Category Archives: School Improvement

Principals Paddling Pupils: Should Corporal Punishment be Painful?

School Improvement, Uncategorized

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Should Principals /Administrators be allowed to paddle students?  Perhaps parents remember going to the principal’s office and being paddled.  Gagnon, Kennedy-Lewis, & Gurel (2014) explained the choice whether to use corporal punishment is determined by either district-level administrators or the principal, even if districts grant this authority (pg. 1).  This form of discipline is called ‘corporal punishment.’  Discipline ascribes to experience and instruction to strengthen one’s moral compass and mental capacity.  Additionally, discipline references to the control achieved by involving obedience which connects to consistent and orderly behavior represented by rules and codes established in the United States Constitution.

It provides guidelines that encompass Federal, State, and local guidelines within public and private schools.  As evidence, federal databases collect information from the Office of Civil Rights whose acronym is OCR, which is part of the United States Department of Education.  A census of all public schools, as well as Charters, view the number of students reported who received corporal punishment as a form of discipline.  In the landmark case Ingraham v. Wright 430 U.S. 651, USA Education Law (n.d.) explained, in 1977, Dade County, “students in Florida challenged the constitutionality of corporal punishment at their school under the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause be self-imposed” (para. 2).

The Florida Supreme Court ruled that spanking did not violate students’ rights and remained legal after that more than two decades (para. 1).  Since this landmark case, corporal punishment has neither favored parents or students. There are specific strategies for student discipline.  For instance, restorative justice that engages the student rather than an abstract punishment for misbehavior.   First, the student performs something that makes it up to their presumable victims.  Further, causing noise in class and making it increasingly difficult for their classmates to learn.  The student may write an apology, or perhaps read to little children to drive home the consequences of the acts committed.

Unquestionably, there are ways to practice student discipline within public and private schools, however, to avoid future liability claims, schools and school districts should reason a more comprehensive plan of student discipline by continuous training.  By doing this, better safeguards against potential lawsuits and claims in the future may create change agents for future success.

References:

Gagnon, J.C., Kennedy-Lewis, B.L., & Gurel, S. (2014). Corporal Punishment in Florida

Schools: Trends in Reactive, Punitive, and Ineffective Approaches to Youth

Behavior. Retrieved from www.scribd.com/document.

(Image in blog post)- http://menamgov.blogspot.com.es/2012/09/they-are-still-paddling-in-texas.html

Are we educators misinformed or do we choose to look away?

Research, School Improvement

On a daily basis, we often overlook the obstacles of employment for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in various industries. How do individuals with ASD obtain and maintain employability, have you ever thought about that? The answer is a support system, people who believe, encourage, teach, and help those individuals, such as a vocational education training program (VET).

According to a recent report published by A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, in the first years after high school, 40% of youth with ASD do not transition into a job (Roux & Rast et al., 2016). The article published on NPR, “Young Adults with Autism More Likely to be Unemployed, Isolated,” compares the numbers of individuals with autism to those with learning disabilities. 95% of thosePicture1 with learning disabilities and 91% with speech or emotional impairment are employed in their twenties, while there is a 58% employment rate for those with autism (Singh, 2015). Autistic individuals struggle with social communication and interactions. There are contrasting degrees of severity and functioning of the disorder, varying from repetitive actions and self-injurious behavior to the inability to speak. Appropriately, individuals with autism face these diverse challenges which require them to have continued and increased support as they age.

Employment brings independence, social integration and a sense of placement in the community. It can be hard for someone with autism to obtain a job that is suitable for his or her routine, is manageable enough, and where they will not be discriminated against by employers. Vocational Education Training (VET) can help and promote Autistic individuals to develop behavioral, vocational, and social skills. Due to the fact that a majority of people with autism have trouble acquiring jobs, VET programs are useful for providing better post-secondary job opportunities. According to Wehman & Carr et al., students with intellectual disabilities involved in vocational education training indicated higher academic achievements, and employment outcomes than the individuals with autism, while the autistic employment rate ranged between 4.1-11.8%  (Wehman & Carr et al., 2014). In efforts to increase ASD employment rates in South Florida counties, we need to implement a vocational and transition program for young adult students over the age of 22 with high functioning autism in urban schools with a high population. This will equip these individuals with knowledge and skills required in occupation-specific work before transitioning into adulthood.

A YouTube video entitled, “Vocational Training for Autistic Teenagers,” The episode demonstrates and focuses on the economic aspects of autism, including the financial burden it places on families and how some educational programs are significantly helping. This particular video aims to provide an example of what one school is doing to promote vocational training. The students with ASD are assigned with tasks that help them understand a routine of occupation and it allows them to become capable, productive workers. Once at the workplace, the students are supervised by an aid from the school. The students gain a sense of how to act in social settings. Much of the preparatory training is conducted before the student enters the workplace. This is an exemplary program that should be implemented in many schools in urban areas that have students with ASD. Having more of these vocational training programs will help our growing community of students with ASD realize their potential and improve involvement within the community. Not only is this a way to increase the vocational skills but also the community and companies that are hiring and participating in the program learn more about and become aware of the students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

We have data which proves vocational education training programs have an impact and positive effect on students with ASD, why do we not implement them more often?

That is still an unanswered question that hopefully will be resolved soon.

 

References

Roux, A. M., Rast, J. E., Anderson, K. A., & Shattuck, P. T. (2016). National Autism Indicators                   Report: Vocational Rehabilitation. Philadelphia, PA: Life Course Outcomes Research Program, AJ Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University; 2016.

Singh, Maanvi. “Young Adults With Autism More Likely To Be Unemployed, Isolated.” NPR, NPR, 21 Apr. 2015, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/04/21/401243060/young-adults-with-autism-more-likely-to-be-unemployed-isolated.

“Unemployment.” The National Autistic Society, AutismJersey, 2016,www.autism.org.uk/tmi.“Vocational Training for Autistic Teenagers.” NBC Today Show, 2005,www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOHioAUUYwM.

Wehman, P., Schall, C., Carr, S., Targett, P., West, M., & Cifu, G. (2014). Transition from school to adulthood for youth with autism spectrum disorder: What we know and what we need to know. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 25(1), 30-40.

 

 

 

Is there any value left in a High School Diploma?

Instruction, School Improvement, Uncategorized

In my garage sit various parts of a white 1988 Mercedes 560 SL. A brown Toyota runs a red light and in that fraction of a second this collection of items lost all value to me. Now they sit gathering dust as they are shuffled around to make room for more valuable items. Meanwhile somewhere in the world, in a garage are parts for my latest project car, holding no more value to that amateur mechanic than my Mercedes parts collection to me. Ebay became a billion dollar company able to create value from this situation.
Damon Clark and Paco Martorell found that for students with equivalent test scores, achieving the designation of a diploma holder held no more earning power than those that did not earn the diploma. Essentially earning the high school diploma designation for the class of 2016 holds no value in our modern society. Why has the education establishment allowed this to happen?
Let us return to Economics 101 and “The Problem of Social Cost” that is: which action produces the least harm to the value of conflicting entities. The classic example is land use, grow corn or graze cattle? Cattle wander and destroy crops. The least harm solution is to build a fence. The question becomes who pays for the fence? The farmer or the rancher? Representative government makes the decision by enacting laws to moderate this conflict. As an indirect result it is government who determines which of these two activities has more value.
Government’s preferred method of inducing institutional change is regulation. Statutory enactments influence the value of pursuing a particular action. Florida mandated certain test requirements and the grading of schools. The achievement standard changed from completing the course requirements at a particular school to a score on a test and the percentage of students who graduated. Schools will now do almost anything to ensure a student gets a diploma. With graduation rates approaching 90% and flat test scores the diploma has decreased in value.
The student’s risk of failure has been removed from a teacher’s professional judgement and transferred to the documentation of the external standards. Students need only to demonstrate to any certifying agent achievement of the standard, there is no need to follow the outline of the professional teacher. If you fail, take the course again using this company’s computer program. The student’s investment has been transferred now from the school to the certifying authority.
The postgraduate payoff of investing 4 years in high school now comes from various programs. Success on the athletic field, achieving first chair in the orchestra or being elected president of the student government association are more valued by organizations. Independent organizations now provide the validity of learning for a price.
Very few students are admitted to a first tier college undergraduate program without the blessing of a corporate education partner. Judson and Hobson describe the Advance Placement program offered by schools doubling in the last 10 years and the number of students taking AP exams increased by 500%. American corporate structures have found a way of profiting off the diminishing value of a diploma thus steering public money away from the community school. My high school has spent over a quarter million dollars on outside agencies to certify various achievement of our students. That money could pay the salary of 4 professional teachers.

Damon Clark and Paco Martorell (April 2014) The Signaling Value of a High School Diploma
Journal of Political Economy Vol. 122, No. 2, pp. 282-318

Judson, E., & Hobson, A. (2015). Growth and achievement trends of advanced placement (AP) exams in american high schools. American Secondary Education, 43(2), pp. 59-76.

Project-Based Learning and Common Core Standards – A Natural Fit

Instruction, School Improvement

“Shhh…It’s a secret! … We’re thinking. There’s so much learning but you don’t realize it. The teachers help us but students do most of the thinking. Sometimes, we think so much that our heads hurt.  We are the ones doing the projects and teachers guide us through the hard work but they don’t tell us the answers” (Madison, 2014, para. 4). Madison, a fourth grade student from Michigan, is expressing what thousands of student are declaring nationwide, “PLEASE LET ME LEARN THROUGH SOMETHING I REALLY CARE ABOUT!” Teachers have long recognized that the more interest a student has in what he/she is doing, the more motivated they are to learn.  One of the best ways to maximize engagement and motivate PBL Project 1your students is through Project Based Learning (PBL).

PBL has been around for years and with the introduction of new, more rigorous standards it is resurfacing in classrooms everywhere!  This teaching method motivates students as they gain knowledge and skills by working through problems that are real and relevant.  “PBL doesn’t ask you to replace your content. It asks that you create a vehicle in which to communicate your content” (Wolpert-Gawron, para. 21).  Aligning project based teaching to Common Core Standards is more than just listing a bunch of standards like so many traditional resources do.  Teachers have to plan projects that align with grade level standards beginning with a driving question.  That question leads to collaborative tasks that culminate with student produced products.

A well-designed project must be personally meaningful and fulfill an educational purpose. Determining the standards for what constitutes a good project should be carefully planned.  Once that has been established the following criteria should be addressed:

  1. Relevancy or a need to know. LOOK around…relevancy is everywhere!
  2. Establish a driving question. It is like a thesis statement, the question is what drives the need to know.  “The learning came from the questions. Did I mention I love questions? They push us farther than we expect to go. It makes us dig deeper into the unknown. The best part of asking questions is finding the answers” (Gaby, 2014, para. 5)
  3. Give your students voice and choice. IF you have to limit choice, make sure there is a menu of choices.
  4. Model the process. Demonstrate whatever process you want your students to follow preferably through other students.
  5. Facilitate collaboration. Task management is key to the success of the project. Students are able to do this at a very early age.
  6. Encourage If they have a plan to accomplish their goal; they should be allowed to go for it!
  7. Formalize Plan for and schedule feedback right from the onset of the project.
  8. Allow time for revision. Just like adults, students should be able to revise as needed.
  9. Allow choice for presenting a project with a focus on the audience.
  10. Celebrate! Take time to formally acknowledge your students’ accomplishments as they share their enthusiasm.

If you would like to learn more about the journey into the world of PBL, look no further than the Buck Institute for Education (BIE)!  BIE is the premier resource for project based teaching and everything you need to get started is just a click away.

Please take a few minutes to reply and let me know what projects your students are working on or follow me on Twitter at: @cathtedesco44.

 References

BIE. (n.d.). http://bie.org/about/what_pbl

Madison and Gaby. (November 20, 2014). Viewpoint on PBL: What Students Say [Blog                      post]. Retrieved from http://bie.org/blog/viewpoint_on_pbl_what_students_say

Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2015). What the Heck Is Project-Based Learning? Retrieved from                      http://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-project-based-learning-heather-wolpert-                gawron

 

How to Turn the “Summer Reading Slide” Into a “Summer Reading Boost” By Debbie Battles

Instruction, Leadership, Research, School Improvement, , , ,

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When most people hear the words “Summer Slide,” they probably think of something fun like kids sliding down a slide at a local park or even at a water park.  Unlike educators who know that a summer slide is a slippery slope that they don’t want their students to have any part of.  This slide could have effects on kids that could impact them for years to come!

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How to turn the Summer Reading Slide into a Summer Reading Boost seems like a daunting task.  Well-documented research spanning over 100 years has proven that when children don’t have access to books over the summer, they suffer the effects of the “Summer Slide.”  Disadvantaged children have proven to suffer the most.  The most compelling fact is that summer reading loss is cumulative over the years and can add up to a total reading loss of over 2 years by the end of 6th grade.

The solution is actually quite simple!  BOOKS, BOOKS, AND MORE BOOKS! In a recent study, Professor Richard Allington of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and his colleagues found that “giving kids 12 books to read over the summer was as effective as summer school in raising the students’ reading scores.” The increase in test scores was especially pronounced for those who were most economically disadvantaged.

In Allington’s study, children were allowed to choose their own books to increase motivation while increasing their word knowledge on subjects that interested them.  The cost of a summer school intervention was estimated at $1,500 per student, while the cost of the books supplied in the Allington intervention was approximately $50 per student.

After reviewing over 60 articles on preventing summer reading loss, the researchers agree on four key components to combatting summer slide:

  1. Provide students with access to booksBlog 1
  2. Students are given the opportunity to self-select books that are of high personal interest
  3. The books they read are on the “just right” reading level (not too easy, not too hard)
  4. Students are engaged in exciting, motivating, and  interactive reading activities

 

Since the solution is so simple, why aren’t schools and communities making it a priority to provide all of their students with access to books over the summer months?  Most elementary school libraries have an average of 2,316 books for every 100 students.  That’s over 23 books per student.  According to Allington’s study, having access to just 12 books over the summer months can mitigate summer reading loss.  In this case, the library would still have half of its books on the shelves.  This is an easy solution that doesn’t cost any money other than time to develop a good marketing plan that includes explaining the importance of summer reading and emphasizing to the students and families the importance of taking good care of the books over the summer months so they can be returned and enjoyed by others over and over.

What if the books don’t get returned?  An average school library loses approximately 1% of their books annually.  As a former elementary principal, I encouraged my students to check out 10 books from our school library during the summer and to return to school during the summer for a book exchange.  At the end of the summer, we didn’t lose any more books than we would have typically lost during the school year.  In fact, the 1% loss rate remained the same.  The benefits of increasing students’ access to books over the summer months, far exceeded the concern of having to replace 1% of our lost books.  I think all of us can agree, that is a win-win scenario that not only increase students’ love of reading, but can Turn the Summer Slide into a Summer Reading Boost!

The statistics are compelling and the solution is easy!  My challenge to you is to help spread the word and be part of the solution.  Together we will make a difference by Boosting our Students into a Universe of Reading!  Do you have suggestions on how to mitigate the effects of the summer reading slide and to turn the Summer Reading Slide into a Summer Reading Boost?  Please share, I would love to hear your ideas on how we can combat this issue together!

References

Allington, R. L., McGill-Franzen, A., Camilli, G., Williams, L., Graff, J., Zeig, J., Nowk, R. (2010). Addressing Summer Reading Setback among Disadvantaged Elementary Students [Special issue]. Reading Psychology, 31(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2010.505165

(http://www.answers.com/Q/How_many_books_are_in_an_average_school_library, 2007)

National Summer Learning Association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.summerlearning.org/?page=know_the_facts

Get Plugged Into Professional Development

Leadership, Professional Learning, School Improvement

Are you drained from all the grading, planning and day-to-day responsibilities of being a successful educator? We all know that educators are mentally tested every day in their classrooms on curriculum, content knowledge, pedagogy, behavior management and maybe even your patience levels, sucking the life out of our batteries. With all of the daily responsibilities, Professional Development seems to be another energy vampire. Let’s get recharged with realistic, quality Professional Development that will add to our craft of teaching while providing useful learning opportunities while using 21st century skills.

As educators, we know that need to recharge our pedagogy batteries with useful, new and relevant information in order to best help our students, but who has the time? Increasing the productivity of Professional Development would immensely help teachers to save time and be able to share ideas and reflect upon their own learning. For example, a study was conducted on using Twitter as a social media outlet to connect teachers, share ideas, and reflect on their own usage of learning and it increased participation in Professional Development by 94% (Ross, Maninger, Laprairie, & Sullivan, 2015). In addition, online blogs (go figure) can be great tools to encourage reflection and increase deeper knowledge of understanding in teachers’ own pedagogies (Raffo, 2012). Both of these examples allow for differentiated learning and instruction. Using active digital learning can lead to a personal interaction of ideas when incorporating Professional Development.

So why are we not using it to our advantage? In today’s education system, digital learning is a component that is ever changing and difficult to perpetually transform with. However, active digital learning provides a faster and more productive way to learn new information and would be a beneficial tool in Professional Development. Leaders in education would be able to promote cooperative learning, sharing new information and implementing strategies to increase their productivity and knowledge.

The focus of my dissertation will be to illustrate the growing demands of active digital learning in Professional Development. As the needs of our students grows with the expansion of technology, educators must be learning at a faster and more productive rate to provide relevant and beneficial educational tools. Through the use of active digital learning in Professional Development, leaders in education will be able to cooperatively learn, implement and share ideas, strategies, and tools.

Educational leaders are accountable for guiding and implementing active digital learning through their quality Professional Development. With an ever-changing technological society, educational leaders should be at the forefront of using technology to develop future leaders and implementing current practices. Professional Development should be conducted in a manner that knowledge can be shared from one professional to another with the ability to continue to distribute with colleagues and others invested in education.

As we continue to build and adapt our craft of teaching, we need to plug ourselves into the active digital learning age, starting with Professional Development. Implementing new technologies into our own learning skill set is not only going to increase our pedagogy but develop skills that will increase our adaptability in the classroom and increase our productivity.

How could you incorporate active digital learning, into your already busy schedule, to increase your pedagogy and decrease your workload?

 

References

Raffo, D. (2012). Blogging as a reflective tool for leadership development: An exploratory study of a leadership practicum grounded in the relational leadership model. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, LIV(2), 39-51.

Ross, C., Maninger, R., Laprairie, K., & Sullivan, S. (2015). The Use of Twitter in the Creation of Educational Professional Learning Opportunities. Administrative Issues Journal Education Practice and Research AIJ, 5(1), 55-76. doi:10.5929/2915.5.1.7