Thank you for taking the time to blog your December In-Service evaluation. Please comment on the following:
1) Do you have any suggestions or ideas in regard to the X2 GLTECH Family View Student / Parent Portal?
2) Do you have feedback or questions for the discipline team?
3) What do you feel are the pros and cons regarding the new scope and sequence format?
Thank you.
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103 comments:
Regarding the parent/student portal, I think information is power - a really good thing. As Dave and MJ said, however, we should proceed carefully with this idea. Do we have adequate security to protect against hackers? Also, I feel we don't want to give out too much info, in fear it may limit teacher flexibility (with assignments, timelines, etc.). Sure, well meaning parents want to keep tabs on their kids - but what about the parents who want to go after teachers? Are we opening up our teachers to attacks? Personally, I've got students who don't "remember" to check their agenda books - how will we get them to log on to a computer and check assignments there?
As a member of the Discipline Team, I'd like to commend Paul Mears on the job he's done as facilitator of this committee. He's done an outstanding job!resentation was right o
I like the modified discipline system. We are moving in the right direction by blending the best of the old system and the one that we implemented last year.
The parent portal should be scrutinized for security and the negative response that may result if parents are not pleased with any of the information provided.
How can I follow up on a student that is not on my roster but have had to discipline in the course of a duty or who I catch in a hallway? There is no portal for X2 that addresses these situations that I am aware of at this time. It requires a trip to the discipline office--not that it's hard to get along with the folks down there but....Whoops got to go my class is arriving.
I love the new discipline program compared to last year. The parent portal sounds kind of invasive and will take some getting used to. The scope & sequence work is about to begin.
The idea of allowing parents to view information about there child is great. As long as this remains secure, I think it will be good for parents and students as well.
The new scope and sequence format seems to look good, just more paperwork to complete.
X2 Parent Portal- As a shop teacher, I find I need more flexiblity in my grading than x2 provides. My concern is that providing continuous, ongoing grades will limit my ability to make accomodations in the end for special needs students or those who are helpful to other students, make good effort etc., but whose work may be of a lesser quality.
Discipline- The Discipline team presentation was top-notch.
Scope and Sequence- I like the new format but was unable, after much effort, to enter the data in a reasonable manner. I wound up writing it in by hand. Unfortunately, there was almost no space to enter the data. I would hate to be the person who has to read what I wrote and enter the data for me...
I think the Parent Portal is fine, but how many parents (or students) will actually use it? Probably not many.
Having detention back is great, although I think its funny that people are tracking me as a teacher that I'm giving too many out. However, if we didnt have the system that didnt work last year, I'm sure I would be giving out less. I have to straighten out the juniors who didnt get detentions last year and think I'm kidding.
Do the parents only have access to their child and not other students at GL?
I think with teacher input considered the parent portal will be an asset to us all.
The discipline update was good to hear that our input was heard and is showing good results. Communication at it's best!
The scope & sequence is just one of those things that will never go away because of teachers' time constrictions of all that needs to be worked on between planning & preparing our curriculum each day.
I am glad that detention is back along with In-house suspension. Without that teachers had nothing to use to fall back on.
The Parent Portal is good idea if used appropriately. Parents who need detailed information can easily contact teachers when necessary. As far as it being a tool for students to use, I think that it actually makes them less responsible for what is happening during the day. An important goal of educatio is to develop responsibe students. The atmosphere in the building has definitely improved in regards to discipline. We are headedin the right direction.
The discipline update was really informative.I felt there was a lot of positive changes.As far as the student parent portal, I feel it has its pros and cons, I know there are parents who really care about how their child is doing , but what about the ones who want to hold the teacher accountable for their child, I feel we are giving out maybe a little too much info. If we go this route why spend money on agenda books!!
GREAT
I can't imagine what it was like last year trying to maintain discipline without detentions This is my first year at G.L. and the current system seems to work pretty well
In reguards to the family portal, I was under the impression that the keeping of daily grades and the like in X2 was optional, this proposal seems to dictate that we must keep everthing in X2...I'm not loving that.
I'm not sure what the long term goals of the new scope and sequence format are. It seems like it could be used to micro-manage the teachers. i.e. "Oh, Mr./Ms Soandso, your scope and sequence says that this week you're supose to be doing "E,F,and G", but when I went through your shop/class room you were doing "C,D, and E"...why aren't you in the right place on hte curriculum?" I'm just afraid that this could take away too much flexability.
1) It was nice to see what they are seeing, it will help out in setting up assignments. I will have a tough time with the due date on assignments, expecially importing assignments from previous years. It is almost to the point where you might as well just add in new assignments instead of importing them because you are going to have to change so many things.
2)The new system is great. I think last years system was important to emphasize the impact parent contact can make. Now combining the old and new is even better.
3)It will be fine as long as we can sort it in the year taught and week taught columns so that we can use chronologically as we do with the old scope and sequence.
) Do you have any suggestions or ideas in regard to the X2 GLTECH Family View Student / Parent Portal?
Great concept. Security is most essential. Potential for parental involvement to monitor student success is greatly increased.
I think the parent/student portal is a good idea but I think that the amount of information that is able to be accessed should be limited.
I think that the new discipline policy is working well. It has combined the best of the two policy's. In a side note, Tim F. did a wonderful job with the presentation, especially with the graphs!
I think once the new scope and sequence is up and running it will be a very useful tool. It is amazing to imagine where technology is taking us.
The improvements in the discipline policy are great. We're definitely heading in the right direction. Thanks to the team for all their hard work. One issue I have...can more please be done about the smoking in bathrooms. It's still happening around the school, and we all have to breathe that in, especially if our classrooms are nearby. It's a violation not only of school policy but of state law.
I like the parent-student portal idea, but I have concerns about students hacking into it. Also, I really disagree with posting medical info on it.
Using an online scope-and-sequence makes sense. I need to play with that a little more before I can comment.
Thanks for an informative inservice today.
The parent portal will be a very good tool. I tink it will be important to make sure it does not made additional work for the teachers, but allow access for parents to the grades/info as teachers would normally complete them.
The discpline update was very informative. Very nice job by the team!
I am thankful for the updates to the discipline policy, and it is good to know that our feedback generates change.
I really like the digital scope and sequences, but with some caveats. It will give each teacher more flexibility (and accountability!), but I feel that we will be handing our supervisors all the equipment necessary to replace each one of us. I don't know if I want EVERYTHING I do to be accessed (and potentially used) by just anyone.
Make a note to parents using the Parent Portal to use the e-mail system to contact teachers instead of calling during classes or, make a link from the X2 class to the teacher's e-mail.
The discipline policy is a great change from last year. The three types of detentions are the best improvement. The parent/student portal makes me a little uncomfortable. Issues being student privacy, teacher flexibility and overbearing parents. Too much information may not be such a good thing. The new scope and sequence is a good idea, but will be alot of work.
I like the new disipline system it seems to working well.
Good in-service today.
I'm very pleased with the way the discipline policy is now and feel it is working well.
I think the Parent Portal will be a good tool for the parents and theachers to communicate. I would refrain from putting the statistics tab in though as to how the student did as compared to the rest of the class.
The new scope and sequence format looks fine although more detailed. is it really necessary to be so detailed??!!
Certain aspects of the portal may be helpful to parents and students.
School wide student behavior is much better this year.
I don't think the scope and sequence format is very different from what we already have.
As far as the X2 parent portal goes, I believe that it is a good attempt to get parents more involved in the education of their child. We should be careful not to release too much information to prevent the parents from getting too involved!
The discipline policy this year is working great! Jane, Tim, Sandy and Kim do a great job! It is about time we gave the Deans their job back.
The aligning of the scope in sequence is a very slow process that will be a great tool in the future for teachers.
I think the parent portal will be a great tool for not only the parents but the teachers too. The more parent contact we have the better the outcome will be for the student. The school must be careful what is offered to the parents on the portal. I think once ideas are in place, which it seems they are, a survey should be sent to teachers to see what the opinion of the staff is.
Tim and Jane are the best. The support from the dean's office is tremendous not only from the Deans but from Kim and Sandy also. Everyone should thank Paul Mears for all the work he jas done. Without him the changes to the discipline plan would have never happened.
Discipline system is working again!Gradebook system is not practical for my situation!!
I believe the parent portal could be a good thing, as long as certain information is omitted and the teachers/nurses/administration are polled as to what to omit. It may open GLTHS to parent/teacher attacks as some teachers have mentioned. As for discipline, way to go, coming from another urban high school last year and the way they handled discipline where there was no real checks or consequences I am 100% impressed with how we are keeping track of students. We have to realize that kids want structure and when most of our students come from an urban setting they need to be taught how to behave as a young adult where actions lead to consequences not a piece of poster board and a warning.
I love the idea of the parent portal because it increases the communication between home and school. However, if we have to post what every assignment is on a daily basis so that parents can see what was assigned THAT day, it may be difficult to find time to enter all the info.
The questions and discussion in the discipline update session went well, and I found out info that is important, as a member of the team.
The digital scope and sequence is beneficial, but a lot of work to go through when the class I teach is no longer going to exist after next year.
Parent portal - school to home communication is very good. I'd prefer phone or email communication from parents regarding their child.
Discipline update - The changes are all for the better. The discipline team did a great job. I appreciate Paul Mears' careful and thorough approach to solving a problem.
Scope and sequence - No problems anticipated.
I think the student/parent portal is great to encourage family communication. However, I do not think any medical history should be included. I just think it's risky. The new scope and sequence looks great, even better that it's available online. I love the discipline system this year!
I think the parental portal is a good idea but we have to be careful how much information we put out there. I don't think percentages of how many of your students did each homework assignment is a good idea. I am also wndering if I am going to have students harrassing me about why aren't my grades for the last test posted yet? Also, most of the time I do not put the assignments into X2 until the end of the week when I have time to transfer it from my class record book. Is this going to have to make me change the way I keep track of things? Do I have to make sure I post the assignment that day? I know that some teachers do not even keep a class record book but I don't feel comfortable keeping all my grading information just on X2.
I am happy that detention is back as well as In-house suspension. Calling parents works well.
I have some concerns with the parent portal regarding security
1. Parent/student portal is a good idea for those parents that are interested in their child's progress before end of term. Will also aid the student on what needs to be accomplished. Could be a problem for the teacher with an overbearing controlling parent!
2. This year's discipline procedures appear to be very successful.
3. Prefer the old scope and sequence format as it appears in chronological order--easier to follow, less redundancy.
1. I have two concerns regarding the Parent Portal.
A. I don't pre-enter my assignments into X2. I add assignments as I enter the grades. So when parents/students look on their calendar due dates and assigned dates may be the same.
B. There may be issues with parents/students seeing an average on X2 that may not match with the report card grade. Some teacher add or subtract points from averages based on performance, attendance, extra credit, etc.
2. Thank you to the discipline team! I have had no issues with the process thus far.
3. Pro: easy accessible, edited and updated,
Con: Unclear as to how to access other team members Scope and Sequences--is this even an option?
Discipline will always work when you have leverage! It is working! Parent/student portal, if this is needed why aren't deficiencies put on-line. If so many of our students come from low income families how many actually have computers?
I think the Parent Portal is an effective means of home/school communication, but should not replace student responsibility to manage their own work.
Discipline is right on track, with increased communication and input from teachers and Deans.
Allowing parents access is fine, but I am not sure exactly how many of our parents will utilize it; personally, I do not think ALL information should be out there; I also believe that parents should take some responsibility and be calling to see how their child is doing especially after they receive a deficiency or poor grade on their report cards.
The discipline procedure is much better. However, I also do not like the fact that someone may be tracking to see how many teacher detentions I do pass out--even though detention is given and a teacher works with the guidance counselor, and attempts to call or email the parent, it becomes extremely frustrating when there is not responsibility taken at the home.
The scope and sequence is fine. I spent considerable amount of time on the ones I produced last spring for this year and I was happy with the old format. I thought acutally that the old format was and is much better. It lists much more information then the new one and the new one is very restrictive.
1) Maybe we should ask parents
when students enroll if they have a computer and internet access.
2) Discipline system is working well this year.
3)Pros would be better ability to manipulate spreadsheet. We should be given time to develop the new spreadsheet.
I think the parent portal may be a good idea in terms of discipline and attendance, I have concerns over grades.
There has been a great change in discipline policy this year, for the better.
Yes, the teacher detention system work well.
No, I do not use classroom detentions as an option.
I thank the descipline system is OK
The parts of the discipline system seem to be work well is the detention system.
My recommendations I do have for the committee is base on discipline system which we need to do more.
I think the parent portal is a great way for parents to become more involved with their childrens education.
The parent portal is a great tool for parents who want to help their child do well. There are things that may not need to be available on the site but like anything new you have to try it to learn where all of the bugs are.
The new discipline policy is great. I have found teacher detention to be a very usefull tool in helping mold student behavior.
The scope and squence is a great organizational tool. It doesn't necessarily fit in all classes but is helpfull none the less.
The teacher detention is working nicely. With the idea of detention, the students behave themselves. The consequence is known where calling the parent is not a clear consequence. I have used classroom detentions several times.
Office referrals are minimal for me but very effective when used.
Since I have to use the discipline system so infrequently, I do not notice any weaknesses as yet.
The parts of the system that work best are the detention and flexibility allowed for the teacher to administer appropriate consequences for the action instead of a canned consequence on a poster.
For the family view one of my biggest fears is that I will get all of the technical support calls for the parents, especially since I teach all freshmen. And that I do not always update X2 on a daily basis. Usually I update it once a week. I feel that there is a potential nightmare in allowing the family to see every grade, assignment and other information.
I suggest the family/parent portal have information concerning early release days, extra help days,and special programs students can participate in. Such as mcas prep classes for 10th grade. I don't think the parent portal is helpful for review grades. I do think the x2 is very good at summarizing work accomplished, work missing and current grades.
Some teacher do not post test grades immediately, because students are always given the opportunity to retake tests.
Discipline seems to woking well, we appreciate the support from Jane and Tim. Thanks.
We need more time and instruction in order for this to be implemented properly.
I think we need to be extremely careful with what is put onto the parent portal. Personally, I feel medical info should be kept private. I do believe a parent portal is a great idea.
Kudos to the attendance and discipline committee. This year has been wonderful, in that regard. The halls, classrooms and building in general are much quieter and the students are much more respectful.
The electronic scope and sequence should prove to be a valuable tool for everyone.
I have some concerns regarding the parent/student portal. I hope we proceed with caution and think things through before it becomes avaialble. The discipline committee seems to be going in the right direction. It seems that our discipline issues should of been addressed this way right from the start rather than obtain an outsider and adopt a ready made plan. As far as the new scope and sequence format it also seems this should of been available to us last year. It seems we never move forward on things.
I like the discipline system that we are using today. It has made a great change in the way students act...knowing there is immediate concequences if need be.
The new discipline policy this year is great. Now the issue of students arriving continually late for home room could be addressed.
The in-service today was informative. I too, am happy with the changes to the discipline system. I was discouraged to learn that the students were not getting automatic detention for multiple ID infractions as I thought they would. The students are more compliant with IDs but I have noticed that the cafeteria ladies are letting them get lunch without visualizing the actual ID. If this continues, we will be back to square one.
I think the digital scopes can work well, but do see the need for more revision. If I teach three different courses that are week one, week two, etc, the computer will not know which things go to which course on my grade level.
The parent student portal is a great idea and I am sure that some parents will find it uselful. I think Greater Lowell is at a disadvantage with this innovation due to our very poor student population. Many parents have no computer access or the skill to use one.
I think the parent/student portal will be an excellent tool if it is used.
The discipline procedure is much better this year than it was last year. Teacher detentions have been very effective in deterring bad behavior, and in providing an oppurtunity to talk to students on an one-on-one basis about their performances in class.
The online scope and sequence is convient because it can be easily changed and updated.
1. Thankyou for the update on the new disciplinary policy. I wish we had more time to field questions in
our small groups.The current policy in place is more conducive for student learning.
2.Regarding the student /parent portal,I think what Dave showed is way too much information to put on the internet. Why don't we try a homework zone on the internet first?
3.Scope&Sequence- Pro-Could be a great tool/Con- time to do it correctly!
The student and teacher portal and the scope & sequence are interesting future initiatives,but many of our teaching tasks maybe compromised because of all these different directions.
I think we are overdue with the aspect of a parental portal. We need to be in sync with the needs of students and parents. However the amount of information should be displayed in a cautious and objective manner. Teacher input and protection of our staff is an imperative factor. In addition we need to be aware of invasive activity with regard to the internet. I currently use my personal teacher site as a means of parental involvement very sililiar to that of the intention of the parental portal. It has been effective and productive.In regard to the scope and sequence allignment process, I feel strongly we need to be progressive and analyze alignment as a complete program entity rather than individualizing scope and sequences. It does not differentiate idiocyncracies in our programs or allow flexibility with regard to instructional delivery. Modifications can be made departmentally rather than individually and allow us to globalize classrooms and be more effective with X-2.
As a new teacher, I am not familiar with last year's challenges but the current system works well for me. I believe the students also work well with the clear policies and procedures.
The parent portal seems like a good idea but I would caution giving parents info on schedules as they may not be very flexible with the typical changes that occur in our class schedule plans.
I feel it is too time consuming to add all assignments (homework) to X2. I understand the importance of connecting parents to student progress, but it certainly should be a simplified report.
The discipline team has done a nice job. Good effort and keep up the good work.
The new scope and sequence requires a good amount of time... Will we have time set aside to work on it?
I think there are some advantages as well as some disadvantages with the Parent Portal. I think there could be legal issues with open access to student records. By open, I mean to both parents- when perhaps one parent does not want the other to have any dealings, access to the personal records of a child.
I feel the Discipline Policy is working very well this year. I appreciate all the work of the team.
I personally don't see myself using the Digital Scope and Sequence this year.
I feel that the parental/student portal has good practical potential but can also present security issues if we try to make it all encompassing. Anything written down becomes information we
are responsible for publishing.
Likewise, it seems surprising that there is no concern for security over our published email addresses when we are reminded that we can get called on any email communication.
Why not make email addresses available availabe only through parental requests or on reports send home(rather than available on the internet)?
The discipline team's efforts, reports and collaborations seem to help our school atmosphere.
The scope and sequence tasks seem to be clerical, repetitive from past tasks and busywork(many of us just recently completed a solid review and amendments to our scope and sequences).
I like the new discipline system better this year with detention back. I think we needed to be a little more clearer on the id situation. The parent/student portal is a great tool for communication. I think we should remove the health tab. I hope their will be training for the parents to use this site. The scope and sequence can be saved on your p drive and then you can fill in the info, so you do not have to write it on the papers we were handed, it may save alot of time.
Regarding X2, parents should be aware that the teacher may not have yet replaced blanks for work that is not handed in with zeros, and the average may be higher based just on the work that was handed in. If they look quickly at the average, that number is not always accurate.
Discipline, student behavior in the corridors, and general atmosphere seem to me to be much improved this year. Thank you.
RE the new scope and sequence, I don't feel I know enough about it yet. I'm not sure if everything in the binder will be scanned and entered, or only the time line and resources. I suppose it may be useful, but not having worked with it, I'll reserve judgment.
I think the discipline policy is good. The combination of last year's policy and the 'old way' seems to work. Teachers just have to be diligent in checking up on those students that you gave 'teacher detention' to. If you don't check, they will skip. With seniors, I find keeping them for just 5 minutes is effective. They get aggravated at getting stuck in the car behind the buses.
As a coach of sports, I wonder if I could get access to player's x/2 to check on attendance, detentions, etc.? That would be helpful.
The parent portal seems fine to me. Flexibility, security, and grade input are the big issues. Also, if a student can't write assignments in an agenda book...?
Scope and Sequence: where/how do enter all this data?
1.I think that the X2 Gradebook Parent/Student Portal is a good idea to have students/parents up-to-date on their grades. I think it is wonderful for parents to see the absence and conduct records of their kids. I do have some apprehension concerning parents' availability of the assignment portal. I am worried that things may not be as timely for parents to see and there will be misunderstanding grades/assignments due to this.
2. The discipline team did a great job in revamping the policy from last year. I have seen a great deal of improvement with student behavior since the beginning of the year. My only problem with the policy is that I wish that students were held in discipline for a period of time when sent down. For example, if a student is sent down for hostile behavior, they should remain there for the remainder of the period and not sent back to class when they are continuing to be in a bad mood. However, I do think that the team did a fabulous job and congratulate them on their efforts.
3. I am happy with the new scope and sequence being computerized so that it will be more organized and easily accessible for all classes.
The parent portal can be a good tool, but it should be limited to info. on attendance, discipline and grades. I don't feel that the parents need alot of info. on particular assignments.
The discipline policy is greatly improved from last year. We have great deans and should continue to let them do their job.
The scope and sequence change appears to be alot of unnecessary work. Maybe summer paid work for teachers who are interested at least to get it up and running.
I put homework in the computer after its done-and base the homework on how much we accomplish in class, so it would be difficult for me to get it in so that the students could check it that night.
That's why they have agenda books.
I think that it's a great idea to share information with parents, but I also agree that it's better to analyze what information we are sharing before we go ahead and offer it all up. As for the grading and schedule of lessons. I am afraid that parents might expect to see lessons for the weeks ahead and it won't be as readily available as they would like.
I think that the discipline team has done a great job at modifying the plan. It is working great and the year seems to be running a lot smoother.
I like the idea of the scope and sequence being on-line. It will be easier to access and modify. I have not gone on and tried to utilize it yet, but I am anxious to see how it actually works.
A couple of thoughts...
The scope and sequence sheet looks great! Very cohesive, a good match of standards with measurable goals and expectations for growth - I'm excited to use it. My only criticizm would be the format - I find Excel hard to use and would prefer a word-based document.
Discpline, for me, has worked really well - my only concern has been kids from out-of-school suspensions making up work, and that was cleared up after the meeting. I really enjoy the parent contact, and tend to send 10-12 emails a week just telling parents how great their kids are doing - this is especially helpful when problems later arise, and the teacher already feels a connection between you. It's fantastic, but the parent emails I use are all on MyClasses - not X2.
I do not think the parent portal is a bad idea, but I'd like to know that my assignment-by-assignment grades are kept confidential - to avoid comparisons.
Thanks to all the hard working committees!
I think the discipline program is moving in the right direction. Students seem to respond to immediate consequences and detention.
Parent portal - I feel info released should be general info
Discipline changes seem to be working. Nice job. The parent portal is a good idea, but of course, many of the parents who should see how their students are doing may never see it. It would be nice eventually to have a course sylabus available, but that may be way in the future. A plan for each day, each week's work and homework may work at some point. I know that some schools do that. The scope and sequence is a great idea. I really do not need that big cumbersome binder around all of the time. The old way that we have done things here made no sense from the beginning, but old ways like the silly old grading sheets, laps and other 70's nonsense die hard. Many of us were trained and brainwashed into liking all of that rubbish, but a workable (oh, God, fluid)scope and sequence that does not contain more paper than the bible is a great idea.
1.Discipline program is exellent!Thank you Paul and his crew for a job well done. 2. Parent portal-has anyone looked into the legality of this.Example ,there is a restraining order on a divorced parent who is to have no contact with his child.He/she does now.There are numerous other issues I can think of.I would procede slowly on this one. In addition there would have to be an education to the parents to thoroughly orientate them to x2. 3.What is wrong with our present s/s method?This is just more busy work.
It will be interesting to see how the parent portal works out. As stated, one cannot keep to the timeline rigidly for any number of reasons. Although many parents have access to computers, many do not. I think we are on the right track in making information available (with limitations) to both parents and students.
I think the discipline team did an outstanding job. Jane did a terrific job in her presentation. I have always been very grateful to Jane and Timmy for their professionalism and expertise in handling students in the rare circimstances that I have had to refer students to that office.
I prefer the format that was used last year.
x-2 takes to much time to set up and to use.
The idea is a good one, but we must proceed with caution. Students who are over 18 must give written consent to have their files viewed. We must also watch for custodial rights. We might allow a parent or guardian access to a child's file and then they later lose custody of the child. How much is on the site is another issue. We do not need to have every assignment and lesson on the web.
The discipline policy has improved a great deal since last year.
The discipline system appears to be working well. Incorporating our own management procedures along with the Deans, and calling parents frequently, students seem to recognize that we have control of the classroom.
The parent portal should be carefully monitored; but I think that students and parents should be able to view course content and grades.
Portal- good idea, anything that assists with communication between school and home is good. One problem may be factoring in professional flexibiltiy into the grade.
discipline- kudos to the discipline team. Behavior in the building is much improved (hallways quieter, more respect in building) Staff is back in control.
Scope- Fine
I think that we should begin by having the parents see a limited amount of information, such as term grades, progress reports, attendance, conduct and such. It is my opinion that we should phase in the day to day information slowly, so that it will give us a chance to work the bugs out.
Regarding the discipline team presentation....Hooray!!!!! There seems to be a more supportive environment regarding student behavior. I would like to see something come from the discipline/attendance office regarding automatic discipline for those students that are chronically late. I don't feel that the homeroom teacher should be handling the discipline portion of that. Maybe when a student goes in to the office to check in tardy a pop-up could come up on the screen whereby their dean would be notified and it could be handled more as an attendance issue through that office.
Regarding the scope and sequence format....It seemed like just doing "busy work" to me because I spent a significant amount of time last year working on it and now it seems like I'm just imputting the same data onto another sheet. I wish I could have spent time on work that I need to accomplish ASAP.
1.concerning parent access , this is a good idea but i agree certain information should not be used ,one area not addressed was progress reports for the kiddo's.What if Johny cut's off the mail route and Mom or Dad are left out of the loop i think this would be good access for them.
2.I thought us keeping attendance for student ID's, was helping the Attendance office with keeping track of repeat offenders??
3. Now we can integrate "I UNDERSTAND" with the real use of the deans authority, great to have them back .
4.The after school help/detention in class works well before they see the dean's. Much smoother operation.Paul Mears very helpful with understanding and helping resolve these concerns.
I feel the discipline policy is working well. I find I have few problems with students behavior in the classroom due to the discipline policy.
As far as the Parent Portal, I think think this is a step in the right direction. Parents should have access to their child's progress in any class at the school providing the information remains secure.
The Discipline system is fine however detention should not be an opportunity to do homework in a panoramic room. We should have them just sit for 15 minutes with no talking then have them read the student handbook. This would make detention a real drag and hopefully students would dred this consequence.
I love the new,old discipline policy...the parent portal is a good idea, however I think we are putting too much info on it..and I am also somewhat concerned about how up-to date it has to be ..some teachers update info once a week, some less frequently and some daily...the new scope and sequence fromat is horrible..some parts of it are redundant. I currently have one that I am trying to put the resources that i use onto ...the objectives are generally given in the book..so why should I be typing it into some format..ridiculous!!!
As a homeroom teacher, I have given detention to students for not having their i.d. three times during a quarter. However, I do not have access to their names on X2 to see if they attended detention for me. After talking to other teachers, we are unsure if we're even supposed to be giving detention to homeroom students for forgetting/losing their i.d.s. The procedures/rules for i.d.s need to be clarified. Thank you. One other comment regarding the new scope and sequence format, it will be very time consuming to do it right. I hope we will be given a lot of time to complete it.
I like the idea of parents being able to see their kids grades. More accountability is good.
The only question I have for the discipline team is: can we get updated phone numbers on X2? Almost every time I go to call a parent, I get a "this phone is out of service" message.
I like the idea of having a scope and sequence that is inclusive of the objectives, standards, lessons, resources, and all the curricula in one accessible place. It seems like it could be a real time-saver that will aloow us to do what we do best--teach.
1.I like that parents will have access to this. My dates do not comply to the weeks as is since I set up for one week and import across. I add points at end of term for effort etc. so the average seen on x2 won't be exact to report card.
2. Discipline is working fine and I am so grateful to know that I have the immediate support of the deans if needed.
3.I would hate the scope and sequence format peclude any chance of initiating new ideas that a teacher may come up with and want to use with one or more classes because it had not yet shown up on the digital scope.
This year's progressive discipline policy is excellent. Thanks to Paul Mears and the committee for helping the school get back to where it should be in terms of behavior management. There is no comparison between this year and last year in terms of classroom management. We got the "tools" back that we need as classroom teachers to help us do our jobs. I have not observed any weaknesses in the system and have no recommendations for the committee. The communication with the Deans is excellent and that renewed communication has helped our students understand the right things to do. In addition, the students in general seem much calmer and much more respectful as a population.
I'd be real hesitant to start up the parent portal. Has research been done to see how it works in other schools and possible problems?
I think involving the students and parents in the education process is a step in the right direction.
My concern is that someone other the parent may get access to the these sites.
Regarding discipline policies.
I think all could benefit from inservice training regarding unwanted behaviors such as disrespect, rude or disruptive behaviors.
The student dynamics of our classes
change from year to year. Providing
training and targeted support for teachers who needs help with the "class from hell" or the "almost unteachable" it is essential.
But I do not think that if a teacher request HELP in this area
it should be viewed by the administration as a deficiency but
rather as a strength on the teacher's part- to seek guidance and direction when needed.
Standards and Frameworks for curriculum
Many more meetings and secretarial support is going to be needed for this project.
Leaders in this area should be designated to work with faculty members, assisting those as needed.
I think involving the students and parents in the education process is a step in the right direction.
My concern is that someone other the parent may get access to the these sites.
Regarding discipline policies.
I think all could benefit from inservice training regarding unwanted behaviors such as disrespect, rude or disruptive behaviors.
The student dynamics of our classes
change from year to year. Providing
training and targeted support for teachers who needs help with the "class from hell" or the "almost unteachable" it is essential.
But I do not think that if a teacher request HELP in this area
it should be viewed by the administration as a deficiency but
rather as a strength on the teacher's part- to seek guidance and direction when needed.
Standards and Frameworks for curriculum
Many more meetings and secretarial support is going to be needed for this project.
Leaders in this area should be designated to work with faculty members, assisting those as needed.
I am not sure about the Parental Portal? Have many concerns about the amount of information, security and the up keep of the portal.
Thank you, Thank you to the discipline team for their work in producing a discipline policy that is useful, clearly thought out and effective. This year is so much BETTER than last year. The new policy give us some tools to help our students keep the goals of learning and achievement in focus.
The scope and sequence format has some good features.
1)The use of the portal is fine but there should be limits to what the parents can get access to. I would not feel comfortable with total access to what is kept on X2 by teachers. Parents can folow regulsr procedure to obtain information they feel thay need.
2)We should not have had to go through what we did last year in regards to the discipline policy. If one had complaints with the old policy, the suggastions could have been made to the attendance and discipline committee. Just like we did for attendance, a new policy could have been worked out over time.The way last year's policy was presented and implemented by the top administration was not up to standards. I do agree that parental contact is good when dealing with a problem student but the other stuff was unnecessary except to lower numbers and did nothing for the overal discipline of the school. Follow up to teacher detention is a necessity. I do utilize classroom detention particularly with minor classrooom problems.
3)It is going to take a lot of paper to include all that the new S & S requires. I have no problem with doing it but is it reinventing the wheel? What is the benefit compared to the previous form? One size does not necessarily fit all.
Anonymous said:
The parent portal can/could be a good tool -- However, it is very hard to date all assignments that cover more than one night. We do not all have one-day assignments. Many include reading, analyzing/
answering and may occur over multiple days' time. I am concerned about what is included; and I am equally concerned about losing flexibility of grading, timelines, etc. Some students need a "boost" in recognition of their hard work, class attention, cooperation and participation. It is not good to have all flexibility taken away. The same is true of due dates. QUESTION: What percentage of parents/
students have daily access to computers and to high speed internet?
Discipline component: Hooray!! Congratulations to Mr. Meers for stepping up and to the ENTIRE COMMITTEE for their selfless work/time on the project. I believe most of the staff is content with the outcome; and the presentation was extremely good and on target!!
Scope and Sequence: It will get done!! There are many time constraints already for getting paper work done -- [prepare and modify curriculum, copy material (when 1 or 2 of the machines may not be working), enter attendance and grades on the computer (out of the eyes of the students) etc., for each class.] With time, entering one at a time, it will be accomplished -- if there is enough space in those "boxes."
Be careful what you put out there. If over half of our population is low income, what population are we trying to accomodate here. This will not help students to know when assignments are due, since they are not put on x2 until the grade is recorded. How much time and money is being spent on this?
Discipline is working again. Last year is a year I wish to keep out of my mind as far as discipline goes - You understand?
In-House needs to be fixed. Kids are supposed to dread going to in-house, not coddled while in there. Have them do worksheets on respect and responsibility, and make them NOT WANT TO BE THERE!! IT SHOULD BE A PUNISHMENT,NOT A PRIVILEGE!!
The new scope and sequence format?? We have already done this in all the classes - if the form is to be changed to a different format, sounds like a clerical issue. Teachers have no time to do this form, do that form. Perhaps its time to go back to teaching 5 classes a day and the 6th class can be for all this paperwork and inputting stuff on grade book.
The parent/student portal may work in a limited way. Most parents may want to know how their child is doing-period. Posting homework every night could be a teachers nightmare, and does not help the disorganized student who probably left it elsewhere.
Ref: Discipline - Reinstatement of detention is obviously working. Only recommendation is possibly getting list of students who serve detention updated earlier.
Parent portal is a good thing. It will help parents understand what goes into our work with their children.
The discipline policy is better this year. Last year was a disaster. Last minute changes to policies have proven to fail. Input from those in the trenches is necessary for many reasons--trench satisfaction was disregarded last year.
I think a parent/student portal is fantastic. I wish my child's school had one. My concern is its accessibility to non-english speaking parents and those who don't know how to use a computer.
As for the discipline policy, I think it is a good revision of last year. I would have liked to see more discussion and interaction in out group, (Tim, Laurie and Debbie) It was run through very quickly without any facilitation of discussion.
I think the new discipline policy is great this year!
I think the parent portal is a great tool but needs a little closer look at. I don't think that they should be able to look at as much information as was said in the meeting.
The new scope and sequence looks like a lesson plan not a scope and sequence.
I have serious concerns regarding the security of the Family View/Student Portal. I also feel that the posting of teacher's grades and upcoming assignments is a tremendous amount of work for teachers. To a point, students are given adequate direction and reminders with their assignments,upcoming tests etc. We have progress reports, agenda books, teacher and counselor intervention etc. We are trying to teach accoutability and yet there is always a safety net for our students.Honestly I do not feel that many parents will view the Portal.
Parent portal is a great idea, but it should be kept very simple. Sometimes too much information can be overwhelming and may turn some parents off to using it. Discipline, attendance, grades, and a "homework page" for classes would be a great start. Be careful about what is available in terms of discipline - some blue slips can be pretty explicit!
As far as discipline, I think things are going very well this year in comparison to last year. There seems to be a lot more control, in the hallway and in my class because of detention. The presentation on discipline was disappointing to me. I understand that the other groups had more discussion and question/answer format. Of course Mr. Fallon was entertaining, but I think he should have encouraged more input from the audience.
The parent portal is an awesome idea. We have lots of supportive concerned parents who would SUPPORT teachers in getting their kids to improve in school. My daughters school has a homework website that has been incredibly helpful for my daughter who struggles with ADD. She was one of those kids always losing her homework prior to attending the school she is in now and it has changed her life completely.
I too am happier this year with the discipline system operating the way it is now. If people had been less resistant to the change in the first place we wouldn't have had such a difficult year last year.I heard repeatedly by the outside presenter and administration that we needed to tweek this program to suit our school but people are often intimidated by change. Change is good.
I am in favor of the new parent portal. I feel that seeing grades is enough information and I would consider not allowing them access to the actual breakdown of how the grade was obtained. This could open up a can of worms when a parent compares one teacher's system to another.
Discipline this year is much improved...yahoo!...congrats and thanks for all the hard work to the discipline team.
S&S is still w.i.p. To early for me to tell how the new format will work...so far so good...stay tuned.
1.If we are going to use the parent portal then I think that we should do without deficiencies and the agenda books. The parent portal sounds like it would be taking the place of these.
2. I LOVEe the new discipline system. It is working great!!
3. Not sure yet. Working on it
We need more inservicing on the parent portal. Our disciple system is very good -better than most in the area. I think that we need a consultant to confer with when classroom management issues occur- someone safe ie-someone thats not evaluating our performance on the job.I also think the discipline team is doing a great job. It is important that we monitor our system and always look for ways to improve.
1.)Regarding the parent/student portal, I think this is a great tool to involve parents and help students become more responsible for their own education. I have concerns about having all that information out there, namely contacts with so many broken families, health records are confidential, and many teachers do not have assignments posted far enough in advance to make the calendar very useful.
2.) Our"new" discipline system is working great, and resembles one at a vocational school I visited in the Merimack valley that has an excellent reputation for having very few problems for an urban inner city populated school....
3.)The new format has implications for easy access to all materials in our electronic age, and has potential, at this point it is another chore for teachers who are already busy with course changes, team teaching, and other instructional related matters, perhaps this could be something our army of administrative assistants could be working on...
I think the parent portal is a good thing but we need to be carful how much information we put out there.
The discipline program is working to keep the kids in school so I think thats great.
The parent portal looks like a great way to improve communication between parents and students as well as with teachers. I am concerned about too much information being "out there" and as long as security issues are addressed and on going support for teachers is provided, it should be a positive thing.
The discipline system seems to be working smoothly this year. I am not sure how to read the charts and graphs handed out at the presentation and there was NO discussion (about anything) in our group. Honestly, it was a JOKE. Ask Vanna White...
Working with Special Needs students I am concerned about fairness and equity both in classroom management in many classrooms and in the discipline office. I understand the need for training and improvement in this area and it is discouraging when the DEAN treats it like it's not important...
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