Reply #14: Restructure more schools

[LWolf]

to make it humanly possible, and I'm betting they will.

Change the infrastructure, then fully fund and support that new infrastructure, and school staff will be able to do much more to address the problem:

1. Small schools. No more big factory schools.
2. Small class sizes. No more factory classrooms.
3. More adult staff: increase the ratio of adults to students. Fully fund staffing counselors, nurses, and playground, field, hallway, bathroom, and cafeteria supervision. I routinely wander through the halls and bathroom near my room during my duty-free lunch and planning period, just to make sure there is an adult visible in the areas most likely to be abused during lunch, recess, and passing periods. I shouldn't have to. I should be dealing with the unending piles of work on my desk, planning and evaluating units of instruction, contacting parents, and all those other tasks that require my time. We should have the funding to staff supervision of those areas without pulling others from their contractual duties.

4. Loop students with the same teacher or group of teachers for secondary for more than one year. It allows adults to build relationships and use what they learn about students to move further forward.
5. Add the proactive, explicit teaching of social skills, and enforcement of the "respect" rule that exists in some form on every campus across the nation.