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4 Stories about Substitutes as Heroes

Every day, substitutes enter classrooms across the country, ready to tackle new challenges and bring new learning opportunities to every student. And it takes a lot of courage to face a brand-new class of unfamiliar faces every single day, so we think that all substitutes are heroes.

But we’ve put together a list of substitutes who have gone above and beyond – from kidney donations to free lunch programs, read on to see the heroic feats these substitutes have accomplished.

Cindy Santos

To the Ernst family, Cindy Santos is more than a substitute teacher — she’s an angel.

Cindy first met Katelynn Ernst while working as a substitute at Richmond Elementary. And only two weeks later, Cindy was spurred to help after recognizing the kindergartner’s photograph on the Katelynn’s Kidney Journey Facebook page. After months of testing and waiting, she donated a kidney to Katelynn — freeing the little girl from needing 10 hours of dialysis and 12 medications every day.

The transplant was a success, and Cindy and Katelynn now celebrate their “kidney-versary” every year as close friends.

Kristina Buhrman

When Kristina Buhrman filled in as a substitute bus driver for Discovery Academy, she never expected to be a hero. But when the bus caught on fire on the highway, she had to act fast to save all 38 students on board.

She pulled over as flames appeared in the back of the bus, and led the students to safety across a steep ravine — all while on the phone with emergency dispatchers. As a result of her bravery and ability to stay calm, the Florida Highway Patrol awarded her a certificate of appreciation — recognition she considers unnecessary.

“I don’t necessarily feel that I did anything that anybody else wouldn’t do. I was just put in a place that I had to protect the kids that I’m there to protect and that’s what we do.” – Kristina Buhrman

Phyllis Shaughnessy

While working as a substitute, Phyllis Shaughnessy learned that cuts to her district’s lunch program meant that many low-income students would be going without lunch over the summer. Phyllis knew that local families wouldn’t be able to fill the gap left by summer meal program, and decided to take matters into her own hands.

She acquired a caterer’s license, started collecting donations on GoFundMe and began bringing lunches to over 200 children every morning, calling the program “Green Lantern Lunches” after the local restaurant that volunteered its kitchen. It’s been extremely successful: over the course of the program’s first summer, Phyllis and her team of volunteers delivered 10,003 lunches to children in need. The program has grown, with nearly 17,000 lunches delivered in the summer of 2016.

Keren Morrell-Kiernan

After losing her daughter to a MRSA infection in 2007, Keren Morrell-Kiernan coped with her grief by dedicating her life to helping children. She became a certified grief counselor, substitute teacher and founder of Shae’s Place, a safe haven for children where they can receive counseling, tutoring and homework help.

As a result of her hard work with Pascagoula School District’s students, she was honored with the Kelly Educational Staffing National Substitute Teacher of the Year Award. Shirley Hunter, a principal who has worked with Keren extensively, says:

“She is always a wonderful addition to our staff and always has a positive influence on the students and staff… She went above and beyond what a regular sub is expected to do. She was always ready, eager, and willing to help with duty, tutoring in-between planning time and classes. She was team player with our staff.”

Joshua Hallman, a second grader at Lake Elementary, agrees. He brought a bouquet of pink roses to Keren’s award ceremony as a way of showing his gratitude for the daily tutoring Keren provided him throughout an entire semester — bringing his reading proficiency from a 0.9 to a 2.0 and giving him confidence in his abilities.

Know of a substitute who should be on this list? Let us know on Twitter @FrontineEdu

Flipped Professional Learning in K-12: A Crash Course

You know how creative learning strategies help your students learn. You see the benefits when students absorb teaching outside of classroom time, then come together with teachers and classmates to practice and apply what they’ve learned. Trying (and sometimes failing) in a safe place solidifies the lesson.

“Flipped learning” is clearly good for students. Why don’t we offer it for our teachers?

Flipped learning: a crash course

Flipped professional learning for teachers is the equivalent of flipped learning for our students. In a flipped learning model, teachers can learn on their own time. They explore whatever information, courses and educational experiences they want (or need) — based on personal goals, evaluation results or areas for growth.

Tweet: Flipped learning is good for students…so why don’t we offer it for our teachers? #FlippedLearning http://bit.ly/2eI1GfQ

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But it doesn’t stop there. The key to a flipped learning model is following up with practice and collaboration.

The flipped learning cycle

flipped learning cycle

  1. Self-reflect based on feedback and evidence of practice.
  2. Identify areas for growth.
  3. Engage in an initial learning experience that provides information and assesses retention.
  4. Set goals and create a plan to apply selected skills, techniques or behaviors you believe will have the most impact on students.
  5. Share your plan with others — a principal, instructional coach, mentor, department or PLC. It’s often helpful to get feedback at this stage.
  6. Implement your plan.
  7. Self-reflect — how did it go?
  8. Provide evidence of your implementation to others — this may be a video of classroom instruction, or perhaps a classroom observation.
  9. Meet with others to whom you’re accountable to reflect and get feedback on your implementation so far.
  10. Reflect, Plan, Act, Do… then repeat. It’s the cycle for continuous improvement.

Using this cycle over time, you can transform skills, techniques or behaviors into more effective instructional practices. This is evident through observation, feedback from others and student outcomes that reflect growth.

Is flipped learning just another instructional fad?

You might be tempted to think that. But in fact, flipped learning is simply a form of blended learning. And blended learning is here to stay, because — when implemented well — it makes the cycle of learning more possible and more effective.

Providing targeted, personalized content for all of the teachers in your district is a huge task. Often, districts are so strapped for time and money that they’re limited to covering their own core initiatives, leaving it to teachers to seek out additional, more personalized learning. But thanks to online learning, you can offer targeted content to many different people — without taking up valuable time during the school day.

Here’s some hand-picked content you may enjoy

White Paper: Flipped Professional Learning: How (and Why) to Structure a Flipped or Blended Learning Model for Individuals and Groups 

New to a topic? Then it’s often best to explore that information at your own pace. Teachers can explore coursework, online lessons, videos and eBooks in the order that works best for them — and at a pace and time that fits into their schedule and learning style. Once they’ve absorbed that information, they’re ready to take it out for a spin — putting it into practice and getting feedback from peers, mentors, coaches and observers. This is where blended learning shines.

Evidence suggests that teachers like it, too. In 2015-2016, Montour School District in Pennsylvania started the Montour Learning Network for EdTech and Innovation. Using a flipped learning model, teachers and staff pursue individual learning opportunities while collaborating to support each other. The result? Montour saw a 600% increase in participation in digital professional development.

Flipped learning for individuals, coaching and mentoring, and large groups

When we think of a “flipped” form of blended learning, we often picture groups of learners, like students. But it’s ideal for individuals as well. A teacher, for example, could use the steps outlined above to address areas for improvement that have been identified in a classroom observation. And it can also be used by mentors or instructional coaches — even by principals who may use flipped learning to support professional development initiatives for their entire building.

Tweet: Flipped learning can be useful for individuals, coaching and mentoring, and groups. #FlippedLearning http://bit.ly/2eI1GfQ

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The concept is simple but flexible. And the benefits are nothing to brush off: time that would have been required teach a workshop can now be reclaimed (saving money on substitute teachers) or used for collaboration and application.

What would it look like to apply some of these ideas to professional learning? To move past the sit-and-get workshop? To find creative ways to provide the kind of learning opportunities each individual teacher needs and wants? Let us know your thoughts on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.

 

5 Examples of Outstanding District Marketing

When you invest in your district’s brand and marketing strategy, everyone benefits. It becomes easier to attract more students and talented teachers, improve community engagement and maintain an excellent reputation.

If you need a few ideas for marketing your own district, take a look at what these five diverse districts are doing to build up their brand and achieve their goals.

Blue Valley Schools – Marketing for Recruitment

This Kansas district’s motto of “Education Beyond Expectations” forms the bedrock of the Board of Education’s goals: staffing every classroom with an exemplary teacher and focusing on personalized learning experiences for their 22,000+ students.

First, the Human Resources department developed a new brand based on the qualities they seek in top-notch educators: dedication, collaboration and innovation. They strengthened their employment webpage by showcasing the district’s expectations, professional learning opportunities and stress-free hiring process.

“Having an exemplary teacher in every classroom is one of our top priorities… It is imperative that our website has everything prospective employees are looking for at their fingertips in order to attract great talent.”– Bob Kriefels, Executive Director of Human Resources

Once the website was updated, they used social media and YouTube to highlight the incredible work being done in the district and market themselves as an employer.

Has it worked? Definitely. The district’s educators are highly regarded in the community and have received numerous awards: Kansas Teacher of the Year, Kansas School Psychologist of the Year and Kansas School Counselor of the Year, just to name a few. And these incredible staff are having an impact — student achievement has skyrocketed.

Fall Creek School District – Stellar Social Media

This tiny rural one-building district in Wisconsin may only serve 850 students, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have big dreams for their brand. Led by Superintendent Joe Sanfelippo, author of The Power of Branding, the district maintains a trailblazing digital outreach policy around a single hashtag: #gocrickets.

So far, their initiative has been a tremendous success, with tweets reaching hundreds of thousands of unique users. Sanfelippo’s Twitter account alone has 13,500 followers — a number over ten times higher than Fall Creek’s total population.

With this focus on social media, Fall Creek hopes to boost community support, highlight the learning taking place in the district and improve parental engagement.

Sanfelippo tells the Hechinger Report:

“As a parent, if you send a newsletter to my house, I’m not going to see it until the next morning when I’m cleaning out my kid’s backpack in a rush… But if I can just check out that hashtag and see the cool stuff my kid is doing during the day, it makes me feel more like I’m part of it.”

Fraser Public School District – Smart Marketing

Pandora Radio listeners in Michigan might hear a few unexpected advertisements between songs. Fraser Public School District places advertisements on the internet radio service to convince parents in the area to send their children to one of Fraser’s public schools.

Pandora might seem like an odd choice for ad placement, but it’s a very sophisticated strategy. During high enrollment periods, Fraser Public Schools can zero in on the people most likely to switch schools by targeting zip codes in the area — including those in neighboring districts — and tell listeners about the vibrant education available within their classrooms.

Of course, the district relies on plenty of other channels to get the word out about their student programs. They have advertisements in newspapers and on local television, supported by high-quality videos about how they’re working to redesign education.

Westonka Public Schools – Early Outreach

This Minnesota district, nestled on the western bays of Lake Minnetonka, faced a decline in student enrollment due to the state’s open enrollment policy and nearby charter schools. So they began marketing the district’s academic programs in local newspapers, magazines, television channels and radio stations.

In addition, they started a marketing initiative to spark interest in the district while prospective students were still in diapers. Their “Warm Westonka Welcome” program sends a baby bag to new parents in the area. These gift bags include:

  • A personal welcome from the superintendent
  • A tote bag and onesie emblazoned with the phrase “A Westonka real-life success story in the making.”
  • A coupon for a free baby board book from the local library
  • Westonka Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) and Westonka Community Preschool brochures and course catalogs

Afterward, the district follows up by sending young children birthday cards through their fifth birthday. The program reinforces the district tagline:

Small School Advantages. Big School Opportunities. Real-Life Success Stories.

So far, their marketing initiatives have led to success, with enrollment numbers improving significantly. But the Executive Director of Communications, Janet Swiecichowski, doesn’t think their success is entirely due to their marketing strategies. Instead, she attributes the improving enrollment figures to the district brand they have built up.

She explains:

“They’re probably Googling ‘great education’ and finding Minnetonka… We want families thinking of their school choice to think of Minnetonka as their first choice.”

Kirby School District 140 – Unity in Branding

This Illinois PreK-8 district may have seven different schools, but their brand identity clearly positions them as one unified organization. The district’s site shares a common layout and color scheme with each of the individual school websites, lending a feel of continuity to the entire school system. This consistency stretches across their online hiring system and social media pages as well, which feature custom branding and are actively updated with need-to-know information for stakeholders.

On their site, KSD 140 also makes it easy to find the information you need, whether you are a student, parent, community member, employee or board member — all while prominently featuring their mission statement, messages from the superintendent and student-focused imagery.

Think your district should be on this list? Tell us about your district’s branding and marketing successes on Twitter @FrontlineEdu!

eSped & eSTAR FAQs (Now Frontline Special Education Management)

Questions about eSped/eSTAR becoming a part of Frontline Education? You’ve come to the right place!

Here are a few of the most frequent questions we hear from school districts who are wondering what the move means for them. Don’t see your question here? Don’t hesitate to contact us!

Why have the product names changed?

Since becoming a part of Frontline Education, eSped’s products have been rebranded as Frontline Special Education Management. The name change helps align eSped’s products with the rest of the K-12 software solutions Frontline Education offers.

How is Frontline Special Education Management different from eSTAR?

eSTAR helps districts overcome the same special population data management and compliance challenges that Frontline Special Education Management does, while adding to the robust state-specific data validation process, further protecting districts against non-compliant and incomplete data. eSped becoming part of Frontline Education – and the change to eSTAR, powered by Frontline Education – brings greater resources and advantages to our customers.

We continue to invest in and prioritize all of our state products.

How does Frontline Special Education Management help to streamline special education management?

Frontline Special Education Management will recapture staff time and help your school district contribute toward improved outcomes for children with special learning needs by:

  • Developing high-quality special population documents, including IEPs, progress reports and ARDs
  • Improving compliance with federal and state special education regulations
  • Reducing the time spent on paperwork and meetings
  • Eliminating redundant data entry
  • Minimizing hands-on administrative tasks
  • Enhancing tracking of timelines and tasks
  • Providing secure access to student and staff information for data-driven decision making

Does Frontline Special Education Management integrate with my other software systems?

Yes! Our integration server supports a broad range of import and export operations, including SIS integration and data loading profiles, for optional integrations such as student rosters. The system’s report writer can also export, via a CSV file, based on any report created across any user data or user accessible system data.

Internally, the object-oriented architecture was designed to allow the exchange of any data elements interactively or in batch. Integrations, including real-time, event-based or batch, can easily be added as required by LEAs.

Frontline Special Education Management also provides a state compliance data management and export capability, unique to each state as required. All of these mechanisms are in place to integrate with EOE systems and today we are currently providing these services directly to LEAs.

In Texas we integrate with Test Hound and Texas State Billing Services, and in Massachusetts we integrate with NE Billing.

How does the system help to manage programs for other special student populations (RTI, ELL, Gifted programs, 504)?

Frontline Special Education Management helps teachers and administrators get a better handle on data management and compliance, so they have more time to track student progress, plan individualized interventions and provide critically needed instruction for RTIs and Gifted or ELL students.

Our web-based RTI/MTSS Program Management software guides users through each step of the RTI process, pre-loading biographical and demographic data, revealing exactly which data to enter for each intervention and displaying archived data in graph format to help teachers see problem areas faster and intervene sooner.

A toolbox of integrated collaboration features makes it easier to implement intervention plans for each student, as a team, from school or home, and provides reports at the student, school or district level to enable administrators to measure program impact and make data-driven decisions for resource planning.

Our solution is built to be a secure base of operations for your English Learner and Gifted & Talented programs. Each state has unique data validation methods. This helps ensure that the student data you capture is fully compliant. Integrated translation tools help you get parental consent faster, and it’s easy to find the documents you need, because each signed form is attached to that student’s record.

Also, district, school or student-level reports can be pulled in minutes. All of these tools work together to reduce the time and effort it takes to prepare for EL meetings or determine the efficacy of your Gifted and Talented programs.

Additional Reading:

Checklist to Elevate Each IEP
6 best practices to help create compliant, individualized, and relevant IEPs
Download Now  

How does using an integrated IEP/Medicaid reimbursement tool save my district time and money?

Frontline’s Medicaid Management software pulls IEP data into Medicaid screens and vice versa, optimizing reimbursement. The two applications communicate with each other, meaning less data has to be entered by hand, saving staff and provider time and reducing the risk that inaccurate data will lead to claims being rejected.

Providers have direct access to IEP information to help them plan services, and administrators have a live view into encounter information and claim status. Data errors are flagged before claims are submitted and can be addressed quickly.

You can say goodbye to costs associated with paper forms and increase efficiency in all Medicaid claiming processes. You’ll also save time and valuable resources by giving LEAs direct insight into Medicaid data.

Can you track related services in the system?

Yes. Frontline Special Education Management (formerly eSped) includes screens to log related services. Additionally, Frontline’s Medicaid billing software provides enhanced functionality for coordinating, tracking, and monitoring the delivery of related services, including tools to:

  • Accurately forecast resource needs based on IEP mandates and other factors that impact provider time
  • Equitably allocate resources to schools and minimize travel time for providers
  • Automatically create optimized service calendars and student groups
  • Efficiently track student service encounters and monitor and report progress against IEP goals
  • Proactively monitor compliance with IEP mandates
  • Streamline data collection for SHARS Medicaid reimbursements

What hardware or software do I need to install?

Frontline Special Education Management is a fully web-based solution, which does not require any additional hardware or software.

Plus, our knowledgeable client success team will work with your district’s technology team to support each step of the implementation process.

How much does Frontline Special Education Management cost?

All Frontline Special Education applications are available on a per-pupil annual subscription basis. A Frontline representative can consult with your district to understand your needs, align them with our solutions and provide a proposal customized for your district. You can contact us here for more pricing information.

Can I still access my eSped/eStar account?

Yes! You can visit this page to login.

What are the benefits to using Frontline’s solutions vs. other companies?

At Frontline, we are actively pursuing a vision to bring the K-12 education community a comprehensive, integrated portfolio of solutions. Special education management is a key component of this portfolio, and eSped was a clear leader in this area with a strong set of solutions and industry expertise. Bringing these solutions together will open even more opportunities for K-12 organizations to make connections and gain insights across various operations in the district.

 
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Buckle Up: FLSA Lawsuits Looming over School Districts

With the expanded overtime regulations on hold, you may think your school district has been granted a reprieve.

In that case, you’re only half right.

Whether the overtime regulations are passed, blocked or modified, the renewed focus on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) could pose issues — in more ways than one. Now that the media has brought wage and hour laws into the spotlight, school districts could face a mounting number of Department of Labor investigations and lawsuits (both class action and private).

Department of Labor Investigations

The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division has already audited school systems in every state, as you can see from the interactive map below.

Every investigation into K-12 organizations is marked, including those where no FLSA violations were found. Investigations uncovered violations in nearly 2/3 of organizations.

Mouse over the map to see how many violations were found and how much noncompliance cost each organization.


Source: Wage and Hour Compliance Action Data, U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed October 2016.
Note: This data is representative of DOL investigations into FLSA compliance across K-12 organizations only. It does not include private or class action lawsuits filed in federal or state courts.

So far, these investigations have found over 15,000 violations — costing American school districts nearly $33 million in back wages and penalties. In one case, a district was assessed almost $1.75 million in damages.

You don’t want your district to be next. If your district hasn’t been found noncompliant in the past, don’t get complacent: repeat offenders account for only 3% of violations and 4.5% of damages.

And with the spotlight on employee wages, chances are good that the Department of Labor will continue to aggressively audit employers of every kind, regardless of any changes that may (or may not) be made to the overtime rules.

Employee Lawsuits

The last time the Department of Labor became involved with changes to FLSA, lawsuits surged — even before the changes were formally adopted. Ed Bergmann, senior partner of international law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP, tells Legal News Line that having labor laws in the news tends to spark an epidemic of lawsuits.

“‘Whenever you have that going on, there’s a heightened interest in the field, and people become familiar and more aware of the FLSA and what types of claims can be made under it, so you tend to see an uptick in litigation during these periods when there’s a lot of discussion,’ Bergmann said. ‘We saw that in 2004 during the last time the [regulations were updated] … Plaintiff’s lawyers in general see this as a very fertile ground in litigation, so they’re gravitating toward this area more and more.’”

This graph, courtesy of The Day Shift, shows a clear upward trend in FLSA lawsuits filed in federal courts over the years. Also visible is a spike in cases filed before new regulations were implemented, and soon after. Unlike the map above, this data includes all FLSA cases, not just those against K-12 school districts. But here’s something to consider: in 2002, over 40% of all FLSA lawsuits involved public school systems.

FLSA cases filed by calendar year Source: Hass, Douglas A. “FLSA Minimum Wage, Overtime Lawsuits Set New Record in 2015, Filing Growth Continues.” The Day Shift. 4 Jan. 2016.

School districts are obvious targets for FLSA lawsuits for a few reasons:

  • Many school districts allow nonexempt employees to volunteer at district-sponsored events or coach athletics teams. If a stipend or small fee is provided in return, the opportunity for litigation arises.
  • School districts without a defensible time tracking system may only pay for the hours employees are budgeted and scheduled to work — not their actual hours worked.
  • Some staff may work multiple jobs with different pay rates, such as bus drivers who also work in the cafeteria.

A Cautionary Tale for School Districts

In the early 2000’s, while the DOL discussed making overtime modifications, a consortium of attorneys called the School Litigation Group brought wage and hour lawsuits against hundreds of school districts.

The attorneys targeted nonexempt school staff by advertising their services on a website vowing to “try to help get you the money you deserve” and leaving flyers on employees’ personal vehicles in school parking lots. Determined to leave no stone (or potential case) unturned, they also held town meetings and placed ads with local newspapers and television channels.

Their efforts worked, and they represented thousands of school employees — leading districts to settle for $15 million in Mississippi alone. Their successes even led to the Department of Labor calling school districts’ pay practices a “systemic failure of school districts to understand and comply with basic wage and hour laws.”

It’s not far-fetched to believe that something very similar could happen again due to the recent high-profile media coverage of America’s federal labor laws.

Protecting Your School District

There’s no question about it: with school systems being perceived as easy targets, you must act now to ensure that your processes and recordkeeping are undisputable.

Here’s how.

Validate employee classifications.

Your district’s employee classification is one of the first things auditors will validate. Classifying employees as exempt from overtime simply because they’re paid on a salary basis is not compliant with FLSA regulations, but this is a common error in many school districts. You can visit the DOL website to see what constitutes different types of employees as exempt.

Organize your paperwork.

Another key requirement to preparing for an audit is to make sure you’re storing the required information, and that it is accessible if the auditor requests it. Download our guide to audit preparedness to see the list of records the DOL requires districts to keep.
Make sure you never offer the original records to the auditor. Instead, give them a copy, as any records you give them may not be returned.

Effectively manage employee records.

Organization — or disorganization — makes an impression on an auditor. You don’t want to be left scrambling for missing pieces of paper, or worse, telling an auditor that you can’t find certain records. You need an easy way to securely organize your district’s records.

Accurately track employee time and attendance.

Overtime is the most common FLSA violation committed by employers, so carefully tracking the actual hours employees work is crucial. And if your district still has payroll personnel calculating and entering payroll data by hand, stop! Instead, consider using an online time and attendance system to help ensure accuracy and more defensible records.

To All Working in Special Education: Thank You

thank to you those working in special educationAcross our nation, unsung heroes of our children patiently educate, care for and respect thousands of students with special needs. These Special Educators are far more than meets the eye. They educate children with the highest needs, often putting in hours far beyond the regular school day to plan and execute lessons with modifications to meet individual student needs and abilities.

“Individualized instruction” is one reason we owe thanks to the Special Educators across the country. We recognize all educators put in tireless hours — but today on National Special Education Day we want to highlight the work of those working in special education and the lengths to which they go in order for children to realize success. Special Educators are often the difference between a student feeling included and successful instead of excluded and defeated. This can be an overwhelming task, yet our Special Educators consistently deliver. What an accomplishment! The additional insights necessary to guide students with disabilities through the sometimes-confusing maze of K-12 education is balanced by the sheer delight Special Educators feel when they see, firsthand, a student achieving what they thought was unreachable.

We certainly have a lot to be thankful for in Special Education. I have experienced the additional hours, patience, planning, meeting preparation, concern and elation throughout the last twenty-plus years: I have the honor of being married to one of the many Special Educators in the USA. I am humbled by what she accomplishes in a day, and the positive impact she has on her students.

Please join me in expressing our sincere gratitude to all of those working in Special Education to make a difference in the lives of children everywhere. We know your career is not an easy path, and we are blessed to have you teaching our children.

Quiz: Are you teacher shortage savvy?

standing teacher writing in notebook about teacher shortage
The teacher shortage isn’t a new problem. But over the past year and a half, the situation has ramped up drastically, leading to more research on the state (and future) of teacher shortages. Now, a lot of information has come out around teacher shortages over the past few months, including our own updated survey and report.

How well have you been keeping up? Here’s your chance to quiz yourself on your shortage smarts.

Want a higher score?

Study up and stay up-to-date with our latest teacher shortage report. We asked hundreds of school and district leaders for their take on teacher hiring, and exposed a level of nuance generally left untouched by the media — as well as some surprising new statistics.

 Get the Report

Famous and not-so-famous subs

Did you know that Albert Einstein worked as a substitute teacher for two years in Switzerland? Or that John Scopes (of the Scopes Monkey Trial) was a substitute biology teacher in 1925 when he suggested the concept of evolution to his class, broke Tennessee law and found himself front and center in the trial of the century?

Just as surprising are these three examples of “substitute teachers” who made history more recently.

Japan: Robot worked as substitute teacher

Japan, the civilization that brought the world the first remote-controlled toilet flusher, unveiled the first robotic substitute teacher. Her name is Saya and, in anime fashion, she is young with shoulder-length black hair and big, saucer eyes. Wearing a professional, if somewhat dowdy, lemon-yellow suit, Saya subbed for fifth and sixth graders in April 2009, where she displayed the six emotions with which she had been programmed and which are familiar to many subs: fear, disgust, anger, sadness, surprise and happiness. On her first day, Saya took attendance and shouted, “Be quiet!” which sounded a lot like my first day.

Montana: Regular teacher asked to fill in for himself

Newspaper editor Laura Bell, of rural Montana’s The Big Sky Weekly, reported the following story on March 18, 2009. In Ophir School, located a couple miles from Yellowstone National Park, high-school music teacher Dave Johnson was fired because he let his certification lapse. The school board agreed that finding another music teacher in rural Montana would be difficult, but they had to let Johnson go; they could lose their accreditation if they kept him on. Pay attention to the next part of the story. In Montana, a person with only a high school degree can work as a substitute teacher. Johnson asked if he could substitute for himself through the end of the year, when his two last credits would be completed. (The answer was yes, although Bell later informed me that Johnson chose not to return to his classroom.)

London: Crowd control experts sought as substitute teachers

London’s Guardian education editor Polly Curtis reported this story on April 13, 2009. In an unidentified north London school, described only as being not particularly rough, bouncers, prison officers, policemen and soldiers — all people with experience in crowd control — were being recruited to fill in for absent teachers. One advertisement read, “You might be an ex-Marine, police officer, bouncer, fireman, sportsman or actor. Whichever it is, we need someone who thinks they can get involved in a school environment and control the kids in schools.” It was a cost-savings measure. Newer teacher contracts were limiting the number of hours that teachers were required to cover for absent colleagues and more outsiders were being hired to lead classrooms.

How To: Managing Problem Behaviors with Check-In/Check-Out

Sometimes the simplest strategies work best. While every student is different and may require differing levels of intervention, if you want to motivate students to improve classroom behaviors, you need at least two things:

  1. A clear picture of expected behavior
  2. Incentives to work toward those behavioral goals

One of the most straightforward ways to put this into practice is with a modified version of Check-In/Check-Out. This behavioral intervention package is designed for use during a single 30-90 minute classroom period (Dart, Cook, Collins, Gresham & Chenier, 2012). The structure is simple: the teacher checks in with the student to set behavioral goals at the start of the period, then checks out with the student at the end of the period to rate the student’s conduct and award points or other incentives earned for achieving behavioral goals.

Here’s how it works.

Preparing to Use Check-In/Check-Out

  • Start by selecting 3-4 behaviors to be targeted during the intervention. Whenever you can, state these positively as DO behaviors rather than DON’T behaviors. “Promptly and quietly follow teacher requests,” not, “Don’t dawdle or talk back when the teacher asks you to do something.”
  • Create a Behavior Report Card (BRC) that incorporates the target behaviors. This is a rating scale you can use to rate the student’s behavior at the end of the class or other evaluation period. You can view a sample, or create customized BRCs for free. behavior report card
  • Decide on a daily reward or incentive for displaying positive behaviors. This could be anything you like — 5 minutes of free time, 3 “positive behavior points” to be redeemed for items from the prize box, or a parent phone call praising the student. Get a listing of potential reward ideas here.
  • Set a minimum rating on the BRC items that the student must achieve to earn the selected reward.
  • Explain the process to the student. Meet with the student to explain the intervention, review your expectations, go over how the Behavior Report Card will be filled out and explain how the student can earn rewards.

Using Check-In/Check-Out in the Classroom

During any class session or evaluation period when Check-In/Check-Out is in effect, it’s as simple as following these three steps.

  • Check-In. At the start of the class session, meet briefly with the student to go over the behavioral goals on the Behavior Report Card and encourage the student. Prompt the student to set a behavioral goal on at least one of the target behaviors, such as, “Today I will not leave my seat once without permission.”
  • Monitoring/Evaluation. During the class, observe the student’s behaviors. Then rate those behaviors on the Behavior Report Card at the end of the class.
  • Check-Out. At the end of the class, meet briefly with the student once more. Have the student report on whether he or she met the goals discussed at check-in. Then share the BRC ratings with the student and award any rewards the student earned. If the student didn’t meet the goals, give encouragement about success in a future session.

Share Your Stories

Have you — or has anyone at your organization — had success using Check-In/Check-Out to help students achieve behavior goals? Tell us! We’d love to hear from you through LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

References

Dart, E. H., Cook, C. R., Collins, T. A., Gresham, F. M., & Chenier, J. S. (2012). Test driving interventions to increase treatment integrity and student outcomes. School Psychology Review, 41, 467-481.

Seven Big Ideas to Guide Behavior Management

This content was originally published at InterventionCentral.org.

students collaborating

If you’re skilled in classroom management, you can respond appropriately to just about any behavior a student brings into your classroom. And while it’s important to have a toolkit of specific behavioral strategies, educators who maintain smoothly-running classrooms with minimal disruptions have a secret: they view problem student behaviors through the lens of seven “big ideas” in behavior management.

These seven steps can help you identify and respond to behavior issues in the classroom.

  1. Check for academic problems. There is a high correlation between misbehavior in the classroom and deficient academic skills (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000). When you see problem behavior, the first step is to routinely assess a student’s academic skills. If poor academics appear to be the cause of problem behaviors, choose an intervention that addresses the academic deficit.
  2. Identify the underlying function of the behavior. Try to understand the reasons behind problem behaviors, as these behaviors serve as a function for the student (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000). Most commonly, students will behave in a certain way either to avoid doing something or to get attention from peers or adults (Packenham, Shute, & Reid, 2004).By identifying what is most likely causing the student to act in a certain way, you can more confidently choose an intervention that will target the reasons behind that behavior (and therefore more likely be effective). For example, if you determine that a student’s call-outs in class are a way of seeking adult attention, you might respond by interacting minimally with the student during call-outs, but giving her more attention when she behaves appropriately.
  3. Eliminate behavioral triggers. Problem behaviors are often set off by events or conditions in the classroom (Kern, Choutka, & Sokol, 2002). What could this look like? Sitting next to a distracting classmate or being given an academic task that’s too difficult to complete are two examples. Thankfully, identifying and getting rid of such triggers tends to work quickly. By preventing such class disruptions, you’ll create more time for teaching.
  4. Redefine the behavior goal as a replacement behavior. When a student acts out in class, it can be easy to fall into the trap of simply wishing those behaviors would just go away. But the point of a behavioral intervention should be to encourage the student toward pro-social, pro-academic behaviors, not simply to eliminate bad behaviors. By providing a positive goal as an appropriate replacement for the student’s original problem behavior, you’ll reframe the student concern in a way that allows for more effective intervention planning (Batsche, Castillo, Dixon, & Forde, 2008). For example, if a student is talking with peers about topics that don’t relate to the lesson during independent seatwork, you might choose as a replacement behavior: “The student will engage in active, accurate academic responding.”
  5. Rule out the most likely causes for misbehavior first. There are plenty of places you can look when trying to identify why a student is misbehaving: student work products; direct observation; and interviews with the student, other teachers or parents, to name a few. But it’s easy to jump right to conclusions that might fit preconceptions of the student, but aren’t supported by the data. It might seem logical to describe a student who is non-compliant and fails to complete classwork as “apathetic,” “unmotivated” or “lazy.” But students are rarely so sealed off from the world that their behavioral problems are determined solely by their own attitudes or work ethic. It’s far more likely that a student displays problem behavior because of environmental factors — attempting to escape work that is too difficult, or looking for attention from peers, for example.Before drawing conclusions, look at several sources of information and rule out the most common, “low-inference” explanations for misbehavior (Christ, 2008) before considering whether the behavior primarily stems from internal motivations.
  6. Be flexible in responding to misbehavior. You’ll have more success in managing the full spectrum of student misbehaviors when you respond flexibly — evaluating each individual case and applying strategies to logically address the most likely cause(s) of a student’s problem conduct (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003). For example, you might respond to a non-compliant student with a warning and additional disciplinary consequences if evidence suggests that the misbehavior stems from a desire for peer attention and approval. But if the misbehavior was triggered by a negative comment from a fellow student, you might respond differently — perhaps by using defusing strategies and having a behavior conference, instead.
  7. Manage behaviors through strong instruction. A powerful way to prevent misbehavior is to keep students actively engaged in academic responding (Lewis, Hudson, Richter, & Johnson, 2004). You’re most likely to “capture” a student’s behavior for academic purposes when you make sure that she has the academic skills to do the assigned classwork, provide teaching to specifically help her master difficult material and give timely feedback about her academic performance (Burns, VanDerHeyden, & Boice, 2008).

How have you seen these ideas work in classrooms in your district?

Do teachers in your school or district use these steps to address challenges in the classroom? Share your experiences, tips and tricks with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

References

Batsche, G. M., Castillo, J. M., Dixon, D. N., & Forde, S. (2008). Best practices in designing, implementing, and evaluating quality interventions. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best Practices in school psychology V (pp. 177-193). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Burns, M. K., VanDerHeyden, A. M., & Boice, C. H. (2008). Best practices in intensive academic interventions. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp.1151-1162). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Christ, T. (2008). Best practices in problem analysis. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp. 159-176). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

Kern, L., Choutka, C. M., & Sokol, N. G. (2002). Assessment-based antecedent interventions used in natural settings to reduce challenging behaviors: An analysis of the literature. Education & Treatment of Children, 25, 113-130.

Kern, L. & Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44, 65-75.
Lewis, T. J., Hudson, S., Richter, M., & Johnson, N. (2004). Scientifically supported practices in emotional and behavioral disorders: A proposed approach and brief review of current practices. Behavioral Disorders, 29, 247-259.

Marzano, R. J., Marzano, J. S., & Pickering, D. J. (2003). Classroom management that works: Research-based strategies for every teacher. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Packenham, M., Shute, R., & Reid, R. (2004). A truncated functional behavioral assessment procedure for children with disruptive classroom behaviors. Education and Treatment of Children, 27(1), 9-25.

Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Noell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.

[How-To Guide] Addressing Student Conduct With Behavior Contracts

A behavior contract is a simple positive-reinforcement intervention teachers can use to address student behavior. It spells out in detail what is expected of the student and the teacher (and sometimes, the parents) in carrying out an intervention plan, making it a useful planning document.

Implementing Behavior Contracts

The key to a good behavior contract is letting the student have a say. Wondering what motivates them? Ask them! The more your students get to help design the reward system, the more motivated they’ll be to carry through on the contract.

Then, select specific behaviors that the contract should include. When possible, define behavior targets for the contract as positive, pro-academic or pro-social behaviors.

For example, you may notice that a student frequently calls out answers during lectures without raising his hand first to speak. In the contract, restate that positively as, “The student will participate in class lecture and discussion, raising his hand and being recognized by the teacher before offering an answer.”

Then, draw up the contract together with the student. In many cases, the student can take part in selecting positive goals to increase his involvement and motivation in participating. If appropriate, invite other school staff members, and possibly the student’s parent(s) to take part as well.

The contract should include:

  • A listing of student behaviors to be reduced or increased. State these in positive, goal-oriented terms. They should also contain enough detail to prevent disagreement about student compliance, and it should be easy to confirm whether the student has met the conditions. “Student will complete class assignments on time” is easy to observe and verify. But a goal that the student “will not steal pens from others” is more difficult to confirm.
  • The minimum criteria for earning points, stickers or other tokens for showing appropriate behaviors. Always make it clear to the student exactly what conditions to meet in order earn a point or step toward a reward. For example, a contract may say, “Johnny will add a point to his Good Behavior Chart each time he arrives at school on time and hands in his completed homework assignment to the teacher.”
  • The conditions for redeeming points, stickers or other tokens for specific rewards. The contract may say, for example, that, “When Johnny has earned 5 points on his Good Behavior Chart, he may choose a friend, choose a game from the play-materials shelf, and spend 10 minutes during free time at the end of the day playing the game.”
  • Bonus and penalty clauses (optional). Although not required, bonus and penalty clauses can provide extra incentives for the student to follow the contract. A bonus clause usually offers the student some type of additional ‘pay-off’ for consistently reaching behavioral targets. A penalty clause may prescribe a penalty for serious problem behaviors, such as disrupting the class or endangering the safety of a classmate.
  • Areas for signature. Include spaces on the contract for teacher and student signatures as a sign that both agree to live up to their responsibilities outlined in the contract. You may also want to include signature blocks for other staff members (e.g., a school administrator) or the student’s parent(s).

Troubleshooting: How to Deal With Common Problems

Q: What do I do if the behavior contract doesn’t work?
A: There may be several possible reasons why a behavior contract is ineffective:

  • The student may not be invested in the contract because they didn’t have a voice in creating it. If this is the case, talk to the student and include his input in a revised contract.
  • The rewards in the contract may not be enough to motivate the student to change his behavior. Go over the list of rewards with the student and be sure to include those that the student finds most appealing in the contract.
  • Points and rewards may not be awarded often enough to motivate the student. Each person reacts differently to reward systems like this, and some respond better to more frequent rewards. Consider changing the contract to award points — or redeem points for rewards — more often, and see if it motivates the student to follow the contract. (Once the behavior contract proves effective, you can gradually cut back the rate of rewards to a level that is more easily managed.)

Q: How do I respond if the student starts to argue about the terms of the contract?
A: It’s not unusual — especially when a behavior contract is first introduced —to have honest disagreements with the student about how to interpret its terms. If this happens, having a conference with the student to clarify the contract’s language and meaning may be effective.

Occasionally, though, a student may continue to argue that you’re enforcing the contract unfairly. If the student becomes too antagonistic, you may simply decide to suspend the contract, because it’s not having the desired effect. Or you could modify the contract again, this time adding a behavioral goal or penalty clause stating that the student will not argue with you about the contract.

We Want to Hear From You

Do you use behavior contracts to address challenges in the classroom? What practices have worked best for you? Share your experiences, tips and tricks with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Tell Your Substitute Story

How celebration and communication can help solve your substitute shortage.

 

A little marketing can go a long way toward alleviating your substitute shortage.

Marketing? Really?

Really.

Of course, there’s a little more to it. Let’s say you’ve been following our series of posts on creating a substitute program that truly makes a difference for your students, substitutes and teachers. You’ve seen how important it is to treat your substitutes like the educators they are. You’ve taken steps to communicate your goals and milestones and invited them to own your organization’s mission and vision. You’ve welcomed them into your community, created a substitute-friendly environment and put a structure in place for direction and accountability.

As a result, every day your substitutes excel at their difficult job. They step into unfamiliar settings and bring energy and passion to education. They manage classrooms of students who may not always exhibit a burning desire to learn.

Your substitutes are filling a crucial role with excellence. Now your job is to make sure people know  about it.

Celebrate and communicate

When your team wins the championship, you’re going to wear the t-shirt. When a candidate wins an election, there’s sure to be a victory party. When good things happen, you want to tell people.

And as human beings, when we’re recognized by other people, we respond. We tend to be more engaged, happier, more likely to be satisfied with our jobs and more likely to stay in them.

So when your substitutes do an amazing job, celebrate them. Encourage them — and encourage others to do the same. An effective story is one of your most powerful tools to boost recruiting and retention. Weave it throughout your organization.

How do you tell that story?

Do you have a story you want to tell? Maybe it’s getting the word out about a substitute who has had a particular impact on students. Or maybe you want to recognize substitutes for the role they’ve played in filling long-term teacher absences.

Two questions to ask as you consider how to begin:

What does this story really say? Does it portray substitutes as the educators that they are? Does it tie into my district’s mission and vision? Does it celebrate the men and women who choose to substitute each day? It may be fine to celebrate a 100% fill rate, but be sure you tell that story in a way that recognizes your substitutes for the work they’re doing that contributes to your school’s mission.

Through what medium will you tell it? If you exile this story to the substitute newsletter, will anyone other than substitutes see it? Instead, think about where you shout your banner headlines, your most important, above-the-fold school or district news. Those are great places to start.

Here are a few concrete examples for how to get started:

  • Put pictures of your substitutes on your school website, and showcase the importance of their role.
  • Instead of behind closed doors, recognize your best substitutes at board meetings where there is a more public presence.
  • Pay for a substitute to spend a half day talking about substitute teaching at a job fair. Find other ways to involve substitutes in recruiting.
  • Publish stories of successful substitutes online and in your district newsletter.

As you continue to recruit substitute teachers, look beyond your district for places to tell your substitute stories. Is there a university in your town, or an industry drawing a large number of job candidates? Those are prime places to use the power of story to market substitute teaching positions.

Stories inspire. They draw people in. They make us want to be a part of something. And they can be found anywhere — now you just have to tell them.

What are your ideas for telling your substitute stories? Share them with us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.