What are some problems at your school?

The problems that had been brewing all year long erupted in a single moment at my school last year. 

The year had been filled with many smaller events and many unresolved systematic issues and within a couple of minutes it all came out when 10 students decided to fight. 

I can honestly say that the event brought out all of the insecurities we had as staff and if that is how we felt....Could you imagine how our students felt.  

Immediately the blame started to flow.  Why did the students decided to that, what did we not do as teachers, how did administration let it get this bad, and what kind of children were parents raising.  There was truth in each statement but the solution did not lie in blame but a plan of action.  

The staff immediately demand meetings with administration and the district off so we could express our frustration and get a solution that would solve the problem. 

We meet a total of 3 times and to the credit of my district they were present and attentive each time.  

The first time we meet was mainly a venting sessions.  We spoke of our concerns and frustrations.  As teachers we blamed the administration and the district for not dealing with the problems and the students sooner.  The administration and district listened but we were still far from any solutions. 

The second time we met we got more specific on the issues and brainstormed ideas on how to improve the campus.  We took post it notes and ranked the issues and the solutions.  We were getting closer and I was hopeful that meeting three would result in solutions that our district came up with.  

This was it.  Finally we were going to solve the problems at our campus.  As the meeting unfolded I felt my heart sink and the frustration starting to grow again.  The district said that the answers were in the room and they entrust us (our school) to come up with the solutions.  I can honestly say I felt they passed the buck and any hope I had left my body.  

To here the complete story and what we did next click on the image above to watch my latest video that talks about our journey.