GSU Blogger - Dr. S. Kahrs
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Student Discipline and School Climate
Our school climate has gone down hill majorly this year. We have developed our 9th grade academy to increase student achievement and decrease behavior problems among our 9th grade students. However, this has not been the case this year. Our data for 9th grade looks good but our discipline is far from stellar. All of our 9th grade teachers work their tail off but this year's 9th grade students have been the worst that have come through our school when it comes to discipline. We only have two Assistant Principal's and we are one AP down from last school year. Our Assistant Principals have been knee deep in discipline and we can barely keep our head above water. We try our hardest to support teachers in discipline of their students but we can't keep up. This has greatly affected our school climate. Our teachers are so down right now and we have recognized teachers, done breakfast by departments, coffee, etc. to keep our teachers spirits up. We are just at a loss and our AP's are exhausted and have worked around the clock to help our school. We are looking towards doing something like a scavenger hunt as well as a night out for the staff.
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Ashley
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel. We are in the same boat. I feel most days I am doing discipline from the time I step in the building until the end of the day. There have been many nights I am not leaving the building until 7pm trying to enter everything and call parents. We are down 2 AP's and I too cannot keep up. Last year when I received referrals,I saw students that same day, entered it, and made calls and could get it done by 3pm. Not this year. And honestly, I don't see it letting up. I've had very little time to visit classrooms, walk the building, visit teachers, and check on my other responsibilities. I wish I had a solution for you rather than just agreeing with you. But I will be interested in seeing what others say
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteYou completely beat me to the punch on this topic. I was going to blog on the same type of thing going on at my school right now. I can say at the beginning of the school year our discipline numbers were down, way down 73% reduction over last years referrals through the end of September. At the end of October we are only down 34% over last year. We are also down an AP due to an injury that has caused her to go on long-term disability. While I expect an increase in discipline this time of year I have become more concerned about the well being of our teachers. We have had two teachers quit their job and two teachers have breakdowns that called for medical attention. I've been in education for 15 years so I have been through ebbs and flows. The levels of pressure and stress I am now visibly seeing my teachers under is concerning to me. This does not even take in to account the discussion that needs to take place now that the Milestone results are back.
I'm not too far removed from the classroom that I do not understand their frustration. The current climate is one for teachers that never enough is enough. There is not enough time, not enough resources, not enough student progress no matter how hard they work. The current system is telling them you're not doing well enough. It is not how we feel about our teachers as an admin team, but I know the messages that we pass along to them feels that way.
We as an admin team have been deliberately trying to find ways to honor our teachers. To celebrate their successes and show them how much they are TRULY appreciated. I know our teachers will get through this change. As a support person for those who teach children I will continue to encourage my teachers and actively search for ways to help them be successful.
T. Braddy
Ashley, something that my principal did this year was a 2:15 day. This is where one day a week, teachers get to leave at 2:15 as oppose to 3. The principal gets to pick the day every week, but it seems to get them excited about getting something "free" and feeling appreciated.
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