Are we really supporting the wellness efforts?

Building administrators can be considered true managers of their buildings. Their major priorities were to ensure that the parents were happy, create a safe learning environment, and keep the bus schedules on track. Education was perceived as a business that produced poor quality results and was in dire need for some type of reform to save the nation’s poor educational system. Concerns reflected a lack of clear standards and assessment tools to observe how much students retained based on their teachings. These observations were a reflection of the findings from A Nation at Risk information. As a result of this reform, education’s focus changed from the management and providing an equal education to an educational system that focused on academic achievement.
Academic excellence is an outcome that should be a desire of school leaders and it can be achieved if the proper policies are in place to support the missions and goals of the schools. Federal and state policies challenge local school systems to develop policies that will support their efforts to improve a particular area in education. As these policies are made, it is the responsibility of the superintendent to ensure that the necessary individuals obtain the policies as well as ensuring that the information is effectively disseminated throughout the system and understood by all employees that are affected. One policy that stands out is the wellness policy.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service placed an emphasis on healthy schools. It was evident that schools played an integral role in promoting student health, preventing childhood obesity, and poor nutrition and physical inactivity. All schools were charged to create policies that explained nutrition education, physical activity, and other school based activities designed to promote student wellness. Sample policies were given to states, who in-turn distributed them to the local school districts. The Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2006 also played a significant role in the nutrition programs in the district where the writer is employed. This act regulated the content and availability of foods to children at schools.
The regulations cover foods that are sold in schools a la carte, vending machines, and snack bars. It is also related to the foods that are made available on school grounds. To comply with the policy, immediate changes were made. Parents in the writer’s school district commented that the healthy items were not cost effective. These healthy items included fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and calcium rich foods. Health experts have also commented that the government may need to consider lowering prices of the more nutritious foods. Whether the government decides to decrease the prices or not, obesity remains to be a public health problem. Policy and legislative actions, interventions, marketing restrictions, and preventive actions by schools, individuals, family and social interventions are key factors and can contribute to the decrease of the number of obese children in America.
As building principal, I have seen the amount of ice cream sales, students purchasing school breakfast and lunches decrease. I have not seen a push for additional exercise in our particular system, but wellness is the big issue. We have a wellness police that comes in our lunchrooms to be sure that the students have ample opportunity to eat their lunch before distributing ice cream to students. Where do we draw the line?

Gifted students

At the end of last school term there was a lot of conversation about gifted students. These conversations were among parents of students who were gifted, but were in classes with students who did not learn or grasp information as quick as their children. These conversations began as community small talk to private meetings and eventually landed in the seat of the board chairman. Fortunately, our school board is all about student achievement and is very open to suggestions and/or ideas of citizens who have valid concerns about the well being of students. Well, after the superintendent and the Board members conversed, it was evident that this was an issue that needed to be looked upton.

Yes, it went so far as to create a committee to try and hash out some of the concerns. Parents, teachers, curriculum staff, board members, and community representatives came together to try and get a clear understanding of why these students were not being challenged the way that they should. Mind you, there was a strong parent/community committee that consitted of doctors and college professors who had great influence in our community. Primary school aged children who are tested for the gifted proram are in the regular classroom with the exception of a 45 minute resource time with a trained, certified Gifted teacher. These students are expected to be taught the standards with a little more depth. Mind you, not all of the students are gifted in the same areas. Now, in the upper grades, gifted is taken a little more seriously. THese students are actually graded on the work that they complete in these classes. They are able to be more specific in their areas of giftedness. Well, the term challenge in the eyes of a parent can be somewhat different from the eyes of a teacher. These conversations brought out the possibility of the concerned parent group trying to apply for charter school grants in hopes to open soon.

Well, as time passed and many meeings, the committees began working together. The curriculum department insisted that they were providing the same rigor that the parents were looking for without changing the entire curriculum. Here we go again!!! Back to the drawing board with more meetings and more challenges to passify these people. The district's gifted person and the curriculum director worked with the state department to adopt the GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION PROGRAM (GATE). Originially, the gifted students were served by a resource person for 45 minutes each day and returned to their regular classroom. Now, they are served by their resource teacher and is taught by a gifted endorsed teacher. So what does that mean??? More money for the system to pay and more teachers hounding about taking the class and doing extra homework.

In each of these classrooms, there are at least 5 gifted students and 12 high achievers. So, where are your middle and low children. In class together...sound like tracking to you? Especially if you have only 5 teachers per grade level, 2 GATE classes, 1 EIP class (inclusion), and 2 others. Well, I am a firm believer that higher achievers should be given the opportunity to learn at their pace, but in primary schools it is somewhat difficult to determine their area of giftedness and really focus on them. Please tell me your thoughts.....

Show me the money!!!

This school year started on a rocky road. One beautiful afternoon, I received a visit from the superintendent. We walked the halls of my building discussing the manner in which our year started and I was questioned about my particular school and how I felt about the opening. I assured him that it was one of the smoothest beginnings that I have had the 6 years that I have been principal. Well, that led to the issue of funds. He told me that our state was beginning to chop funds (approx. $700,000) from our allotment. This would force us to make immediate cuts. Well, he also said that there was a strong possibility that we may have to let go of some certified and non certified staff members. This almost took me into panic mode. He left me with that thought and asked me to ponder over that and we would talk at our administrative meeting.

The next week, we had a meeting and we were charged to go back to our buildings and discuss ways that we could cut spending. Each school did just that. We went so far as to decline any professional development(out of town) trainings that we usually attend, decrease the amount of copy paper by copying front and back, removing the printers from each classroom, and even declining the state supplements that would be issued. These concerns were shared with the Board for review. Well, one thing led to another and we found ourselves listening to him tell us that a possible recommendation would be that a portion of our local supplement would be taken. Wrong move..the next thing I knew, we were engaged in public forums and in the National Education Association magazine!! The public forums that were held was something that must be done to satisfy legal requirements, but many ill tempers flew out!! There were retired teachers as well as non-tenured teachers screaming of how this act was an outrage. Some teachers were even saying that they wanted a copy of the line itemed budget to see where the money was coming from. Our Board and Superintendent handled both forums in a very professional manner and assured the speakers that their concerns would not be a reflection upon their teaching abilities.

We ended up not losing any personnel this year and our supplements were not cut. I hate to see how many employees we will have to cut this coming year because of additional cuts coming our way. Just recently we were reminded that we needed to review the teacher reduction policy that our local system had in place and be sure to share it with the teachers. This gave me an indication that there is a strong possibility that we many have cuts coming our way. We were also reminded that the policy clearly states that the teachers that we relieve does not have to be the last one that was hired. I am really glad that this information was not shared immediately after all of those forums because they would probably think that we are trying to make them all quit becuase of the lack of funds. Looks like we are in for a great ending, too! The teachers were happy, but there was a lot of information exposed during the forums. Especially with football and coaches!!! I just wonder if any other states are experiencing the cuts like GA???

Sick and Tired!

Classroom teachers have heavy loads on their backs. They are nurses, doctors, parents, counselors, referees, and coaches. Between all of this, they are responsible for making sure that all students reach their fullest potential, not to mention, AYP!!! I say this to say, that I feel that they are being hounded to death!

As an administrator, it is my job to be sure that student achievement is our focus and this is done by using data to drive instruction. In the primary setting, our teachers are not accustomed to a planning time. These teachers only have 30-45 minutes out of the entire day to use the restroom and eat lunch. Our board, so graciously, implemented an initiative for all teachers (county- wide) to a one hour uninterrupted planning time that will allow the teacher an opportunity to plan. This decision was a result of teachers compiling that the initiatives that our system has adopted forces them to do more work after school and on the weekends. Now, administration for 2 more days. Administration forces them to meet at least once a week in their professional learning communities to share ideas. Another day of the week, they meet as a grade group to talk about housekeeping issues. Another day of the week, they will meet with the literacy coach to discuss their reading lessons...that leaves them 2 whole days to plan. We did it again!!!

Another issue is the teachers' having to set one million goals. Our state requires them to set a student achievement and professional development goal for the school year. I require them to reveiw the test data from the previous year and set a goal using that data. The state has goals for the 3rd grade students to meet standards on the CRCT in order to make AYP. How do we compile all of these goals??? Our leadership team is working now to decide what is the most effective way to combine all of this to make sure that the teachers do not get confused about their expectations. When they lose sight of their goal, their focus is gone!!

In addition, I am responsible to being sure that the teachers are implementing district initiatives and exhibiting traits that prove that they have learned something.This evidence is acquired by administration going in classrooms daily. Our county is Learning Focused Schools trained; therefore, all administrators are mandated to visit at least 5 classrooms a day for 5 minutes. Sometimes we are able to do more. At the end of the month, we must submit our documentation to the curriculum director. After visiting a teachers classroom about 20 times, it is evident to me whether they are effective or not.

About after the 3rd year, you begin to see the same practices over and over again. The only positive aspect is that the students see the principal in and out of their classroom on a consistent basis. I would like so badly to comfort them (and myself) because it takes away from the fun of visiting. At this point, our teachers are pretty used to their doors swinging open, then shut, and that is another positive. I always wondered how other administrators monitored their classrooms.

Really curious,
Appolos (Stephanie)

Where are the parents?

This is my 6th year as principal of a primary school in a rural area in Georgia. Ever since our school system rezoned the primary schools, our school has had a horrible experience with parent involvement. Initially, we were used to PTO's that experienced packed houses when there were meetings!! There were activities scheduled and parents always showed up. Parent involvement is a key factor in the success of children and what a better time for parents to become involved is when they are at the primary levels. Each individual school is required to provide parents several opportunities to become active in the schools. The only stipulation is that the parent is not permitted to interfere with classroom instruction. Our Superintendent , at that time, was very particular with QTT (Quality Time on Task) for all employees. This directive also led to some schools requiring that parents scheduled appointments to see teachers. Many times the parents did not want to sit down, they just wanted to observe their child in the classrooms. Maybe this led to the parents' not being willing to come to the schools.

During my first years teachin in this county, we had a strong parent involvement program. The Title I director planned programs for parents and really utilized the funds that were allotted to the systems. Now I think that those funds are being stretched to accomodate some of the NCLB requirements to ensure that our Parent Involvement Plan is up to par. Several years ago, our system used a portion of their Title I funds to hire parent liaisons for each primary school to assist students and facilitate workshops to assist the parents. These workshops gave testing and study tips, crafts and art activities, creating math/reading games, and much more. Parents have access to the resource room that has computers and programs to check out, fun learning games, books on CD and tape, and books. The liaison works closely with the teachers and create packets for the parents to work with the children at home. The first year, our sessions had at least 40 parents to participate. Now, we have NONE!! We are now creating surveys to figure out where we went wrong. This was our true effort to get parents in the schools.The sad thing is that our funding has been cut and now we have a liaison who comes to our school only one day a week. THis means, the parents must schedule a time to come. It also decreases our chances to get them in and involved.

Our PTO scheduled a meeting last term and we had 3 parents to attend (approx 400 student population). Parents complain that we do not involve them,but we schedule activities during the day and in the evening. They still do not show up!! This year we planned a Skate Night and there were about 40 parents and children attend. I often wonder if they spend more time wtih recreation activities and just do not have time or is it that our activities are not exciting enough?
Need help!
Appolo (Stephaine)

Are they fair?

All school employees are held accountable for their performance; whether it is the school nurse, secretary, media specialist, or the classroom teacher, evaluations are a requirement. The local board policy states that all personnel that are employed by their system shall have a performance evaluation that will be administered by their immediate supervisor. Prior to employment, the supervisor is responsible for explaining the duties and responsibilities that will be evaluated at the end of the school term. Certified personnel will be responsible for individual pre-conferences where they set personal and student achievement goals. In addition, they will review the formal evaluation instrument as well as their duties and responsibilities. In the event that the personnel member has some deficiencies in their evaluation, the supervisor must provide professional development opportunities to assist with improvement in the deficient area. The Superintendent of the local system is evaluated by the Board of Education, the principals and district office personnel are evaluated by the Superintendent, custodians, paraprofessionals and certificated personnel are evaluated by the building principals, and the transportation personnel are evaluated by the transportation director.
Presenting evaluation instruments to the employees prior to working provides them with the tools to be successful in their job capacity. Teacher evaluation models, however, are not reflective of their true expectations. Not only are they responsible for the items on the evaluation, but with the increased demands of ensuring student achievement, they must make certain that all students meet standards on the state tests, too. In order to ensure that evaluations are reflective of their efforts in the classroom, systems should require teachers to provide data to show student growth. This can occur through benchmark tests or computer programs that track student success based on the state standards. Teachers should also participate in pre and post evaluations, which include relevant concepts that reflect teacher practices. Lastly, forcing teachers to leave the schools because of two unsuccessful evaluations is absurd. The school administration must take a look at the opportunities that they provided for the teacher to assist with improvement. The writer believes in providing professional learning opportunities, reviewing teacher portfolios and student data before threatening dismissal for certified personnel.