Bibb County High School
FRESHMAN ACADEMY
Teacher Handbook
2009 – 2010
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Our Mission
2.0 The Academy Classroom
2.01 Classroom Rules
2.02 Consequences for Violation of Rules
2.03 Discipline Packets
2.04 Classroom Procedures
2.05 Alabama High School Graduation Exam and Testing
2.06 Survival Skills Bell Ringers
2.07 Make-up Notebook
2.08 Dress Code Check
2.09 Homework Policy
2.10 Changing Gears As We Go …
2.11 Open Classrooms
2.12 Student Performance Monitoring
2.13 Effort
2.14 Review, Remind, Rehearse
3.0 The Academy Student Notebook
4.0 Supervision in the Academy
4.1 Morning Supervision
4.2 School Day Supervision
5.0 Character Education
6.0 Lunch Schedule and Procedures
7.0 After-School Detention
8.0 Student Handbook – Academy Section
9.0 Miscellaneous Items
9.01 Bulletin Boards and Doors
9.02 Mid-Term Checklist
10.0 Resources
10.01 A Few Questions to Help Set Expectations
10.02 The First Day – Introductory Remarks
10.03 Questioning Skills
10.04 Transitions
10.05 Sponges
10.06 Helpful Hints on Discipline
10.07 How to Make a Good Impression Everyday
10.08 Is Your Classroom a Zoo or a Well-Oiled Environment
10.09 The Problem is Not Discipline
10.10 The First Five Minutes Are Critical
10.11 The Law of Origin
1.0 Our Mission
Our objective is to make the Freshman Academy the most intense and toughest grade through which a student will pass. It has to be this way. Our mission is to prepare ninth graders for high school. Look at it this way: The Academy is practice. High School is the game. Practice has to be more difficult, more intense, and tougher than the game. Otherwise you can’t compete in the game because you are unprepared for the intensity.
Being tough and intense does not mean being mean or unrealistic. It means holding their feet to the fire. It means pushing these kids to their personal academic and social limits and beyond. It means teaching from bell to bell – no down time. It means having the highest of expectations and never lowering them. Kids will be what we expect them to be. You expect more and more and more of them each day. When they reach one goal, expect them to reach another. When they understand one concept, give them another to learn. Never give one inch on expectations! When they meet your expectations, raise them higher!
We live in a society of excuse makers. There will be no excuses for poor behavior, failure to complete work, or the like. We will replace excuses with taking personal responsibility. Excuse makers turn into losers. We want Academy students to learn to be overcomers.
The Academy is going to be a no nonsense approach to education. They are going to understand that school is for learning and they will come here to learn everyday. There will be no taking it easy in class. There will be no sleeping. Keep them engaged from bell to bell. We expect them to be engaged in learning and work everyday.
There will be no free days in Academy classes. Activities are planned for the entire Academy that will provide a break from the rigors of the classroom. Do not reward a student’s hard work with a day off. They have to learn that the reward for hard work is a good grade and success. Their hard work is expected! When they work hard they have done what you expect. They must learn to work hard because it is expected, not because they get a break.
With the Academy plan and additional information that will be sent to teachers periodically throughout the school year we are attempting remove as many stumbling blocks as possible for freshmen. How? With certain requirements, rules, routines, procedures, and expectations we can remove many obstacles freshmen face. The more stumbling blocks we can remove, the more the student is able to concentrate on learning. Add to this every teacher’s classroom mirroring one another’s and students are able to focus on learning, not differences that might exist from class to class.
When a student leaves the Academy and enters high school, he or she should feel like they are coasting along through high school. They will feel this way if we maintain the intensity and drive in our classrooms as described above and if we equip them with the survival skills needed to be successful in school. We will make the Academy the most rigorous grade in our school system. Academy students will leave the ninth grade feeling confident that they can make it through high school.
2.0 The Academy Classroom
By Classroom Management we are referring simply to running a classroom. What follows is not an attempt to make robots out of teachers. Rather, it is an attempt to put all teachers on the same page when it comes to managing their classroom. Remember our theme: “Keep it simple and the same.” The rules and procedures involved in classroom management will be the same for students from class to class. They will know what to expect in your class because your class will be like all the other classes they attend.
It is expected that each teacher’s teaching style will differ. Teachers are individuals and as individuals they are different. Teach in the most effective ways you know. We do not believe it is effective or even possible to require teachers to teach in the same ways. You were chosen for the Freshman Academy because of your teaching abilities. Continue to use these as you have in the past.
So the focus of our organizational efforts is the structure of the Academy and Academy classroom as it pertains to procedures, rules, and expectations. On these three items we can and will be a mirror of one another. Why? Not just because it helps students to be even more successful, but it makes your job easier. How’s that? It’s easier simply because a student sees and hears the same expectations, rules, and procedures in all of their classes. Since he/she does the same in these three areas throughout the day, they learn them well. It cuts down on the amount of time you have to devote to teaching (or re-teaching) kids the procedures, rules, and expectations of your class. They already know them because the other six teachers follow the same! You are thus given more time to teach.
Remember: "Uniformity in small things brings uniformity in big things!”
Here’s a list of classroom management items that will be present in your classroom.
2.01 Classroom Rules
There will be six. They are simple. They are to the point. They leave no room for misunderstanding. They describe what a teacher expects a student to do everyday.
1. Be on time.
2. Be seated.
3. Be quiet.
4. Be prepared.
5. Do your work.
6. Follow directions.
2.02 Consequences for Violation of Rules
Later you will see a list of behaviors you are expected to handle as a teacher. We consider these minor classroom problems. They fall into two categories: Attitude and Behavior. For such minor behaviors, follow this procedure:
1st offence - Warning/Silent Lunch
2nd offence - Assign appropriate discipline packet and contact parent
3rd offence - Send name to an administrator for one day of After School Detention (ASD)
4th offence - Send name to an administrator for two days of After School Detention (ASD)
5th offence - Referral to an administrator for further discipline
2.03 Discipline Packets
Examples of minor classroom problems are included in the following discipline packets:
(A) Classroom Management Packets
Attitude Packets Behavior Packets
___ Anger ___ Making Fun of Others ___ Bothering Others ___ Wasting Time
___ Arrogance ___ Refusing to Work ___ Cheating **
___ Bored ___ Rude Behavior ** ___ Disobeying ___ Missing Work
___ Defensive ___ Selfish ___ Follow Instructions ___ Unprepared
___ Disrespect ** ___ Stubborn ___ Food & Drink ____ Unsafe Actions
___ Immaturity ___ Taking Initiative ___ Incomplete Work ___ Untruthful
___ Inappropriate Humor ___ Unmotivated ___ Improper ____ Misbehaving
___ Indifference Language ** for Sub**
** In some cases these behaviors may rise to a level that requires administrative action.
You should have a copy of the student code of conduct. Review the categories of misbehavior. In all cases, Level II and Level III behaviors should be referred to an administrator.
Each teacher is expected to document behavioral problems and any attempt to correct the behavior. If a student is referred to the office for a minor offence, documentation that you have implemented the five consequences must be noted on the referral. Do not send students to the office for minor problems unless you have exhausted all means available to you for disciplinary purposes.
An easy and convenient way to document student problems is to use an index card. Keep the index cards in a small index file. Pull it and document as problems arise and as you attempt to provide corrective action.
It is also imperative that you have students take home their completed discipline packet and acquire a parental signature. We must communicate problems to the parents. Get them on your side early – before the student gets them on their side. Parents can be our best ally.
2.04 Classroom Procedures
We are not talking about procedures that may be unique to your subject. Some classes, such as a science lab, require unique procedures. This is understood. However, general classroom procedures, things that take place almost daily in every classroom, will be the same.
The Academy classroom rules begin our procedures. “Students, you will arrive in my class on time, be seated, get quiet, get out your book, notebook, pencil, paper (be prepared), begin your work (bell ringer in the beginning), and ….. (follow directions).”
From this point forward we get into specific procedures.
1. Heading papers – students will head their papers in the following manner on the front of their paper in the upper right hand (beginning with the top line):
Name
Date
Period
Assignment
2. Handing in papers – unfolded.
3. When a student wants to speak – raise hand and wait until called upon.
4. Dismissal of class – the bell tells the teacher it is time to end class. Teachers will dismiss class by rows or groups (one at a time). The criteria may include cleanest row, the row that worked the hardest, the row that meets dress code, etc.
5. Seating Chart. Every class will have one.
6. Make-up assignments: (see 2.07)
2.05 Testing and the Graduation Exam
Academy classroom tests are expected to require thought and application of topics discussed. Your tests are not tough for the sake of being tough, but for the right reasons and in the right ways. Fairness is number one. Second is challenging students to apply classroom discussions in answering questions.
As the year progresses, so should the intensity of your testing. For example, to raise the intensity in math classes, during the last nine weeks math teachers not only required students to show their work in numbers, but to also write a paragraph explaining how they arrived at their answer. Not only is this a fair test, but an even more thorough assessment of student comprehension and your teaching. All teachers should look for ways to intensify testing in both a fair and meaningful way. Of course, be realistic in your approach and apply common sense.
As you know, it is imperative that all your academic efforts point toward the graduation exam. A student can pass all your tests, make straight A’s, and possess the highest GPA in the school, but if they don’t pass the graduation exam they don’t graduate. Whether we like it or not, it is about that test.
Continue to relate course content to the graduation exam as you have in the past. This will be important in the end since our “bell ringers” are geared toward skills. Let me also tell you that the long range plan is to have all core teachers format their tests so as to resemble the format of the graduation exam. If you make out new tests this year, get a head start on this long range goal and use the same format, terminology, etc., that students will see on the graduation exam.
All teachers should include objectives related to skills needed to pass the reading portion of the AHSGE. Teachers will also work into their lesson plan two sessions per nine weeks in the media center lab to work on the USA TestPrep’s reading test.
2.06 Bell Ringers
Freshman Academy “Bell Ringers” will be based on the skills needed to successfully complete the Alabama Course of Study Objectives, the Alabama High School Graduation Exam, the 10th Grade Writing Assessment, and overall high school survival skills . These are nothing more than the essential tools a student must possess to succeed in school. The skills may include but are not limited to the following:
● Note taking skills
● Test taking skills
● Organizational skills
● Homework/Study skills
A minimum of two weeks should be spent on each of the four categories of survival skills. The last week of the first nine weeks should be devoted to reviewing these skills, best practices, etc.
The skill should be applied to your course.
In creating your bell ringers you must find an application for the skill in class that day or while completing homework or on their next test, etc. In other words, come up with ways to force the student to use and/or apply the survival skill bell ringer for that day. Let me emphasize this point: Teaching skills is one thing, but applying them is another. Make the student apply and use the skill while engaging in classroom work, assignments or on a test.