Major Issues in Education by https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct Advocacy en-us 2022-01-21 19:24:06 UTC 2022-02-22 01:10:29 UTC hello@padlet.com Issue #1 - Parent Involvement msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005688382 One of the greatest trends I see in my classroom is lack of parent involvement. This ranges from parents who truly do not care about their child's education to parents who simply don't have the time or energy to help their child. ]]> 2022-01-21 19:29:59 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005688382 Issue #2 - Disciplinary policies msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005691753 One of my greatest frustrations this year has been the lack of discipline- at home and at school. It seems to be harder and harder to get 'back up' from home and from admin when taking disciplinary actions towards a student. ]]> 2022-01-21 19:32:23 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005691753 Issue #3 - Lack of intervention resources msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005696053 The amount of students who need special assistance seems to be growing and growing but our depth of resources is not. Special education teachers are being given too much of a case load which hinders the student from getting the amount of services they need. It also makes it harder for K-1 teachers to get these students referred into getting the needed services, since they are overloaded.]]> 2022-01-21 19:35:26 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005696053 Issue #4 - Teacher Salaries msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005700733 Teachers may have "summers off" but the amount of planning and time I put into my classroom during a school week and weekend is unreal. It HIGHLY succeeds the regular 40 hour work week. It is becoming harder and harder to find good teachers because it is becoming a harder and harder profession. No one goes into education for the pay, but a greater income would definitely help make those 60+ hour work weeks more worth it. ]]> 2022-01-21 19:38:54 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005700733 Issue #5 - Poverty msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005704772 This is another topic that I see more and more in my classroom. It's heartbreaking to see the struggles some of these families face. The kids suffer from it. Sure, there are great programs we have in place for struggling parents but is it enough? Instead of handing out money, I think it would be more beneficial to provide cheaper childcare and help parents get jobs to get on their feet. I feel like they would take pride in themselves more if THEY earned it. This would then spiral into parents providing better assistance for their children. Which would lead to less students coming in tired from lack of sleep because they are hungry or stressed, etc.]]> 2022-01-21 19:41:59 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2005704772 5 responses from parents msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2019584582 1. Real world skills (teaching students how to balance a checkbook, how to build your credit score, etc).
2. Managing mental health and life skills for coping. 
3. Pushing kids to their fullest potential and allowing them to skip grades if they are academically ready.
4. Time management skills.
5. Teaching kids to be CAREER ready and not just college ready. ]]> 2022-01-30 02:09:58 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2019584582 5 responses from teachers msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2019586038 1. Allowing TEACHERS to build their curriculum and not politicians who have never been in a classroom (1st grade).
2. Mental health/coping skills early on (2nd grade).
3. FUNDING for more interventionists, counselors and people to help give the students the extra help they need (high school).
4. Smaller class sizes to allow for more one on one learning (4th grade). 
5. Age appropriate curriculum and freedom from strictly following programs (middle school).]]> 2022-01-30 02:14:52 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2019586038 5 responses from specialist/administrators msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2019588002 1. The increasing demands we place on the classroom teacher. The classroom teacher is expected to teach kids of all levels, be a mother/father to them, a counselor, a social worker, and make up for years loss of learning (elementary instructional coach).
2. Allowing time for counselors to come in the classrooms twice a week for mental health lessons and NOT pulling counselors to sub every day (middle school counselor). 
3. Lack of funding (elementary principal). 
4. Differentiation for students (reading interventionist). 
5. Less testing (elementary vice principal). ]]> 2022-01-30 02:20:47 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2019588002 2 Peer Reviewed Articles msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2045018873 This article talked about a study of intervention effectiveness in rural elementary schools. The article stated that special education teachers reported a higher degree of knowledge of intervention practices than general education teachers. This just adds more to my point that we NEED more interventionist and special education teachers in our schools for early intervention with these students who are falling behind. The general education teacher needs the help of interventionist and special education teachers to make sure the student is getting all the extra help they may need to get back on track.  Brendle, J. (2015). A Survey of Response to Intervention Team Members’ Effective Practices in Rural Elementary Schools. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 34(2), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/875687051503400202



This next article did a great job explaining how RTI works--or how it's suppose to work... If a student is failing to thrive in an environment for a designated period of time, they need to be moved into tier two intervention. This can be where a student meets with the reading interventionist in a small group 2-3 times a week. After a while if there is still lack of progress, the student is then moved into tier 3 where they need extra help 1:1 or 1:2 outside of the classroom 4-5 times a week. 
While my school TRIES to provide this opportunity for all students, the reality of it is we aren't getting it done.. Our reading interventionist are being pulled so thin and we simply do not have enough special education teachers to meet all the needs at our school.
Ockerman, M. S., Patrikakou, E., & Feiker Hollenbeck, A. (2015). Preparation of School Counselors and Response to Intervention: A Profession at the Crossroads. The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 7(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.7729/73.1106

]]> 2022-02-13 22:30:37 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2045018873 Next Steps in Advocacy Project msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2045025770 Step 1. Know the Issue
Advocating for more intervention resources

Step 2. Know your district
  • At the elementary level we have so many kids who need to be placed in Special Ed but it’s almost impossible because we don’t have enough special education teachers to accommodate them. These kids are often being put on the back-burner to be placed in sped. 
  • We have 5 K classrooms, 5 1st grade classrooms, 4 2nd grade classrooms, 4 3rd grade classrooms, 4 4th grade classrooms and 4 5th grade classrooms.

Step 3. Know where you stand
  • First and foremost we need qualified staff to help start the evaluation process with getting students the help they need. We also need more reading interventionists in our school. We have 3 reading interventionists for our whole 26 classroom total elementary school. That is not enough! Teachers are expected to get students reading on the desired reading level before they leave our classroom but when they already come to us 2 grade levels behind, they. Need. intervention! And teachers should not be punished for advocating for this extra help for their students. 

Step 4 and 5 and 6. Know the decision makers and how to contact them and WHEN to contact them(calendar)
- The school board meets once a month and it is open to the public to attend. School board members and their emails are listed below:
Vince Clark, Superintendent (vince.clark@crittenden.kyschools.us)
Bill Asbridge (bill.asbridge@crittenden.kyschools.us)
Eric LaRue (eric.larue@crittenden.kyschools.us)
Chris Cook (chris.cook@crittenden.kyschools.us
Ryan McDaniel (ryan.mcdaniel@crittenden.kyschools.us)
Tim Grau (tim.grau@crittenden.kyschools.us)

Upcoming board meetings are posted on the schools website. I would need to bring the issue up and give the board time to make decisions regarding it. 

Step 7. Know How To State Your Case
- I feel like I can work with my principal and other colleagues to present my case. We are all seeing this first hand in the classroom so we truly could speak from the heart. It would also be great to get the 3 interventionist and 3 special education teachers to speak as well and discuss their caseload. 

Step 8. Know How to Reach The Public
- All in all our community is great about wanting what is best for the students. We have a Public Relations Person at our central office that would help me make this work and in the best way possible.

Step 9. Know your role in the electoral process
- I would need to know who supports funding more interventionist and special education teachers in Kentucky and who would be the best fit for the job.


]]> 2022-02-13 22:42:23 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2045025770 Advocacy Project Rubric msunderland12 https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2059581967 2022-02-22 01:07:51 UTC https://padlet.com/msunderland12/lfry1te537lx6vct/wish/2059581967