Standard 1.

0 School Vision
Element 1.2 Identify and implement plans to achieve goals
Artifact 1.2.1
Activity: Assist in hall pass / sign out policy development.
Total Time: 8 hours
Artifact: Hall pass design document, email to colleagues
Description: I worked on developing a plan for students to sign out of classrooms. This
included starting a discussion through email with the other teachers in the school. The problem
that I identified was that teachers are inconsistent in enforcing sign out rules. They are unaware
of how the sign-out sheets are used, so they find little value in them. I suggested that we collect
sign out sheets from teachers 9th (last) period every day and inform the teachers of how they will
be used. I also suggested that we include teachers in the determination of how to improve the
sign-out system. Additionally, I suggested that we include an honors system, and students that
reach a certain level of academic excellence and that maintain good behavior should be given
hall passes that mean they dont have to sign out. These would be taken away for poor behavior
or falling grades.
After getting feedback from other teachers, a suggestion was made that each student in the
school get an individual pass that teachers could sign as students leave the classroom. This will
allow teachers and administration to see when students are signing out multiple times in one day.
The hope is that students who are abusing sign out procedures will be caught and discouraged
from missing class. I developed 2 prototypes for this purpose and submitted them to the
principal, Ken Fusina. After some discussion and modifications, a final version was approved
and is slated to begin use in the 2016/2017 academic year.
Reflection: We dont have a lot of discipline issues, but students definitely seem to roam the
halls regularly. This takes away from classroom learning, so it needed to be addressed.
Although students are supposed to sign out using a sheet at the door of each teachers room, it
doesnt serve its purpose well. Many teachers dont use them, and the administration doesnt
really check them. Students are used to going where they want to after they ask a teacher to
leave. By giving students hall passes that show when and what day students sign out, it will be
easily seen if a student is using the restroom 5 times per day. This accountability will hopefully
mean that students think twice before asking a teacher 3 periods in a row to leave for the
restroom. As long as teachers are vigilant and make sure that students arent abusing their pass,
the system should work relatively well.