Optimal Educational Environment - Assignment Example

Optimal Educational Environment a) Objective The objective of this policy is to provide guidelines to teachers of ABC School for creating an optimal learning environment in which students and teachers would be required to follow a disciplinary code of conduct. The policy addresses issues faced in classroom settings i.e. harassment, bullying, hate crimes, exclusion of students from classroom, rights and duties of students. The policy is designed in accordance to the School Discipline Law outlined in Federal Constitution. Under these constitutional rights, any student facing expulsion or removal from school would be entitled to a written notice. Where a student is facing long-term suspension, they would have right of hearing in which student may present their defense based on evidences. Although ABC School does not follow corporal punishment however any observation of such punishment violates Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. For general search purposes, The Fourth Amendment right shall be followed by the administration on reporting of teacher. b) Optimal Learning Environment in Classroom 1. Guidelines for Teachers & Students The primary responsibility of acting as a role model for students in terms of civilized and disciplined conduct rests on teachers. Therefore, teachers of ABC School are expected to refrain from any action that can be categorized as malicious and uncivilized. These actions can further be divided under the categories of harassment including physical and mental abuse, intimidation, bullying, expression of hatred and sexual misconduct. Upon discovery of such actions by teachers, the matter will be dealt in accordance with policies of Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI, 2013). It is important to note that there are some researches that have criticized the regime of zero tolerance towards offenses committed by students (American Psychological Association, 2008). Therefore, punishments designed in this policy are provided to support positive enforcement and prevention from actions that can be considered as disciplinary breach. 2. Types of Violence ABC School’s administration strictly refrains from corporal punishment or any kind of physical abuse. In addition to that, any verbal instructions and reprimand is performed in isolation and not in front of other students. The purpose of doing so is to refrain from causing students to lose interest in attending school and causing damage to their self-esteem. Usual offenses may be divided into physical, sexual and emotional ones. Where physical violence can be dealt directly by teacher, any sexual violence will be addressed by the Office of Principal only. Where corporal punishment is not used in ABC School, in order to address issues of violence and breach of code of conduct by students, teachers may use demerits policy as a punishment. The actions that can be categorized as offensive are: a) Failure to follow teacher’s clear instructions’ b) Failure to follow guidelines provided in school orientation i.e. food and drinks in classroom, attire that can be labeled as sexually and racially offensive, actions that can cause damage to school property and endangers other students’ wellbeing including theft, c) Falsification of statement or cheating in exams d) Insubordination 3. Addressing Disciplinary Violations Depending on the severity of act, different demerits can be assigned by teachers including suspension of varying durations, loss of driving privileges, notifications/ warning letters issued and required to be signed by parents, community service or extra classes. In order to ensure that students are guided to operate in a disciplinary manner, a holistic approach will be followed which also includes involvement of parents (Osher, Bear, Sprague & Doyle, 2010). After assigning of any demerit other than issuance of warning letters (which already require parents’ signatures), a student-teacher-parent meeting will be conducted after return of student to the classroom followed by demerit. Demerits assigned can also be reduced dependent on the discretion of teachers. The reason for doing so is to make students believe that these disciplinary actions are designed for their wellbeing and on display of appropriate behavior; their punishments can also be revoked. However, teachers reducing demerits would be required to perform suitable documentation of such reduction in students’ records along with mentioning appropriate reason for doing so and substitution of demerit punishment i.e. community or school service. Other than the threats mentioned above, students who are found having possession of tobacco or any other form of substance abuse would be immediately granted a‘ No Pass’ which would assign them a failing grade which may not only require repetition of a grade but also may result in suspension. Secondly, repetition of demerits more than twenty times can also lead to assigning of ‘No Pass’. Other remedial actions may include confiscation of material that may result in disturbance in classroom settings i.e. music players, cell phones, playing items etc. Similarly, any form of bullying shall be strictly prohibited. Although managing bullying in classrooms and social media is rather difficult since it usually takes place in the absence of teachers, therefore frequent lectures and discussions may be conducted on the subject matter and critical repercussions shall be mentioned. In addition to that, students facing bullying can be encouraged to report such issues to teachers which can be done anonymously as well. Although battery as a physical offense in usually observed in educational settings, therefore it is recommended that parents should be involved in the proceedings addressing such issue. It is also important for teacher to be aware of domestic conditions of students with particularly violent behavior so that underlying causes can be understood and addressed. For expulsion due to possession of ammunition and Firearms, Gun Free Schools Act 2002 shall be followed which would allow school administration to expel students for a period no less than one year. All these policies are applicable in terms of breach of disciplinary code of conduct on School grounds other than classrooms and similar course of action can be adopted by School’s administration. The policy further extends to off-school grounds when students are involved in School activity. Serious threats to wellbeing of students, school employees and other personnel on school property by any students may be dealt with suspension or permanent expulsion. Other than disciplinary actions mentioned above, teachers may also chose to use Students Development Referral Program which allows students to have access to counselors as a constructive intervention. Any kind of violence, threat or verbal abuse which is considered serious by the teacher shall be reported to school authorities and will be dealt in accordance with state policy (“State Legislation”, n.d). Students showing excessive truancy shall face suspension as an extreme punishment. However, their cases may be considered by school authorities on reporting of teacher and can also be referred to childcare services. There are various legal theories that can be used to ascertain potential legal liabilities of schools, teachers and districts towards students. One of such theories is premises liability which makes school responsible for ensuring safety of those present on the land. Secondly, teachers are expected to be aware of their Tort liability in terms of legal obligations (Osborne, 2011). Teachers are required to be aware definitions of intentional torts and negligence and actions expected from them in both circumstances (Taylor, 2001). c) Protection of Students with Special Needs Since population of students in classroom settings represents different demographic segments therefore administration of ABC School intends to ensure well-being of students requiring special and extra attention. Such students may include those that use English as their second language and also those facing physical and mental disabilities. In order to provide protection to students with learning disabilities, special protections available to such students remain applicable during suspension or any other form of disciplinary action by school administration. Although such services may not be available in school settings however they will remain available to such children in order to ensure that they follow general curriculum and achieve their Individualized Education Programs (IEP’s) goals. Furthermore, teachers are required to conduct a “Manifestation Determination Review” to ensure that behavior acting as grounds for suspension or demerit is not a symptom of the disability (“State Legislation”, n.d). It is also important that students who speak English as their second language are aware of what is considered as a breach of disciplinary code of conduct. Therefore, such students can be provided with a copy of written instructions in their own language upon formal request. Failure to do so cannot be considered as an excuse for breach. However, inclusion of student’s counselor in proceedings against such students should be mandatory as some actions may not be considered as offensive according to student’s own culture. Also, while educating students about desired disciplined behavior, teachers are expected to pay more attention to such students by confirming if they understood teacher’s expectations in terms of disciplinary behavior. In order to further provide support to such students when faced with disciplinary investigations, a cross-disciplinary team including the ESL/bilingual education coordinator, guidance counselor, bilingual and ESL teachers, social worker, and other professionals should be involved. d) Challenges faced by plan There are several challenges that can be faced while implementing above mentioned plans. It is important to note that in certain cases students may chose to retaliate and target teachers that have taken disciplinary actions against them. Therefore, they may chose to cause physical harm to such teachers and also cause damage to their property. According to report published by American Psychological Association (2011), more than 7% of workforce in education faces abuse from their students or their extended family. Therefore, in order to address such issue, the scope of this policy in terms of disciplinary breach observed on school grounds can be extended to residence of teachers. However, it is important to note that teachers filing complaint against students must furnish suitable evidences. Furthermore, before actually commencing any investigative proceedings involving a student, school administration must perform examination of the evidences provided by teachers. Second challenge that can be faced by School administration in implementation of these plans is participation of teachers. Since most of the burden in terms of enforcing disciplinary behavior on students is being put on teachers, teachers may chose to ignore instances of disciplinary breach in order to avoid lengthy investigations. Since School does not have funds to use technological tools like classroom cameras to examine performance of teachers, therefore gaining teachers’ support can be a major issue. For this purpose, ABC School may have surprise/ uninformed physical examinations of classrooms by Principal, Vice Principal and senior teachers having vacant periods. In addition to that, teachers can be provided with letter of appreciation and recognition in social gatherings regarding their efforts in maintaining a disciplinary and optimal learning environment. Third challenge is excessive emphasis on negative enforcement. It can be seen that most of the punishments for enforcing discipline in students is followed by punishments like suspension, expulsion, confiscation etc (Skarkey & Fenning, 2012). In addition to that, long-term suspensions may further cause students to stay away from classroom that would make their return to education even more difficult. Therefore, it can be suggested that instead of following strict regime like ‘zero tolerance’ programs, lengthy suspensions, detentions etc, rather constructive approach shall be followed e.g. a disciplinary action for mild truancy can be followed by attending same class with a parent. Therefore, it is suggested that before granting any punishment, student counselors should be made part of the proceedings so that positive enforcement can be introduced in the punishments. Furthermore, it is also recommended that students showing disciplined behavior can be granted with limited school credits as a reward. References American Psychologist Association. (2008). Are Zero Tolerance Policies Effective in the Schools?. American Psychologist, 63(9), pp. 852-862. American Psychological Association. (2011). Understanding and Preventing Violence Directed Against Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ed/schools/cpse/activities/classroom-violence.aspx Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (2013). Discipline and Conduct. Retrieved 18 August, 2013 from http://www.k12.wa.us/Safetycenter/Discipline/default.aspx Osher, D., Bear, G.G., Sprague, J.R. & Doyle, W. (2010). How Can We Improve School Discipline? Educational Researcher, 39(1), pp. 48-58. Osborne, J.K. (2011). Teacher Tort Liability. Retrieved 18 August, 2013 from http://www.udallshumway.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Teacher-Tort-Liability.pdf Sharkey, J.D. & Fenning, P.A. (2012). Rationale for Designing School Contexts in Support of Proactive Discipline. Journal of School Violence. 11(2), pp. 95-104. ‘State Legislation’. (n.d). Retrieved 18 August, 2013 from http://law.duke.edu/childedlaw/schooldiscipline/attorneys/stateleg Taylor, K.R. (2001). Student Suicide: Could You Be Held Liable? Principal Leadership, pp. 74- 78. 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