Level 5: Wraparound Support
Philosophical Connection:
As part of the philosophy of Reconstructionism, I believe it is the duty of schools to help transform issues of inequity into instances of opportunity. Rather than suspending students or removing them from schools due to their behavior, I believe we need to find new ways to support those students and differentiate to meet their unique needs. With the strategies at level 5 of my management plan, my goal is to create networks of encouragement and opportunity for those students who need the extra support.
Strategies:
- Be aware of my students' needs: First and foremost, I intend to make sure I am aware of all my students needs. To do this, I will make sure I know which of my students have IEP's or 504's and the accommodations they need in order to succeed. More importantly, I will also communicate with the special education department to find out more information about how I can best meet the needs of those students.
- Family Conference: When other attempts to redirect student behavior (e.g. constructive reminders, agreement forms, etc.) have not been enough to resolve conflict, I will make use of a family conference to bring in the student with their parents and counselor/administrator to discuss how we can all work together to find a solution and help the student succeed. (Claassen, 2008, p.143).
- SST Meetings: If the student needs extra support, I will also use student support meetings (SST) to help find a solution to issues of student behavior or low class performance. SST meetings occur frequently and would give me an opportunity to discuss any issues of behavior/academic performance with a students teachers, their counselor, administrators, and their parents. By pooling all of those resources, I believe we can all work better together to help the student find a way to succeed in school.
- Create an action plan: During a family conference or SST meeting, I will have students work with their parents and myself to create an action plan. Through the action plan, students will set realistic goals for themselves to modify their behaviors and increase their level of participation in the classroom. In addition, the parents and teachers will also write down how they plan to support the student obtain their goals. The action plan will be an agreement forged between the student, their parents, and myself (the teacher). (Wong, 2009).
- Communication with parents: In order to help students to the fullest extent, and to increase collaboration between teachers and parents, I believe it is important to have a sound level of communication with parents. Parent-teacher collaboration is essential for students success! Parents can provide a wealth of knowledge about a student's background, and they can help support students outside of school, at home. (Olson, 2009).
- Collaborate with teachers: I will also work closely with the other teachers of the students in my class, especially with those who need the extra support. By working closely and collaborating with other teachers, I will have an opportunity to better understand my student, learn how other teachers accommodate and help the student, and make sure all of us are on the same page when it comes to supporting the student.
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Works Cited:
- Claassen, R. & Claassen, R. (2008). Discipline that Restores: Strategies to create respect, cooperation, and responsibility in the classroom. South Carolina: Booksurge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4196-9912-2
- Olson, Kristen. (2009). Wounded by School: Recapturing the joy in learning and standing up to old school culture. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. ISBN-13: 978-0807749555
- Wong, H. & Wong, R. (1991, 1998, 2001, 2009, 2013) The First Days of School: How to be an effective teacher. Harry Wong Publications.