When I was teaching middle school in Anchorage, our school used the CHAMPS framework as part of our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) system. The goal of PBIS is to create a positive, predictable learning environment by teaching and reinforcing clear expectations, and CHAMPS gave us a simple structure to do exactly that.
As our curriculum team was writing a set of suggested expectations for the revised Somos 2 Unit 1, Curriculum Development Manager Meghan Loveless mentioned voice level, help, and movement. I went to link my blog post about it and… I guess I never wrote about it!
What is CHAMPS?
CHAMPS is an acronym that stands for:
- Conversation: Can students talk to each other? At what volume?
- Help: How do students get questions answered? How do they get my attention?
- Activity: What is the task? What is the end product?
- Movement : Can students move around? If so, how and when?
- Participation: What does active, responsible participation look like?
- Success: When all of the above are clear, success is inevitable.
In other words, CHAMPS is about setting the stage before the lesson begins. It prioritizes the management of expectations over behaviors. Instead of waiting until issues arise to address student behaviors, when I used CHAMPS it gave them the blueprint for what success would look like in each activity.
A Whole-School Expectation
At my school, CHAMPS wasn’t just my classroom practice; it was a whole-school expectation. Every teacher was encouraged (and expected) to:
- Post or write CHAMPS expectations on the board for each activity.
- Reinforce/remind students of expectations throughout the lesson, rather than only at the start.
- Use the common language of CHAMPS so students heard the same framework in every classroom.
Administrators looked for CHAMPS in action during formal and informal observations. All that to say, CHAMPS wasn’t optional or extra; it was part of how we agreed to create consistency for students across the building.
Managing Expectations over Behaviors
One of our Core Mindsets is manage expectations over behaviors. When students know what is expected of them, they are far more likely to meet those expectations. Instead of trying to control student behavior in the moment, CHAMPS helped me to focus on front-loading positive engagement.
For example, if I wanted students to work in pairs on a reading activity, I would walk through CHAMPS before letting the kids loose to work:
Conversation: “You may whisper with your partner at Volume Level 1 (Whisper Voice).”
Help: “If you need help, first ask your partner. If you’re still stuck, raise your hand and I will come over to help when I can.”
Activity: “You’re reading aloud to each other then reading it again and making marks on the page using these symbols [posted on the board].”
Movement: “Stay in your seats.”
Participation: “When reading aloud, one person is whispering and the other is listening. When annotation, both partners are tracking the text and adding symbols to their pages.”
By the time students started the activity, they didn’t have to guess about what was expected of them. And because I managed the expectations clearly up front, I didn’t [in theory] need to micromanage behavior as much during the activity itself.
Why CHAMPS Worked for Us
When I used it consistently, CHAMPS turned classroom management into a proactive practice rather than a reactive scramble. Because the framework was consistent schoolwide, students didn’t have to learn a different system for each teacher. They knew what “CHAMPS” meant in every classroom, and that made the framework more effective for everyone. Because expectations were clear from the start of each activity, it also made it easier for me to handle student objections and get them back on track. For example, if a student was sitting doing nothing and, when I came over, they would say, “I was waiting for you to come help me,” but I had set and written the expectation that students were to come to me at my desk for help… it took away that back and forth power struggle.
Now, I won’t pretend that using CHAMPS solved all of my engagement and cooperation problems. An area I have always struggled in–and still do to this day–is consistency in maintaining the expectations I’ve set. Setting expectations with CHAMPS was one positive step, and the more consistently I used it, the better it worked.
If you’re struggling with classroom management (what we now call Engagement and Cooperation), I encourage you to think about how much you’re managing behaviors versus how much you’re managing expectations. And, perhaps CHAMPS could be a useful framework to help make that shift!
Equity and CHAMPS
It’s worth noting that while CHAMPS has been a helpful tool for many schools, some educators have raised important questions about how classroom management systems fit into the bigger picture of equity. Research on PBIS has shown that even when schools adopt positive frameworks, racial disparities in discipline can persist if we don’t also address implicit bias and practice culturally responsive teaching.
For me, this is an important reminder: CHAMPS is a structure, not a solution on its own. If we use it only as a checklist for compliance, we risk overlooking the lived experiences and cultural differences of our students. But if we use it as a framework to clarify expectations in ways that honor students’ voices and identities, then CHAMPS can actually create more equity by making classrooms more predictable and supportive for everyone.
As teachers, we can strengthen CHAMPS by:
- Framing expectations with inclusive language.
- Checking ourselves for patterns of bias in who we correct or how we reinforce.
- Pairing CHAMPS with practices that celebrate and validate the diverse cultures in our classrooms.
Clarity and consistency are powerful… but only when they’re grounded in respect, cultural awareness, and genuine care for our students.
If you’re curious about CHAMPS or want to dig deeper, I recommend checking out Dr. Randy Sprick’s organization, Safe & Civil Schools. They’re the folks behind CHAMPS, and they offer practical workshops and resources that can really help bring the framework to life in your classroom or school. You can learn more at safeandcivilschools.com.
