Kitsap Education

The Central Kitsap School Board played to a full house tonight, with many interesting folks in the packed seats. There was Dave Pevovar – famed physics and computer science teacher at CKHS – (he has his own Facebook fan page) and Paul Birkenfeld, another beloved CKHS science teacher. Elizabeth Blandin and JD Sweet were there too. Sweet is a long-time (30-plus years, I think) history teacher at CKHS and leader in the local African American community. Blandin teaches English and works in the library. The pair recently won a Washington Education Association award for their project working with kids on diversity issues. I saw other familiar faces whose names I can’t quite put my finger on right now (my bad!) – suffice to say most of them were from CKHS.

While I was there initially to find out more about a proposed capital projects levy CKSD may put on the February 2011 ballot, staff members packed the house to talk about class sizes and staffing for the 2010-11 school year. CK was the only district locally to lay off staff this year. This has made for some very difficult situations in the district. The good news, from HR director Jeanie Beckon, is that two of the 13 teachers (one math and one science, both at the secondary level) who were laid off have been recalled to their jobs. CK leaders hope to give back more jobs – probably at elementary – before the end of the school year.

(more…)

Washington state’s application for the Department of Education’s Race to the Top grants is in process, carrying with it endorsements from almost all Washington public schools. Check out the story I wrote about it last week. But not everyone is on board.

Lots of branches of the statewide teachers union have not signed on, including those in Central and North Kitsap.

Bremerton’s Education Association did sign on, though President Tina Mahaney said it was philosophically hard to do. “Philosophically we are against competing because we don’t feel we should have to compete for money for basic education,” she said. However, BEA members agreed that it would be wrong to pass by a chance to gain funds for the schools when budget cuts come every year. “We can’t afford to let any money pass us by if it’s out there,” Mahaney added.  Bremerton schools stand to gain more (over $1.1 million) from RTTT than any other local district. The level of poverty among students in the Bremerton schools entitles them to more federal funds each year than any other local district. Under RTTT, that Title I status also could garner Bremerton schools more money. (In comparison, CK schools have almost twice the enrollment as Bremerton, but without the district-wide Title I status CK only gets a little more than $900,000.)

South Kitsap Education Association signed on too to “be collaborative” with the school district, said Judy Arbogast, SKEA president. There is concern among SKEA members about the extra workload created by the potential of new federal money. Arbogast said there are many unknowns, including the “cost-benefit analysis.” Arbogast also said that there is a mixed message. On the one hand, schools are charged with meeting the needs of every child under the federal No Child Left Behind law, but now they are competing for the money to do it. “We shouldn’t be fighting for the money that is needed,” she said. 

Catherine Ahl, a former NK school board member and active participant these days in the League of Women Voters, has been against RTTT for several months. She wrote an email to me late last week.

“I recommended voting against it although I don’t think WA has a chance in Hell of winning anyway. I believe if money comes from the federal government there will be strings attached and reporting requirements that might cost many of the dollars received. If the state doesn’t receive the money, schools might still be mandated to do what they signed up for. This seems to be a diversion from the (NEWS) lawsuit ruling. It will do nothing about funding transportation, utility, curriculum replacement etc. that local levies are paying for. The state continues to ignore its Constitutional duty.” 

Some estimate that Washington has only a 20 percent chance of winning any RTTT money. Remember in the last go-around of RTTT awards only two states, Delaware and Tennessee, won grants.

A story in the Tacoma News-Tribune recently highlighted a Tacoma Public Schools teacher who will be reassigned from his current position at Mount Tahoma for the next school year. It’s a good look into how seniority, enrollment and union rules drive how teachers do their jobs and where.

Read more here.

Layoffs of teachers in local school districts are almost surely coming in the next few months as the state budget is cut yet again. As in past years, the teachers “last hired” will be “first fired.” Blogger and teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron has written another interesting take on how that system might be changed. She proposes a multi-pronged approach to the evaluation of teachers, a more honest and deeper way to measure success. It’s an interesting approach and definitely something more substantial than slinging around blame for a troubled education system. Often I hear critics of public education just blame the teachers unions for all that is wrong. Like most things in life, it’s just not that easy. To her credit. Wolpert-Gawron doesn’t let teachers off the hook but her call to accountability is much more nuanced.

From her article:

And for the teachers out there, I have a message for you as well. We are blamed for the broken system because we are not making it a priority to speak out from the trenches. Society will listen to those with the loudest voices, and ours aren’t even yet heard at a whisper. Share what works in your classroom. Share the victories of your school with your community. Share your ideas about better teacher policies. We can no longer give our tacit permission for those few who are the weakest among us to dictate our reputation. If society is to respect our profession, as it deserves, we need to write our own stories.