. We have the Warrior ARMOR with our advisory lessons in English and Spanish and we really try to disseminate that information to all students on campus.”
Mr. Corella says that the absolute end goal for discipline is safety on campus. “Every decision we make is with that goal in mind. It guides our decision-making process on discipline.” And sometimes consequences have to extend to suspension and at times expulsion for this purpose.
One of the last main goals for discipline is to support everyone. “I don’t just want to get to know the kids who need interventions in discipline, but I want all students to know that our office is here to provide support for all.”
Discipline Team: Mr. Corella, Ms. Mann, Deputy Barba, Ms. Mann
Support Staff: Monica Cuellar and Campus Supervisors
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