discussion

Monday-

We will go over the two main areas that need addressed. Talk about what’s going on and how she thinks we can help get her back on track.

Go over strategies and tools that may give her some help. Offer support and help

Wednesday-

We will go over the two main areas that need addressed. Talk about what’s going on and how she thinks we can help get her back on track.

Go over strategies and tools that may give her some help. Offer support and help

Friday-

Talk about an action plan where we can put in writing the goals she can and will accomplish in the upcoming months.

Use technology. Don't stop at using technology just to create digital files. Create Excel spreadsheets for keeping track of mentor texts used in your lessons. Use free software such as Classroom Organizer to catalog your classroom library. Incorporate services like ScootPad and ClassDojo to provide extension activities and monitor behavior.

We shall maintain confidentiality and shall respect the family’s right to privacy, refraining from disclosure of confidential information and intrusion into family life. However, when we have reason to believe that a child’s welfare is at risk, it is permissible to share confidential information with agencies, as well as with individuals who have legal responsibility for intervening in the child’s interest

Create a planning routine and structure that works for you and your students. Use a specific planning process, to ensure that your lessons are aligned to the standards and include only what is meaningful and purposeful.

Create an organization system for keeping track of your lessons, where you’ve been, and where you’re going. Websites and apps (e.g. Pinterest, Teacher Plan) also allow you to visually see lessons and map out your lesson plans.

After you go through all of your resources and keep only those that are absolutely necessary and the "best of" what you've got - USE THEM! Don't recreate the wheel every year and make everything from scratch. If a peer gives you a quality resource, but you hate the colors - USE IT ANYWAY! If you buy something off of Teachers Pay Teachers and everything looks wonderful except for that one question on page eight - USE IT ANYWAY! Just have your students cross out question eight.

We shall not engage in or support exploitation of families. We shall not use our relationship with a family for private advantage or personal gain, or enter into relationships with family members that might impair our effectiveness working with their children

Pull out materials that you’ll need for the next day’s lessons before you go home for the day. Or, organize the weeks’ materials in different totes so that all you need is to pull out what you need when you’re ready.

Have proactive measures in place to diffuse difficult situations before they happen.

Designate areas in your room for specific items such as: completed student work, work for absent students, papers to be used each day, papers that need copied, items needing lamination, etc

Take a serious look at your resources - plan books, lesson plans, anchor charts, mentor texts, curriculum books, TPT resources, worksheets - everything. Go through each item and sort into three categories - keep, donate, and recycle. In order for a resource to be placed into your keep pile, you must answer "yes" to each of these questions:

Is this really necessary? Do you really need ten types of lesson plan forms? How about those math manipulatives when you've been teaching ELA for nine years?

Is this the best _______ that I own? At one time, I had fourteen books full of reading passages that I used for small groups, homework, skill practice, etc. Some were fantastic resources that I referred to weekly. Others were terrible - outdated, horrible fonts, poor layouts, etc. When I was purging my teacher books, I kept only the best of what I owned. If I had two books on making inferences, I decided which was better and just kept the one. When sorting through your materials, decide which resources are your "best of..." and keep only those.

Before sharing information you should ask yourself,

“does this person need to know the information I am

about to share?” If you are unsure about what, if any,

information about a child or young person should be

shared, talk to your Child Safety Officer first, before

sharing the information.

Maintaining confidentiality:

Everyone who works with children, young people and their families needs to respect their privacy and maintain confidentiality. As a foster carer or kinship carer, you need to be aware of your responsibilities under the Child Protection Act 1999 for handling

information you may receive in your role as a carer. When you are required to provide information about the child or young person to other people, it is best to discuss the matter with your Child Safety Officer in the first instance, to work out what information can be shared with whom. A decision will then be made as to whether sharing this information is in the child or young

person’s best interests.

Break up with paper. An addiction, perhaps. I kept copies of everything - my lesson plans, student resources used in those lessons, and extra sheets that might come in handy the following year. Being the organized person I am, I neatly filed it all into three-ring binders. I placed each page into plastic sheet covers instead of hole punching so that when I made copies of a resource the following year, it wouldn't leave grey hole marks on the new sheets

End Goal:

This is something that I would continue for at least a few months, because something like this doesn’t just get completed in a couple of days. I would also make sure I am verbally and visually watching her and asking questions. The end result would be that the teacher would be able to have time management skills that would get her started in the right direction. She would have correct information and understand how important confidentiality is. I would also make sure she knew I was on her side and willing to help her any way possible.

I would know this plan was working by the way her room and desk looked, by her face and words, hopefully her actions.