Job Title: Behavior Support

The 2015-2016 staff photo display at Whittier IB school includes people with job titles I've never heard of before. Under the caption Behavior Support, I recognized 2 staff persons I've often seen walking the halls with children. A tall middle-age woman and a young beefy man carry walkie-talkies and show up in various parts of the school. Suddenly that caption made sense to me. I'll assume that they respond to calls from teachers for assistance with students with behavior problems. What exactly they do to support behavior escapes me. It does give me pause about the state of behavior in our schools - and the need for 2 full-time adults to provide "behavior support" in an elementary school of 600+ students.

That same staff photo exhibit shows 6 Education Associates - adults I saw frequently last school year. Then they were often providing instruction by sitting with small groups of students outside of regular classrooms. This year I see them mostly sitting at desks in the school office, and seldom in direct contact with students. I'm puzzled by what an Education Associate is? Do they not have the requisite teaching credentials? Why have they been relegated to desk jobs this school year? Why the change in responsibilities? Is this a permanent or temporary change?

As I reflect Whittier's staff photos and job titles, I wonder about other staff changes that occurred over the summer. I remember a different Assistant Principal, a 3rd grade teacher, a librarian. There are more than a few new faces among the teaching staff. Why do teachers leave a school? Did they simply transfer to another school? Or did they leave the teaching profession? If one were to calculate the rate of teacher-turnover in a school, what would it be at Whittier? How does turnover compare with other schools?

Of course the biggest change at Whittier occurred 6 weeks into the school year when the Principal was suddenly put on Administrative Leave. A retired Principal was brought in to serve until the investigation is finished. In the meantime, parents and concerned community members were invited to a meeting in early November to discuss the process and progress for a Principal.

One change I was happy to see was a co-teacher added to the classroom of one of the 3rd grade teachers I volunteer with.  What a difference having 2 teachers in a classroom seems to have made in student behavior and in the demeanor of the teachers. Both seem relaxed and better prepared to advance the knowledge of their charges. As a fly on the wall, that's "behavior support" for the staff that I approve of.