Principles of Principals

Yesterday we had a fight in the cafeteria.  7th graders.  I use the word typical in the sense that these things can happen in a school setting.  At my school, in all honesty, we've had 3 fights in three years, so this was an atypical occasion. Atypical has so many layers.  A boy was verbally harassing a girl.  She'd had enough, so she took matters into her own fists.  They're both African Refugees, familiar with the consequences of hatred, violence, fear, and malice. Our entire First Grade saw the fight.  "Why does this have to happen Dr. Sharp?"  "Why wouldn't that boy leave her alone?"  "What is going to happen to them?" were just some of the questions. Typical disciplinary action calls for immediate suspension, depending on district policy and number of previous offenses. This was not a typical situation. Today Seraphine visited each 1st Grade classroom and taught a 10 minute lesson on two of our school's CHOICES (Choosin