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Flu happens
Rising concerns make it a smart time to review good
classroom procedures

It’s hard to pick up a newspaper these days without finding some mention of flu season. And with interest peaking, there is no better time to review the playbook and make sure your classroom is doing its bit to control the spread of illness.

AFT member Pat Christi, a registered nurse working in the Pajaro Valley (Calif.) public schools, says a little commonsense can go a long way toward curbing this perennial winter problem. And many of the procedures she recommends also help control the spread of other common classroom illnesses such as strep and impetigo. Here is her short list for flu-savvy classrooms.

Cough into your shoulder or the crook of your arm, rather than your hand. Your mom taught you wrong on this point, Christi says. Coughing into your hand just gives influenza a nice warm place to hang out for the ride: to desks, chairs, classroom materials and other folks. Better to cough into your arm or shoulder, where the virus is less likely to come into contact with others.

Wash your hands... no, really wash your hands. This is perhaps the single best way of preventing the spread of the virus if you do it right. That means soap, running water and lots of friction. Pay attention to all surfaces from the wrist down and take your time. (You should be able to sing “Happy Birthday” twice in the amount of time it takes to wash up, Christi says.) Finish by drying your hands thoroughly, using the paper towel to turn off the sink, and tossing the towel into the trash.

Stay one step ahead with good nutrition, adequate sleep, lots of water and exercise. Influenza is an opportunistic bug, one that loves nothing more than to set up shop in the people least prepared to fight it. Individuals who don’t cut corners when it comes to healthy lifestyles have robust natural defenses that make it harder for flu to get a foothold.

Go home! If you do get sick, don’t compound the problem by trying to tough it out in the classroom. That’s just a recipe for  spreading the illness to other staff and students. They’ll still admire your dedication—to their health and well-being—if you stay home until you are better. Teachers also should consider flu vaccinations each year and ask their personal healthcare providers if a pneumonia vaccination is a good idea.

Buy some protection. It’s no secret that teachers reach into their own pockets regularly for classroom supplies. Why not add a box of hand sanitizer wipes to that purchase list? They’re great for quick cleanups and they offer a barrier that prevents organisms from entering the body, Christi says. Wipes “are a really good idea for teachers in portables, who might not have access to running water in the classroom.”

Remember that what’s good for the goose... These ideas apply just as much to students as to adults facing flu season, so remember to promote these tips in school newsletters and at parent-teacher conferences.

Supreme Court rules in widely watched special education case
Case involved due process responsibility of parents, schools

The Supreme Court ruled late last year that the burden of proof in legal challenges to a student’s individualized education plan (IEP) falls on the parents, not the schools.

The 6-2 decision in Schaffer v. Weast rejected the argument that the burden of evidence should fall on school systems when parents or guardians challenge a student’s IEP. Writing for the majority, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor held that the plaintiffs were asking the court “to assume that every IEP is invalid until the school demonstrates it is not.”

That concept, Justice O’Connor wrote, is at odds with the cooperative parent-school relationship at the heart of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, the federal law covering IEPs and the education of disabled students.

Dissenting in the ruling were Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who argued that schools have more resources at their disposal than parents to cope with the burden-of-proof challenge, and Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who held that this point should be decided by the states.

It was a case that drew interest from special education teachers around the country, reports Lisa Thomas, who specializes in the field for the AFT Teachers educational issues department. She offers answers to some of classroom educators’ most common questions about the case.

How does this ruling affect my decision-making authority when it comes to implementing the IEP in my classroom? The basics still apply. IEP team members are encouraged to work with parents to ensure that the agreed upon goals are implemented with the designated educational setting. Feedback and regular communication between parents and practitioners are essential to the success of a student with a disability. Your subject-matter knowledge and experience as an educator, coupled with your interactions with students, enables you to make decisions on how to best support children.

What checks and balances are in place to ensure that the district will not give short-shrift to IEP requirements following this ruling? School districts are responsible for providing a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities, and the ruling does nothing to change that responsibility. The IEP team maintains the checks and balances when they review a student’s needs and examine his or her present level of performance. A local educational agent, who knows about the resources available within the district, is often included in this team. The agent works with practitioners and related service providers to supply the resources the team needs to ensure FAPE and to implement the IEP.

Will this ruling change the amount of paperwork generated for classroom teachers? It is not the intent of this ruling to generate additional paperwork requirements. Currently special educators operate within a structure that facilitates accountability. The states’ departments of education would be prudent to encourage the use of existing documentation measures to maintain accountability.

Are teachers liable in these types of suits? Teachers can be named in some states, but it varies across the country. The Supreme Court’s decision in Schaffer v. Weast does nothing to change that fact.

NAEP urban school results:  Reason to believe
Spellings says results dispel 'myth' that urban schools
can't succeed

A survey of large urban school systems shows that any statistically significant change since 2003 in their performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been change for the better.

The Trial Urban District Report Card, which examines NAEP results for major urban school districts, found gains in math that often outpaced the national average. The report, released Dec. 1, yielded no statistically significant change in reading scores among the urban districts between 2003 and 2005, although individual school systems did emerge as pockets of improvement.

Taken as a whole, the data shatters “the myth that city schools can’t make the grade,” Education Secretary Margaret Spellings says.

Math was undoubtedly a bright spot in the report. Eight out of 10 participating urban districts posted improvements in fourth-grade math. Among students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, results in Austin, Texas; Boston; Houston and New York City exceeded not only the big-city averages but also the average of the nation as a whole in 2005.

While results in reading failed to show statistically significant gains, there were individual standouts. New York City, for example, showed reading scores for fourth-graders eligible for free and reduced-price lunch that were higher than the national average for this population. The district also scored higher in eighth-grade reading than the national average, although the difference was not considered statistically significant.

“Overall, this data shows that urban districts are helping urban students achieve,” Spellings told the New York Times.

The districts included in the study were: Atlanta; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Cleveland; Houston; Los Angeles; New York City; San Diego; and Washington, D.C. Austin, Texas, joined the sample in 2005.

For details on the Trial Urban District Report Card, visit the NAEP Web site, www.nationsreportcard.gov.