CHAMPS PreK–8 session promoted

Greater Ozarks Cooperating School Districts is advertising a two-day CHAMPS training for PreK–8 educators in southern Missouri, with sessions set for July 21-22 in Poplar Bluff and July 27-28 in Republic. (greaterozarkscsd.org) The cooperative says the training runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day, costs $225 for members, and is aimed at teachers, principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, university professors, and preservice teachers. Each site has 100 seats, and registration closes July 1 for Poplar Bluff and July 7 for Republic. (greaterozarkscsd.org) CHAMPS is a classroom-management model for grades kindergarten through eighth grade sold through Safe & Civil Schools, while a parallel program, Discipline in the Secondary Classroom, is used for grades 9-12. Safe & Civil Schools says the system is built around teaching expectations before problems start and using positive interactions to keep students engaged. (safeandcivilschools.com) The Greater Ozarks group says classroom management ranked among the top needs in its professional learning needs assessment this year. Its event page says participants will learn to organize classrooms, communicate behavior expectations, motivate students, and respond to misbehavior “fluently.” (greaterozarkscsd.org) The training is being pitched as a district-team effort rather than a single-teacher workshop. The event page says PreK–8 CHAMPS and the secondary discipline session will run at the same location so districts can build “a common language and consistent approach” across grade levels. (greaterozarkscsd.org) That matters in the region because Greater Ozarks Cooperating School Districts says it serves more than 100 school districts and eight colleges and universities across 53 Missouri counties, representing more than 170,000 K-12 students. The organization says its mission is to provide collaborative professional learning and partnerships for member districts in southern Missouri. (greaterozarkscsd.org 1) (greaterozarkscsd.org 2) Safe & Civil Schools describes CHAMPS as a framework that helps teachers decide, activity by activity, what conversation, help-seeking, movement, and participation should look like in class. The company says the model is meant to guide teacher decisions rather than impose one fixed script. (safeandcivilschools.com) Greater Ozarks’ pitch leans on implementation, not theory alone. Its event page says key components include structuring the room for success, teaching students how to be successful, observing behavior, and correcting students positively, and the social-media promotion included a classroom-routines video demonstration tied to that hands-on approach. (greaterozarkscsd.org)