Last year, 3 week's into the school year, I wanted to walk out and never look back. The students were running the school and there wasn't ANY administrative support. Elementary students were cursing out me and my 2nd graders, students physically assaulted staff (including the interim principal) and each other, students were making the news for trespassing on gov't property and vandalizing the neighborhood, teachers were quitting left and right or going out on "FMLA", and I fe

It’s about that time of the year, when you are faced with the decision of whether or not to move struggling students on to the next grade level or retain them, in hopes of them being able to meet the state/common core standards. You have been with your students for at least 6 months, and through various forms of informal and formal assessments, it is quite evident which students are “just not getting it”. You have tried every tactic you know--from one on one tutoring to thr