Dropping the Ball

This week is a screwy schedule at school.  No day is a "normal" whatever-number-day-it-is schedule.  We're doing the last round of MCAS testing, and there there are a bunch of assemblies.  So times are changing, periods moving, and classes being relocated.

On Monday, P, one of my students who is partially home-schooled and only comes in for two periods of the day, came running in to class 20 minutes late.  "I'm so sorry, Magistra," she panted, "They neglected to tell me about the schedule change!"

She was, understandably, peeved.  As a new teacher at this school, I understand her frustration.  Too often, changes are not communicated well, because "everyone just knows" what they are and will be.  So, I find myself having to ask about them.  All the time. But I can figure these things out because I have a vague idea of when testing sessions, etc... are.  A partially home-schooled student has no idea.

As it turned out, NONE of the students knew of the schedule change.  No one had bothered to tell them.  Only the teachers knew.  And of course, they didn't tell the students.  They didn't even bother to POST IT in the hallways!! So, my period 4 students showed up to my class, when they were supposed to be at period 6.  And I was left being the person to tell them all of this.

In the case of "serving all students" or "making sure all faculty have the correct information," the School has dropped the ball.  Both of these quotes are taken directly out of the information that the school distributes.  This is not the first time this has happened.  In fact, it has been happening all year to poor P and to me and to other new teachers.

What is the message that we, the new teachers, and students like P have been receiving?  This might be a self-evident answer, but as P put it, "Yeah, they don't really care about me.  They don't communicate with me or my family at all."

My full-time students were frustrated.  "No one tells us anything!" complained M.  "Well," J said, "This might be the first time the teachers have known something about actual school operations that we did not know!"  (Usually, we teachers don't know about schedule stuff, but if you ask the students, they do!)

So, today, I think about messages once more, specifically in connection with administration and "the powers that be" Dropping the Ball.

How can we create clear communication channels?  Who has had an experience similar to this?  How did you handle it?