Submission by Paul Wolf:
In an effort to obtain $42 million from the state to improve Buffalo's seven lowest performing schools, teachers were asked what they wanted to help improve their schools. In many organizations ideas from front line employees are never sought. I assume that people become teachers because they want to make a difference in the lives of children. We hear a lot of talk from administrators, politicians and policy experts as to what needs to be done to improve school performance but rarely do we get to hear directly from teachers themselves.
I found the 30 page document (PDF) of teacher requests to contain some interesting thoughts. A few items that I liked are below, with some comments from me in bold type:
Supplies - Flash drives, calculators, smart boards, computers, DVDs, projectors, enough text books for each student to have their own book, review books for each student to take home, new library books, binders, notebooks, science equipment, carts for traveling teachers. It is amazing that students don't have their own text books or review books to take home.
Immigrants - A GED program that includes English as a second language to help older incoming immigrant students to become successful, language dictionaries for all students available in their native language, grant money/partnerships to help more teachers get certified as English as a second language teachers, bilingual teachers/aides, invest in computer programs that will translate information to parents in all languages, have a satellite office from Journey's End and the International Institute to help communicate with parents. A lot of suggestions involved assisting immigrant students & parents. Entrepreneurial immigrants can be a plus for the City of Buffalo but more needs to be done as far as providing immigrants the educational tools they need.
Positions - Reading coaches, attendance teachers, social workers and more ties to community agencies,staff to assist students with college application process, coaches/mentors for teachers to develop better skills/knowledge. The interest and need for training and development of teachers was mentioned often.
Programs - Student leadership, anger management, conflict resolution, life skills, team building for faculty & students, more interesting & fun electives, software programs that teach keyboarding to students as students often have poor computer typing skills, field trips to businesses, cultural events, colleges, character education, programs to increase parental involvement, programs to encourage attendance, allow parent access to school libraries, bullying programs, more common planning time to focus on curriculum & best practices, training for teachers on gathering and understanding student data. Buffalo students who live primarily in poverty come to school with a host of issues that impact their school performance, teachers are seeking more resources and help to allow them the ability to focus on teaching.
There were many good ideas mentioned by teachers, hopefully their ideas will be heard and followed up on. What do you think about the ideas mentioned?
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In an effort to obtain $42 million from the state to improve Buffalo's seven lowest performing schools, teachers were asked what they wanted to help improve their schools. In many organizations ideas from front line employees are never sought. I assume that people become teachers because they want to make a difference in the lives of children. We hear a lot of talk from administrators, politicians and policy experts as to what needs to be done to improve school performance but rarely do we get to hear directly from teachers themselves.
I found the 30 page document (PDF) of teacher requests to contain some interesting thoughts. A few items that I liked are below, with some comments from me in bold type:
Supplies - Flash drives, calculators, smart boards, computers, DVDs, projectors, enough text books for each student to have their own book, review books for each student to take home, new library books, binders, notebooks, science equipment, carts for traveling teachers. It is amazing that students don't have their own text books or review books to take home.
Immigrants - A GED program that includes English as a second language to help older incoming immigrant students to become successful, language dictionaries for all students available in their native language, grant money/partnerships to help more teachers get certified as English as a second language teachers, bilingual teachers/aides, invest in computer programs that will translate information to parents in all languages, have a satellite office from Journey's End and the International Institute to help communicate with parents. A lot of suggestions involved assisting immigrant students & parents. Entrepreneurial immigrants can be a plus for the City of Buffalo but more needs to be done as far as providing immigrants the educational tools they need.
Positions - Reading coaches, attendance teachers, social workers and more ties to community agencies,staff to assist students with college application process, coaches/mentors for teachers to develop better skills/knowledge. The interest and need for training and development of teachers was mentioned often.
Programs - Student leadership, anger management, conflict resolution, life skills, team building for faculty & students, more interesting & fun electives, software programs that teach keyboarding to students as students often have poor computer typing skills, field trips to businesses, cultural events, colleges, character education, programs to increase parental involvement, programs to encourage attendance, allow parent access to school libraries, bullying programs, more common planning time to focus on curriculum & best practices, training for teachers on gathering and understanding student data. Buffalo students who live primarily in poverty come to school with a host of issues that impact their school performance, teachers are seeking more resources and help to allow them the ability to focus on teaching.
There were many good ideas mentioned by teachers, hopefully their ideas will be heard and followed up on. What do you think about the ideas mentioned?
We hear from teachers each time their contracts come up...