Fairfax County General :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
A fresh take on discipline in Fairfax County’s schools
Posted by:
"An ounce of prevention"
()
Date: July 23, 2014 11:54AM
A fresh take on discipline
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20140711/OPINION/140719281&template=fairfaxTimes
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Ben Franklin wasn’t thinking of Fairfax County’s school discipline policy when he coined that phrase 250 years ago, but he certainly could have been.
On June 26, after several years of intense debate, Fairfax County’s School Board unanimously approved changes to the student discipline policy that place greater emphasis on prevention and less on punishment. The move underscores the fact that maintaining a safe, secure learning environment shouldn’t require suspending thousands of students each year and forcing dozens of others to transfer schools against their will.
For the vast majority of Fairfax County’s student discipline cases, that basically translates to shorter suspensions that are served in school rather than at home. For example, students who are caught cheating on assignments or distributing non-prescription drugs now will receive an in-school suspension of up to five days, instead of the former maximum of 10 days out of school for the same offenses.
It’s worth noting that school safety hasn’t been compromised as a result of these changes. Students who commit the most serious offenses — sexual assaults or using weapons on campus — still will face longer suspensions or expulsion, but that group represents a tiny fraction of discipline cases.
Parents, teachers and students should view these developments as good news. After all, if the goal is to improve the long-term outlook of all Fairfax County students, investing time and resources in prevention and rehabilitation clearly is the best option.
Requiring that suspensions be served inside the building is a no-brainer. In addition to allowing teachers to continue to provide students with coursework and tests, it also provides students with on-site behavioral support and intervention. Pulling a student out of school for two weeks with no academic support is akin to cutting off a car’s headlights on a dark road and expecting the driver to arrive at their destination safely. That strategy only endangers the driver (student) and everyone else in their path.
Taking a proactive approach that supports good behavior always is going to be more effective than waiting for bad things to happen and doling out predictable forms of punishment.
Perhaps the most intriguing piece of FCPS’ new discipline strategy is the decision to add a new position in every high school to handle in-school suspensions. Those 23 new hires — whose salaries will account for $1.9 million in the 2015 budget — likely will be tasked with coordinating outreach efforts and administering resources to troubled students before they’re tempted to behave badly and face a disciplinary board.
While in-school suspension is nothing new, Fairfax has an opportunity to put its own stamp on the program. In some cases, that might mean evening or Saturday classes. In addition to catching up on schoolwork, school officials would be wise to add a community service requirement and set aside 30 or 60 minutes a week for social skills development.
Future discipline efforts also must involve some basic, time-tested strategies that empower both teachers and students. Clearly communicating expectations for student behavior is an obvious starting point. Rules, consequences and enforcement procedures should be clearly defined and articulated to all students so there are no surprises down the road.
Although there surely will be bumps in the road as these new discipline policies are implemented, the Fairfax County school system is moving in the right direction.
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20140711/OPINION/140719281&template=fairfaxTimes
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Ben Franklin wasn’t thinking of Fairfax County’s school discipline policy when he coined that phrase 250 years ago, but he certainly could have been.
On June 26, after several years of intense debate, Fairfax County’s School Board unanimously approved changes to the student discipline policy that place greater emphasis on prevention and less on punishment. The move underscores the fact that maintaining a safe, secure learning environment shouldn’t require suspending thousands of students each year and forcing dozens of others to transfer schools against their will.
For the vast majority of Fairfax County’s student discipline cases, that basically translates to shorter suspensions that are served in school rather than at home. For example, students who are caught cheating on assignments or distributing non-prescription drugs now will receive an in-school suspension of up to five days, instead of the former maximum of 10 days out of school for the same offenses.
It’s worth noting that school safety hasn’t been compromised as a result of these changes. Students who commit the most serious offenses — sexual assaults or using weapons on campus — still will face longer suspensions or expulsion, but that group represents a tiny fraction of discipline cases.
Parents, teachers and students should view these developments as good news. After all, if the goal is to improve the long-term outlook of all Fairfax County students, investing time and resources in prevention and rehabilitation clearly is the best option.
Requiring that suspensions be served inside the building is a no-brainer. In addition to allowing teachers to continue to provide students with coursework and tests, it also provides students with on-site behavioral support and intervention. Pulling a student out of school for two weeks with no academic support is akin to cutting off a car’s headlights on a dark road and expecting the driver to arrive at their destination safely. That strategy only endangers the driver (student) and everyone else in their path.
Taking a proactive approach that supports good behavior always is going to be more effective than waiting for bad things to happen and doling out predictable forms of punishment.
Perhaps the most intriguing piece of FCPS’ new discipline strategy is the decision to add a new position in every high school to handle in-school suspensions. Those 23 new hires — whose salaries will account for $1.9 million in the 2015 budget — likely will be tasked with coordinating outreach efforts and administering resources to troubled students before they’re tempted to behave badly and face a disciplinary board.
While in-school suspension is nothing new, Fairfax has an opportunity to put its own stamp on the program. In some cases, that might mean evening or Saturday classes. In addition to catching up on schoolwork, school officials would be wise to add a community service requirement and set aside 30 or 60 minutes a week for social skills development.
Future discipline efforts also must involve some basic, time-tested strategies that empower both teachers and students. Clearly communicating expectations for student behavior is an obvious starting point. Rules, consequences and enforcement procedures should be clearly defined and articulated to all students so there are no surprises down the road.
Although there surely will be bumps in the road as these new discipline policies are implemented, the Fairfax County school system is moving in the right direction.
Re: A fresh take on discipline in Fairfax County’s schools
Posted by:
not in the article
()
Date: July 23, 2014 11:58AM
What will the punishment be for marijuana offenses? Will that be in school suspension?
Re: A fresh take on discipline in Fairfax County’s schools
Posted by:
Derfx
()
Date: July 23, 2014 12:05PM
not in the article Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What will the punishment be for marijuana
> offenses? Will that be in school suspension?
No retard, it's called breaking the law, and the judicial system will take of that.
-------------------------------------------------------
> What will the punishment be for marijuana
> offenses? Will that be in school suspension?
No retard, it's called breaking the law, and the judicial system will take of that.
Re: A fresh take on discipline in Fairfax County’s schools
Posted by:
not in the article
()
Date: July 23, 2014 12:07PM
I'm talking about marijuana in the schools. Possession.
Re: A fresh take on discipline in Fairfax County’s schools
Posted by:
HS Parking
()
Date: July 23, 2014 12:28PM
I notice that yet another administrator is being added to every high school. When will the high number of school administrators begin to cut into the fun money raised by student parking fees?
Many layers to student discipline policy
Posted by:
Helen Wiech, Fairfax
()
Date: July 23, 2014 03:23PM
Many layers to student discipline policy
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20140722/OPINION/140729972/1065/many-layers-to-student-discipline-policy&template=fairfaxTimes
Rather than “An ounce of prevention ...” we would have said “first do no harm” right up front in the opening line of the Fairfax County Times editorial on discipline. The latter, although ordinarily applied to medicine, would require a higher ethical standard of performance from teachers.
As to “A fresh take on discipline” (Fairfax County Times, July 11-13, 2014), the proof remains to be seen.
If the implementation of these newly structured plans is half as effective as the “unanimously approved changes to the student discipline policy” reads, that would bring peace of mind to many county parents whose children have been adversely affected.
Thus far, we have not seen or heard that any of the “approved changes” will be applied to special education students and your editorial doesn’t hold any hope for that. Where are those reforms to eradicate behavioral restraint/aversive programs such as those endured in the multiply handicapped program by the county’s most disabled students? By words of omission, we assume disabled children are being left out of the equation,
once again. It isn’t exactly educational apartheid - but, it is.
What also concerns us is the duplicity of enforcement. Many students have had the book thrown at them, metaphorically speaking, while teachers accused of misconduct have continued in their employment, sometimes for years, without any repercussions. Maybe part of the disciplinary problem is due to teachers.
What impresses us the most is the recent lawsuit brought by nine students in California whose complaints shined a light on the topic of ineffective teachers. We can’t speak for general ed. but there are instances in Fairfax in which special ed. students have been punished for just that.
A former sixth-grade student once told me in my classroom that “kids can’t be good all of the time.” What an eye opener and invaluable lesson for a teacher!
The strength of the Fairfax County Times editorial is in communicating the need for prior notification of disciplinary policies i.e., “Rules, consequences and enforcement procedures should be clearly defined and articulated to all students so there are no surprises down the road.” Beautifully said! But, may we add that likewise these criteria should be articulated to parents -- as well as students -- at the onset.
In the absence of policy reform for disabled students, or in case of failure of performance on the new procedures for general ed., surely, common sense or conventional wisdom would prevail in the treatment of all students.
Helen Wiech, Fairfax
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20140722/OPINION/140729972/1065/many-layers-to-student-discipline-policy&template=fairfaxTimes
Rather than “An ounce of prevention ...” we would have said “first do no harm” right up front in the opening line of the Fairfax County Times editorial on discipline. The latter, although ordinarily applied to medicine, would require a higher ethical standard of performance from teachers.
As to “A fresh take on discipline” (Fairfax County Times, July 11-13, 2014), the proof remains to be seen.
If the implementation of these newly structured plans is half as effective as the “unanimously approved changes to the student discipline policy” reads, that would bring peace of mind to many county parents whose children have been adversely affected.
Thus far, we have not seen or heard that any of the “approved changes” will be applied to special education students and your editorial doesn’t hold any hope for that. Where are those reforms to eradicate behavioral restraint/aversive programs such as those endured in the multiply handicapped program by the county’s most disabled students? By words of omission, we assume disabled children are being left out of the equation,
once again. It isn’t exactly educational apartheid - but, it is.
What also concerns us is the duplicity of enforcement. Many students have had the book thrown at them, metaphorically speaking, while teachers accused of misconduct have continued in their employment, sometimes for years, without any repercussions. Maybe part of the disciplinary problem is due to teachers.
What impresses us the most is the recent lawsuit brought by nine students in California whose complaints shined a light on the topic of ineffective teachers. We can’t speak for general ed. but there are instances in Fairfax in which special ed. students have been punished for just that.
A former sixth-grade student once told me in my classroom that “kids can’t be good all of the time.” What an eye opener and invaluable lesson for a teacher!
The strength of the Fairfax County Times editorial is in communicating the need for prior notification of disciplinary policies i.e., “Rules, consequences and enforcement procedures should be clearly defined and articulated to all students so there are no surprises down the road.” Beautifully said! But, may we add that likewise these criteria should be articulated to parents -- as well as students -- at the onset.
In the absence of policy reform for disabled students, or in case of failure of performance on the new procedures for general ed., surely, common sense or conventional wisdom would prevail in the treatment of all students.
Helen Wiech, Fairfax
Re: A fresh take on discipline in Fairfax County’s schools
Posted by:
Resource Officer
()
Date: July 23, 2014 05:10PM
HS Parking Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I notice that yet another administrator is being
> added to every high school. When will the high
> number of school administrators begin to cut into
> the fun money raised by student parking fees?
When will goobers learn to focus on matters of substance and merit instead of on tiny bits of meaningless tripe and trivia?
-------------------------------------------------------
> I notice that yet another administrator is being
> added to every high school. When will the high
> number of school administrators begin to cut into
> the fun money raised by student parking fees?
When will goobers learn to focus on matters of substance and merit instead of on tiny bits of meaningless tripe and trivia?
Re: Many layers to student discipline policy
Posted by:
Staff Analyst
()
Date: July 23, 2014 05:25PM
Helen Wiech, Fairfax Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A former sixth-grade student once told me in my
> classroom that “kids can’t be good all of the
> time.” What an eye opener and invaluable lesson
> for a teacher!
Even though you take up here only the cause of a small segment of the school population (one in which a great deal of extra effort and resources are already being invested), I have no problem with that. The paragraph above however was a total joke. If this is an "eye opener" for you as a teacher, you must have very little experience in an actual classroom.
-------------------------------------------------------
> A former sixth-grade student once told me in my
> classroom that “kids can’t be good all of the
> time.” What an eye opener and invaluable lesson
> for a teacher!
Even though you take up here only the cause of a small segment of the school population (one in which a great deal of extra effort and resources are already being invested), I have no problem with that. The paragraph above however was a total joke. If this is an "eye opener" for you as a teacher, you must have very little experience in an actual classroom.
Re: A fresh take on discipline in Fairfax County’s schools
Posted by:
Smack dat ass
()
Date: July 23, 2014 06:42PM
Bring back paddling.
