TAC Questions & Responses

Comments

The duty schedule is so much better.  Thank you for listening to our concerns.

Thanks for setting up the Pack Groups!  I love it and my students have been very excited to be a part of this.  It is a great idea. 

Thanks for giving us the time and support in setting up our Sonday System groups.  I feel we did a good job of identifying students who really need the help and I have enjoyed teaching my groups so far.  I am grateful to be a part of this pilot program.

Question 1

Why are incident reports having to be filled out by people not directly involved with the incident?

Question 1 Response

Assistant principals are taking the information provided in the email (from the teacher) to complete a discipline report.  They are completing these because a copy goes home to the parents, and last year there were often other students’ names, opinions versus facts, etc. in the report. 

Question 2

Can specialists please be made aware of any student behavior plans? 

Question 2 Response

The classroom teacher should inform specialists if one of their students is on a behavior plan.  If a student is on a plan that requires specialist training, the IEP team will arrange this.

Question 3

Behavior is a major concern.  I thought we were going to have a behavior committee.  We need some assistance. 

Question 3 Response

The Paine Elementary School-Wide Discipline Plan was reviewed at the opening faculty meeting.  This included minor infractions that could be handled by the classroom teacher, as well as major infractions that would need an immediate office referral.  We want to keep students in the classroom for instruction if at all possible when there are minor infractions that can be addressed by the teacher.  Meeting with parents is always a first step in addressing problem behaviors.  When there is an office referral our administrative team will follow the code of conduct consistently. 

Question 4

Why are teachers not getting a copy of discipline form?  Why are teachers required to call parents after an office referral?  Is admin following code of conduct consistently for all grade levels?

Question 4 Response

When an office referral occurs, an administrator will conduct a thorough investigation.  The TCS Code of Conduct is followed.  Once the investigation is complete, the administrators contact the parent via phone, and provides copies of the office referral form to both the parent and the teacher. 

Question 5

Do we have a schoolwide calendar that already lists dates that are set? (For example: Spirit Week, Red Ribbon Week, 50th Day of School, 100th Day of School, assemblies, math night, literacy night, Read Across America, etc.) Can this be sent every week as a friendly reminder as to what is going on across all grade levels?

Question 5 Response

A school-wide calendar was set up in Google the beginning of last year.  It contains all school events, field trips, teacher birthdays, etc.  If you are unable to access this calendar please let us know.

Question 6

The lunchroom is so stressful.  There are too many students in there at one time.  Walking through one lunchroom to go to another lunchroom is not working. 

Question 6 Response

We have lunches scheduled between 10:40 through 12:55. It is crucial that every class arrive on time and leave the lunchroom on time.  It will help when the courtyard construction is finished and we can begin the schedule for the last 10 minutes of lunch on the courtyard.  We received feedback from teachers on the preference of you having the opportunity to eat with your entire grade level, which is the reason for “walking through one lunchroom to go to another”.  That can easily be changed where classes eat in the lunchroom on their designated side.  We will collaborate immediately on ways to improve the flow of traffic and lunchroom procedures.

Question 7

Would it be possible for admin to be more visible in the classroom, not for observations but in a more hands-on capacity to show support for our teachers and what they are doing each day in their classrooms?

Question 7 Response

One of the top priorities of our administrative team is to be visible in classrooms.  We are not clear on what is meant by “hands-on capacity”.  More information is needed.

Question 8

What is the turnaround time for responses to emails sent to administration? Why are we not receiving emails from Central Office in a timely manner?

Question 8 Response

The standard turnaround time for emails in TCS is 24 hours or an “out of office” message should be sent.

Question 9

How much longer until we get the swipe on the North Purple hall doors? We have to go all the way around to come back in from recess and this is really taking away more time from our instruction and intervention?

Question 9 Response

The new fiscal year started October 1st, and the order has already beenissued for the access card reader.  Installation is expected to begin October 4th. 

Question 10

Would you consider changing the weekly grade level collaboration day? 

Question 10 Response

Our grade level collaboration was on Thursday last year.  It was moved to Wednesday this year because we felt it would be too much to have collaboration and afternoon meetings (faculty, precept team, or PD) in one day.  Events this year, such as assemblies, have been scheduled around this day but we can decide as a faculty for next year which day is best.

Question 11

Teachers are not aware of Fall Festival.

Question 11 Response

Fall Festival is in the early stages of planning.  The only information we had until this week is the “Save the Date” which was communicated in our blog.  We had a meeting with our PTO president yesterday to create a list of tasks.  This was communicated in the blog that afternoon, along with a request for volunteers.

Question 12

Will we have All Pro Dads this year?  If not, why not?

Question 12 Response

The flyer for All Pro Dads was sent in the parent blog on September 21^st.  We had our first breakfast meeting on October 3rd, with close to 300 families participating.

Question 13

Math teachers get PD days with their cohort. Why do reading teachers not get the same thing? Why is our District PD not focusing on what we need?

Question 13 Response

New math teachers have a one-year training experience (EMT – Elementary Math Institute).  This is designed to focus on “how” to teach math in today’s world for understanding.  This was developed three years ago and has proven to be extremely successful.  The Curriculum & Instruction Department has dedicated district PD days coming up that will focus on literacy.  The dates are:  10-17-19, 12-12-19, 2-20-20,

3-19-20, and 4-9-20.  Please feel free to reach out to Kelly McGough and/or Jenni Peters about a specific topic you would like to see included. 

Question 14

Our special education department desperately needs more teachers and/or para-professionals.

Question 14 Response

We analyze our IEPs prior to each school year, and allocate our staff according to student needs. If necessary, we provide additional resources.

Question 15

Why are we having to document why we are out for a sick day? 

Question 15 Response

When a future-dated sick day is requested, we need a generic broad category (qualifying reason) to approve this day according to policy.  These broad categories are outlined in TCS Policy.  For example, if sick leave is requested, a generic qualifying reason must be included in the request, i.e., doctor’s appointment, child’s doctor’s appointment, etc.

Question 16

Sonday System is requiring a lot of planning and prep time.  Please consider giving those teachers sub time to support preparing for the program.  

Question 16 Response

Sonday System is an explicit, scripted program so it should not require significant preparation time.  Please talk to an administrator or academic coach if you have any questions about preparation.

Question 17

Sonday Systems is great for those who cannot decode, but we need a program that focuses on comprehension. 

Question 17 Response

Lucy Calkins and Reading Strategies by Jennifer Serravallo are our core curriculum resources for classroom literacy instruction. The strategies outlined in the Serravallo book are ideal for working with small groups/intervention groups.  We are working with Curriculum & Instruction to purchase a school site license for all teachers at Paine to utilize Ticket to Read.  This Tier 2 program focuses on foundational skills, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.