WEEKLY REFLECTIONS

Michelle Butler
dashboard
Week Ending: ​1/31/2020
Reflection:

I enjoyed getting into classrooms this past week. As I had mentioned before, the majority of my time these days
seem to be taken up with discipline and other managerial tasks. I have missed the instructional part of the work
so having the opportunity to be in classrooms and take part in our school’s data days was refreshing. The work
was rewarding and I felt more connected with the school.

Our new guidance counselor began on Thursday. Unfortunately, she did not get the warm welcome that I would
have liked for her. Not only was I not in the building on Thursday, but Dr. Kennedy was out sick as well. I was
able to spend a little time with her on Friday, but I felt guilty that she was primarily on her own. We have talked
out procedures for welcoming new staff and this is something that I would like to formalize for next year.

On Friday, a third-grade student came to with a complaint about another student. This student is in my office
quite frequently about similar issues. She is working on controlling her anger and not responding to others with
violence. We discussed the current complaint/situation, focusing especially on how well she did responding
without fighting. I have seen progress with this student this year, and I believe the positive reinforcement and
acknowledgement is helping her with her decision-making.

At the end of the day as the last bus was loaded and ready to roll out of the parking lot, I was called because two
students were fighting. It was the third-grade student and the fifth-grader that she had complained about that
morning. The two had only engaged verbally and nothing physical had yet happened. It was beginning to sleet
outside and my goal was to get all the students home safely. I quickly spoke with both girls and de-escalated the
situation. I gave the girls the option of either sitting in their seat and not speaking to or about the other or
getting off the bus and having their parent come pick them up from school. Both agreed to option one, of
course. I did call both parents to make them aware of the situation so they could speak to their respective
children when they got home. Since one student sat in the back of the bus and the other in the front of the bus, I
thought they would make it home without fighting. I was wrong. The bus driver reported that they had gotten
into a fight and that she had to pull the bus over to stop it. On Monday, I will pull the bus video to see exactly
what happened. At the time I thought that I had made the right decision, but now looking back, I wonder if I
should have just taken them both off and called their parents. As it turns out, the teacher of the fifth-grade
student said she had not been acting very nicely to her peers this week- borderline bullying them. If I had
known that, I might have made a different decision.

Lessons Learned:
● Being an instructional leader is a priority. There will always be items on the “to do” list. Getting in
classrooms is time well spent.
● Having a procedure to welcome and onboard new staff will allow them to transition to the school more
easily and will show them that we value them.
 WEEKLY REFLECTIONS
Michelle Butler
dashboard
● Kids are unpredictable. I can only use the information I have at the time to make the best decisions given
what I know.

Comments:

Michelle - glad you had a chance to get back to your instructional roots! It is not always easy - but being
intentional about putting that time into your schedule might help. As for the two kids - hindsight is 20/20. This
is not the first or last time you will wish you had made another decision.

Cathy

Michelle,
Also glad you were able to get back in classrooms! You’ll continually learn about potential conflicts between
students, I’m still learning about them after 100 years as a principal!

Clint