A Better Way?

I’ve done it myself. Took a deep breath (or more likely a shallow one), pointed to the door and said “Out!” followed by a quickly penned referral note.  Most of the time those notes and the teacher’s voice that accompanied them were a direct reaction to the total disruption of my class by a student on a short list of “repeat offenders”.  A note in my box later that day would signal the beginning of the ISS dance. 

“Student assigned to ISS for three days,” the note read, “please send work.” 

Easy enough on my end… I would gather up the unfinished and underdone assignments, run off a few worksheets and “PRESTO!” problem solved.  Or was it? On the fourth day my repeat offender would be back in class.  The clock would start all over again and we would be biding time until the next event.

There had to be a better way, I was certain of it.  But the truth of the matter was equally certain.  I was simply not equipped in my class of 30 freshmen to bridge the gaps -- social, behavioral and likely emotional -- exhibited by my short list of repeat offenders.  I had a Biology class to teach and 29 other kids depending on me to be a great teacher.

Maybe, just maybe, this time when that kid got to ISS a magic light bulb would come on and they would return in three days with both the social and behavioral skill sets needed to work and play well with others. With the tools needed to benefit from what a great Biology teacher I was. 

There had to be a way for the student, for me, for our campus to benefit from ISS… but the truth is it just never happened. 

            "The big plus of an in-school suspension program is that students are still in school, with all the potential for engaging them," said Anne Wheelock, a research associate with the Progress Through the Education Pipeline Project at Boston College's Lynch School of Education. "Suspending students out of school means schools pass up the 'teachable moment' when they can connect with students, build relationships, and communicate that they belong in school.”          

"Having said that, in-school suspension programs can be little more than window-dressing designed to pull down out-of-school suspension numbers," Wheelock continued. "Poorly conceived and inadequately staffed programs, even though they are better than out-of-school suspensions, may be little more than holding tanks -- just a pro-forma stop on the route to out-of-school suspension or exclusion."

Breaking that cycle, finding that better way is the reason we have turned our resources into web-based tools designed to help transform that ISS space and the time spent there into a success driven, student centered classroom. 

In the coming weeks and months we’ll be adding new tools and resources to help teachers in the classroom; help you problem solve at the point when you want to point to that door and say “OUT.” 

In our work in classrooms throughout the state we’ve heard over and over again from teachers that you want solutions you can use in the middle of your busy day -- tools that help you in the “now.”

Positive.  Proactive.  Responsive.  Those are the kinds of tools teachers have told us they need… and those are what we intend to provide. 

My hope is that your list of repeat offenders gets smaller and smaller as the toolset for your campus grows larger and larger… and that together, we can find that better way.


- The MYC Team