my email to the boss...

a few things...well, a lot of things...

first I must clear the air...I was a little peeved the other day with our professional conversation...I had to mull it over for a few days to determine exactly what annoyed me before I spoke on it...because I generally like you and the job I'm going to voice my grievances so they wont fester and become something bigger...I'm airing this so we can process, discuss, and grow from this and move on...

I am a very conscientious person...I believe in hard work and show dedication to what ever task I'm doing...if I'm given clear expectations or tasks I complete them in a timely fashion to the best of my ability...I'm not the type to cut corners, lounge around or try to get over...everything I do/say has a purpose...as a social worker, and a school social worker, I know the general job and take it seriously...I don't need a job description...job descriptions just give me the specifics to a particular environment/job (never mind the fact that I never got one in the beginning so I feel I did pretty well in the last two months)...
my first job will always be to serve the emotional and social development of children...I am totally child centered and will always put the needs of the child before any team, staff member, meeting or even myself...

also during this conversation you mentioned something along the lines of "when you walk in the room the conversation or interaction should change"...I wasn't quite sure if you were talking about the teachers or students...but honestly I don't operate like that...I never want to walk into anything/anywhere and have folks change just because I'm there, because when I leave all goes back to normal...meaning no learning/processing has occurred...I always want to see the true person...I will work with someone so they can internalize, process and make their own the changes that need to occur...

however, what I find on this job are many unclear expectations, such as finding out "major things" as I go along (which may or may not be in the job description), and being given expectations after the fact...I may not have a set schedule, or a schedule on paper, but my time is planned...I was a bit taken aback during our discussion when you handed me the job description as if I was not doing my job, or didn't know what my job entailed...I am doing my job, plus...
I will make a clear schedule when we get back, but unfortunately I have to wait and meet with others...

which leads me to another point...there are entirely too many unproductive meetings with too many "teams"...I'm finding that often one team has no idea what the other team is doing...as social worker I should be aware of it all but can't, it just takes up too much time...we need to determine what is important and condense the teams- in my view the teams should be student support, teacher training, linking school and home...have one team centering on each topic...each of the three teams will meet independently as often as needed, but the three main teams must meet once a month minimum...

out of respect for you and the office, I have not openly discussed my observations on the shortcomings of the office or school with you or anyone else...I try to go about it in a demonstrative way- I model what I want to see happen...my "free time" is spent talking with ..., ...or ..., finding out what they need, what they like/don't like about the job, mulling over what part I can play to make the job/office more efficient and effective...however I find that people need clear directives, set schedules (whether it be daily, weekly) that don't change on a whim...one person needs to be in charge of the SFS members...I've observed that sometimes our staff get directives from other offices/people...that leads to frustration...
the school and staff uncertainty is being acted out by the children, thus a contribution to the behavior issue...children are emotional mirrors...

there are many things that are working...mentoring for one...the involvement and well-meaning of the staff toward the children...the positive relationships between staff and children...the understanding that each child is different, thus needing different things to succeed...and the learning, despite test scores (which I don't even know what they are) I see learning in the classrooms...the positive interactions between staff and parents...

as for solutions, my first thought is that SST and our office need to work closer together...we need to closely support one another...it's a good way to justify our office...merging the BIP's is a very good idea, but both teams need to follow through...we need to determine who has family contact (I feel it should be us), who has teacher contact (SST) and who merges the two (you and I)...

the phone log must be set up, for our office as well as for SST...we all need to be on the same page always when it comes to parent contact...folks need to respect and follow the phone log...

SFS must work closer with the classrooms...we should have set schedules when we are in the classroom...one person a day (on a set rotating basis) can be an emergency person who can be pulled from the classroom to address crisis situations with children, as one person should be on call to address parent/staff issues...yes, I have first grade but if I'm with a kid and ...is acting up there is nothing I can do at the moment and Ms. ...now feels unsupported...I'm putting classroom observations in my schedule- one class per day (or hopefully one grade per day)...

we need, with clear expectations and schedules, to utilize the staff......and ...have expressed (through general conversation) how much they enjoy being in the classroom...the schedule can be set up so every one gets to visit a grade a day...during our class visit time, we can model effective classroom management so hopefully the teachers will send less children to our office...I have printouts on what to look for when doing a classroom observation and I/we along with the teacher training team, can develop clear classroom management techniques we can model during our visit...

which leads me to SEALS...I don't understand it in the context of school wide use (well I do, but see it's difficulties and limitations), and those I've talked to are extremely confused...it is a good curriculum, but from feedback there was not enough preparation for implementation...for us it's easy as pie, but it's such an outside concept that folks are having great difficulty in processing the information, making it their own and using it in the classroom...I found it difficult to find one thing to use without feeling like I was missing the point because I didn't include A, B, or C, which then exceeds what I'm trying to accomplish or time limitations...folks like clear expectations and to tell them to take something and make it their own is a hard concept for some to grasp without continued support...maybe one PD a month can be dedicated to the SEALS curriculum, starting with a general overview and purpose...

and lastly, extended day must correspond with the day program, it has to in order to benefit the children...I've observed the switch in children at the dismissal transition...at three fifteen when the new staff person enters the expectations immediately change...this is a extremely difficult transition for some children...I don't expect ED to be the same as the school day, based on the young relatively inexperienced staff...but being young and inexperienced they will be easier to train so we mustn't use that as an excuse...
ED makes for a very long day for our children...they are in school from 7:15 to 5:15...10 hours for a child in one environment is a very long time...most of us don't have work hours (on paper) that are that long...children who are tired display the same symptoms as those who have ADHD...they still need structure, not to be told they are "bad", and gentle but firm approach...
I talked with Ms. ...very briefly on how we can merge and better ED...one of the ideas was a nap or quiet time after snack ...I've observed that the time between 3:15 and 4, when they go to specials, the children are jumping off the walls, half the class is in the hallway or in our office, and the teachers are on the radios trying to find their charges...they do not have the same support as the school day...I try to visit the classes on weds, but the teachers do not like that at all as I feel they don't understand the purpose...I feel we also need to sit in and model effective classroom management, especially during the crucial time between 3:15 and 4...

another idea is to have all available staff in the hallways and stairs at transition time...this can be implemented until children get used to transitioning in a more effective and safe way...Vygotski stated that children learn socially before individually...we need to set clear social expectations before we can expect them to own the expectation individually...this idea also can be translated into the classroom management piece...

this is a lot for a sunday morning, but in the quiet I've been thinking about the job since we got off (I told you my mind runs 24/7)...I want to see the school succeed, but more importantly I want this to be a memorable safe experience for the children...I want it to be a place they want to come back too, sharing grades and life stories...there is work to be done, but with clear expectations, trimming the extras, and hard work we can turn it around...

I can put this information in a more formal format if needed with clearer problems/solutions...


looking forward to hearing your thoughts/feedback...you may share my email/thoughts with anyone...enjoy the rest of your vacation...