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!