Providing a Safe Harbor Where All Students Are Successful

P.S. Jones Middle School

Staff Handbook

“Providing a Safe Harbor Where all Students are Successful”

2017-2018

Table of Contents

FORWARD 4

School Beliefs and Mission Statement 5

QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE MIDDLE LEVEL TEACHERS 6

JOB DESCRIPTION - TEACHER 8

IDENTIFICATION OF DESIRED RESULTS IN STUDENT LEARNING 10

GUIDELINES 11

TEACHER ATTENDANCE 12

GENERAL INFORMATION AND POLICIES 13

B.C.S. Guidelines for Teacher Web Pages 15

GRADE REPORTING 18

PROGRESS REPORTS 18

PROGRESS REPORT/REPORT CARD DATES 19

HONOR ROLL 19

STUDENT DISMISSAL TIMES 19

STUDENT TARDINESS 18

ACCIDENTS/STUDENTS & STAFF 19

STUDENT DISCIPLINE PROCEDURES 19

CAFETERIA AND HALL BEHAVIOR 19

CAFETERIA PROCEDURES 20

E-MAIL 20

ENERGY CONSERVATION 20

FACULTY/STAFF ATTENDANCE SHEET 20

MAILBOXES 22

DAILY ANNOUNCEMENTS 22

COMMUNICATION 22

EARLY DISMISSAL (WHEN STUDENTS ARE SENT HOME EARLY) 23

HOMEROOM 23

LOUNGE AND EATING 23

HOUSEKEEPING RESPONSIBILITIES 23

IN-SCHOOL SUSPENSION 23

STUDENT HALL PASS 24

REFERRAL FOR SPECIAL SERVICES 24

SCHEDULE CHANGES 25

SCHOOL BOARD POLICIES 25

VISITATION POLICY 26

FACULTY MEETINGS 26

COPIER SERVICE 26

Field Trip Procedures 26

FUND RAISING 27

BOOKKEEPING PROCEDURES 28

ASSEMBLIES 29

FIRE & BOMB THREAT EVACUATION PROCEDURES 30

TORNADO AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PLAN 34

Tornado Watch Plan 35

TORNADO AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SHELTERS 36

HURRICANE & TROPICAL STORM PREPARATION 39

LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES 39

Rays of Sunshine Guidelines 40

PS JONES FACULTY AND STAFF DIRECTORY 41

COMMITTEE/DEPARTMENT CHAIRS/KEY CONTACTS 44

Organizational Chart 46

Modified Schedules 49

BELL SCHEDULE 50

Lunch Schedule 51

LUNCH LINE DUTY 53

Morning Duty All Year 54

AFTERNOON DUTY ALL YEAR 55

STUDENT TRANSPORT TO AND FROM WHEEL CLASSES 57

LOCKER ASSIGNMENTS 58

DISMISSAL POINTS 60

TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION 61

PBIS PROPS 62

P.S. Jones Discipline Categories 63

Testing Code of Ethics 64

Technology Procedures/Protocol 68

FORWARD

This handbook is designed as a quick reference to questions concerning the operation of P. S. Jones Middle School. However, no handbook can answer all the questions that arise during the course of a year. Should you have any questions that are not answered in the handbook, please do not hesitate to ask.

It is vital to the overall operation of the school that all teachers comply with these policies and regulations. Laxity on the part of a few can adversely offset the entire school operation.

This handbook is not a final product. It should be read carefully during the year, and changes will be made when necessary. Such changes will contribute to a more efficient program. We earnestly solicit your suggestions and will count on each of you to uphold the reputation, tradition, and spirit of P.S. Jones Middle School.

Best wishes for a productive year.

School Beliefs and Mission Statement

The School Beliefs and Mission Statement are periodically updated to allow for revisions. The P.S. Jones faculty was given the opportunity to review and provide suggestions for revisions in September 2016.

Our Beliefs/Core Values:

·  Providing students with a gradual transition from elementary school to high school. At the same time, it should create a smooth transition from childhood to adolescence.

·  Recognizing the need of each student and promoting academic excellence through a challenging curriculum.

·  Active participation of students, parents, administrators, and community members.

Our Mission Statement:

P.S. Jones Middle School's vision will be achieved through positive character building, community involvement, and visionary leadership focusing on responsibility, academic excellence and personal success.

Our Vision Statement:

P.S. Jones Middle School is committed to preparing our students to become lifelong learners and global citizens.

Teacher's Checklist:

·  Start every day with an open mind, an open heart, and smile

·  Make every lesson an adventure and every subject fun

·  Treat every student with respect and respect every student's opinion

·  Give students a place to express themselves and a chance to color outside the lines

·  Reward the effort as well as the end result

·  Send every student home full of pride and self-respect

·  End each day knowing that a good teacher can change the world and ….Be that teacher!

A Quality and Effective School Has……….

·  A belief that they can teach all students

·  High expectations

·  A vision

·  Leadership that focuses the organization on the vision

·  An aligned strategic planning process

·  A Plan-Do-Study-Act instructional process

A TEACHER'S ATTITUDE

I am the decisive element in the classroom.

It's my personal approach that creates the climate.

It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a

teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make

a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool

of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can

humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations,

it is MY response that decides whether a crisis will be

escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or

dehumanized. ----Haim Ginott

QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE MIDDLE LEVEL TEACHERS

The National Middle School Associations' research on effective middle level practices identified 18 "clusters" of teacher behaviors that contribute to the success of middle level teachers.

1. Have a positive self-concept. They identify with others, feel adequate, trust themselves, and see themselves as worthy and likeable. They need not be the center of attention at all times, and are comfortable letting the classroom activities or the students themselves take precedence some of the time.

2. Demonstrate warmth. Teachers who seek contact with students, use affectionate words, smile, and look pleasant are generally regarded as more effective. Teacher displays of warmth are important because teachers who like students (and show it) tend to have students who like each other.

3. Are optimistic. More effective teachers express positive attitudes and pleasant feelings in the classroom. They are optimistic in their assessments of individual student capabilities and tend to be encouraging.

4. Are enthusiastic. Effective teachers are vigorous in their presentations and involved in the activities of the class. They tend to gesture and avoid "reading" prepared lessons.

5. Are flexible. These teachers can change the focus in the middle of a lesson if the students become bored or uninterested; they adjust easily to changes in plans, time schedules, absence, or student behavior; they respond to constructive requests for changes in classroom procedure.

6. Are spontaneous. Spontaneous teachers can capitalize on unexpected incidents that arise in class. They also tend to encourage student expression and do not avoid situations that deviate from planned activities.

7. Accept students. Accepting teachers avoid criticism; not by refusing to tell a student he or she is wrong, but by using sincere and frequent statements of approval. These teachers are disinclined to berate or belittle children in front of others or to display negative perceptions publicly.

8. Demonstrate awareness of developmental levels. They assign tasks appropriate to a student's ability and adjust tasks when students become confused or uncertain. They show fewer tendencies to push students into activities for which they are not ready, and they express less bewilderment over student inability to perform tasks.

9. Demonstrate knowledge of subject matter. Knowledgeable teachers are able to structure lessons and alter instruction on the basis of student needs. They are able to monitor learning and engage students in instructional activities related to significant concepts.

10. Use a variety of instructional activities and materials. These teachers are able to vary instruction in accordance with individual student learning styles.

11. Structure instruction. Teachers who spend time discussing, explaining, and stimulating cognitive processes in organized ways encourage greater pupil performance. They tend to review previous lessons, outlining main topics of planned lessons, signaling the beginnings and endings of lessons, underscoring important points, and summarizing. These teachers are less likely to begin lessons without organizing them, change activities abruptly, or begin new topics without summarizing previous ones.

12. Monitor learning. These teachers check test papers and student work in order to adjust instruction. They also move about the room, observing students and making suggestions. In lieu of "busywork,” they used extra time for creative, social, or interest-directed activities.

13. Use concrete materials and focused learning strategies. These teachers use models, objects, and visual aids to provoke imagery; attend to the manipulation of concrete images before moving to formal operations; and focus student attention on problem-solving situations.

14. Ask varied questions. Using both higher-order and lower-order questions, in appropriate situations, produces improved student performance. Using a variety of question types for maximizing instructional effectiveness is preferable to relying on a single type of question.

15. Incorporate indirectness in teaching. Indirect teachers build on student statements, praise students, encourage student talk, and minimize criticism, lecture, and confusion.

16. Incorporate "success building" behavior in teaching. Success-oriented teachers use positive reinforcements, encouragement, and praise of student work. They are disinclined to use sarcasm, shame, and harassment.

17. Diagnose individual learning needs and prescribe individual instruction. More effective teachers monitor the completion of tasks, perceive various learning rates, and allow adequate time for completion. They design interest-based learning tasks, define expectations on an individual basis, and allow for independent and small group activities. They also demonstrate less of a tendency to teach an entire class the same lesson and to grade on a group standard.

18. Listen. Teachers who listen to students attend to and build upon student thoughts and expressions. They acknowledge student input by summarizing what was said and by avoiding the appearance of preoccupation.

What emerges from this listing of characteristics is the image of a self-confident professional who demonstrates both an awareness of student needs and varied learning strategies.

JOB DESCRIPTION - TEACHER

Reports to: Principal

Supervises: May coordinate and direct the activities of teacher assistants

Purpose: To plan, instruct, and organize instructional environments, which help students help learn subject matter, and skills that will contribute to their educational and social development.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

A.  MAJOR FUNCTION: Management of Instructional Time

The teacher has materials, supplies, and equipment ready at the start of the lesson or instructional activity; gets the class started quickly; uses available time for learning and keeps students on task.

B.  MAJOR FUNCTION: Management of Student Behavior

The teacher has established a set of rules and procedures that govern the handling of routine administrative matters; has established a set of rules and procedures that govern student verbal participation and talk during different types of activities---whole-class instruction, small group instruction, etc.; has established a set of rules and procedures that govern student movement in the classroom during different types of instructional activities; frequently monitors the behavior of all students during whole-class, small group, seat work activities, and during transitions between instructional activities; stops inappropriate behavior promptly and consistently, yet maintains the dignity of the student; analyzes the classroom environment and makes adjustment to support learning and enhance social relationships.

C.  MAJOR FUNCTION: Instructional Presentation

The teacher links instructional activities to prior learning; understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches, creates learning activities that make these aspects of subject matter understandable and meaningful for students; provides the relevant examples and demonstrations to illustrate concepts and skills; assigns tasks and asks appropriate levels of questions that students handle with a high rate of success; conducts lesson or instructional activity at a brisk pace, slowing presentations when necessary for student understanding but avoiding unnecessary slowdowns; makes transitions between lessons and between instructional activities within lessons effectively and smoothly; makes sure that the assignment is clear; creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners; uses instructional strategies that encourage the development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills; uses technology to support instruction; encourages students to be engaged in and responsible for their own learning.

D.  MAJOR FUNCTION: Instructional Monitoring of Student Performance

The teacher maintains clear, firm, and reasonable work standards and due dates; circulates during class work to check on all students’ performance; routinely uses oral, written, or other work products to evaluate the effects of instructional activities and to check student progress; poses questions clearly and one at a time; uses student responses to adjust teaching as necessary.

E.  MAJOR FUNCTION: Instructional Feedback

The teacher provides feedback on the correctness or incorrectness of in-class work to encourage student growth; regularly provides prompt feedback on out-of-class work; affirms a correct oral response appropriately, and moves on; provides sustaining feedback after an incorrect response by probing, repeating the question, giving a clue, or allowing more time; uses knowledge of effective verbal and non-verbal communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.

F.  MAJOR FUNCTION: Facilitating Instruction

The teacher has long- and short-term instructional plans that are compatible with school and district curricular goals, the school improvement plan, the NC Standard Course of Study, and the diverse needs of students and the community; uses diagnostic information obtained from tests and other formal and informal assessment procedures to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner; maintains accurate records to document student performance; understands how students learn and develop, and plans appropriate instructional activities for diverse student needs and different levels of difficulty; uses available human and material resources to support the instructional program.

G.  MAJOR FUNCTION: Communicating Within the Educational Environment

The teacher treats all students in a fair and equitable manner; participates in the development of a broad vision of the school; fosters relationships with school colleagues, parents, and community agencies to support students’ learning and well-being.

H.  MAJOR FUNCTION: Performing Non-instructional Duties

The teacher carries out non-instructional duties as assigned and/or as a need is perceived to ensure student safety outside the classroom; adheres to established laws, policies, rules, and regulations; follows a plan for professional development and actively seeks out opportunities to grow professionally; is a reflective practitioner who continually evaluates the effects of his or her decisions and actions on students, parents, and other professionals in the learning community.