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School Reflections: Documentation &
Preservation" by Claudia Stack
School Reflections: Documentation &
Preservation" by Claudia Stack
Recently I resigned my special education teaching position due to health issues, but before I wrapped things up I got an email from my principal that got me thinking about the demands on my general education colleagues. The email reminded us of various deadlines and program implementation requirements. At the Title One middle school where I was teaching there are six new program initiatives this year, as well as two new student data software systems (one for discipline and one for grades, attendance and assessment). The programs relate to everything from helping students develop calm focus (Mindup) to encouraging teachers to be "artisans." (Artisan Teacher program). There are three separate, yet overlapping, initiatives related to behavior: Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), as well as an in-house behavior tracking system that provides data for the district's Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) program, and finally another program purchased by the district, the Alternative Behavior Educator (ABE) system, which combines discipline record keeping with educational online modules the students usually complete when they are assigned to in-school suspension.
Incidentally, the ABE program is sold by Pearson, the company from which North Carolina also purchased PowerSchool starting this school year (2014-2015). PowerSchool has functions that, when working properly, integrate record keeping (such as grades and attendance) with online tools that are supposed to make student assessment easier. In the roll-out, however, I have seen this program bring seasoned educators to tears. Hundreds of server malfunctions this year alone have meant students have not been able to log into tests that teachers took hours to create, or that students have been dropped from the system in the middle of taking tests. While teachers are pushed to use the online assessment functions and "create digital learners," wise teachers now makes paper copies of their tests. More than once I have seen my colleagues have to switch to the paper and pencil version of a test and then later input the test answers themselves for 120 students. (Now there are six hours or so of life they'll never get back!)
On the curricular side, teachers must create lesson plans in line with the IMPACT model (I forget whether this one was a district or school initiative), differentiate lessons both up and down (to challenge higher level students as well as accommodate lower ones), remind students of the learning targets several times during the lesson, integrate technology, and work with Special Education teachers to follow Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Teachers also shouldn't forget to check for lice, homelessness and signs of child neglect.
Through various pressures that come down the line from federal and state mandates, district policies, and school initiatives, teachers spend an enormous amount of time responding to dozens of demands besides teaching and lesson-planning. Often school administrators have no choice but to push these demands down the line to teachers. Which brings me to my topic: What teachers really want for Christmas. What teachers really want is to be able to focus most of their energy and time on teaching their students.
On the curricular side, teachers must create lesson plans in line with the IMPACT model (I forget whether this one was a district or school initiative), differentiate lessons both up and down (to challenge higher level students as well as accommodate lower ones), remind students of the learning targets several times during the lesson, integrate technology, and work with Special Education teachers to follow Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Teachers also shouldn't forget to check for lice, homelessness and signs of child neglect.
Through various pressures that come down the line from federal and state mandates, district policies, and school initiatives, teachers spend an enormous amount of time responding to dozens of demands besides teaching and lesson-planning. Often school administrators have no choice but to push these demands down the line to teachers. Which brings me to my topic: What teachers really want for Christmas. What teachers really want is to be able to focus most of their energy and time on teaching their students.
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