Grade level changes

By -
My boss is getting ready to discuss grade level placements for the upcoming next year that the next faculty meeting. This has many teachers up in arms. The conversations that have gone through he building have not been the most positive. Many believe that they should stay in their respective grade level as they have been teaching that specific level for 5, 10, or even 20 years. But, isn't your contract to the county and for the grades in which you are certified for - P - 5, K - 8, etc? How would you as a leader handle this sticky situation and what would you say to back your decision.

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 9, 2016 at 10:00 AM

    The easy thing to say is you are teachers of students and your certificate qualifies you to teach...... However, no leader in their right mind would say that. Relationships matter! Do the teachers know why they may be moved? What is the motivation behind the possible moves (data, highly qualified teachers, etc)? Conversely, we have all other duties assigned and teachers had better understand that phrase in their contracts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMarch 10, 2016 at 6:11 PM

    I think you'd have to really weigh the benefits vs costs of moving teachers against their will. Would it really be best to move a veteran teacher of 20 years to a new grade-level or content area that they're not as competent or confident in? Now if they are willing and ready for a change, that's an entirely different story, and some may just need a little encouragement and coaxing to take that step. We had a principal in our district that had a policy of swapping every single teacher in the building to a new grade level every 3 to 5 years. How do you think that was embraced? Yep, like a porcupine! The decision probably should include data and specific situational circumstances, but as with any other important decision or initiative, I believe you should have buy-in first.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Graduation/Promotion Task Force at Hampton High School

By -
Hampton High School being in it's second year of existence added a senior class this year and it has been found that many students eligible to graduate this year are in need of more than 8 credits which could be earned in the fall and spring semesters.  I have been tasked by my principal to lead a task force that will identify these eligible students and put into place strategies that will allow them to earn the additional credits and graduate this year.  Working with our lead counselor, graduation coach, department chairs, and other members of the administrative team students have been identified.  At our second meeting the task force used a variety of data to identify factors that have led to students falling behind credit wise on their path to graduation.  These factors could be; academic, behavioral, attendance, or a variety of all three. As the year progresses the graduation/promotion task force will be identifying underclassmen that are in danger of not being ...
Read more

Specific Role(s) of an AP

By -
In  my school, we have a total of three Assistant Principals. One does curriculum and testing while the other two handle discipline. Is this normal for a high school of approximately 1600 students? I am concerned about the role (pigeon hole) of our Assistant Principals. I would love to learn all of the roles of our APs but I feel like if I became an AP in this setting I would never do anything more than discipline or curriculum. I would love some feedback on the various roles some of you APs play in your schools.  
Read more

Disproportionate Impact of K-12 School Suspension

By -
Do you agree with the statement that dismissing a student for bad behavior in school often simply pushes that behavior out into the world? Majority of students in the Southern States that are suspended from public schools are black. Some people have referred to some schools that have a high suspension rate as "Prison Pipelines". Many districts are incorporating Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) to decrease the behavior students are typically written up for. PBIS schools have shown a decrease in the amount of students being suspended.  So what are school's role in addressing the diverse needs of our students and families that they serve. We cannot simply tolerate bad behavior in our schools to prevent suspension, but how do we put in supports that allow us to remediate behavior and provide students with a better opportunity?
Read more