Chapter 4 - Collaboration

Collaboration takes place on a daily and a weekly basis by my grade level team.  We formally meet once a week to plan lessons and discuss any issues that arise.  We all bouce ideas off each other about how to help our lower-performing students.  Not only do I collaborate with my grade level, but I also talk with our resource teacher.  She has provided me with valuable ideas to help several of my resource students.  I have also gone to her for some ways to help my regular ed. students.  This year I also have an ESOL student that is having problems in note-taking, organization, and completing work.  He currently is not served by ESOL, and he has no classroom accommodations.  The administrators at my school are a great source for ideas also.  My principal and assistant principal are currently involved with one of my students regarding grades and behavior.  They have suggested I use a positive behavior plan (taped to his desk).  My assistant principal has a behavior plan that he is implementing with the same student.

We have had an I-team meeting with the administrators, mom, the school psychologist, and myself.  Of all the issues we have discussed (failing grades in every subject, no homework is ever done, disruptive behavior in class and on the bus), I feel that the entire responsibility of this child's success is on me.  Yes, we have implemented a behavior plan that requires the student to write down every assignment and have his mother signe the agenda that the work was completed.  This has not been done.  I am the one writing down his assignments to ensure that she gets them.  When projects have been assigned, I gather the required materials and send them home for him to do the work.  Somewhere between school and home. they are lost because mom tells me that she never saw them.  I have him tutored in math each week, and I send him to RtI class in ELA weekly.  I am seeing no evidence where he's being helped.  I think I do have some anger that his mom is not holding up her end of the I-team process.

I want there to be accountability on mom's end.  I want her to ensure that her child completes his assignments by initialing that all work has been done.  It's hard to keep a line of communication open with her due to her work hours (nights).  I want her to make sure he completes all of his homework at home and not send him to school with a note saying for me to let him do it at recess.  She must take some responsibility, also.  My students had a project assigned, and I sent all the materials home with him twice to be completed.  It was due last week, and he has yet to bring in any part of the project.  We do have another meeting scheduled on Friday, and I am going to suggest that she call me once a week to touch base.  I would like for him to receive help in reading at school.  Right now it's not offered.