Common Threads: Investigating and Solving School Discipline

School safety is paramount in today’s educational system. Now, more than ever, the need to be proactive and systematic when it comes to handling even the most minor infractions in schools must be required, as demonstrated by the tragic events of recent school violence. An administrator’s work revolves around investigating. Whether it involves issues with parents or students, disciplinary incidents or teacher situations, being able to investigate in a non-biased and systematic manner is paramount for success. Yet, despite this premise, guidance for new and experienced administrators concerning how to investigate an incident is limited at best. Common Threads is a straightforward, practical guide for administrators in the job or professors to use as a guide for principal preparatory training.

Table of Contents:
Disclaimer Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part I - Theoretical Connections Discipline and Culture in SchoolsWhat is the Right Behavior?Who Decides What Right is?The Purpose of the CodeSummation of Culture and PhilosophyThe Common Threads ModelPart II - Real-World Connections Pressures on FamiliesThe Ramifications of IDEAAn Informed PopulaceIssues of Culture and RaceFocus on Safe SchoolsSynopsis of Key ConnectionsPart III - Practical Application Setting the Stage The Step by Step Process Tap Your ResourcesHandle Incident ReportsReview with an InterviewExamine the ChartAddress the ConsequencesDecide on Future PlanningWhat If Scenarios What If There Are No Witnesses?What If Witnesses Are Using Past Incidents?What If an Adult (Who Did Not See the Event) Is Making the Accusation?What If You Believe There is a Witch Hunt?What If the Incident Occurred Three Weeks Ago?What If I Get a Confession?What If Someone Threatens to Go to Your Boss?Conversations with Parents and Guardians Helpful Tips in Handling Frequent Scenarios Limitations to Common Threads Benefits to Common Threads Summation Part IV – Case Studies Mutually CombativeConfidential MattersTimingJust the FactsThe Confession“Are you calling my kid a liar?”“I am going to your boss.”The Double WhackTeacher InvestigationBus VideoThreatThe AuthorityThe Possible Fight Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Bibliography

About the Author :
Dr. Anthony P. Barber is the Director of Teaching and Learning in the Springfield School District. He is also an adjunct professor at various universities instructing in graduate and undergraduate education and leadership courses. Jeffrey G. Ulmer is the Director of Human Resources in The West Chester Area School District. He is also an adjunct professor, who has served various capacities as a cooperating instructor for principal education programs.

Review :
This book acts as a guide for school administrators who want to be more proactive and systematic in handling even the most minor disciplinary infractions in schools. Authors Anthony Barber and Jeffrey Ulmer explain how administrators can be unbiased and practical when investigating disciplinary incidents, teacher misconduct, or conflicts with parents. Common Threads also includes practice disciplinary scenarios and sample incident reports. I have had the opportunity to use the Common Threads method from start to finish. It takes what could be a tricky discipline issue and makes it quite easy to quantify. By gathering the same information from each participant using an Incident Report, and then compiling the information on a Grid Sheet, an abstract situation can become so much more concrete. I can tell this is a system that will make my job easier! I met Tony and Jeff at the state principals’ conference. Once I heard their ideas and understood their passion, I knew I wanted to learn more about Common Threads. After getting my leadership team trained, we saw immediate results in our overall effectiveness and productivity. This is by far one of the most succinct and user-friendly systems that I have seen for investigating. Common Threads provides school administrators with a practical framework for solving the daunting problems that exist in today’s schools. This investigative approach helps to foster collaborative decision making, and most importantly, helps promote proactive decision making by students. The authors include a clear set of examples artfully designed to help nurture deep change in challenging settings. As a middle school assistant principal, Common Threads is an indispensable tool that I practice daily. It is simple to use and enables me to synthesize the data in such a clear, organized way. As a result, I am better able to make good data-driven decisions and provide well-developed rationales for each.