Friday, December 7, 2018

Paine TAC Questions and Responses(October 6 – November 30)


Question 1
Could we please enforce the expectation of being quiet in the hall or change the expectation?  When only some teachers enforce this it becomes harder and harder to achieve.

Response to Question 1
It is every teacher’s responsibility to ensure adherence to our hallway behavior expectations (Zone Zero).  It is crucial because inappropriate/loud hallway behavior can be a disruption to the learning of others in the classrooms.  It is a school expectation that students should be on Zone Zero while transitioning in the hallway.  Please reinforce these expectations with your students. 

Question 2
Why can’t we have the millionaire reader wall back in the library?

Response to Question 2
The plan is to have our Paine Pride Student Recognition Wall on the space by the courtyard in each building.  Our PTO is currently working to assist us with having this wall up by the first of the year.  It will include all student recognitions (including millionaires) celebrated in the assemblies, along with photos of the students.  Once the wall is up in January, it will be updated after each monthly assembly.

Question 3
If we are not recognizing honor roll students during assemblies, is it possible to do something special for them?

Response to Question 3
We will be recognizing A Honor Roll for Trimester 1 at the January assembly, and then at subsequent assemblies following report card distribution dates.  We will not be recognizing A/B Honor Roll at the assemblies because it would include most of our students, leaving only a small percentage of students excluded.

Question 4
I’ve noticed that many teachers do not follow their assigned recess times.  Can I take my class to recess at different times if I want to adjust around activities daily?

Response to Question 4
It is a school expectation that we all adhere to the agreed-upon recess schedule for many reasons.  We need to know where your class is at any given time during the day, so we use the schedule you have provided as our source of information.  There are safety issues when too many students are in a designated play area at one time.  The designated recess times ensure we are adhering to the required instructional times on our daily schedules.  If the recess time you have is not working well with your daily schedule, please speak with an administrator so we can help you find another time.

Question 5
Why has the assemblies committee not been involved with assemblies?  Shouldn’t the committee have a say in when the assemblies should happen, what awards should be given, and help with the set-up?

Response to Question 5
Monthly assemblies are a fairly new initiative for Paine Elementary.  We worked directly with grade levels and teachers to determine which awards should be given at the assemblies, and made sure they were aligned with our academic goals/areas of focus.  We have the assemblies at the same time each month (the first full week).  This allows us time to gather the data from the previous month.   With other priorities at the beginning of the year, we had only one week to plan the first assembly, knowing it would set a precedent for remaining assemblies this year.  This did not allow us time for the committee to meet.  Our vision is that the role of the assembly committee would be to prepare for each monthly assembly, including student preparation once we transition to student-led assemblies.  Preparation for the assemblies is labor intensive, and we need the committee’s help in the future. 

Question 6
Can we consider a change to duty schedule?  There seems to be a lot of duty stations and a lot of adults in one duty station.

Response to Question 6
A similar question was presented through TAC in October.  Please reference that response on our blog.  We will continue our current duty schedule for this year, and complete a survey in May for improvements next year.

Question 7
While I understand we’re on the high end of the Advanced Ed range for classroom sizes, why aren’t Paine class sizes more equitable across our school system? Example: Paine’s Kindergarten class sizes fall in the 20-21 range while Cahaba is at 15-16 students.

Response to Question 7
In the summer months, principals assign teachers to each grade level based on projected numbers. These numbers are reviewed each week. Sometimes more students enroll than anticipated and teachers are moved into a new grade level assignment. Sometimes- specifically in Kindergarten, students stay in their k4 program for K5. When enrollment is less than expected a teacher is moved out of that grade level. The later we send teacher letters, the more accurate we can be in balancing class size per grade level. The goal is to not exceed AdvancED class size recommendations. 

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