Documentation Is The Key Document! Document! Document! How many times have we heard this in education? Proactive and effective documentation is a great tool. More importantly, being able to share the documentation with parents, students, colleagues, and administration makes it powerful. Whether you are planning instruction, meeting with a parent, participating in a 504 or …
Professional Judgement in Instruction How many times have you been dinged by an appraiser on a walk-through or observation report because you are not on the exact day in the scope and sequence and/or not following exactly what is on your lesson plan? Those days are in the past. New legislation and an existing appellate …
Protecting Teachers for Sending Students to the Office “If you send too many students to the office, it could affect your evaluation.” How often have you heard this message, no matter how subtle? Every teacher has a right to send a student to the office in order to maintain an effective classroom for learning to …
Mandatory DAEP Placement The Texas Legislature passed legislation that gives more authority to teachers to maintain a safe and orderly classroom. Until recently, a school was limited on what they could do with a student who threatened a teacher. Consequences ranged from conferences with the student to out-of-school suspension. As of September 1, 2019, the …
Discipline: Chapter 37 Removals Who is responsible for classroom discipline? Most people would say that the classroom teacher is responsible. However, that is not necessarily the case. It is true that teachers must do what they can to control discipline in their rooms, but once that is done, responsibility goes to the administration. In reality, …
Dealing With Problems Early On Parents should be contacted at the first sign of a problem. The best way to reach parents is to send a note or copy of an infraction notice home on Thursdays for those students who are having problems. Many parents will take action on their own to ensure that problems …
Discipline: Documenation Making A List And Checking It Twice It is important to document students’ misconduct. Finding a simple system for recording infractions can make this easier. Complicated systems are time-consuming and do not always get used. One simple way is Communicator Cards (3 x 5 cards) placed on each student’s desk or notebook. Each …
Discipline: Rules Violation Notice Many schools have discipline management systems. Teachers are expected to have a management system, as well. Many times these plans (at classroom and/or the building level) do not involve the office or parents early in the process. Teachers must wait long periods of time before a problem can be brought to …
I Was Assaulted By A Student Yes, unfortunately, it does happen, and it is important that you know your rights. Each school district offers its employees (except substitutes and temporary employees) various types of paid and unpaid leave. The employee’s circumstances determine the kind of leave that applies. One of the least-known types of leave …
The No-Surprise Evaluation Almost every teacher has experienced the frustration of trying to manage an unruly student. Some have even come to the point of sending the student to the office with instructions saying, “Kill this one,” or “I never want to see this student again.” In all likelihood, neither will happen. There are laws …