Th Litrisy uv wun Jooniur Hyskool Prinsiple (see article posted as example)

[TBoneTX 45,570]

The article below is not presented as a news article in itself (hence the nonmatching thread title), but as an example of the literacy and writing style of the principal of a junior high school. The article is posted as context by which to evaluate those characteristics. On-topic observations about those characteristics, please.

Police: Intoxicated substitute teacher not arrested

Staff at South East Junior High called the police Thursday about a substitute teacher who appeared intoxicated, according to a message Principal Amber Boyd emailed to parents.

Boyd sent the email Thursday morning and said in the message that a plain-clothes officer "came to the building and confidentially verified that the individual was under the influence of alcohol."

The officer removed the substitute teacher from the building, and the district replaced the individual with another substitute teacher, the email says.

Iowa City Police Lieutenant Bill Campbell confirmed Friday that police did not arrest the substitute teacher.

Campbell said officers typically arrest only "a very, very small portion" of people they encounter who are intoxicated, and said each situation is different. He said he had no benchmark to describe how police would typically handle an intoxicated substitute teacher at a school because he cannot recall responding to a similar incident in the past.

The email to parents from Boyd reads as follows:

Dear Families,

I hope you are staying warm on this crisp winter day! I wanted to make you all aware of a situation that occurred in our art classroom this morning. It was brought to our attention that there was a substitute teacher in the building who appeared to be intoxicated. We responded immediately by contacting law enforcement as student safety is our first priority. A plain-clothes officer came to the building and confidentially verified that the individual was under the influence of alcohol. Appropriate measures were then taken by the officer to remove the substitute from the building and another licensed substitute was placed in the classroom. I am happy to report that all of our students were very respectful and true leaders in this situation. I am really proud to lead a building with great staff, an awesome leadership team, and amazing students. If you have any questions, please to not hesitate to contact the South East office at 688-1070. Thank you and stay warm.

Amber Boyd

Sgt. Scott Gaarde, public information officer for the Iowa City police, confirmed by email that the department received a call from the school at roughly 9:35 a.m., and police responded to a report of an "intoxicated pedestrian."

Jim Pedersen, Iowa City Community School District's interim chief human resources officer, said the district screens substitute teachers by running background checks and confirming they have valid teaching or substitute teaching licenses through the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners.

He said while the background check process would catch incidents such as drunken driving convictions, the process cannot prevent unforeseen incidents.

“These things are not 100 percent foolproof," Pedersen said.

Pedersen, who was also the district's human resources officer from roughly 2002 to 2013, said Thursday's incident is unique in his experience working for the district.

He said staff at South East handled the situation appropriately.

"Our main responsibility is the well-being of our students, and ... the administration at South East took immediate and correct action," Pedersen said.

UPDATE: The headline of this story was changed to clarify that it was a substitute teacher who appeared intoxicated and was removed from the school.

http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/2016/02/11/principal-teacher-appeared-drunk-police-called/80246582/

Edited February 14, 2016 by TBoneTX

[Rob L 3,811]

Are you encouraging us to break the TOS (attacking a protected class of grammatically or keyboard challenged peoples) without first including the line "Moderator hat now off"?

Edited February 14, 2016 by Rob L

[TBoneTX 45,570]

[Moderator hat off, above]

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

Grading on 'The Bell Curve' is a well worn topic in educational circles. In a best case scenario, half of the measured group falls below the median. As the median is 'bumped to the left' to achieve a nicely shaped bell curve, it is no longer a valid reference point. I am sure that the Junior High School Principal was on the 'right side' of her bell curve; it is not clear whether her median and my median are the same.

Thank God that Common Core is saving us from all the silly tweaking of bell curves.

[Darnell 8,478]

Context? Tbone? No Way !

Contextually, your topic is silly. Ms. Boyd wrote an OK letter. Were you confused by 'I' vs 'Our' ? Elsewhere, I note this is an issue.

[TBoneTX 45,570]

Dear Families, [each addressee is ONE family -- consider the audience and not your own standpoint]

I hope you are staying warm on this crisp winter day! "I hope THAT you," and a silly intro I wanted to make you all [again, singular recipients] aware of a situation that occurred in our art classroom this morning. It was brought to our attention that there was a substitute teacher in the building who appeared to be intoxicated "that a substitute teacher appeared to be intoxicated" [wordy & redundant -- the art classroom is, one presumes, in the building] . We responded immediately by contacting law enforcement as student safety is our first priority "enforcement, because". A plain-clothes [typically one word] officer came to the building [last 4 words redundant] and confidentially [no, screamed it to the world] verified that the individual was under the influence of alcohol. Appropriate measures were then taken by the officer to remove the substitute ["substitute teacher"] from the building [what, the third mention of building?] and another licensed substitute [adjective again needs a noun to modify] was placed in the classroom. I am happy to report that all of our students were very respectful and true leaders in this situation [how, and relevance?]. I am really proud to lead a building [she's the chief custodian? where is the building being led?] with great staff, an awesome [insert teenage giggle] leadership team, and amazing students [unexplained hyperbole]. If you have any questions, please to [great proofreading] not hesitate to contact the South East office at 688-1070. Thank you and stay warm [gee; I'd have gone outside in my beach attire without this admonition].

Right, Bro D -- a truly OK letter.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Dear Families, [each addressee is ONE family -- consider the audience and not your own standpoint] "Dear Families" is a perfectly acceptable salutation in the circumstances, as "Dear Friends," "Dear Colleagues" or "Dear Students" would be in any letter written to multiple recipients.

I hope you are staying warm on this crisp winter day! "I hope THAT you," and a silly intro In a relatively informal note such as this, there is no need to include "that" as a subordinating conjunction. It's clear from context. "Silly intro" is a value judgment. I wanted to make you all [again, singular recipients] again, multiple recipients intended aware of a situation that occurred in our art classroom this morning. It was brought to our attention ugh, no need for passive voice here that there was a substitute teacher in the building who appeared to be intoxicated "that actually who is preferable, because the author is speaking of one specific substitute teacher, and not a class of people, though "that" would be acceptable a substitute teacher appeared to be intoxicated" [wordy & redundant -- the art classroom is, one presumes, in the building] the inclusion of the location within the building might be relevant to some parents, if their children had art class on that day. Again, this is a value judgment and not a grammar issue. It isn't "wordy & [sic] redundant" depending on context. We responded immediately by contacting law enforcement as student safety is our first priority "enforcement, because" "as" is an acceptable conjunction where it introduces a subordinate clause. A plain-clothes [typically one word] yes, typically officer came to the building [last 4 words redundant] Why? Without "came to the building" the sentence makes no sense and confidentially [no, screamed it to the world] this is not a grammar issue verified that the individual was under the influence of alcohol. Appropriate measures were then taken ugh, more passive voice by the officer to remove the substitute ["substitute teacher"] it's a nominalized adjective that is familiar in everyday discourse from the building [what, the third mention of building?] again, this is not poor grammar or even poor writing, but merely your preference and another licensed substitute [adjective again needs a noun to modify] again, nominalized adjective was placed in the classroom. I am happy to report that all of our students were very respectful and true leaders in this situation [how, and relevance?] it's a dumb platitude, I agree. I am really proud to lead a building [she's the chief custodian? where is the building being led?] agreed that it's a use of metonymy that comes off poorly, but the intent is clear, at least to this fool with great staff, an awesome [insert teenage giggle] value judgment leadership team, and amazing students [unexplained hyperbole] acceptable in an informal note; value judgment. If you have any questions, please to [great proofreading] agreed not hesitate to contact the South East office at 688-1070. Thank you and stay warm [gee; I'd have gone outside in my beach attire without this admonition] value judgment.

Right, Bro D -- a truly OK letter.

It's an informal note that could have used a bit more proofreading; a formal tone is unnecessary, in my opinion. The repeated use of the passive voice is irritating, but this is fairly innocuous in the grand scheme of things.

[Dashinka 24,628]

I have a supervisor that brings things like this to our staff meetings occasionally. She is a stickler for grammar, and wants to stress the need to proof-read communications that we originate in our day-to-day work life. Overall, this letter was informative, but is was poorly written and was in need of a proof read by someone else prior to distribution.

[Darnell 8,478]

Dear Families,]snip]

Right, Bro D -- a truly OK letter.

nah - I was just yanking yer toilet chain, to see if'n you'd actually post the gross errors. Thankfully, Maven (The) made additional comments, so it's all good (on the commentaries).

I'm sorta proud of you for actually doing the work, posting the errors. Kudos ! [for once]

[Rob L 3,811]

It's an informal note that could have used a bit more proofreading; a formal tone is unnecessary, in my opinion. The repeated use of the passive voice is irritating, but this is fairly innocuous in the grand scheme of things.

Microsoft Word frequently accuses me of writing in the passive voice. This did anything but make me passive. I am not saying I had anything to do with Clippys demise during my tenure at that company but I may know a shallow grave in the vicinity of Redmond....

[TBoneTX 45,570]

This is a quick-&-dirty example of what I would have appreciated receiving:

---

Dear Parent,

This is to inform you of an incident at South East Junior High School this morning. A substitute Art teacher appeared to be intoxicated. A plainclothes police officer confirmed this suspicion. That teacher was removed from the building in appropriate fashion and was replaced by another substitute teacher, and the school day proceeded uneventfully.

Please feel free to call the school office at 688-1070 with any questions. Thank you for your attention to this message.

Respectfully,

Amber Boyd, Principal

[ExPatty 502]

It was wordy so that the author could write more without saying more, giving the impression of being more transparent.

My greatest complaint is actually why the @*#( a principal of a school is so ineffective they need to call the police when a teacher is drunk. Seriously? Go talk to them, if they smell drunk, tell them to leave. What's the big deal? That's how a real leader would deal with this. Calling the cops is pitiful.

Edited February 17, 2016 by ExPatty

[smilesammich 10,727]

probably not the best idea to tell a drunk adult in a classroom full of kids to get out.. drive home. i don't know why the cops wouldn't take the teacher to the drunk tank, that's what drunk tanks are for.

[TBoneTX 45,570]

The Phys Ed teachers or sports coaches probably could have achieved the same as did the cop.