Case
ISS Ideas

At my school In-School-Suspension (ISS) is thought more of as a reward to students than a punishment. Students just go to this trailer and sit for the school day. During some parts of the day, students in ISS are allowed to wear hats, eat, watch YouTube videos, etc. This is clearly not punishment. One of my students told me Friday that he missed ISS. He said in ISS no one fusses at you when you do not work. In the regular classroom, teachers fuss at students when they do not work. How can teachers change this ISS system? To be clear, I do not write referrals, because clearly it would do nothing but show students I cannot handle students.

Posted on: 10/18/15 | Views: 1824
Solution #1
Top Solution
My school definitely does not handle ISS this way. ISS is a place for students to work, and I mean work hard. They are sent the day's materials from all of their classes and any work they are missing as well. They are expected to complete it all before going back to class. I would definitely mention to the administration that ISS is not serving it's purpose of changing behavior- instead it is really rewarding students instead. They need to be aware of this perception and work to fix it as a school-wide issue.

I would try to get the school to understand the problem and maybe try to get it to this point. If I were in this situation I would want it to get it to this point.

Talk to the ISS teacher. Rarely do I GET THE WORK from the other teachers for the student to do while they are there. Make sure you're providing your part of the process. It goes a long way in making that student's day successful academically. Repeat offenders that tell me they "like being there", seem to have difficulty keeping focused. The quiet environment gives them the opportunity to get work done, at their pace, without the distractions in their classroom. (Social and behavioural distractions.) It's definately not because it's fun.

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Solution #2
The last school I was at we saw this as an issue as well. So, in an effort to help, then, I suggested "in team" ISS. This means that each teacher has a rotational schedule for students on that team to serve ISS in their room - permitting numbers aren't too high. Students are isolated from the general population, do not interact with peers, do not eat in the cafeteria and do not change classes. They also complete a character essay that must be signed by all teachers and a parent. The student must also create and have approved a behavior plan before exiting. This helped keep discipline referrals down as students absolutely hated their peers seeing them in trouble.
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Solution #3
I have the same situation in my school. Students are just sitting there enjoying themselves when they go to ISS. Perhaps placing certified educators in these positions would curb this behavior. I know that seems like a waste of a teacher, although they still have to learn the material while out of the classroom.
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Solution #4
My school utilizes something called lunch detention. In order for students to finish uncompleted work or who act out are forced to eat lunch in the classroom and do work while eating. It is seen as a consequence of taking something away from the student they enjoy (socializing with friends/free time).
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Solution #5
I currently intern at a school that does an alternative bell schedule for ISS students. The school has them come in after school for 5 hours instead of portables during the school day. They do not want to be in school in the late afternoon when their friends are out of school so it stops a lot of them from acting out in class.
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Solution #6
It would be best to go to admin and speak to them about their expectations about ISS and how it not only negatively affects student behavior, but also their participation and grades in the class. Stress that ISS should be used to its full advantage, where students should be working.
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Solution #7
This is how ISS is at the school I sub at. It serves little purpose and the students ask to get it. The teachers have talked to administration, but nothing has changed. I think the teachers should complain to district office! Maybe this would help the situation.
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Solution #8
This is a similar issue at the school I am interning at. ISS is a joke. My supervising teacher has become away of this problem and has taken ISS into her own hands. She now requests that the students be pulled from another class like music or gym to sit in her class and work on all of their missed work and additional work to get their grades up. The students despise this, but it has really helped them with school. This is something that I would do in my middle and high school classes and potentially my elementary classes, too, if ISS was ineffective or with ESE students.
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Solution #9
I would bring this to the administration attention and help create a better plan to enforce iss to where it is the place hat students do not want to be.
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Solution #10
I would first talk to the administration and inform them of the students views of ISS. If the still refuse to take action then I would anonymously, to prevent repercussions, go over their heads and report the problem to the school board.
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Solution #11
ISS is designed to be a punishment rather than a reward. I think that this is an issue that needs to be addressed with the administration and a team needs to be put together to figure out a better way to handle ISS cases and punishments better.
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Solution #12
I currently intern at a school that does an alternative bell schedule for ISS students. The school has them come in after school for 5 hours instead of portables during the school day. They do not want to be in school in the late afternoon when their friends are out of school so it stops a lot of them from acting out in class.
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Solution #13
I currently intern at a school that does an alternative bell schedule for ISS students. The school has them come in after school for 5 hours instead of portables during the school day. They do not want to be in school in the late afternoon when their friends are out of school so it stops a lot of them from acting out in class.
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Solution #14
i do not think that it would show the students that you do not know how to handle them. I do think that sometimes there are other ways to control the situation. However, this seems like some teachers are using it just because a student is being stubborn and that should not be the case.
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Solution #15
I think the first step would be to prevent the student from accessing any technology or the internet. This would ensure that they are not accessing YouTube videos (a definite reward). The student can still be allowed to eat but should be expected to complete work that has been sent in from different teachers. The fact that they cannot access the internet and that there is minimal socialization might make the student reflect on their actions that caused them to receive ISS.
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Solution #16
This same thing happened at my school. We had a teacher bring this issue up the principal because we had students asking to go to ISS. The principal seemed unaware of the issue and quickly changed out the ISS teacher. This might need to be done at your school as well. When a student is wanting to report to ISS you know it is not longer a punishment but a reward for bad behavior.
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Solution #17
Create a busy work assignment the students will not like doing while they are in ISS.

I think the rules of ISS need to be changed. The rules shouldn't be so light. Since students are missing a day of class, they need to keep up with their school work. If they don;t show up, then that shouldn't be taken lightly either.

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Solution #18
I would get a group of teachers together and go and talk to administration. Maybe they just need to change the person in charge of ISS. It definitely should not be fun for the students
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