In general, PA announcements are abused by every institution. A
teacher is building her lesson to a resounding crescendo when a grating
voice booms from the PA box reminding students that lunch applica-
tions must be turned in the next day. When Ms. Hildebrand first became
a middle school principal, she had more complaints about the PA an-
nouncements than anything else. She developed a procedure that can be
replicated in most schools.
She limited all regular announcements to the last five minutes of a des-
ignated class (which she extended five minutes so no instructional time
was lost). If anyone wanted to make an announcement at any other time,
he needed Ms. Hildebrand’s permission or that of her designee. In most
schools, this is easy to enforce as there are a limited number of PA system
microphones. Ms. Hildebrand’s Chicago middle school, for example, had
only two, in the main office and the principal’s office. Once people real-
ized that their announcements would not be made at just any time, they
learned to make them during the designated time. To be fair, Ms. Hildeb-
rand also disciplined herself and her designee not to use the PA system
except in emergency situations.
In New York City and most school communities, the number of fire
drills and shelter drills required is defined by district policy. It is a sig-
nificant number as this is a safety issue. As every educator knows, each
drill negatively impacts on the period in which it takes place, basically
ending any real instruction during this period. In very large schools
or vertical buildings, it also impacts on the next period because of the
time it takes to get all the students back into the building and into their
classes.
Most schools try not to schedule drills during the first two periods,
when students are entering the school to begin their day. If the school is
using scanning technology for security reasons, a drill during this time
defeats the security measures. In addition, principals know that having
drills during a lunch period creates havoc. When you eliminate the periods
when students are reporting to school and lunch periods, there may be
only three or four periods left in the day suitable for drills, concentrating
the loss of instructional time in these classes.
There are some creative ways to deal with the fire and shelter drill re-
quirements. You may find some of these useful.
Be Aware of Workplace Issues 91