Code of Conduct; General Guidelines

Code of Conduct

All students and staff members benefit from a learning environment that is free from disruption and harassment and that is physically safe and emotionally nurturing. All members of the LPA community will strive to emulate the ideals expressed in the Legacy Paideia.

General Guidelines

Legacy strives to convey the traditional virtues of civilization: nobility, temperance, fortitude, practical wisdom, and justice. “We believe in courtesy, the ritual by which we avoid hurting other people’s feelings by satisfying our own egos,” so said Kenneth Clark; and in the words of Mary Crist Fleming, “We teach good manners by modeling them. We strive for courteous behavior at all times, even under stress. Courtesy keeps us – teachers and students, adults and children – happy, purposeful and poised, able to allow the respect for one another we ought to feel, and quick to treat one another with cordial dignity. Courtesy is the necessary ground for our communal and scholarly lives.”

At school, classroom teachers have the primary responsibility for teaching appropriate conduct and addressing unproductive or disruptive behavior. We believe that positive rewards are generally more powerful and effective than negative consequences. Corporal punishment is forbidden. Students will be taught to restore damaged property and relationships; to make amends with those who have been offended or injured by their behavior. If a student does not respond successfully, other consequences may be utilized. As with all instruction, teachers and administrators will strive to tailor their interventions to the student’s level of understanding and relevance to the misbehavior.

In all cases, parental support is vital to the student’s success. Consequences out of school are often more effective and motivating than consequences imposed within school.