The Pink Slip (An Amazing Discipline Management Tool)

This may be the best purchase you make you today and definitely one you won’t regret! I know there are TONS of “Pink Slips” out there based on the sample in Harry Wong’s book, “The First Days of School.” But this is a horse (or slip) of a different color. Well, it’s pink, but its fundamental purpose is discipline/behavior management. And its creation was for one important purpose: survival in my classroom!

I still remember the idea hitting me about 5 AM after worrying most of the night about having to face unruly 8th graders the next day. Newer teachers seemed to get the worst kids in my school back in those days. I was sinking fast and needed something to save me! This became my lifeline!

The Pink Slip is a simple and effective way to manage and document discipline issues. And that, my friends, is the fundamental difference between this original one and many other simplistic ones. The Pink Slip effectively addresses the main discipline issues teachers have and, if used correctly, will help any teacher become a guru of class control!

Print on pink paper and explain to students that you will be issuing “Pink Slips” to those who break classroom rules or cause issues in the classroom. State that a pink slip is often given to an employee when they are fired from their job. Since you cannot actually “fire” a student, explain that you will be using a pink slip to document misbehavior or issues that keep a student from doing their “job”, which is learning.

Explain that anyone who is issued a pink slip, must read the marked offense, sign his or her name, write in a telephone number and their parent’s name and immediately return the slip to you. It’s important to stress to students that pink slips will be attached to discipline referrals and shown to parents as needed.

As you teach, keep pink slips within easy reach. When a student breaks a rule or is not on task, issue a pink slip by simply marking the offense on the slip and handing it to the student. This can often be done without losing teaching momentum. The student should quickly complete the form and return it to you. If the offense is something the student said, make sure they’ve written down exactly what he or she said so you’ll have a record of that as well.

Follow through is an important part of any discipline plan. Do attach a copy of the pink slips should you need to write a referral or if your referral system has moved online, then document online as necessary and file the slip for safe keeping. This shows your efforts to correct the problem. During parent conferences, pink slips go a long way to show parents that there are very specific issues that need to be addressed with their child. Laying out several completed pink slips can have an eye-opening effect on parents and help you get their support.

This Pink Slip was created by Debra Gastelum, a middle school teacher, and has been implemented successfully on a school-wide basis for over two decades. Pink Slips have also made their way to elementary and high school classrooms in the same county where Debra teaches, having spread through word of mouth.

(The file is designed to be printed on pink paper. The image shown is pink only as an example.)

Need something for those students who won’t complete homework? I have a solution for that too! It’s called a Yellow Slip and it’s been around almost as long as these Pink Slips. You can find more information about Yellow Slips in my TPT store. Thank you for visiting!