LUBBOCK Texas- The Lubbock Educators Association showed up to the Lubbock Independent School District and requested more personnel who specialize in dealing with students with behavioral problems.
Lauren Smith, president of the organization, said there’s a widespread concern among teachers in the district on how to deal with students who lash out.
“A lot of teachers are at a loss saying they want to resign or quit,” she said. “They are in tears when we talk to them about how things are going in their classroom with the extreme behaviors that they are having to deal with.”
She said she hears about cases every week and in some cases every day.
“Teachers getting cursed out by kids teachers getting hit, get spit on,” she said.
Martha Dodge, Social and Emotional Learning Coordinator for LISD, said the district has a special social and emotional learning pilot in place at 11 of the 31 campuses. She said they hope to expand to 12 in the upcoming year.
“I know that Lubbock ISD leadership our board sees this as a serious priority and we are looking to grow the program as much as we possibly can,” she said.
Dodge also said students from all academic standings can benefit from this type of program.
“We have a need for these types of supports all of our students,” she said. “Students who are very high achieving, all the way to students who maybe struggle in the academic setting.”
Dodge says parents can also help play an important role in helping students be successful.
“One thing that parents can do is just visit with [their] kids at dinner, talk about how their day was and talk about strengths and struggles,” she said.
