What makes me "approve" of a public school

Today I subbed in my favorite middle school in our district.  It is the one school I WOULD send Cooper too.  Why would I send him to this school and not the one we're zoned for?  What is it about this school that I like?  It isn't test scores.  It isn't that it is a new facility.  There is a middle school that was built and opened within the last year in the district, this isn't it.  No, it isn't the facility, it is the faculty and administration.

Here's the dirty little secret that test scores don't accurately communicate, not everyone with a teacher's license is actually invested in their students, or education.  How, then, can you know when a school is staffed with effective and invested staff?  I have found only one way.  You must be a part of the school.

There are clear markers that are obvious to a trained eye.  The big one for me is student conduct.  Teachers that care about kids set clear expectations and are consistent in enforcing them.  To me a teacher that does this for academics does this also for behavior.  There is a sense that students are following the rules, not out of fear but out of respect.  It's about the small things.  Even the best teachers can't enforce their expectations if their hands are tied. Time to be specific already!

I like that this school has the kids wear uniforms.  School is about learning.  Clothing can be very divisive, and distracting.  Uniforms take the head ache out of enforcing dress code policies.  Schools that wear uniforms generally yield higher academic performance.  The uniform debate could be it's own post, so you'll just have to take my word for it (research it for yourself), that a school that enforces a uniform code will usually be better than one that doesn't.  While uniforms are a sign that, "We take this school thing seriously", they definitely aren't everything.

Here is the heavy hitter; the administration supports it's staff, they are "teacher centered".  During a long term position (at this same school) I had to break up a mild girl fight.  The principal was quick to thank me, and swift in dealing with the girls.  He was compassionate and fair with both of them.  A week later I was enforcing a new school-wide rule that only clear liquids could be drank in classrooms, and only out of clear containers when a student acted defiantly towards me.  After several warnings, I wrote a referral on the spot.  The principal called his parents FOR me, and gave the student an in school suspension.  Amazing!  Administrative support!  I'll support HIS rules (school wide rules) in the future.  If I see misconduct in the hall I WILL speak out, because I know I WILL be supported.

To me that means everything.  If the students know that the Administration is going to back up their teachers they will respect classroom rules.  When classroom rules are respected teacher's can teach and students can learn.  When teachers have this type of support they reinforce school rules.  When school rules are reinforced there is a sense of cohesion among the teachers and between faculty and administration, and a safer school is born.  Safe schools allow distraction free learning environments.  Students pick up on this cohesion and not only give up on trying to undermine authority, but also learn from the example set by  the adults and there is more amicability among student peer groups.  Hallways are freer of fights and trash.  Classroom time is focused and more productive.  One word; RESPECT.

The school my son would have to go to (not a school of choice state) is riddled with chaos and dissension.  Students swear and dump their trash in the halls and no one admonishes them.  They openly belittle each other in front of staff that then does nothing.  Recently, 4 girls beat another girl unconscious during lunch.  Where were the adults, perhaps afraid of getting in trouble for intervening?  Yes, that's a possibility.  It's happened to me before (an administrator more worried about a law suit than the students).  When I subbed there I had 6th graders actually say these things, "you can't make me", "who do you think you are", and "be patient" when I asked them to "please open your books".  Those that know me personally know that I am gregarious and friendly.  I was treating these kids with respect and using a bubbly tone.  Maybe this isn't important, but this was a Ph.D's classroom I was subbing in.  Typically a student behaves in this manner when they've learned their teacher's disciplinary measures don't have any weight.  At this same school a student was running in the hall, I told him to stop.  He looked back at me, and then didn't even slow down.  The other teachers in the hall looked at me like I had a third eye.  I don't want to teach there, so why would I let my kids go there to learn?

Give me a school that has clearly defined expectations, staff that is supported by it's administration, and a has a school wide commitment to student learning.  Do I think uniforms can do this?  No.  I think uniforms are a part of this, but Administrative support is at the core of a good school.  Unfortunately, most parents aren't going to know if a Principal is supporting his teachers or not.  I've taught with supportive administrators, and administrators that undermined me every chance they got.  It's a simple equation.  Administrators that are teacher centered have teachers that are student centered and students succeed.

School I like here.  Notice the year the administrator came back after 2 years at a different school in the district discipline took a sharp turn for the better, and test scores improved slightly.  School I don't like here.  Notice the steady increase in disciplinary problems, and that the test scores are slightly lower than the other school, with a slight decline in 2 of 4 categories in the last 2 years.  It isn't everything, but it's a piece of the puzzle.  If anything the school disciplinary report speaks more honestly to the quality of the school than the academic test scores.