Student Services

How do we deal with students' difficult situations? 

Reach out to your school's mental health providers - counselors, school psychologists, social workers, and pupil personnel workers (PPW) to talk about specific concerns and problem-solve. As a general rule, you can provide trauma-sensitive supports to all students, as they are helpful to everyone. Be consistent and predictable to create a sense of safety, build relationships by getting to know students as people, and by letting them know you as a person too. Teacher the expectations and procedures for your classroom and review these regularly, teach self-regulation and social-emotional skills. Again, reach out for help and ideas about how to incorporate these practices into your classroom.

How can we prevent student burnout?

Do what you can to keep yourselves from burning out first. Take time for relationship-building and calming practices. Reach out to your mentor for ideas about how to incorporate movement, games, and collaborative work into your lessons.

What mental health resources are available for students and staff?   

We have a mental health button on the SMCPS homepage and each school homepage. That button will take you to the Google site (linked below) that we have for an all-in-one place for four different groups related to mental health and wellness: Elementary Students, Secondary Students, Staff, and Parents.

Google sites are also listed in the Schoology dashboards. We utilize a tiered system of support to meet the mental health needs of students. Here is a LINK to the triangle of supports.

How do I incorporate unsupportive families?   

Check out this resource on Engaging Families in Early Grades. 

Reach out to your PPW, administrators, and counselors for background knowledge and support. To gain engagement and build a relationship, try sending two emails per week to the family including only a short positive comment about their child. Do not include reminders about class procedures, missing work, etc. Check with your schools' Tier 1 MTSS/PBIS team leader for more information about this idea.

Instruction

When will there be another LETRS training? 

We have a couple of spots for LETRS 1-4, Cohort B available this spring. We are working on summer dates and will offer them again in the fall and spring of next year. Keep an eye out for information to be shared in the Literacy Latest through your IRTs.

What are the recovery options for students who failed in the first marking period? 

There are options for student recovery. Your administration will share the process determined for your school. The general guidelines for options can be viewed HERE.

How can I have more collaborative time at my school? 

Ask your administrator for collaborative planning time. There may be limitations during the school day due to substitute teacher coverage, but there are limited funds for after-school collaborative planning if requested in advance.

Special Education

What advice would you give me on case management and keeping track of paperwork?

Create a working folder for each student on your caseload. try using a document like THIS stapled to each student folder to keep track of necessary components of the IEP Process. These documents give you information on your responsibilities and steps to take in the development of the IEP and the reevaluation processes. Case Manager Responsibilities - Annual Review and Case Manager Responsibilities - Reevaluation

What are different ways to track data/progress monitoring? 

You can find printable and customizable resources HERE.

TPAS/SLO

Could we have further SLO sessions to explain the next steps? 

Yes, absolutely! By the time the next seminar is scheduled, you will be preparing for your mid-year SLO review. 

An observation is one day, one lesson, for 45 minutes. How does that show my teaching style when my day with students is a lot longer? 

Your observation is just a snapshot and gives the evaluator an idea as to how your teaching is going on a bigger scale. Evaluators may also conduct informal walkthroughs where they can get a sense of your teaching. Also, by reviewing your instructional data, they can get a sense of your teaching style.

What will be expected in my post-observation conference? 

Please refer to the post-observation conference form which you can find HERE. You will be expected to talk about the topics on this form. Your evaluator may ask you to rate yourself on the rubric based on the lesson.

What happens if I don't do well on my observation? 

Your evaluator will provide you feedback and you can request another observation (in addition to the ones that are required) if you would like to do it again.

After my observation, what happens next? How does my evaluation affect me as a teacher? 

Non-tenured teachers are observed two times a year, by two evaluators, which counts as four observations. You will receive a mid-year evaluation by January 30, 2022, which is an overall rating of the first four TPAS domains. You will receive an end-of-year evaluation by the end of the last teacher work day of the school year which will be an overall rating of all five TPAS domains. A teacher who may have received a less than satisfactory rating at any time during the year may work with their evaluator to develop a plan of support (formally known as a Plan of Assistance) to help develop the skills indicated for support.