Buffalo News
2/7/11
Mary B. Pasciak
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/buffalo/article724431.ece
Teachers in the Buffalo Public Schools say they like some aspects of the proposed changes to the district’s suspension policy but question whether classrooms will become more chaotic as a result, putting well-behaved students at the mercy of repeat offenders.
The administration last week unveiled an 11- point plan to reduce out-of-school suspensions for nonviolent offenses, especially in the elementary
schools. The plan takes more of a preventive approach to student misconduct and allocates some resources for more student supports, such as adding a full-time teacher’s assistant to every kindergarten class.
A dozen teachers in the district — from elementary and high schools, from low-performing schools to the highest-ranked schools — shared their reactions to the changes proposed by interim Superintendent Amber M. Dixon. Nearly all of them wanted to talk about the proposed changes to the policy but asked that their names not be used in the story.
Some praised the plans to provide additional staffing supports for students.
“I cannot emphasize enough that having teacher aides or significantly smaller class sizes in all grade levels can only assist in behavior management in the classrooms,” said one elementary schoolteacher.
One veteran high school teacher praised the proposed changes—which resulted after four public hearings to get community input — calling the changes “common sense and workable.”
“We know who is acting out but rarely ask why — just offer short-term fixes,” she said. “I like much of what [Dixon] proposed and like the process that went into the draft.”
A vocal group of parents and community members, led by the Alliance for Quality Education and Citizen Action, has for several weeks demanded changes from the administration and School Board. Dixon last week unveiled the proposed changes, some of which would take effect as soon as the board approves them and others that would take weeks or months to implement.
“I feel the policy was changed to limit the bad publicity lately. This is a very troubling turn of events going forward,” said one teacher at a low-performing high school.
Many teachers expressed frustration, saying they have a difficult time dealing with a host of issues that students bring into school with them.
“The school cannot overcome the home, no matter how hard it tries,” said one teacher of English as a second language. “Band- Aid solutions such as the suspension policy may temporarily remedy some behavior problems, but the real remedy needs to start with home and society.”
Many teachers said a lack of parent involvement is persistent and debilitating.
One of the changes proposed by Dixon would require elementary school principals to hold a conference with a student’s parent to address minor infractions, rather than suspend a student. That has won kudos from parent and community activists but is largely met with skepticism by teachers.
“My school already uses the policy of parent conferences instead of suspensions. Many parents don’t show,” said one elementary school teacher. “District policy changes in suspensions won’t change anything unless more social services are brought in and the families start stepping up to the plate. How do we make them do that?”
Another element of the proposed changes involves establishing some sort of in-school suspension program at most schools by August. Dixon intends to establish full-day programs for suspended students to replace the two hours of alternative instruction they now receive.
But some teachers who have seen such a program in their schools say it might sound good in theory, but the reality tends to fall short of expectations.
“I have seen in-school suspension rooms filled with 20 or so students and one teacher, and complete chaos going on,” said one teacher at a low-performing school. “Students leave the room and roam the halls, all while administrators have been notified — but [it continues] due to the fact that Buffalo has a policy where students are not allowed to be sent home during the school day for suspensions.”
Another teacher at a low-performing high school voiced similar concerns.
“The sub who runs the room has no control over these students,” he said. “Many wander in and out all day long. Hardly any of the students do the work that is assigned to them.”
Several teachers said that too many students’ special-education needs are being inadequately addressed in general-education classrooms, and the entire class suffers.
In some cases, they say, students require a smaller classroom setting with more staff support, but parents decline to sign off on a plan that would put them in such a setting.
In other cases, special-education students who are getting the services they need end up exhibiting behavior problems.
“Some of our students with special needs act out more because they are so frustrated with the grade-level work they are required to do,” one veteran elementary special-education teacher said. “After all, they would not be in special-education classes if they could do the grade-level work required.”
One elementary school teacher said behavior problems often arise because of the big age span that can exist within a single classroom, due in large part to students who have been held back more than once.
Several teachers said the district needs to figure out how to address what they see as a pervasive culture of physical confrontation. That attitude infiltrates classrooms in many ways, teachers say — from students talking back to teachers to refusing to follow instructions.
“If the students’ behavior is preventing both himself as well as his fellow classmates from learning, it is not fair to the other students who are actually motivated and engaged in their education,” one high school teacher said. “I have seen too many times the disruption that ensues in the classroom as a result of poorly behaved students, which significantly delays the learning of their more-well-behaved peers.”
