Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond: Being aware of the fact that every child is on their own developmental pathway and will need different supports and scaffolds is part of what the teacher needs to be able to do.

Dr. Pamela Cantor: We don’t only want to be talking the kids that disrupt a class, which is very often the case, we want to talk about every child and be able to see what every child needs.

Bobby Shaddox: Hey guys, before we get started today….

Once a week we meet to discuss student behavior and student academics.

All right, Paula’s going to roll through the deck.

One strategy we utilize is a deck of cards that contain each student’s name.

Paula: Jeffrey?

Teacher: Yes.

Bobby Shaddox: Paula reads their name aloud and we take a moment to just consider if we need to speak about the student. And if it is a student we want to discuss, she pulls that card, she puts it in another pile. These are students that we might have concerns about or they could be students that we want to highlight.

Paula: Jeffery? Robert?

Dr. Pamela Cantor: This group of teachers having the name of every child on an index card are saying every child in this school is important. These teachers having such a deep knowledge of who is in the classroom means that they will really produce learning and growth for more kids.

Teacher: His scores were phenomenal. The impression that I have from that…

Bobby Shaddox: Our team does have norms. Some of our norms are to use pro-child language, to not make assumptions, to be specific.

Teacher: His ability to communicate in that kind of basic interpersonal style is getting to be fine. It’s the academic language.

Teacher: He does struggle a lot in my math class. I think his–

Bobby Shaddox: It’s great when you can figure out that there’s a link between their academics and maybe a behavior.

Teacher: I’m thinking it’s time to make a parent communication.

Teacher: Okay.

Teacher: Quickly, I’ve had a really successful time with him.

Bobby Shaddox: It also allows us to check in with each other, so that we’re really cohesive about supporting our students emotionally and academically.

Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond: Students may be showing us something about what is hurting and what is troubling them inside that needs to be unearthed so that we can help them deal with it. So, it’s an opportunity to engage with the child’s development and to help them begin to develop the skills that that behavior suggests that they really need.

Dr. Pamela Cantor: This simple technique enables us not to lose a child, enables us to talk about quiet children, and of course focus on children who may need more help.

King Middle School