School Effectiveness Criteria #s 10 & 11

Might be deemed to be stating the obvious here but Tom felt he needed to record as follows:

Criterion #10 My School Relieves Me Of The Stress Of Severely Disruptive

                             Students (Aligns with SDP element #21)

Tom was determined that an effective school would have realistic processes for dealing with students who were disruptive to the point of adversely affecting the learning of their classroom peers and at times being threatening towards teachers.  He knew that despite the best efforts of the teachers this behaviour can at times occur.  He was committed to the view that each teacher should walk through the gates every morning knowing that they have nothing to fear in seeking help with a particularly recalcitrant student.  Each student is being who they are at any point in time given all the current circumstances of their life inside and outside the school. There could be complex reasons why a particular student is acting up to the point where they are constantly disrupting a whole class and maybe physically threatening teachers and students.  It may be that they need to be removed for a time out with others best placed and trained to mentor the student over this period.  The student then is welcomed back into the classroom situation.

Criterion #11  We The School Staff Accept Responsibility For Keeping Up To

                              Date (Aligns with SDP elements #s 6 and 22)

Tom focussed his thinking on staff professionalism having the view that a true professional happily bore the responsibility of ensuring that they were qualified and up to date in the knowledge and processes that defined their profession. This applied to members of the school’s administrative hierarchy, the teachers and the counsellors.  He had confidence that the mastery standards discussions provided one source of excellent updating amongst the teachers.  There would also be the programs that Principals and their staff members initiated apart from the latter vital in-house work.  Tom expected that the school staff members administrative, teaching and non-teaching should be able to provide a convincing array of in-service training that showed they were working hard to be up to date in the various facets of their particular professional focus.

May the Force be with you!

GD