Florida Parishes Bureau

Published: Nov 25, 2006

AMITE Disrespect for authority and failure to follow directions are the leading student disciplinary actions impeding Tangipahoa Parish public schoolteachers in performing their duties, a new survey has found.

Teachers in five of seven parish public high schools and three of six middle schools listed disrespect for authority as the leading discipline problem that hinders teaching, the survey found.

Teachers in two of seven high schools and three of six middle schools listed failure to follow directions as the leading problem, the survey found.

Elementary school results weren t immediately available, but a written survey summary discussed top disciplinary problems districtwide.

Nearly 70 percent of the public system s teachers participated in the in-house survey conducted online in April near the end of the 2005-06 school year, school officials said. Of the approximately 1,250 teachers in the system, 868 responded, officials said.

It is this survey that led School Board member Al Link to say during a meeting earlier this month following lagging school performance scores that discipline problems are bogging down teachers.

The Advocate obtained a copy of the survey results, its questions and the written summary this past week after requesting the information.

An initial request earlier this month didn t supply the full results or questions because school officials were still working on the data, officials said. Results didn t indicate margin of error.

Across all grades, the following percentages of teachers surveyed said they observed the following problems on a daily basis: failure to follow directions, 78.7 percent; uniform violations, 69 percent; disrespect for authority, 64.9 percent; willful disobedience, 60.25 percent; and tardiness, 53.9 percent.

Nearly 66 percent of all teachers surveyed at the high school level and 63 percent at the middle school level said rules weren t consistently enforced by staff.

But nearly 70 percent of teachers surveyed at the high school level and 63.5 percent at the middle school level said administrators supported teachers when they referred a child for a discipline problem.

Teachers at the high school and middle school levels also saw themselves or their peers as rewarding good behavior positively and did it more than administrators, particularly in the middle schools.

More than 87 percent of teachers surveyed at the high school level and nearly 94 percent at the middle school level said teachers rewarded students for good behavior. But 57 percent of teachers at the middle school level felt the same about administrators.

More than 81 percent of teachers surveyed at the high school and middle school levels said discipline problems increase either somewhat or substantially when teachers are absent.

School administration officials said this past week they were still crunching the data to determine what steps they should take. Assistant Superintendent Thomas Bellavia said the school system will reconvene its discipline committee, a panel made up of teachers, school administrators, parents and community leaders, to review the results.

While the committee may come up with recommendations, School Superintendent Louis Joseph said parents have their part to play because discipline starts in the home .

– David J. Mitchell