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Principals and Funding

When a school is performing poorly and funds are needed to improve their struggling financial situation, the federal government seems to be offering a very tempting stimulus package they can apply for.

But if your administration has teachers and principals that work hard and believe in the students and are an asset to your educational system, you might what to look at this offering a little closer. Maybe local fund raising and bake sales would be a better way to increase the bottom line at many schools. Otherwise you could be choosing money over people.

The fact is there are rules that must be met in order to qualify for the educational stimulus money that the current federal government is hawking. It is truly a sad situation when schools that have very little funds who are trying to educate in usually depressed and socially challenged areas will have to remove teachers and principals in order to qualify for any of those government funds.

Exceptional teachers and principals are being let go, or assigned and receiving lower pay across our county in order for the their school district to qualify for the stimulus packages being offered.

Principal’s who have worked hard in making their schools successful and who really care about the education of their students are being tossed aside for more money.

It is disturbing to witness the effect and potential long term damage that could these educators may experience. Not only are their paychecks and self worth being damaged but the students they influence everyday will not receive the quality of care and education they once had.

Filed Under: Education, Students Tagged With: Education, Head teacher, Student

Appropriate Discipline

Many times it can be difficult to assess and determine the appropriate discipline regarding and considering the individual students infraction. That is why it is necessary to have non-negotiable rules and expectations, but still keep in mind the individual situation.

By having a set of guidelines and expectations in place that are clearly communicated to faculty and students will be helpful and necessary to achieving a well organized learning institution.

But there will be times when the gray area occurs and must be looked at through the lens of the person’s overall behavior and current situation.

A typically good student who has a sudden change in personality and behavior could be experiencing health or home stresses that are affecting their performance and situation.

If there is an extreme reaction it could create a worsened situation for the student who is struggling with other circumstances. An atmosphere of open communication and sincere concern will help a student to feel comfortable enough to talk about the issues that are bothering them and this could lead to a potential solution that will enable the student to make better choices in the future.

Appropriate discipline for the continual troublemaker needs markers of progression and increased consequences.

When the atmosphere of the educational institution is jeopardized by students who are not interested in learning it creates chaos and dissension that spreads throughout the school and ultimately discourages those who are there to learn.

Quick and effective action on the part of faculty and administration is important to create a calm atmosphere and setting the tone of the school and or learning institution.

A well organized school that has instilled the proper expectations and guidelines will be able to deal with the many different levels and situations that occur within a day among a large or small group of people who are working closely together.

Filed Under: Discipline, Students Tagged With: Learning, Student, Types of educational institutions

A Principal Responsibility

As the leadership of the school goes so goes the school, could be an accurate statement as to the importance of the position held as that of principal of an educational institution.

School violence is not a rare occurrence any longer and must be an issue that is addressed early and at every level of grade within the educational system.

Being concerned, attentive and taking the pulse daily of the school is a necessary part of the duties of well connected principal.

Understanding the socio-economic structure of the community will help the principal in their ability to assess the potential for violence within their schools but cannot be taken as a sole indicator of it.

Violence in schools is and should be a concern of that of every educational institution where there is evidence of students being continually bullied.

Some children are singled out early on and bullied; this should be of concern and helped deal with the situation before the escalation of feelings become irreversible.

The initiation of hotlines is a tool and resource of information for a principal and can help diffuse potential problems.

Providing student programs that encourage talking and opportunities for expressing their emotions, issues and situations is a step in the right direction.

The responsibility of a principal as the leadership of the educational institution is not one of warden but of educator and example. But with the changing and sometimes volatile world we live in a principal’s responsibility is that of accountability where the safety of the children are concerned.

Addressing specific issues quickly and effectively will be an important factor in keeping the environment of the school one of a safe place. Staying in touch with faculty and listening closely to the students will help the principal to provide the strong leadership.

Filed Under: Administration, Education Tagged With: Bullying, Education, Head teacher

How Teachers Can Help to Stop Bullying

Often, a teacher has more contact with a child than anyone else in the school or even the child’s parents. Because of this, teachers can play a large part in helping to stop bullying behaviors. In some respects, it may seem unfair that a teacher should have to address this type of issue on top of everything else she is doing. Teaching classes and making sure that children are ready for standardized tests is a large enough load. Adding a counseling component to the job may seem like overkill. Still, there are things that teachers can do to keep a classroom bully from gaining power.

Treat Everyone Equally and With Respect

Children who are bullied often share similar traits. They do not defend themselves. They may be shy or smaller in size. It may also be that they do have characteristics that other children might consider unattractive or odd. The role of the teacher in the classroom is to treat everyone equally. A teacher who bullies an odd child sets a precedent that someone who doesn’t fit in should be dealt with aggressively. By treating all students with an equal amount of respect, the teacher sets the standard in the classroom that aggressive behaviors will not be tolerated.

Address Bullying Problems Immediately

Teachers can sometimes be so overwhelmed with their responsibilities that they overlook certain bullying behaviors. Allowing an aggressive child to continuously make fun of another child in the classroom only perpetuates the behavior. Some children with bullying tendencies might be attractive or funny and have followers. Other children may laugh at their jokes because they do not want to be the next victim. The task of the teacher in these situations is to curb the behavior early on. Those who bully lack empathy and need to learn this quality. Sending a bullying child to the school counselor right away is one way to keep the problem from snowballing.

Filed Under: Students, Teachers Tagged With: Bullying, Child, Teacher

The Effects of Property Management on School Systems

A city’s property management strategy often has a significant impact on how well its school system functions. Without a good property management strategy, school systems can become divided and ineffective.

The Effects of Improper Property Management

Ineffective property management can lead to inequality in a town. Some areas become known for poverty and crime while others become known for wealth and safety. Poor management can also cause urban sprawl, which makes it difficult for residents to move about the city efficiently. It can also cause white flight by encouraging affluent families to leave certain areas so that they can relocate in gated communities. As these problems become more pervasive, schools become segregated with poor minorities attending schools that do not receive much funding and white, affluent students attending schools that give them better opportunities to succeed.

The Effects of Improved Property Management

Schools serve their communities best property is managed well. Instead of letting white flight leave behind empty houses that quickly fall into disrepair, a Long Beach property management firm can make sure that the buildings stay in good shape. This encourages new residents to move into the empty homes.

Good property management also encourages people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities to live in the same area. This increases diversity within the schools and creates more opportunities for minorities and poor students to thrive.

As schools improve from effective property management, better opportunities are created for teachers that want to devote themselves to teaching children from all types of backgrounds. This, in turn, gives better options to individual students and creates a better educational system overall.

Taking Advantage of Good Property Management

It isn’t always easy for cities to implement good property management techniques. Without them, though, they often continue to struggle with unemployment, poverty and crime. Taking a rational approach to property management could offer so many benefits to residents throughout the city that it is worth going through the initial growing pains.

Filed Under: Administration, School Violence Tagged With: Property, Property Management

Classroom Discipline and Cultural Differences

Teaching a class comprised of students from many different cultures can be a challenge for a teacher. Not all cultures communicate or address conflict the same way. In some cultures, loudly and aggressively reprimanding a child is considered normal. In other cultures, the behavior of children is corrected through subtle suggestions and even mild teasing. For a teacher who is addressing a culturally diverse group of students, understanding these differences can make for a more manageable classroom.

Understanding Cultural Differences in the Classroom

In societies where people are all from the same culture, cultural sensitivity is a given. The norms are understood and agreed upon. However, in other societies where in a single classroom a teacher may be working with students of a dozen different nationalities and ethnicities, classroom management requires greater sensitivity to and understanding of individual cultures. When a teacher doesn’t make an effort to do this, his or her effectiveness as a disciplinarian can be greatly reduced. In these cases, possibilities for misunderstandings are also increased.

Diversity Training to Increase Order in the Classroom

Providing diversity training to teachers and administrators is an important part of creating order in the classroom and in the school. A teacher from a homogenous area who has moved to a more diverse inner city to teach might find herself unaccustomed to certain modes of communication. She might find that children are loud or more talkative than they were in her old area. Some of this has cultural roots and when a teacher does not know this, she might draw unfair assumptions about her students. Making sure that teachers have a solid understanding of the cultural backgrounds of their students helps to eliminate judgments and misunderstandings.

Developing cultural sensitivity, in general, is an important skill for teachers and administrators. When they show an appreciation and respect for various cultures, they set a good example for their students.

Filed Under: Administration, Discipline Tagged With: Classroom, Diversity training, Education

Crowd Sourcing for Volunteer Hours

CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 10: Seventy-three-year-ol...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Many schools today are requiring their students to give back in some way. Whether your school requires a set number of volunteer hours to be put in before graduation, or it is only highly recommended that a student give back to the community, there are many ways that the students themselves may choose to help others in need. In the past, this was mostly done in person, at a shelter or other community service center. Today, though, students can even go online to help others in need.

There are many options to raise money to help people. With a micro charity, your students can set up a profile on a website that does crowd sourcing and raise money for the charity that they want to support. In some cases, this may be a well known charity, but in others, it may be that they choose to raise money for a specific charitable project that they want to do.

When you are choosing to allow this type of volunteer work and charity fundraising, you may want to set some boundaries with your students and teachers. Make it clear what will and will not count, how many hours each part of their project will count for, or whether they need to raise money for a traditional charity or a new project. No matter what rules you set in place, you will find that the students in your school are much more likely to give back with micro funding, rather than with traditional volunteering. With traditional volunteering, your students may not have the resources to do what they want to help out. With crowd sourcing, they will not need to find a ride, or give hours at a time. This gives them much more freedom to help others and give back to the community.

Filed Under: Administration, Discipline Tagged With: Crowdsourcing, Freelancer, Volunteering

The Steps Involved in Becoming an Educational Administrator

Educational administrators work in a variety of positions. They can become school principals, develop and evaluate curriculum for schools, or work for school boards administering and assessing educational programs. Becoming an administrator in an educational environment requires dedication and the completion of several requirements.

First Earn Your Bachelor’s Degree

In almost all cases, educational administrators must first earn a bachelor’s degree to take on leadership roles in schools, colleges and universities. Majoring in education is a logical first step. However, you can study other topics for your bachelor’s degree and still become an educational administrator.

Get Teaching Experience

In many cases, teaching experience is first required before you can go on to become a school administrator. This type of experience is valuable for making you a stronger administrator. You will generally need a teaching certificate and, in many cases, a master’s degree. If you know that you definitely want to become a school administrator, focus on educational administration at the graduate level.

Gain Experience as an Administrator

To be a good educational administrator, you must develop leadership qualities. Although these qualities are innate in some people, most people need practice before they can effectively lead others. If you take the teaching route, ask the administrator of your school if you can serve on committees or serve in other leadership and administrative roles. Also, choose a graduate program in educational administration that has a hands-on approach and is well-connected with local school programs where you can gain important experience.

Look for Jobs as an Educational Administrator

If you have taught for several years, have a master’s degree and have taken on leadership roles, it’s time to pursue your ambition of becoming an administrator. Look for job opportunities in your community, nearby cities, and network as much as possible. Ask your school principal and other school administrators if they know of positions that would be a good fit for you.

Filed Under: Administration, Discipline Tagged With: Administration, Education, Master's degree

The Role of Educational Administrators in Online Learning

Online learning is becoming an increasingly viable way for students to meet their learning needs. In some cases, studying online is more cost-effective for learners. A good online program pays close attention to the administrative aspects of delivering information and assessing student needs. An educational administrator plays a large role in ensuring that students are learning and the teaching system is truly effective.

Delivering a User-Friendly Platform

The role of students is to learn and teachers are tasked with teaching. Educational administrators in online learning environments have as their roles the responsibility of ensuring that all learning obstacles are eliminated. Choosing a user-friendly platform is an important role of educational administrators. A quality administrator will become familiar with a variety of online learning tools and choose the ones that ensure ease of use and clarity of communication.

Evaluating Programs and Processes

An educational administrator who is overseeing an online learning program must regularly evaluate the educational program and the effectiveness of the process for teachers and students. Are the students learning and excelling in the program? If not, are there programmatic or process changes that can be made to make sure they can get the most out of the learning environment? It may be that the program or mode of delivery is too stale or dull, leaving students bored and uninspired. A quality administrator can do his part to introduce new components into the program to increase learner enthusiasm.

Facilitating Communication Between Students and Teachers

Another role of an educational administrator in online learning is to make sure that sufficient communication is taking place between teachers and students. An administrator sometimes needs to step in to resolve any complaints or disagreements between students and teachers. In some cases, administrators also step in to clarify the roles and responsibilities of both teachers and students. In the event of online platform malfunctions, administrators are generally responsible for resolving matters.

Filed Under: Administration, Education Tagged With: Education, Learning, Student

Coping Strategies for Educational Administrators

Working as an educational administrator is no easy task. Keeping a school running smoothly can create intense stress for even the most competent administrators. Demands from the school board, parents, teachers and students can sometimes mount to uncontrollable levels. You want to address the most essential issues on a regular basis. Here are a few coping strategies for managing the stresses of your job.

Prioritize Your Tasks

The ability to be organized and prioritize your tasks on a day-to-day basis is of the utmost importance. On any given day, you may have to deal with complaints from parents, safety hazards in the school environment, student disciplinary issues and urgent questions from teachers. Some leaders struggle with trying to meet everyone’s needs at the same time. In many cases, this is not possible.

You have to strengthen your powers of discernment to know which tasks require your attention at any given moment. A parent’s plea for your attention may have to be sidelined as you deal with a more pressing issue that impacts the entire student body. Get in the habit of asking yourself on a regular basis whether the task you are focused on is truly a priority.

Delegate to Competent Individuals

Tasks that are not a priority can often be delegated. Identify staff members in the school who can help you. The school secretary may actually be an excellent problem solver. Consider assigning her more responsibilities in filtering student demands and teacher requests. Some school teachers may have aspirations to eventually become administrators. Empower them by delegating administrative tasks to help them build their skill sets.

Take Time Out

Even with prioritizing and delegating, stress can sometimes be unavoidable in educational settings. Be sure to take lunch breaks and vacations to help you recover. A relaxed administrator can often be much more effective than someone who is badly in need of a vacation.

Filed Under: Administration, Teachers Tagged With: Board of education, Coping strategies, Teacher