Teacher advice needed

[Cheburashka]

I'm a classroom teacher in a non-union state. During a meltdown a special education student in my class held up a pencil in a threatening way (the way a person holds a knife they plan to stab with) 1-2 feet from the special education teacher in my classroom yesterday. After school I learned that earlier this week this student had threatened to kill a staff member and threw a chair at another staff member, as well- no one told me about this, despite the fact that I am his teacher. Nothing is being done to restrain or remove this child. I've removed the long pencils, scissors and sharpeners from his desk and from the open classroom supplies. I requested a safety meeting and the principal said she will set that up once she can find a time that the special education staffers can also meet. What should I do? This is a child who melts down and cannot be reasoned with when he is in that state. Any teachers out there with advice? He's in my classroom almost all day, every day, with no other adult present most of the time. I am a single mother with a sick, disabled teenager who depends on me. Quitting isn't an option but neither is getting injured or killed.

 

[kymom99]

I understand you said you are non union, but does your state (assuming you are in the states) have an education organization? For example, in my state we have KEA which is a state level affiliate of NEA. If you do, that might be a place to start. If not, I would escalate it to the district superintendent.

 

[Lilsia]

When the child acts up like this, don't you call into the office and have someone come and get him? Any kind of disruption of this nature should be handled immediately, special needs or not. I would talk to your principal and let them know that no one, not you nor the students, feel safe in that class. I can't imagine what the other children think. Better it is handled now, before some student goes home and tells their parents what is going on and they get the authorities involved. If your principal does nothing, tell them that you will be forced to call the police the next time this student threatens you or another student. You have a duty to the other children in the classroom to keep them safe. I would remind your principle of that.

 

[leebee]

Does your student have an IEP or 504 plan in place? I'd check that and see if he's supposed to have a paraprofessional or ed tech with him. I worked in special ed for ten years, and I know that any child with this level of behavior in our school would have a one-on-one assigned to him at all times. There is absolutely no way you, as the only adult in the room, can protect this student, the other students, and yourself if a meltdown occurs. At the very least, I'd talk with his special ed teacher and see what kinds of behavioral management techniques are in place, or ask if you can call them for assistance if situations escalate. I am really surprised that this student is still in your classroom, supported or not. With the type of threatening actions you described, I would have expected him to be in a resource room; he's a danger to himself and everyone else. Good luck... I hope things work out for the best for you and your student.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Call 911 if you need to and aren’t getting any other support.

 

[Cheburashka]

When the child acts up like this, don't you call into the office and have someone come and get him? Any kind of disruption of this nature should be handled immediately, special needs or not. I would talk to your principal and let them know that no one, not you nor the students, feel safe in that class. I can't imagine what the other children think. Better it is handled now, before some student goes home and tells their parents what is going on and they get the authorities involved. If your principal does nothing, tell them that you will be forced to call the police the next time this student threatens you or another student. You have a duty to the other children in the classroom to keep them safe. I would remind your principle of that.

Good advice. I will call them more often, any time there's a hint of an issue about to occur. They can't exactly "get him" because he won't go and they won't restrain him, but someone can come while my students evacuate the classroom.

I wish other students would tell their parents as I am not allowed to talk about it due to student privacy reasons. Even if a student or staff member is explicitly threatened or physically attacked, we can't tell parents (other than the parent of the child receiving the attack) what is going on at school in their child's class. It would be considered a privacy violation.

The only thing the school worries about is parent complaints or being sued. If parents knew about what was going on they would complain, then something might actually change.

 

[Cheburashka]

Does your student have an IEP or 504 plan in place? I'd check that and see if he's supposed to have a paraprofessional or ed tech with him. I worked in special ed for ten years, and I know that any child with this level of behavior in our school would have a one-on-one assigned to him at all times. There is absolutely no way you, as the only adult in the room, can protect this student, the other students, and yourself if a meltdown occurs. At the very least, I'd talk with his special ed teacher and see what kinds of behavioral management techniques are in place, or ask if you can call them for assistance if situations escalate. I am really surprised that this student is still in your classroom, supported or not. With the type of threatening actions you described, I would have expected him to be in a resource room; he's a danger to himself and everyone else. Good luck... I hope things work out for the best for you and your student.

Thank you! Yes, he has a plan that emphasizes how to try not to trigger him, which I do follow. Very little classroom support is provided, less than 30 minutes per day. The emphasis for special education students of all stripes is on classroom teacher-managed inclusion, not the resource room or regular sped support in the classroom- we're understaffed and underbudgeted. I will press for more support at his next ARD.

 

[Cheburashka]

Call 911 if you need to and aren’t getting any other support.

You're right. If he injures anyone in my classroom, I will do that.

 

[Cheburashka]

I understand you said you are non union, but does your state (assuming you are in the states) have an education organization? For example, in my state we have KEA which is a state level affiliate of NEA. If you do, that might be a place to start. If not, I would escalate it to the district superintendent.

Yes, I'm in the U.S. I will consider that if things don't improve over time. Thank you for this tip.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I wish other students would tell their parents...The only thing the school worries about is parent complaints or being sued. If parents knew about what was going on they would complain, then something might actually change.

That was my first thought, too. Creatively encourage that (without breaking the rules, of course): maybe a writing assignment about someone who scares them? a handout at conferences on how to get your kid to talk about their day?

 

[piccolopat]

5th graders should know there is something very wrong with this child even if they aren't saying anything. The next time this happens, maybe say something out loud to the classroom in frustration like "I really wish I could let all of your parents know about this problem. I can't, but you can". Maybe that is enough to get some formal parent complaints in to the office.

 

[cvjw]

Can you add parent volunteers to your classroom? When my kids were in elementary school, I volunteered in every classroom - even in 5th grade. If you get some parents in there and they see what is going on, maybe they will demand some action.

I am in Georgia and my school district used to run an alternative school where they could send students like the one you are describing. That changed when they decided to include special needs kids in the normal classroom. While it sounds like a great idea, it really can negatively impact the other kids in the classroom.

 

[holden]

This child needs to attend an alternative school. I'd go to the head of the special education department in your district (I'm assuming it's a public school) and explain what is going on. Go straight to the top. If the principal is not taking your concerns seriously, contact the superintendent.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I agree that this child is incorrectly placed (and I am not blanketly against inclusion). But for the placement to be correct, the student in question needs to gain more from being in the regular classroom than the other students are losing (in terms of safety and lost instruction time). If his IEP centers around not setting him off, I doubt that he is.

 

[slo]

You're right. If he injures anyone in my classroom, I will do that.

How big is this child?
Some 5th graders can be pretty big - I was 5’6” in 5th grade.
If he’s a bigger kid, and hard to restrain, I’d call 911 when he starts threatening to hurt or kill. Maybe then he will get the help he needs to help with his anger and threatening ways, and then you and the other students can have some peace. It can’t be easy for you, or anyone in your classroom, to be in a small room with someone that could blow up with anger at any moment.

Thank you for the work you do, and prayers for this boy to get the help he needs so he can live a more peaceful life.

 

[JLTraveling]

I'm not a teacher, but as someone who worked with children and teens in residential mental health, I can tell you that something is very wrong with this scenario. Within a residential setting, the child would 100% be restrained and removed from the group whenever his behavior started to turn threatening. And yes, a sharpened pencil can be a reasonably dangerous weapon...it was the weapon of choice for a 9 year old we had for awhile. Not likely to kill, but a bunch of us had some nasty scars for weeks.

This kid needs help. Professional help, more than the school system can provide. I have no idea what the process is within the Texas schools, but there has got to be a way to get an emergency psych eval. My experience was in Florida, where under the Baker Act, anyone who is a danger to themselves or others can be involuntarily held at a psych facility for 72 hours for observation....do you have anything like that in your state? I understand the suggestions to call 911, and it's certainly worth doing if he makes an active attack on anyone, but they're not really the best equipped to deal with psych eval referrals. I'd say talk to your superintendent, be very clear about the potential violence, and frame it as a desire to get him further help. Good luck!

 

[tinkerjo]

I’m not a teacher but spent several years as a private nurse for a child in a special needs classroom. Is there not a classroom similar to that in your school? I’m thinking this child needs a 1:1 or at the very minimum, a paraprofessional in the classroom to help you out. With school shootings being an issue in our society, school officials need to do a better job at protecting our children. You shouldn’t have to wait for someone to get hurt to get something accomplished. I think you would get in trouble if you “suggested” other kids tell their parents. Utilize your special education specialist, get a meeting scheduled with the superintendent, principal, councilor (if possible), and school resource officer (if there is one) Threats need to be taken seriously and you need a plan to protect yourself and the other students.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

OMG I am so sorry to hear about this situation!

I taught for 20 years and in those years I saw something like this happen at the secondary level and it involved students physically assaulting teachers, in fact one was deemed a sexual assault. This was in Illinois, which many schools including the one where I was has a pretty strong union presence. However, as far as I know, there was no union involvement.

In these situations, the violent students were removed from the regular classroom and placed in an alternative school. Another situation I recall was where a student (with an IEP) made threats, but did not actually carry out those threats. Best I remember he had a "hit list", and detailed plans of how he claimed he was going to blow up the school as well. They ended up hiring a rather large coach to "shadow" him all day every day from the time he was picked up on the school bus until the time he got off the school bus.

I have been out of teaching for a few years now, but from what I have seen on the news, the climate has not improved (appears to have gotten much worse). In my opinion, if the administration doesn't address this IMMEDIATELY, it is gross negligence. I guess due to "chain of command", give the principal a chance to address this first. However, if she/he does not hold a meeting in a timely fashion, go to the superintendent with your SAFETY CONCERNS. In my opinion, this student should have been squashed after the first offense. This kind of stuff is nothing to fool around with.

 

[fly girl]

No advice, I am just sad you aren't getting the immediate support needed to feel safe in your classroom. This is urgent, and the lollygagging by the principal to immediately address feels unnerving to me.

Hopefully with some wonderful advice from other teachers and those who have dealt with challenged kids, you can start a plan to get this child to where s/he needs to rightfully be. And if not, 9-1-1.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I read your post with so much concern.
YOU already have proof this child needs help.
What does the IEP state AND THERE ABSOLUTELY shoul be one!!!
Gather all the info you need and DO SOMETHING!! Unfortunately the outcome may end up costing you a job ( and not because you are doing anything wrong) but IF you are the only person who will start the ball rolling you must.