Pemberley-- oh, gosh, yes. Our kindergarten teacher had something like that. I think it was "sunny status" or "cloud status." It is NOT a good classroom management technique. Nor is it state of the art.

Here's why: an anxious, overthinking kid (say, like mine, or yours) doesn't even always get WHY they were moved to cloud status (or red, whatever). They just know they're in trouble; they don't know how long they will be there; they don't know if there's anything they can do to get out of trouble; and they don't know if a further hammer blow is coming (what if I go lower than red? will I be kicked out of class?). They imagine the worst, and it distracts them from real learning AND puts them in distress at the same time. And yes, as you noted, for a fearful child it's not just about them-- any child getting their color changed is enough to wreck them mentally and emotionally.

For these kids, this kind of system just leads to more anxiety. It's pretty horrible.

What is needed is a positive reinforcement system. Our teacher from last year had a "thank you jar"-- if a child did something (anything) good, they could write their name on a thank you ticket and put it in the jar. A ticket would be pulled for various privileges like line leader-- if you did a lot of good things it upped your chances at the cool jobs. By the second week of the school the children were eating out of her hand; they would have done anything for her. Basically, just from being thanked and noticed when they did the right thing.

(The color change chart is also bad behavioral psychology even for non-troubled children: it rewards bad behavior with attention and neglects good behavior altogether. Very shabby IMO.)

I don't know what to suggest in terms of negotiations with the principal and teachers-- teachers HATE it when you mess with their classroom management techniques, and a principal will always back up the teacher's right to choose their technique-- but yes, this could be a stressful situation for your DD.

So sorry your DD is in this anxious place.

DeeDee