Celebration of Light

With the upcoming change in our Presidency, there were fears from our district students and families about possible deportation. A few weeks ago, my School Board adopted a resolution to continue to protect undocumented students from deportation. “As part of the resolution, the board directed the district general counsel’s office to issue a legal memorandum to all students and staff affirming the protections for immigrant students and their families under a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the rights of students in the country without legal permission to attend public schools.” In addition, we have a District Family and Community Engagement Office that is organizing an event to support the rights of all students to be educated in an “environment free from fear, violence and intimidation”. The event will have immigration advice, health care information, and other resources and support for our diverse community. I definitely saw some fear in some of my students about the idea of not being able to attend school and being deported. I think public schools have always been a safe place for students to attend. Now that policies are changing, the fear and anticipation of what will happen next is growing. It is a potential conflict that can have some devastating consequences. I do like how my district has taken action to ensure the safety and well-being of our students and families by adopting the resolution and offering supports and resources for families through the district office.

Resisting Change: Reasons and Research

What are the reasons that cause people to resist change? As individuals, we all have our boundaries and comfort zones. When faced with organizational change, I think there are a variety of reasons that cause people to resist change. From my experience, I have seen fear play a huge role in resisting change. Teachers can be fearful of a new strategy or procedure because it is outside of their comfort zone. We can also be fearful of taking risks, if we are in survival mode of just getting through the school year, to take a risk in changing up the norm can be frightening. I think another factor that plays into resisting change is the overall belief in the change. For example, if the change does not fit into our core values or we do not understand the rationale behind the change then we are more likely to resist. In the reading you have been doing for this class what does the research say about resistance to change? The responsibilities of a school administrator can be stressful and overwhelming when faced with staff that are resistant to change. Overall, approaching resistance in a systematic manner can play a huge factor in the success of a school (Lunenberg, 2010). Lunenberg identifies uncertainty, concern over personal loss, group resistance, dependence, trust in administration, and awareness of weaknesses in the change as primary issues when facing staff resistant to change. Worrying about the unknown and how their work life will be affected causes resistance. In addition, some teachers resist change because they see it as a loss of power, prestige, or other benefits. To overcome change, Lunenberg found the most frequent approaches used to include education and communication, participation and involvement, facilitation and support, negotiation and agreement, manipulation and cooptation, explicit and implicit coercion. Understanding these approaches can help administrators gain the momentum needed for a positive change.

What am I Thankful for? My love/hate relationship with my SPED Department...it's mostly love!

My special education department is truly special to me! We laugh, we fight, we disagree, we talk about each others weaknesses, but at the end of the day we have each others back. We work together as a team to ensure we provide the most appropriate supports and services to our students and families! If a teacher comes in upset about one of our students, our department members make sure to support each other in making the right decisions and letting the school staff know that we are working in the best interest of students! We have the courage to disagree with each other but we also have the ability to laugh at ourselves and how passionate we each can be over such small issues. When I think of collaboration and teamwork, I feel this has been the strongest team I have worked with in during my 15 years of teaching. Could it be that we are all wise and have learned from our mistakes? Or that we all share a common vision and make sure to enjoy ourselves along the way? What ever the exact reasons, I am happy to be part of such a great department that truly enjoys coming to work everyday...and even if we are not feeling so great...we have each other to lean on!

Force Field Analysis Brainstorm

This was my second chance to use Prezi as a platform to conduct the Force Field Analysis. I feel my technology skills continue to develop and refine as I keep using a variety of programs! As a future administrator, this experience of facilitating a force field analysis has positively impacted my confidence and ability to lead a team through a challenging decision making process and reach a positive outcome. By utilizing a variety of decision making strategies such as Drucker’s systematic approach for decision making and Lewin’s force field analysis, I was able to engage our school growth team in meaningful conversations that developed into action steps. Our school growth team reached consensus and made the appropriate revisions to the school growth plan to maximize our efforts in improving student achievement. Utilizing my leadership skills with my school growth team provided me the opportunity to practice and refine my leadership style. As a future administrator, this experience will be the starting point for my knowledge base when facing difficult decisions and eliciting momentum from my staff to be a part of the change process.

In completing Clinical Practice 1, I found an interesting text called The Leadership Challenge that discusses similar decision making and core values addressed by McLaughlin (2015). The authors of The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (2002) described the importance of values serving as “a guide to action…they inform our decision as to what to do and what not to do…and really understand why we meant it (p.41)”. They take it one step further and believe that effective leaders must clearly articulate their values and demonstrate their deep commitment by modeling the way. As I completed my Principal interview, he was able to articulate his core beliefs and “lead from what is believed (Kouzes & Posner, 2002)”. One of his core values shared in our interview was ensuring equity and fairness amongst our staff and students. We have seen many examples of his decision making process that have earned great respect and trust from our staff. References: Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2002). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. McLaughlin, D. (2015). Insights: how expert principals make difficult decisions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Administrative Decision Making: Is it a Team Sport?

I agree with Edwin Bridges ideas on how to involve staff in decision making. I think he offers a systematic approach for administrators to determine when and how to include staff in the decision making process. It seems like common sense to me that if a decision is going to affect how I am going to teach in the classroom, that I would be more invested in participating in the decision. This group decision process can also establish “teacher buy-in” because they were active participants in the decision. There are many decisions that can be made without involving teachers yet some teachers or staff might have a strong opinion that they still want to have heard. Bridges offers a platform to voice these solutions/opinions to consider in the process yet the final decision is made by the administrator. I think it can be a challenging balancing act for administrators to move fluidly from individual decision making to group decision making. It is also important to know the motives of the group and if they have the students best interest in mind.

My Core Values

Improving Our Instruction

Instructional Coaches sound like such a beneficial support program for teachers. To have “personalized PD for teachers” sounds like it would keep teachers more engaged than sitting through a mandatory PD that might not address individual classroom needs. My current site does not have a designated Instructional Coach. I think with our budget constraints, our site has chosen to use their discretionary funds in other areas such as a full time a college/career counselor and a few after school instructional programs for English and math. If we did have a full time instructional coach, I think our department heads would be best at promoting the program. Highlighting effective ways to improve instruction and having a “personalized” coach with new curriculum could create buy in for teachers when hearing it from respected colleagues. I like the idea that it is not mandatory, making things mandatory seems like an automatic turn off for some teachers.

Motivation and Giving Accolades to the School Growth Team

Here is a letter to my School Growth Team in preparation for our Force Field Analysis. The purpose of this letter was to provide motivation and background information about the upcoming meeting. Dear School Growth Team Member, First and foremost, I would like to thank each and every member of our School Growth Team for your dedication and perseverance in being a positive contributing member of our team. We have received valuable feedback, both positive and negative, from our School Administration, staff, students, families, and our community as we continue the task of creating the most relevant and effective School Growth Plan. Our ultimate goal is to improve our school performance! To ensure our school achieves success, the School Growth Team has been tasked with conducting a Force Field Analysis. By analyzing both factors FOR CHANGE and BARRIERS TO CHANGE, we can better understand the most effective ways to promote school growth within our targeted areas of need. To begin this exciting process, I have attached a variety of web links that address the background and theory of Force Field Analysis. Our School Administrators approved release time for our School Growth Team to conduct a Force Field Analysis. This next School Growth Team meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 9 from 12:30-2:30 PM in the Principal Conference Room. In Section 2, there is a Force Field Analysis Template that will guide us in the steps to identify both factors FOR and AGAINST CHANGE specifically at our school site. In addition, please review the attached meeting agenda that outlines the key points we will be covering for the upcoming meetings. Also, as we continue our collaborative work in this organizational change process, please continue to utilize our School Growth Team Shared Notes Google Doc Template below to list any questions, feedback, or comments to address at the upcoming meeting. Looking forward to the upcoming meeting and continuing our meaningful discussions to elicit school growth! Sincerely, Margaret Ortega ,

Interactive Newletter

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FsZYOpJ2O7fChWCkI1FWAyDZKiykcn9BwNtxBCLmM04/edit# Very proud of creating an interactive newsletter for my school growth team. Check out the google doc link and find out what is happening with our School Growth Team!

Effective Collaboration

I think it is so interesting to see the dynamics of teams working collaboratively. I have seen my share of teams that were dysfunctional and disengaged from the process! I think from this experience that it is essential to step in and acknowledge the issues and offer support and leadership to ensure the team is working effectively. If I hear that the team is not in agreement, I think the best thing to do is to be honest and provide the team with an opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas constructively. This could be through an anonymous survey or through a suggestion box. I think the most important thing is to get the team engaged in the process. Once we can get buy in from each member of the team, then the team can function effectively.

School Conflict

School Conflict A few years ago I worked as a Support Teacher for our Special Education Program Office. My primary role was to work directly with Site SPED Departments to support the team in providing effective services as the district moved towards more inclusive practices. One of the sites I was assigned to had a very dysfunctional team dynamic amongst the department members as well as with the School Administrators. Looking back, I think the conflict was a combination of incompatible preferences and activities amongst themselves and with the School Administration. More specifically, because the district was moving towards inclusive practices (providing more push in services vs. pull out). Many veteran special education teachers were resistant to the change in philosophy. They were very upset with the School Administration reorganizing the master schedule for more co-taught classes/push in services. It also seemed like the resistant staff took things personally because it affected their daily schedule and routine and forced to collaborate with general education teachers. How did School Administrators respond and how was it resolved? When I met with the School Administrators to discuss the new changes, it was apparent they were well aware of the teachers that were resistant to the change. It was interesting to see the different leadership styles amongst the Administrators’. The Principal and a newer V.P. wanted to figure out a way to address the teachers concerns to get their buy in and support for the changes. The other V.P. had prior conflict with the same resistant staff for many years, felt that this was an inevitable change and trying to work with the staff was pointless. How I was personally affected? I felt like I was caught in between the School Administrators and the SPED department. It was a very uncomfortable situation. One of the V.P.’s would roll their eyes when I would mention the certain staff that were upset. I could tell there was a history of frustration that was much bigger than just the change for more inclusive practices. The Principal assigned the newer V.P. to oversee the SPED department and she came in with some great strategies to resolve some of the frustrations. Her first step was having the department meet with her and discuss their concerns. She then invited myself and some district SPED Administrators to come in and share the thought process about the new changes. How did staff members react? The resistant staff members still seemed frustrated but at the end of the meeting the team agreed to be respectful to each other and agreed upon a common goal for the students to be successful. It was a rough year for that team because conflict consistently surfaced amongst the staff members and Administrators.

Best Practice and Limited Time for Administrators

As a special education teacher, facilitating IEP meetings throughout the school year is one of the many responsibilities. I enjoy these meetings because we get to sit down as a team with the student, family/parent, Administrator, School Counselor, and teachers to discuss how best to provide supports and services for the student to improve. I am also a parent of a student with an IEP and was horrified to hear the Administrator, say at the start of my child’s meeting, that the IEP team has limited time (1 hour) because they scheduled back to back IEP meetings. My first thought was that she could have approached this in a more positive tone “I really want to focus on addressing your child’s needs and IEP program. We have scheduled 1 hour for today’s meeting so when it gets close to the end, let’s reassess and determine if we need to reconvene in order to ensure we addressed all areas of the IEP?” She really did not need to let me know that they scheduled back to back meetings. The meeting felt very rushed and I was not impressed with how they handled the limited time. I did not sign the IEP and asked to review all the changes discussed. The team was not willing to sit an additional 10-15 minutes to do this and that really made me more frustrated. They were literally trying to wrap things up ready so they could get ready for the following meeting. Walking away from this meeting, I felt the Administrator put her needs (time constraints for back to back meetings) above my child’s needs. As a future administrator, I know I will NEVER convey to my staff, parents, families, or community members that “I was too busy to call you back or to find time to address your concerns or needs”. To hear this from my child’s IEP team made me feel that my child’s needs were insignificant and not the priority. I will always ensure families feel their student is the priority, whether it is in an IEP meeting or just running into the parent at a school function. I will always make the effort make that parent feel that they are heard and if time is limited, I will offer to schedule a better time to meet free of distractions.

Incorporating New Technology as a Future Administrator

Always open to learning new software programs and utilizing it in the classroom, I have viewed myself as somewhat technology proficient. The technology component (earning tech badges) that the Brandman University Administrative program requires has really challenged my skill set as a future administrator. I have found myself intrigued by the options of technology use to incorporate as a future administrator for data(e-posters), presentations(Prezi), and promoting our school vision. At the same time, I have also found it overwhelming trying to learn the new software programs and creating quality assignments. I really enjoyed using the Prezi program to create my Clinical Practice 3 assignment. I will be honest though, it took longer than expected to create my presentation. As an avid PowerPoint user, I am able to create and format my presentations quickly. So, in trying to create a Prezi presentation, I spent the majority of the time trying to figure out how to format and make the presentation clear and concise. I know I still have a long way to go in learning about Prezi and all its functions. However, Prezi is definitely a program that I think I would want to use as a future administrator. Also, it made me realize the importance of promoting and providing the support of technology use for my future staff. I think it will be an important piece to emphasize in our efforts for school improvement. My current Principal is very good at “showcasing” some great technology in our staff meetings. He also offers additional support by providing online help/instructions/examples of how to incorporate into our teaching practice.

Mental Health Supports and Education

This year, our site piloted a trauma program to support students with dual diagnosis of special education and mental health diagnosis. The team consists of a licensed therapist and two rehabilitation specialists and they work directly with our identified students. Most of the supports are delivered 1:1 because the nature of their mental health diagnosis (ie: depression, anxiety, bi-polar). I have had quite a few students utilize this program and have seen some great progress with their behavior, attendance, and academics in my classroom. The best part of having this on campus is the immediate access to support if there are any emergency situations. They are always willing to consult about students and offer guidance and support in how best to handle the situation. One challenge to this program is when the student gets constantly pulled out of class for therapy or a skills meeting. The consistency of support from the general education teachers vary. Some teachers allow the student to make up the work missed, others penalize the student for missing class. It is an ongoing issue that our Administration is trying to address so we can keep the program running. San Diego Unified School District. (2016). Providing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Project In Leadership and Learning. Retrieved from: https://www.sandi.net/staff/staff-leadership-and-learning/positive-behavioral-interventions-and-supports-project

Leadership and Test Scores

I do believe test scores can help us improve our instruction and also help guide us in making sound instructional decisions about our students. However, I do not believe that we should base any educational decisions or make any assumptions on just one low test score. I think using a variety of data is helpful in truly understanding the needs of our students. For example, are there alternative ways students can demonstrate their learning if they score low on a multiple choice test? Can we look at multiple years of test scores to see if a student scores consistently over an extended period of time? Or did the student have extenuating circumstances one particular year and that could attribute to the low test scores. I think there are so many variables that need to be considered when addressing low test scores. The easiest would be to blame it on the students that lack the skills or the teacher that might be struggling in their first year. However, I think it is an unfair practice to fire teachers if the majority of their students score low on SBAC testing. Firing a teacher or blaming it on the students’ lack of skills are just short term solutions when looking at low test scores. I think it is an Administrator’s responsibility to dig deeper into the root cause and to develop long term solutions to solve this problem.

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/16/462181638/solving-the-special-ed-teacher-shortage-quality-not-quantity# One of my colleagues shared an article about teacher shortages and subs procedures for her district. It sparked some interesting conversations about the subject. I share your frustrations when having to be pulled out to sub for another class! Being in special education, our front office likes to make phone calls to our rooms first because it is easiest to pull us out of a co-taught class. As painful as it is to sub for a teacher in a class that I know nothing about (I had to sub for a physics and chemistry class many times this year), I understand the legal ramifications if there was not a credentialed teacher present. I think it is a difficult situation that school sites and administrators should address and have a plan that will not burn out their own staff. My daughter attends school in the same district I teach at. Her classroom teacher has been teaching all year with a Short Term Staff Permit. I had HUGE reservations about this at the start of the year because when looking her name up on CCTC, she had no valid credentials. I thought she would just be a thirty day sub until they filled the position. When I spoke with the Principal, she said she had no plans of filling the position and wanted to keep this teacher. I felt strongly that this teacher did not have the theoretical knowledge or skills to handle my daughters class. I even filed a complaint with our quality assurance program to inquire about the legality of this issue. Our district response was that she was issued the Short term staff permit to teach for the remainder of the year and this was approved by CCTC. I feel strongly that it is the district's responsibility to continue looking for qualified teachers but they felt that this was acceptable. Long story short, this teacher has tried to do all she can to be a good teacher. However, I feel that my daughter has lost a whole year of quality education because she did not have access to a credentialed teacher in the classroom. Sorry to vent, but it has been a frustrating year for my daughter. Offering more money for substitutes sounds like a good short term plan, however, I still believe we have to uphold our substitutes to a standard and the CBEST should not be waived. As a credentialed teacher, we have so many different certifications, P.D.'s and requirements to be able to teach. Why should we lower our standards when it comes to substitutes?

Discipline that works?

My district has adopted a discipline strategy called restorative justice to help curb the expulsion and suspensions rates. This program focuses on more positive conflict resolution skills using meaningful accountability and consequences for students. Instead of suspending a student for 3 days and sending them home this strategy focuses on more positive outcomes and consequences. For example, staff and students involved in the incident try to get to the “root of the behavior” by engaging in dialogue of better choices. It is also interesting to see the increase in accountability for actions; this idea is to have the student responsible (the offender) to work positively to repair the relationship with the student or students that were affected by the incident. This program is in its third year of implementation and our district reports that expulsions have decreased nearly 60%. This looks like a remarkable decrease but it is also important to know that our school board also voted to give more discretion to school administrators for disciplinary actions. Previously 15 offenses that were mandatory expulsions were reduced down to 5. The other 10 are considered discretionary expulsions(3rd fight in a year, causing serious injury, assault or battery on school employee, possessing a knife, possessing a dangerous object, using a controlled substance, possessing controlled substance, robbery/extortion, smoking, and causing serious injury in hate incident) So in conjunction with restorative justice practices our revised expulsion and suspension policy has helped decrease discipline issues. Does your District or School Site use restorative justice practices? If not, what types of positive discipline strategies are used to keep the schools safe yet students accountable for their behavior? http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/jun/02/year-later-san-diego-unifieds-school-discipline-ch/

I work at the high school level and have seen high numbers of students drop out or really just disappear. In the last few years, our district has concentrated efforts in reducing the numbers of these drop outs. Our district shared with us students that are at high risk and it was shocking to hear it usually starts in the early grades. For example, missing a month or more of school in the primary grades, entering 3rd grade without strong reading skills, and lack of positive school experience. I think it was shocking to me because I have always taught at the high school level and never went that far back to explain why students drop out. Our district did inform us that “the middle grades and the first two years of high school are key indicators to identify the majority of students at highest risk of dropping out (San Diego Unified School District, 2016)”.If we pay attention to the “ABC’s of dropout prevention- attendance, behavior, and course performance” we could implement a variety of prevention and intervention strategies to decrease the high numbers of dropouts. My district has implemented a variety of strategies to reconnect with these students that are at risk. One program that I have seen in action is called “Check and Connect”. These are resource teachers that work directly with at risk students. At my site, I have one student that meets with her Check and Connect teacher at least once a week. They look over her grades, attendance, and behavior and create a solid plan to address any issues. The Check and Connect teacher collaborates with all the classroom teachers, counselors, and administrators to ensure the student is successful. Just today, the Check and Connect teacher asked to take our student to meet with the Principal. She has had some significant attendance issues that were due to an unstable home life. Despite these issues, the student was able to persevere with her education and completed all the requirements needed for a high school diploma. Unfortunately, we have an attendance policy that prohibits students from walking in graduation if there is a high rate of absences. The check and connect teacher was advocating for this student’s right to walk in graduation and asked for this special meeting to explain the unusual circumstances. I know our Principal and I know he fully understands the idea of equity and fairness so I am thinking he will allow her to walk. Questions: I am curious to hear what types of programs your district offers for at risk students? Have these programs experienced success in decreasing the amount of drop out rates? San Diego Unified School District. (2016). Retrieved from: https://www.sandiegounified.org/dropout-prevention-and-attendance-initiatives

Theory X , Y, & Z

As Kaplan and Owings (2015) described McGregor’s Theory X and Y and Ouichi’s Theory Z, I see many parallels of each of the theories in regards to work motivation levels at my school site (p.41). Theory X reminded me of some colleagues that do not seem invested in improving student achievement. I think reasons behind this could be compared to what Kotter (2012) observed in the business world of having “no sense of urgency” (p.4). They attend our monthly staff and department meetings but show no signs of interest in taking on additional responsibilities. Luckily, we have more Theory Y type teachers that show a general commitment to providing a positive learning environment. Overall, I feel my current site is trying to strive towards Ouichi’s Theory Z in small successions by trying to get all teachers invested in a shared vision and creating effective professional learning communities. There seems to be a long road ahead for us to get to Ouichi’s Theory Z model. Fortunately, my first few years of teaching, I was at a site that looked more like Theory Y and strived towards reaching Theory Z. We had a phenomenal District Instructional Leader that shared the same vision and goals as our school site. We also had a highly supportive Administration that understood the importance of building leadership amongst the teachers (Kaplan and Owings, 2015). It was as close to an educational utopia, as compared to Ouchi’s Theory Z model, as I have ever experienced in my years of teaching. Kaplan, L.S. & Owings, W.A. (2015). Introduction to the principalship theory to practice. New York, NY: Routledge. Kotter, J.P. (2012). Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press. Using McGregor Burns Theory X and Y and Ouichi’s Theory Z model, I am interested in hearing what the school climate is like in your district.

I came across an interesting article criticizing our district’s superintendent use of power to “match principals to the right school and removing those who aren’t getting the done.” The article points out that she has exercised this power liberally. Since starting her position as Superintendent in 2013, there have been “87 principals – about half of all those in the district – have retired, transferred to other schools or moved to loosely defined “special assignments.” This article also reported statistics from a 2012 RAND report about trends with new principals. They found that ”New prinicipals– whom the study defined as principals who are new to a school, even if they had prior experience as an administrator – improve over time. But about 20 percent of them will leave schools within two years.” This concerns me as we move closer to obtaining our administrative credential. Can I handle this type of pressure that comes along with the responsibility of being a school administrator? Being in the classroom for 15 years and having that job security has always been comforting (AND necessary since my husband and I have always been a double income family). This job security goes out the door as we take on the challenge of becoming a school administrator. How are you feeling about becoming a School Administrator now that we have completed these 3 summer classes? Are you ready to leave the classroom and the comforts of job security? How will you ensure that you have longevity as a School Administrator? http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/education/principal-churn-highlights-a-big-tension-in-martens-tenure-as-superintendent/

Data Analysis Piktochart

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Data, data, data!!!! What does it all mean? How do I translate the data into meaningful results? I have learned so much about data driven leadership from our 602 class. The importance of making informed decisions based on a variety of data. Improving our instructional practice and Being able to provide the hard data that supports those tough decisions to make changes. I know I will use this knowledge to help me become an effective administrator and hope to model these skills to my future colleagues.

Technology Proficient

I am excited that I am learning all about the latest technology programs and software to use as both an educator and future administrator! I always thought of myself as technology proficient. However, the Brandman University MAELA program has challenged my skills and knowledge in technology. I am proud that I can now say I am a blogger and a have a channel on you tube. I have also learned how to create web pages on Weebly and how to create videos on animoto. I think as a future administrator, these skills are important to utilize. If technology can streamline any information or work for my staff, then I am a in full support. Above is an example of my WEEBLY blog. I originally started using google blogger but then took a class with CII for Weebly. I found that Weebly is more user friendly and there are a variety of functions compared to blogger.com. I also think keeping up with the latest technology can be a valuable tool to use for students to reflect on their own work. There are endless possibilities when it comes to technology.

Future School Vision

Excited to figure out how to use more technology to promote my idea of a school vision! I've always considered myself digitally literate but learning how to blog and earning these tech badges has challenged my skills and knowledge on a whole new level. I earned my credential over 10 years ago so to see the techonological advances and accessability of a variety of programs is amazing! There are so many options for teachers to differentiate instruction and have students demonstrate their knowledge! Long gone are those paper and pencil tasks and multiple choice questions to regurgitate. Technology today enhances our student learning and it is essential for teachers to infuse it throughout the curriculum!

In researching about Board of Education members for our Public School Governance paper, I was able to read more in depth about a Board Member’s misconduct case in my own district (San Diego Unified). In February, we had a Board Member plead guilty for violating the Political Reform Act (California Fair Political Practices Commission, 2016). She was in violation of the act because she accepted a $3,487 scholarship to pay for her son to attend a theater camp. This board member did not disclose to the donor that she was on the School Board. Unfortunately, the donor thought she was helping a student that needed financial help and she did not realize his mother was on the school board. There were additional allegations that included illegally fund raising to pay off debt and college tuition for her sons that were attended by San Diego Unified officials and contractors. She also enrolled her son in a subsidized lunch program even though her income well exceeded the requirement. In the end, the District Attorney conducted a criminal investigation on all these accounts; however, the superior court ruled that the only charge filed against her was for accepting $3,487 in scholarship money. This board member plead guilty to the violation, sentenced to three years’ probation, 120 hours of community service, and prohibited from running for elected office for four years (Magee, 2016). I was shocked to hear that this board member was misleading the community and using her position for her own selfish reasons. She gained the trust of her district/community enough to win their vote for her position. However, she lied to many people about her income to benefit her son’s education. In addition, she tried to seek financial help from other SDUSD employees and contractors to pay off college debt accumulated by her children. If not, how does your school district ensure that there are checks and balances within our school board members to be honest and truthful?

Drop Out Prevention

June is my favorite time of the school year. Not only is it time start wrapping things up...it is time to celebrate high school graduation! I have been fortunate to work with amazing staff and students that see graduation as a milestone. Unfortunately, there are others that are less fortunate and have huge challenges that are difficult to overcome. I work at the high school level and have seen high numbers of students drop out or really just disappear. In the last few years, our district has concentrated efforts in reducing the numbers of these drop outs. Our district shared with us students that are at high risk and it was shocking to hear it usually starts in the early grades. For example, missing a month or more of school in the primary grades, entering 3rd grade without strong reading skills, and lack of positive school experience. I think it was shocking to me because I have always taught at the high school level and never went that far back to explain why students drop out. Our district did inform us that “the middle grades and the first two years of high school are key indicators to identify the majority of students at highest risk of dropping out (San Diego Unified School District, 2016)”.If we pay attention to the “ABC’s of dropout prevention- attendance, behavior, and course performance” we could implement a variety of prevention and intervention strategies to decrease the high numbers of dropouts. My district has implemented a variety of strategies to reconnect with these students that are at risk. One program that I have seen in action is called “Check and Connect”. These are resource teachers that work directly with at risk students. At my site, I have one student that meets with her Check and Connect teacher at least once a week. They look over her grades, attendance, and behavior and create a solid plan to address any issues. The Check and Connect teacher collaborates with all the classroom teachers, counselors, and administrators to ensure the student is successful. Just today, the Check and Connect teacher asked to take our student to meet with the Principal. She has had some significant attendance issues that were due to an unstable home life. Despite these issues, the student was able to persevere with her education and completed all the requirements needed for a high school diploma. Unfortunately, we have an attendance policy that prohibits students from walking in graduation if there is a high rate of absences. The check and connect teacher was advocating for this student’s right to walk in graduation and asked for this special meeting to explain the unusual circumstances. I know our Principal and I know he fully understands the idea of equity and fairness so I am thinking he will allow her to walk. I am curious to hear what types of programs your district offers for at risk students? Have these programs experienced success in decreasing the amount of drop out rates? San Diego Unified School District. (2016). Retrieved from: https://www.sandiegounified.org/dropout-prevention-and-attendance-initiatives

Benefits of Restorative Justice Practices in SDUSD

References: References: San Diego Unified School District. (2014). Positve Behavior Support Strategies Board Presentation. San Diego Unified: A restorative district. A new way to envision the future. Retrieved from http://www.boarddocs.com/ca/sandi/Board.nsf/files/9MCUMX737763/$file/Restorative%20District%20-%20Positive%20Behavior%20Strategies%20Presentation,%207-29-14.pdf In 2012, the U.S. Department of Education civil rights office (2014) found that African-American and Latino students were “suspended and expelled at higher rates than their white counterparts nationwide.” Similar findings of this disparity with suspensions and expulsions with minority students as compared to Caucasian students were reported by SDUSD in 2014 (Magee, 2014, p.E4). The San Diego Union Tribune reported that when behavior issues would arise, common practice for administrators were to default to punitive consequences such as detention, Saturday school, suspension, or in severe cases, expulsion. To address this alarming disparity among minority student discipline rates, SDUSD piloted a restorative justice program in 2014 (Magee, 2014, p.E4). Now that this program is in its second year of implementation, SDUSD reports that restorative justice practices have resulted in a decrease of suspensions and expulsion rates by approximately 60% (San Diego Unified School District, 2016a). SDUSD board policy F-2100 has proactively minimized conflict on school campuses by seeking positive behavior intervention supports (PBIS) and building strong community relationships. To be successful, there are four guiding principles that make restorative justice an equitable practice. First, accountability for a student is meaningful because they are part of the reparation process. Second, it is important to take in consideration of how to repair the harm caused by the student. Third, restorative justice ensures that there is a sense of healing achieved for the student harmed and the community. And the fourth guiding principle is how the student responsible will be positively reintegrated into the community(San Diego Unified School District, 2016a). Restorative justice practices have proven to be an effective program within our district that promotes equity amongst our diverse student population (Magee, 2014, p.E4). I think this is an exciting program that is vital to our district!

Arts Education in K-12 Schools

We have been having interesting discussions in my EDAD 601 Introduction to Leadership, Vision, and Change course around the benefits of arts education in K-12 schools. I enjoy these discussions because cohort members share their unique perspective and experience from their own school district. From these discussions, I have learned that some teachers believe it is a necessity to have these types of programs to provide a broad base knowledge for students. Unfortunately, many teachers from smaller school districts shared that they do not have the support from their leadership team to fund these programs. Often these are the programs that are first to be cut when funding is limited. It is sad to see how some School Leaders can not find the funding sources to support art programs. Is it that they do not believe in the benefits? Do they feel their priorities and funding would be better invested in academic subjects such as English Language Arts or mathematics? With school districts making the shift to the Common Core Standards, I see the pressure that is put upon School Leaders to have their schools perform at a higher level. A focus on increasing funding for ELA and mathematics seems like the reasonable answer. However, when I researched what my school district stance was regarding arts education, I was pleasantly surprised to see our Superintendent and her leadership team in support of arts education. The short video clip below is a great snapshot of the high value put upon arts education in the San Diego Unified School District. Hearing this support coming straight from our Superintendent made me realize the importance of having a strong leader during challenging times of a budget crisis. More importantly, I like how she emphasized the collaborative work accomplished with leadership team to provide a broad and challenging curriculum that includes arts education.

Title 1 Arts: San Diego Unified School District Learning Through The Arts Case Study from Jesse Kerman on Vimeo.

Collaboration and Leadership

I had the opportunity to meet up with 2 of my former colleagues and a former student that graduated in 2009. It was amazing to reunite with our student and hear all about her success since graduating from high school. My former colleague was putting together a district wide professional development about the unique collaboration, supports and services we developed at our site to help our students succeed. Listening to our student talk about her struggles with academics and how she found support from her teachers made the difference for her. She understood the importance of earning a high school diploma and she overcame her academic challenges by keeping focused and asking for help from her teachers when she did feel lost or overwhelmed.

It made me reflect back to our time as teachers at that site and the type of leadership our Administration promoted. We had supportive administrators that encouraged our special education department to collaborate and utilize our resources on campus. As teachers, we brainstormed how best to provide appropriate services that would benefit our students and also ensure staff would not burn out. This collaborative style helped us create a positive learning environment for all. The most interesting part of this student interview was when my colleague shared with her the work we did "behind the scenes" to ensure that our student was successful. We collaboratively planned her schedule and matched her with teachers that would be supportive yet still have high expectations of her. We also discussed the on going communication among teachers outside of the classroom about her progress. And when she wasn't doing so well, we had to re-group and re-strategize the best way to get her back on track. All this planning, collaborating, and ensuring we were providing the most appropriate supports happened because the leadership of our administration promoted and embodied a message of collaboration. Our administration empowered us as teachers to be creative and work together to achieve success for all of our students. Hearing our student share about her positive learning experience made me realize that we accomplished our school vision of success!