School Attendance Matters - Final Post

Mornings can oftentimes be a challenge for one person trying to get out the door for school or work. So when there are multiple adults and kids in the house to get ready each morning, that challenge is multiplied without good planning and a routine.  Without those things, tardies to school are often the result.  Tardies to school not only will result in eventual disciplinary action, but can dramatically affect a student's entire school day to follow.  Check-outs on the back end of the day have a similar disruptive effect.

The Jefferson County Board of Education has amended its tardy and checkout policy for the the 2018-2019 school year.  The policy states:

Tardies to School / Check-outs from School

Being tardy to school greatly affects student success and routine.  Tardies include late arrivals to school and early check-outs.  The school may impose disciplinary procedures for excessive tardies as detailed in this code. A parent may excuse up to seven (7) tardies per year for the same reasons an absence may be excused.  Any tardy after seven (7) have been excused by parent note will be unexcused unless excused by a physician or the principal.

While check-outs from school are discouraged by the Board, necessary check-outs must be processed through the school’s office by the parent. The Board encourages that appointments not of a critical nature be scheduled for times and days when school is not in session. Check-outs are considered excused for the same reasons as excused absences. An unexcused check-out will be treated as a tardy.  A student may not make up work that is missed due to an unexcused tardy, check-in or check-out.

As our entire Attendance Matters series has emphasized, we want our kids at school.  Every student, every day.  We know, however, that is not always possible.  We are asking families to help us this year and help your student this year by being on time to school each day and limit the number of check-outs he/she may have to the minimum number possible.

Arriving at school on time allows a students to enter relaxed and sets them up positively for the work day ahead.  Students who are late to school miss out on important announcements from the teacher or from the office that may affect them later in the day.  They miss out on the beginning of instruction impacting their ability to complete work in a timely or successful fashion.  And finally, with middle school students, it helps them avoid the unnecessary and unwanted negative attention for arriving late to school on a regular basis.

I am a father of a herd of boys.  I get it.  They can be challenging to deal with in regards to getting out of bed, getting bathed and dressed, eating, making sure they had everything they needed for not only class, but after school activities.  I understand.  But the reality is (if we are truly honest), most tardies for elementary and middle school students are not a student issue.  They are an adult issue.  These kids can't drive.  Like it or not, for students this age, it generally comes down to adjustments made by the adults in the home, not the children.

School begins at 7:55 A.M. each day.  This year, we will open the car line doors for the gym at 7:25 and close them at 7:50.  Students will be released to their classrooms from morning supervision at 7:45 to go to their lockers and the restroom before reporting to their first period class.  Please start thinking about your morning schedules now.  Help establish routines that will help your student start each day successfully.  If you are pulling in on two wheels at 7:54, your student is going to be late to class.  If a student is late to school, AN ADULT must sign them in to school in the main office.

Likewise, excessive check-outs from school where students miss academic coursework can be problematic.  We have worked to craft our schedule where our advisory time is at the end of the day from 2:30 - 3:05.  This would be an ideal time IF . . . IF the student had to check out, he or she would not miss major work.  Please work to schedule appointments during this time if at all possible.  Also, please do not park in the newly paved lot in front of the school after 2:30 to check out a student or you risk being blocked in by the buses.

As a reminder, a high school sibling is not permitted to check out a middle school sibling from school except in the case of an extreme emergency as approved by the principal.  Families ask me why that is?  Well, there are two reasons. First, I'm really not supposed to release a minor child into the custody of another minor child.  Second, the high school student should be in school, too.  This again is not generally a kid issue, but an adult issue over which we usually have control.

Finally, it is important to remember to bring excuses to the school if the check-in or check-out was for a doctor or court visit.  No make-up work will be permitted for unexcused absences.

We hope that this break-down in the Attendance Matters series has been helpful in communicating our policy and procedures to you.  Please call us at 205-379-3230 or you can e-mail me at mmanning@jefcoed.com.  Thank you for learning with us!

School Attendance Matters (Part Five)

In our last blog post, we stated today's post would center around three specific topics of great interest to students and families.

It should be widely known to middle and high school educators that students come to English, math, science, and social studies classrooms each day for the most part because they HAVE TO come.  The real reason the majority of secondary students WANT TO come to school is for the social aspect of school including athletics, fine arts programs, co-curricular academic programs, field trips, and to make and see friends.  We have said that the sooner we all realize that, the better able we will be to serve all kids in the academic classroom.

As a classroom English teacher, I sometimes wondered how I could make grammar, Shakespeare, research, and writing even close to exciting as the football, basketball, or baseball I coached after school or the productions we put together for the theatre classes.  I have always told my student-athletes and student-artists that the word "student" is first for a reason.  Without doing the first, the second will not be possible.

This year's Code of Student Conduct addresses a student's ability to participate in extracurricular activities when attendance is an issue.  It states:

Attendance and Participation in Extracurricular Activities/ Sports

A student may not participate in extracurricular activities, including but not limited to athletic events, that occur on a school day unless the student is present at school for at least half of the school day, except in emergency or necessary situations as determined by the principal.

Make no mistake about this.  This policy will be enforced.  If you are too sick to be at school for at least a half a day, then you are too sick to play in a game, be in a concert, participate in a pageant, come to a dance, or participate in a competition.  A student must be checked in before 11:30 AM or not check out until after 11:30 AM unless the absence is covered by a note from a physician or a court.  In an emergency situation (as defined by the Code), the family must contact or meet with the principal in order for the student to be able to participate.  This does not include absences from the classroom due to a school-sponsored activity or field trip.

But Mr. Manning?  What if it's our best player versus our biggest rival?  What if we bought the dress already?  What if I have a solo in the play or the concert?  What if . . . . .?  Then those things need to be considered prior to the absence.  This includes weekend events when the absence occurred on the previous Friday.

I think it is a simple, but clear expectation.  At Corner Middle School, our young people are students first.  I believe that communication between the family and the school will be integral to this not becoming an issue.

The second area of focus is on what has always been known to teachers as F.E.A. (Failure Due to Excessive Absences).  This has been in and then out of the Code over the past several years.  The committee who prepares the Code has re-inserted it in this year's policy due to chronic absenteeism affecting individual schools and the district.  The section states:

Failure Due to Excessive Absences

Excessive absences from school or from a class may subject a student to retention in the same grade for the succeeding school year or the denial of credit in a course.  If a student misses seven (7) or more days during a course lasting a semester or fourteen (14) or more days from school for a course or class lasting the whole year, denial of credit or retention may result. 

This is a word of caution to students and their families about the consequences of missed days.  Retention or summer school may be the result of such an attendance issue.  While it has not been a major issue at our school, it has been an issue as late as this past school year with a few students.  Absences affect a student's academic performance.  Families should be aware of the consequences for regular failure to attend school without appropriate reasons. 

The final area of focus really doesn't apply but to just a few students at CMS, but will apply to all students upon transition to Corner High School.  This is in regards to the receipt of and suspension of a driver's permit and a driver's license in the state of Alabama for failing to attend school on a regular basis.

Attendance and Driver’s License

For any student between the ages of fifteen (15) and nineteen (19), the local school must complete an enrollment form for the student to obtain a driver’s license. The school will not complete the enrollment form for any student who has ten (10) or more consecutive unexcused absences or fifteen (15) or more unexcused absences during the semester.  Additionally the school will notify the Department of Public Safety as required by state law (Code of Alabama, 1975 §16-28-40 through §16-28-45) in the event that a student, who has been issued a driver’s license, is absent to the same extent resulting in the suspension of the student’s driver’s license.  

Frequently, we have parents coming to pick up a proof of enrollment form for one thing or another.  If the student has missed an excessive number of days, the school will not complete it for the family.  In the event the student exceeds the maximum number of days after the permit or license has been granted, it is the school's responsibility to notify the Alabama Department of Public Safety who will then suspend driving privileges for the student.

Before anyone gets too upset, this statute has been in place since before any of these students were even born.  The key word is "privilege."  Driving is a privilege; it is not a right.

We felt like it was important to review these three specific sections of the Code in order to be clear on the impact of excessive absences in these areas.  Kids with perfect attendance or very few absences never even think about these issues.  This year, let's have 100% of our kids and families not let any of these focus areas be an issue.

Tomorrow, we will post the last piece in the School Attendance Matters series that has broken down the district's revised attendance policy.  The post will cover the very important issue of tardies to school and checkouts from school.  Remember, if you have any questions regarding any part of the policy, please contact us at 205-379-3230 or by e-mail at mmanning@jefcoed.com.  Thank you for reading this series!!!

School Attendance Matters (Part Four)

We have taken a couple of days off from posting due to the power outages in our area, specifically at our school.  Had this been a school day, this would have been one of the special circumstances that would have constituted an excused absence.  

Before we discuss attendance, I'd like to thank all of the men and women of Alabama Power who have spent the last several days making repairs around our state and specifically at our school.  Thank you for your and your families' sacrifices!

In today's post, we will look at a small section of the attendance policy, but a very important one to your student's grade in his or her classroom.  That is the policy on MAKE-UP WORK.  The updated section in the Code of Student Conduct states:

Makeup Work

A student may only make up work that is missed due to an excused absence.  Makeup work must be completed as soon as possible after the student returns to school but not later than three (3) days after returning unless specific arrangements have been made by the teacher.  When a student is out for an extended length of time, the student should collect, complete, and turn in work weekly unless the nature of the absence prevents the student from doing schoolwork during that time.  It shall be the responsibility of the student or student’s parent (s) or custodian(s) to arrange with each teacher to make up work.  A teacher may require the student to make up work after school hours, in which case advance notice will be given to allow to the student to arrange necessary transportation.  

In my time as a teacher and administrator, I have seen this policy changed several times from three days, to a reasonable amount of time based on the absence and assignment, and back to three days.  I've seen the district's data management system be locked so that a grade for missing work for an unexcused could not be entered by the teacher, and I've seen it unlocked so the teacher could enter the grade.  Let's talk about the policy and how Corner Middle School will administer it.

In the first sentence, the Code says that make-up work may be submitted only when the absence is excused.  Families, this is why it is SO IMPORTANT that you submit a written excuse to the school in a timely fashion when your child is absent.  Work that is not made up and submitted to the teacher will impact your child's grade.

Now, we realize that there is a difference in learning and grading.  We want our students to learn.  Not everyone is wired like me, but I would always encourage work that is missed to be made up regardless of whether a grade is assigned or not.  Yes. I can already hear, "Well, I'm not making them do the work if they aren't getting a grade for it."  

School work should be a part of a lesson plan designed by the teacher to help your student master standards that will grow them for work or study in a real world long after middle school.  We all should work together to promote our students' learning for life in the world to come.

The Code defines the timeline for submitting make-up work.  It uses "as soon as possible" upon return and  "not later than three (3) days" after returning to school.  That standard is the basis for what our teachers will follow. However, the policy also gives a teacher the latitude to work with students individually based on their circumstances.  This is why good communication between the family and the school is so important. 

For students who are absent over extended number of days, families can make arrangements with us to collect make-up work that can be done at home so the student does not get too far behind. After a student has been absent for THREE consecutive days, we will collect work in the office upon the request of the family.   The policy in our Corner Middle School Student-Parent Handbook states:  

Calls to the school to request make-up work for absent students must be received before 8:30 A.M. so that teachers will have time to prepare the assignments.  Assignments may be requested by telephone only for a student who has been or will be absent for more than three days.  Materials requested in this manner should be picked up in the office between 2:30 and 3:00 P.M.  For an absence of less than three days, please contact a classmate or the teacher upon the student’s return to school.

Finally, while we rarely request this of our students and families, a teacher does reserve the right to request that make up missed work outside of school hours.  This usually occurs when a student has gotten so far behind that the deficit impacts his or her opportunity for promotion.  In this case, advanced notice will be given to the family so that transportation is not an issue.

It is vital to the success of the student that he or she makes up missed work following an absence.  Please remember that make-up work for a grade is permissible with and EXCUSED absence.  So families . . . please make it a priority for yourself in 2018-2019 that you submit an excuse to allow your student to make up missed classwork, homework, projects, and tests.

In our next blog post we will discuss three major points of emphasis to the Code:

1. Attendance and Participation in Extracurricular Activities/Sports
2. Failure Due to Excessive Absences
3. Attendance and Driver's Licenses

School Attendance Matters (Part Three)

As we continue our series, Attendance Matters, we'd like to take a quick look at the section of the new attendance policy that is oftentimes a source of confusion for our families at Corner Middle School.  That is what exactly constitutes a "permissible absence."  The Jefferson County Code of Student Conduct for 2018-2019 states:

Permissible Absences

Absences may be excused for the following reasons:

1. Student illness;

2. Inclement weather which make it dangerous to attend school;

3. Legal quarantine;

4. Death in the immediate family;

5. Emergency conditions as determined by the principal or superintendent;

6. Absence to observe traditional religious holiday of local, national, or international origin when verified by the student’s minister or religious leader.

Any other absence not falling into the categories listed above or otherwise excused by the principal or superintendent or his or her designee will be deemed unexcused.

At one time, I thought this was pretty clear.  That's when I learned that people interpret this section very different from me.  I suppose that as "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," the interpretation of these reasons is subject to the person looking for the excused absence. 

As I have stated multiple times, we understand that illness is going to occur.  However, when a student has 30+ days absent due to "illness," it may be time to see more than the nurse practitioner at six different after-hours clinics.  Flu season is not a 10 month event.

Am I encouraging you to send a sick child to school.  No.  But they are students and oftentimes, they don't want to come to school.  Remember this guy?

While this is a lighthearted example of the problem, this happens.  So, requiring a seven day mental health break on a Carnival Cruise does not constitute student illness.  The other absence categories are related to special or unforeseen circumstances, and we work with families as these incidents arise.  

The Code of Student Conduct goes on to say: 

For each absence, a parent or custodian must provide an excuse within three (3) days of return to school following the absence.  Failure to furnish such an excuse results in the child being considered truant for each day of the absence (Alabama Administrative Code, §290-3-1-.02(7) (c). An excuse must include a signed, written statement from the parent or physician stating the reason for the absence and must include the student’s name and the date(s) of the absence(s).

One day I'm going to do a book on some of the excuses we see for student absences.  Families, please take moment upon your child's return to write his or her excuse with the information listed above.  And please note, the excuse must be submitted no later than THREE DAYS after the student's return to school following the absence.

The last part of this section states:

An absence will be considered unexcused under any of the following circumstances:

1. Failure to provide an excuse based on a reason described above within three (3) days of return to school.  For purposes of this three (3) day period, the day the student returns to school will count as the first (1^st) day.
2. Absence for any reason other than the excusable absences as listed above except in special circumstances as determined by the principal, superintendent, or his or her designee. 
3. Absences for any reason as explained in a parent note after seven (7) days have been excused by parent note during the school year.  Only seven (7) days per school year may be excused by parent note.  Any absences thereafter will be unexcused unless excused by a physician’s note or by permission of the principal.

Item numbers 2 and 3 may require some clarification. At Corner Middle School, you have SEVEN parent notes that will be excused by the school.  You can use those seven days for any reason you'd like.  But once you have used those seven days that can be excused with a parent note, they are gone.  You should use them judiciously.  I will discuss make up work related to this topic in tomorrow's blog post.

Before I even give an example, I am going to ask that you carefully consider planning extended travel when school is in session.  Again, there are 190 days in the calendar when your students are not in school.  But if you plan a Disney World trip during school, we will excuse up to seven days if your student does not or has not already exceeded the seven day parent note policy.  Church youth trips are not major religious holidays.  Participation in travel sports.  They fall under this category, too.

After three days of writing, I realize there is much to consider.  There is more to discuss the remainder of the week.  That is why we feel it is important enough to get this information out there for our families to see.

I will be happy to answer questions for anyone wishing to call me at the school at 205-379-3230 or e-mail me at mmanning@jefcoed.com.  Please check in for tomorrow's Attendance Matters post on make-up work.

I

School Attendance Matters (Part Two)

I really love this image because for so many adults, it would be true! For the students in our schools today, they could replace the word "Facebook" with Snapchat, Instagram, or some other social media platform that they use regularly and it would also be just as accurate. 

Everyday, like clockwork, people are on their phones or devices checking their accounts for updated information, snappy memes, good recipes, the latest gossip, checking on family and friends, or even reading the Corner Middle School blog (smile).  Most would get perfect attendance.  Oh! How I wish we could find consistent ways to make everyday at school that important!

In yesterday's blog post, we announced that we are putting procedures in place this year to work to decrease chronic absenteeism at Corner Middle School.  The plan is to spend some time up front communicating the policy and the school procedures to help our families UNDERSTAND the importance of regular school attendance, as well as sharing the consequences for chronic absenteeism and/or tardies.  During the year, we will put practices in place that will help us monitor student absences more closely and communicate more quickly to parents of at-risk students.  In addition, we are looking at incentive-based activities for students with excellent attendance.

Today, we will begin our look at the newly drafted attendance policy that will appear in the Jefferson County Code of Student Conduct for the 2018-2019 school year.  Our blog this week will break the new policy down into its sections to discuss key phrases and how it applies to the students and their family.  We will move around to discuss the sections as they fit into the conversation and not how they appear in the policy.

The opening to the new attendance policy on page 22 states:

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

The Jefferson County Board of Education believes that regular and punctual attendance is essential to a student’s academic success, in addition to being required by state law.  Regular and punctual attendance is the responsibility of both the parent and student.  Regular and punctual attendance at school includes arriving at school on time and remaining for the entire school day unless an excuse is provided to school officials.

Jefferson County Schools, like all public schools in the state of Alabama, are evaluated, in part, on student attendance.  Specifically, each school is measured by the number of students who are chronically absent.  Under the current state definition, a student is chronically absent when missing school fifteen (15) or more days during a school year for any reason.  Therefore, a student should be present at school everyday except when absence is absolutely necessary.

In the opening sentence, we are told that attendance is "essential to a student's academic success."  We discussed that in yesterday's blog and already know that to be true.  However, it goes on to say that regular and punctual attendance is "required by state law."  I'm not sure most folks really understand or think about that. In Section 16-28-12 of the Code of Alabama 1975, our state law sets guidelines for student enrollment and attendance, consequences for families that fail to follow the guidelines, and consequences for the student whose family does not see that he or she comes to school.  For more information about the Code, go to this website, click on Title 16 and then Chapter 28.

http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/alison/codeofalabama/1975/coatoc.htm

No one here at CMS wants to refer a student and his/her family to Early Warning with the Jefferson County Family Court, but it is the law.  We enforce our attendance policy to do what is right by the STUDENT who we so desperately want to see each of the 175 short days we have him or her in class.

To avoid this, we send out periodic letters as reminders to the families of students that are generated by Chalkable to help us inform you of your student's unexcused absence status to help you monitor their attendance.  Some folks do not like these letters.  Again, they are a reminder to help you keep up with the days absent.  We also give families their student's Chalkable PIN that allows them to access information that includes attendance at any point in the school year.  It is the responsibility of the student and the family to keep up with their attendance.  

Personally, I hate appearing before a magistrate or judge in court to discuss these matters.  It is an uncomfortable setting for me and most of all for the student.  I'd much rather be at school with our students and teachers watching great things happen in the classroom.  But it is part of my responsibility as the principal.  I have had families ask me, "You don't REALLY go to court with a family, do you?"  There are families who will verify that I do it, especially when the absences are so out of hand that I believe the student's academic success or personal well-being are at-risk.

Yesterday's blog discussed the state report card and the definition of "chronic absenteeism."  Instead of rehashing that in today's post, we will simply share this graphic:

Parents . . . Families . . . Teachers . . . On a monthly basis, we really don't have a lot of instructional time to lose with our students.  Twenty-eight days TOTAL over a two-month period as the first semester ends.  Fifteen total days out of 31 as the the third quarter ends and the fourth quarter begins.  Consider this . . . two days absent a month is 20 absences a year.  That is so much instructional time missed.

In 2018-2019, we want our school staff, our students, and our families to value each instructional day as a gift.  Again, we understand that illness occurs and that special or unforeseen circumstances arise. Please help your students and their teachers by going ahead and looking at the district's calendar for the year.  It can be found at THIS LINK.  I also sent a color copy home in your end-of-the-year report card.  Begin to make plans for vacations, appointments, and other activities on non-instructional days.  It can be done!   I would LOVE to give out 460 perfect attendance awards at the end of the upcoming school year.  This past year I gave out only four.

Thank you so much for taking the journey with us regarding the importance of school attendance in our blog.  Part Three of our Attendance Matters series continues on Wednesday.  Tomorrow's installation will clarify excused vs. unexcused absences and what constitutes each.  If you have questions, feel free to call us at the school at 205-379-3230 or e-mail me at mmanning@jefcoed.com.

School Attendance Matters (Part One)

Last year, the Alabama State Department of Education issued its first "School Report Card" for each public school in the state.  For middle schools like ours, the report card is divided into three sections:

• Student Academic Proficiency
• Student Academic Growth
• School Attendance

Corner Middle School received a B on its report card (Bagley Elementary received an A, and Corner High School received a B) based on 2016-2017 data.  The scores in our feeder pattern were good, but as we know we can always get better.  We are constantly working on our academic proficiency.  However, one of the other factors as to why our school  received a B was our school attendance rate. I believe if we were all truly reflective, we can improve on student and teacher attendance alike to address both areas in which we can grow.

The attendance rate is more than just a number, however.  The attendance rate of any school is very important because that school's students are more likely to succeed academically when they attend school on a regular basis.  It is challenging for any teacher and his/her class to build skills and master standards if large numbers of students are frequently absent from school.  

In addition to falling behind academically, students who are not in school on a regular basis are more likely to experience discipline issues, not participate in extracurricular or co-curricular activities, and experience social problems upon their return.

It also impacts you and your community financially.  Realtors sites like Zillow and Realtor.com (as well as many others) use these school statistics in their ratings of neighborhoods.  They can attract (or detract from) persons looking to purchase a home in a given area or bringing businesses to an area.  

Students who are chronically absent tend to struggle on the ACT in high school due to gaps in learning.  This hits your wallet directly because the higher the ACT score, the more money your student will qualify for academically for college.  The higher the score, the fewer the remedial classes your student has to take in the first years of college for which you have to pay, but for which they will receive no credit.

Consider this information . . .

There are 365 days in a standard calendar year.  Students go to school for 175 of those days.  That means they have 190 days in which they are not in school.  Those 175 days matter to us! Do we understand that illness happens?  Yes.  Do we understand that sometimes circumstances arise that cannot be avoided?  Yes.  However, when we do school attendance math, those days should be the exception rather than the rule.

The data from the state report card for 2016-2017 looks like this . . .

We own our performance data and look to improve it every day. But attendance in 2017-2018 did not improve.  In fact, we believe our attendance data will impact us more heavily with the upcoming state report card.  The State of Alabama defines "chronic absenteeism" as such time a student has 15 or more absences.  This past school year, 79 out of 460 students met that standard.  That is 17.2% of our student body who are chronically absent. (They fall into the yellow or red categories.)  When almost one out of every five students is chronically absent, it is time for us to work together to make a change.

Therefore, we are kicking off a plan that we hope will help us improve our attendance in 2018-2019 in order to better serve our students and their families.  That plan begins with understanding the attendance policy.  This week, I will break down the new attendance policy that we sent home in the end of year report cards.  Jefferson County has "beefed up" the policy district wide to help all schools address the alarming trend of students not coming to school. We will spotlight specific sections of the policy that are in the board approved Jefferson County Code of Student Conduct for the 2018-2019 school year each day this week.

It is our hope that understanding the policy and the impact of chronic absenteeism on your student, school, and community will help us navigate the waters of absences, tardies, and make-up work as we sail in to a new year at Corner Middle School!  Part Two of our Attendance Matters series continues tomorrow.

The Answer to the Summer's Most Popular Question Has Come!

For many school teachers, one of the milestones to which they look forward is when they can get into their classrooms during the summer to begin setting up for the new school year.  Some begin asking as early as the first week of summer.  Others have the routine down very well and wait a little longer.  New teachers to the school want to get in them to plan as soon as possible.  Then there are those who put a roller and brush in their (or their family's) hand and want to paint before setting up the room for day one with kids.

Regardless, the magic moment has come at Corner Middle School.  The floors are waxed and ready to go.  If you saw the earlier blog on the chaos of summer, you saw pictures of the hall floors piled high with furniture, computers, equipment, textbooks, materials, and boxes.  Now the halls look like this . . .


These pictures are the answer to the question that administrators and teachers across Jefferson County ask one another in the month of June.  "Are the floors done yet?"  The completion of the floors usually signal for us a midpoint in the summer and that the teachers and kids will return sooner than we think.

We are blessed with great teachers here at Corner Middle who want things to be just right for the first day of school.  So now, the teachers (and once again, teacher families), administrators, and custodial staff begin the process of sorting through stacks of furniture, boxes, and other materials that are in the wrong place, painting, purging unnecessary items, bringing in new textbooks and workbooks, creating bulletin boards and systems of organization, and planning.

Something that most folks find hard to believe is that getting a classroom ready for the opening of school and setting up the classroom environment is something that teachers put a great deal of thought and time into.  Each year, most teachers start with a fresh theme specific for that year.  They hit Wal Mart, Target, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Fred's looking for those things that will fit just right into classroom for the day one in August.

I had a personal routine as a teacher that I followed each summer prior to the opening of school in order to get the room ready.  When I taught English, I would sit in every desk in my classroom to see what the student would or would not see.  Then I rearranged and did it again until I thought I had it.  I needed to see it from their point of view.

And it isn't just the classrooms.  Several have asked to see what the office looks like after the stained and ancient carpet had been removed and the new floor put down.  Well.  Here it is!

 

  

The floors look SO GOOD!  We are still working to get everything moved back into the school office so that we can conduct normal business such as interviews, student enrollment, and welcoming guests.  That work is coming along well.

The administration, faculty, and staff would like to thank Royce Ingram and his team of workers with Perfection Commercial Floor Refinishing for the hard work and great service they provide to our school each year in helping us bring our teachers and kids back to school with shiny floors and this year, a great new office floor!

So teachers . . . the answer is you can have your classrooms back on Monday, June 25th.  We will see you soon!