NOTE: See update at bottom.
There appears to be a renewed interest in our county about the health and welfare of some of our most wounded children. My highest praise for the advocacy work being done by Judge Patrick Tondreau, presiding judge of the Juvenile Justice Court and Pam Serrano, Chair of the Juvenile Justice Commission.
In a recent opinion column in the San Jose Mercury News, Judge Tondreau and Chair Pam Serrano wrote, “a very high proportion of the youth in our justice system—the same youth that the Office of Education (SCCOE) teaches—have serious mental health issues, report high levels of alcohol and drug use and have extremely high levels of trauma leading to post-traumatic stress, all of which seriously impair critical thinking skills and limit problem-solving skills. It is easy to presume that negative behaviors are intentional and willful, when in fact such behaviors are often a consequence of neurobiological factors and prior adaptation to dangerous circumstances.”
With incredibly high hopes I thought last Wednesday’s SCCOE special meeting on the WestEd report on alternative schools was the beginning of a meaningful conversation to move a collaborative agenda forward for some of our most vulnerable youth. Immediately my naivety was nakedly exposed to all. I honesty and wholeheartedly thought after spending the bulk of our board work on alternative education during the presidencies of Craig Mann and Anna Song that now, with this report in hand, the board, the administrators and all stakeholders could come to consensus on next steps. As of this writing I was proven totally wrong. However, I was heartened by the strong perception that the six board members present were all on a similar page.
Today I sit at my desk confused and flummoxed about where to go from here. I have had no conversations as a post mortem with the superintendent since the meeting ended around 9pm last Wednesday. Tomorrow we meet again and he is to tell us under his superintendent’s report the next steps going forward after he has conferred with his staff.
For me the WestEd report and the new direction being taken by Judge Tondreau and the commission are powerful and sensitive to the needs of these alternative-education youth. Page 12 of the WestEd report states: “This report comes at a time of great urgency for SCCOE. WestEd heard countless reports, both formally and informally, about the ‘broken’ Alternative Education Program system (AEP), which according to stakeholders, appears to have been broken for well over a decade…SCCOE employees and community members spoke of the fear that has permeated the county for many years, suggesting staff ‘walked on eggshells constantly’ concerned that they might do something wrong and be chastised or lose their job.”
I am saddened to say this debilitating culture of fear still exists today. As president of the board I know I must share the responsibility for the culture that exists. In a recent meeting I had with the leadership of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) leadership representing over 1,350 SCCOE employees I was told the culture of fear is said to be worse under Superintendent Weis than his predecessor. It does not sound like we could meet our goal to become the premier employer in SCC anytime soon.
The report found through interviews focus groups, and an anonymous on-line survey that the alternative education staff morale is low. My personal morale was never lower than at the beginning of the meeting when through the show of hands I learned there was no one in the room representing the probation department or East Side Union High School District, from which most of our alternative students come. Member Beauchman said we should not move forward until ESUHSD is part of the conversation.
This lack of reaching out to the key community stakeholders to participate, if they wish, is inexplicable to me. In the written and oral report WestEd emphasized that highly effective programs for alternative youth have high levels of collaboration from their respective probation departments. According to the report SCCOE does not yet have this type of communication and collaboration with Santa Clara County probation. This must be changed with a sense of urgency.
The WestEd report said many of the key practices implemented by exemplary alternative education programs and schools are inextricably connected to positive youth development. The researchers recognized eight areas as addressed by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine: physical and psychological safety, appropriate structure, supportive relationships, opportunities to belong, positive norms, support for efficacy and mattering, opportunities for skill building, and integration of family, school, and community efforts. The findings of the report indicated that since No Child Left Behind’s legislation passed in 2002, even alternative education programs have moved to more academic rigor and increased academic achievement—at the expense of a more student-centered learning.
This is the crux of the issue for me. In order to have high quality programs for alternative youth those eight factors above must be inculcated in the daily curriculum and be balanced with the academic rigor mantra. If not, I think we fail the needs of these wounded children.
Today those factors are not present by all things I have personally observed, by the report’s findings and what I continue to hear. Those factors were integral to our programs when I was an alternative- education teacher for the SCCOE 28 years ago. They must return as part of a new plan as developed by the steering committee referred to in the WestEd recommendations.
UPDATE: Monday Feb. 21, 1:30pm.
At Wednesday night’s SCCOE Board meeting, as requested, Superintendent Weis developed a comprehensive plan for gathering stakeholder input for the continuing improvement of the Alternative Education Program. I think he and the staff directed to prepare the response to the Board’s request hit a proverbial home run. Here is the scoop:
On March 10 and 17, board members will hold hearings at Pathfinder and Odyssey community schools, respectively, from 6:30-8:30pm. Food, child care, and translation services will be provided. At these hearings the Board hopes to hear from parents, students and teachers about the recommendations in the WestEd Report.
On March 2, 9 and 16, Board members go to community schools to listen to individual focus groups of students and teachers. These focus groups will take place at 11:30-12:30 at Novo on March 2, Pathfinder on March 9 and Odyssey on March 16. Only board members able to attend will be present.
On March 16 a main community roundtable will be assembled by invitation or request from stakeholder groups. This will be at a Board Study Session beginning at 5:30. This will be a posted Brown Act meeting. All seven board members should be present. Stakeholders to be invited by the SCCOE Management staff will include Judge Patrick Tondreau, Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court, Probation staff, CYOs, SJPD, MVPD, GPD, MPD, County Mental Health, Public Defenders, District Attorney’s Office, Mayor’s Anti-Gang Task Force, Fresh LifeLines For Youth (FLY), School Districts whose students the Alternative Education Department serves (including ESUHS, SJUSD), Catholic Charities, Miri Counseling, PACT, and others.
On April 2 the SCCOE Board considers staff summary report of input from all aforementioned sessions.
On April 16 the SCCOE staff and Superintendent present recommendations for action plan, based upon WestEd report and broad community, student, parent, and teacher input. At this meeting a Steering Committee is launched to establish goals, indicators of progress and success, a timeline for meetings and products, and responsibilities for each of the participating individuals or agencies involved going forward.
This will all be done in context of a projected $2.6 million dollar deficit to the Alternative Schools Department for the 2011-12 school year.
Joseph,
It takes a Whole Village to raise One Child.
Let’s Start Here!
The Village Black Smith
> It takes a Whole Village to raise One Child.
Other than being a line that Hillary Clinton put in her stupid ghostwritten book, what the hell does this mean?
If the “whole village” is raising children, the children are being raised badly.
Something that is “everyone’s responsibility” is in reality no one’s responsibility.
That’s the ultimate problem with collectivism: no one is responsible.
Gil,
And it starts with the parents. Neglectful and uncaring parents are 100% of the reason why children become criminals, sociopaths, etc.
Greg Howe said, “And it starts with the parents. Neglectful and uncaring parents are 100% of the reason why children become criminals, sociopaths, etc.” Absolutely true, and by not holding youth accountable for their behavior in school, we will only enable and foster their bad behavior.
> Neglectful and uncaring parents are 100% of the reason why children become criminals, sociopaths, etc.
Greg and Kathleen:
The world is a simple place for people with theories on how other people should raise their children.
Unfortunately, human beings are imperfect and children are human beings.
Sadly, although parenting is very important, perfect parents who raise their children perfectly can sometimes fail to achieve perfect results.
Sometimes it DOES happen that children with perfect parents end up as criminals, sociopaths, etc.
Teachable Moment,
“Sometimes it DOES happen that children with perfect parents end up as criminals, sociopaths, etc.”
What you are saying is very true, BUT responsible parents seek help for their kids. I’ve worked with at risk youth and I can tell you that their success or failure depends greatly on the support, and/or assistance they get once they are identified as troubled.
I don’t think the “schools” are responsible for raising other people’s children. I think that falls on the shoulders of their parents and families.
I agree with both arguments because I do think it is the parents responsibility but the schools should be constantly assessing the children to make sure they are capable of making their own decisions. I know parents who are over controlling of their children’s’ lives and they end up rebelling and getting themselves into some serious trouble. Parents have good intentions but I don’t think perfect parents exist nor completely obedient children.
> I don’t think the “schools” are responsible for raising other people’s children. I think that falls on the shoulders of their parents and families.
Well, then, if schools AREN’T responsible, and parents ARE RESPONSIBLE, then WHY do you tolerate NON-RESPONSIBLE parties like the government and the teachers unions taking money from the RESPONSIBLE parties and spending it in ways the persons actually RESPONSIBLE for education wouldn’t tolerate or approve of?
God. I Love this question! As the parent of an astonishingly intelligent and gifted little girl, I am having to look for ways to afford private education as I am concerned that few, if any of the local public school options are able to teach to the level of which my daughter is capable. I would so love to get back from the government that portion of money I pay in taxes which would be distributed to the education system so that I can make my own decision about how to spend my own money on the education of my daughter.
One of my best friends is an assistant principle in one of the schools in San Jose. I am continually appalled at the stories of what regularly goes on at those schools. I am truly thankful that I don’t have to worry about my daughter being stuck in one of them, but frankly, I still don’t see the grade schools in San Jose’s public system being the best educational option for my daughter.
Joseph,
Thank you for inviting me to your meeting on this report. It was a real eye opener for me in more ways than one. I would like to tour your alternative schools. Could you set that up for me?
On the meeting, first let me say that I think your School Board Staff, not fellow Board Members, do not have the best interest of your mission in mind. I see them undermining your efforts in both obvious and subtle ways. A man of Dr. Weis’s education must surely have known that the involvement of Probation, parents, and students in this meeting was crucial. His lame excuses of not understanding your directive was rather laughable to me.
Secondly, the pain and frustration I saw and felt by the Principles, and teachers whom attended is really quite disheartening. You have these incredibly dedicated individuals being intimidated by a Superintendent who is clearly amused by your and their frustration. Not a good way to build trust in my opinion.
Next, I think you could have saved the 100K for that report by simply listening to the very people who are in the battlefield. The teachers themselves have probably being telling your Board staff and Superintendent these things for years now.
And finally the old saying, “Physician heal they self” seems to apply here. Unless and until the very people trying to affect these changes start making some changes with themselves and your Superintendent and HIS staff, you are simply spinning your wheels here. The problem lies MORE with the higher ups than the teachers and students. If you don’t start paying attention to the people on the battle lines and fight with them to win the war, I suggest you just lay down your weapons and surrender your cause to the enemy within.
> If you don’t start paying attention to the people on the battle lines and fight with them to win the war, I suggest you just lay down your weapons and surrender your cause to the enemy within.
Oh, wow!!!
It’s amazing what a dose of reality does to clarify one’s understanding of centralized, unionized, politicized, bureaucratic “progressive education”.
NOW how do you feel about giving this crowd more taxpayer money?
Teachable Moment,
You asked, “NOW how do you feel about giving this crowd more taxpayer money?”
I think the overpaid Board staff and Superintendent’s salary should be cut in half and put into the education of youth of course.
> I think the overpaid Board staff and Superintendent’s salary should be cut in half and put into the education of youth of course.
Can you figure out how to solve the problem that the overpaid Board staff and Superintendent are the ones who make the decisions to put taxpayer money into education of youth?
Teachable Moment,
Start a citizen oversight Board that must review the budget, and approve expenditures. It should contain citizens like you, teachers, students, and the School Board.
Did you attend the special Board meeting Joseph invited us to?
> Start a citizen oversight Board that must review the budget, and approve expenditures.
Kathleen:
YOU start a citizen oversight board, and then get back to me if ANY education bureaucrat, board staffer or superindendent gives a crap about anything you have to say.
A “citizen oversight board” with five or ten civic do-gooder’s is no match for the state education code and the teachers union.
Idealists come and go, but the bureaucracy is forever.
Teachable Moment,
You ignored my question. Did you attend the School Board Meeting last week?
Coming on a blog under a fake name bashing every idea and suggestion isn’t productive, any more than refusing to participate in creating change does. If you don’t like my ideas, or Joseph’s, then get involved! Any one can stand on the sidelines spouting negativity, but positive change comes from committing your time and energy to the mission at hand. If you aren’t going to help, then just be quiet!
Joseph,
I was present at the meeting as well. I can say I was surprised by the apparent disrespect of the Board Staff for you and your fellow board members. For one of them to dare to say, “I don’t work for you – I report to Dr. Weis” to me is extremely disrespectful, especially in a public meeting. Note: If that staff member works for Dr. Weis, and Dr. Weis works for the Board, whom does that staff member ultimately work for? Why, on gods green earth, would Dr. Weis allow his staff to speak to the Board like that?
I worked for the City of San Jose for over 8 years, and during that time, I worked for many good city staff members, but some bad ones as well. For a staff member to make the statement I described above in a public meeting, and for a staff member to ignore your question “What do you think of this report” by giving you the “wins of his day” instead of directly addressing your question, should not have been tolerated. That staff member could have, instead, talked about how current efforts could be folded into efforts that result from the report. This instead would have been more of a teamwork approach.
Lastly, I think it is a crime for your teachers, and principals to be afraid to speak out at a school board meeting. You should NEVER have to hear a teacher say, “I’ll probably pay for this tomorrow”, or in any way fear retribution by board staff. Your teachers and principals should never be afraid to speak up and offer their experience and ideas to help make the SCCOE a success.
Joseph, I think you have a lot of good ideas. I don’t think your staff, however, is interested in making them happen.
I was at the same meeting and it was not the best use of our time as many of the key stakeholders were not present in the room and/or not a part of the dialog meant to help transform our Alternative Education Program into an exceptional one.
I look forward to working with the governance team with a laser focus on change we can believe in, change that will win the future for our students.
Craig Mann
Member, Santa Clara County Board of Education
Interesting article….
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_17401966
I think this article illustrates a point that nobody wants to acknowledge. Maybe our “Education System” isn’t the problem after all. Maybe it’s the kids! Here we are spending more and more billions in a futile effort to discover some mythical magic formula for teaching kids while we ignore the fact that many of these kids are simply unteachable.
I think we need change the whole philosophy behind public education to emphasize that a free public education is a privilege. Not a ‘right’. A privilege. And we need to free up teachers to teach. They should be relieved of the burden of being expected to ‘motivate the children to learn.’ The teachers should be there to teach. The students should be required to bring their own motivation.
By the way, Kathleen- Christian too. Good on you both for attending the meeting. I often come down on different sides of issues than you but I wish more people were as aware of and concerned about and willing to get involved in our community as you are. We need more like you.
JG
John,
Thank you for the kind words, but “if not us, who?”
I think you comments ring true for both Christian and I. Parents need to instill the WANT to learn in children like my parents did. My Father was raised in an orphanage and joined the military when he became of age. He did NOT get a high school diploma, and taught us the value of getting an education. (You should have heard the pride in his voice when I told him I got my college degree. I was the first Flynn in the family to get one.)
My Mother on the other hand was highly educated and had a PHD in Pharmaceuticals. She too was adamant about getting an education.
I can tell you this though, if I ever smarted off to a teacher, my parents would have beaten the crap out of me for disrespecting a professional. I think schools need to teach a child the basics and parents need to do the disciplining. A teacher isn’t supposed to be in charge of molding your behavior; they are in charge of molding your mind!
One of the great things about America is we teach all the children. It is a cop put to wash our hands of the children that are more challenging to teach. It is sad that all the energy that could go into teaching all children is instead spent bickering amongst ourselves.
I agree with Mr DiSalvos frsutration at the culture of fear that often happens in situations like these. It is the culture of fear that prevents any meaningful institution or community of people from movinf forward. Perhaps an extreme example of people moving beyond the culture of fear was what happened in Egypt over these last few weeks. People had had enough and it was time for a change. But as Ghandi says, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” I hope that we can get more people who are willing to move beyond fear to get on school boards and district boards to make changes that will have positive affects on all of our students.
“In a recent meeting I had with the leadership of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)…”
“I look forward to working with the governance team with a laser focus on change we can believe in, change that will win the future…”
Something tells me this isn’t going to turn out well.
Don’t be afraid, just be you.
Simply make a difference in your moment. Everything else will start to show.
I have to fight the anger of what all, of you fear, yet , when I get centered , I find that, a child is just that . I was a child once as you.
Know that the critisisum that you feel is not about the children as it is about what it is that you need to feel about your childhood past. If we all focused on who we are,. we could make all of the right moves to be the Village we always wanted to be for our country.
The village Black Smith
“The researchers recognized eight areas as addressed by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine: physical and psychological safety, appropriate structure, supportive relationships, opportunities to belong, positive norms, support for efficacy and mattering, opportunities for skill building, and integration of family, school, and community efforts. The findings of the report indicated that since No Child Left Behind’s legislation passed in 2002, even alternative education programs have moved to more academic rigor and increased academic achievement—at the expense of a more student-centered learning.
This is the crux of the issue for me. In order to have high quality programs for alternative youth those eight factors above must be inculcated in the daily curriculum and be balanced with the academic rigor mantra. If not, I think we fail the needs of these wounded children.” -Joseph DiSalvo
In response to Joseph DiSalvo’s comments above:
I feel that ALL students, especially those in need of alternative education, should have an educational program that includes those eight factors. For these “wounded youth,” having an education program that solely focuses on increasing academic achievement is pointless. They won’t care to learn and maybe don’t have the support to learn if they do not have the educational environment that includes those eight factors. These children need to feel safe, respected, and worthwhile in order to do well in school. They need to feel as if they belong, especially those who do not have the support at home. If they do not, then academic rigor is a waste. I hope that educators can come to a consensus on the steps to take that will help restore effective alternative education programs.
It is a shame that many individuals who work in the field of education aren’t more capable of collaborating in a respectful manner. Especially when important issues such as the ones discussed at the last SCCOE meeting are being examined. As educators our ultimate goal should be to provide all children, regardless of socioeconomic status, gender, culture and religious beleifs, access to a quality education. This is what all Boards of Education in counties everywhere should be striving to achieve.
I think that the way education has moved after NCLB in general has been frustrating. Those eight areas that the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine have connected to positive youth development is lax in our education system because of the pressures to succeed on the tests. Students in general need supportive relationships, positive norms, opportunities to belong and the rest of the areas if not more than the students who are in the public education system. It’s a shame that people cannot see this and work together to educate and to nurture our future generation.
I am shock that there was no one representing East Side Union High School District at the meeting. I graduated from a traditional East Side Union High School so it saddens me to hear about their lack of involvement. I hope this blog pushes them to come forward and speak about the issues surrounding education.
I think that the epitomal, yet often unreachable, goal is to create more schools like the Harlem Children’s Zone set up by Geoffrey Canada. He recognized the need to help the whole child: from conception through graduation, from the home life to after-school care, from education to maintaining the child’s health. It is incredibly expensive and time consuming to create and maintain a program like the one he set up, yet the benefits are mind-blowing – he closed the achievement gap!
Clearly there is no quick-fix for these at-risk youth, yet until people realize that there IS a fix and it requires time, dedication, and a massive amount of effort from the entire community, the attitude is going to be one of defeat – and no problems can be solved from that point of view.
I agree with Neva’s comments about how shameful it is that many educators cannot collaborate amicably and how often they miss the real reason we all become educators – to teach children. We are only as good as the example we give to our students and children.
Alternative Education Programs are not getting the proper support needed in order to make great teachers or have the students make academic gains. I completely agree that if the eight areas addressed by the National Research Council & Institute of Medicine were met every day, the students would have a safe and comfortable learning environment to thrive in. If the students were making gains and the environment was pleasant, then teacher moral would increase as well and would help foster a love for learning. Overall, I think that education for AEP needs to be evaluated to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve great things and for the teachers to feel that they have a safe environment to academically challenge students.
I agree with a theme I’m seeing here that many educators are not working well together for the benefit of the children. The truth is that unless we can put other issues aside and focus on whats most important (the well-being and future of children), we can’t move on. It sounds from the WestEd report that some people in the education field in this county are afraid of loosing their jobs over mere politics, which I think is unfortunate. I really wish that people could work together and everyone would help each other out and look out for whats really important here, our children.
I think it is very unfortunate that there were no representatives from East Side Union High School District at this meeting. To me, it shows the lack of care. Students in alternative schools need the most care and the staff at these schools need to be even more caring than your average teacher. I think that for some people it is easy to “give up” on the students at these schools because they can be the most challenging and difficult to get through to and teach. For this reason, the bar needs to be raised when employing teachers and staff in these schools and districts. It would seem that working with these students would take VERY strong, compassionate individuals- ones that could hold on through the toughest storms… however, it is often much easier for a person to let go than to hold on. I have a high level of respect for those individuals, those working with alternative school students, that have managed to hold on.
The attention and extra diligence that students in alternative schooling need is lacking from various players in the students’ lives. As mentioned earlier, I agree that in some cases the families are in part to blame in the children’s development. However, the issue is not so much what the families did or did not do, but what educators, community advocates, and families can do to resolve the issues that got these children to alternative schools in the first place. My fiancé works in Juvenile Hall and tells me first hand the difficulty it is for teachers to deal with some of the students because of their lack of respect, education, and discipline. The teachers deal with such high turnover of students going in and out of the system that it is hard to formulate such a lesson plan to help the students achieve. Most of the teachers are passionate about their job and interested in making a difference but are limited because of their own capabilities at times, as well as the difficulty in dealing with students being forced to learn in an institutionalized setting. Additionally, all assignments are completed in the classroom during school time because of the scheduled programing of each day—limiting the opportunity for school related educational growth after class is over. What often happens is that the teachers do their best to help the students learn the basic material and keep them motivated about school so that when they are released they have some credits and hopefully formed a habit of wanting to learn. It is very unfortunate to hear that there were not any representatives from the Probation Department and the East Side Union High School district because collaboration between these players is very important in fixing issues in alternative education. In order for there to be a real change in these students’ lives, there needs to be a better representation, understanding, and collaboration amongst all advocates in Santa Clara County.
Don’t you think that this lack of respect goes right back to the family life? I’ve worked out in the east side in various capacities and have dealt with those same kids for various reasons. Invariably, the failure’s of the kids is occurring in the home, not in the schools, not at the office of education. Unfortunately, based on my conversations with my assistant principle friend, I believe that many policies, rules and conditions to do with education actually hinder teachers more than help them.
Lastly, while I think there is an obligation on the part of our society to provide the *opportunity* for a quality education, it is not society’s obligation to see that anyone succeeds. That obligation, or responsibility, rests solely on the shoulders of the individual, or, in the case of a child, on the shoulders of the parents.
To the comments about parents should raise their children not the schools. In all the years I have worked. I have learned that all parents do the best that they can. Life is extremely difficult for some of our parents. As teachers we do not just teach the student in isolation, we need to work to help the whole family. Our students success relies sometimes on helping the family. Sometimes it is listening to a parent in crisis patiently. Sometimes it is just referring parents to outside agencies. Other times I have done home visits to see how I can help. Teaching in the county is not a 6 hour job. My parents and students contact me all hours when they need me. I love my job and I would not have it any other way. When solving problems we all have to give of our selves and think out of the box
Karen Spychala
> To the comments about parents should raise their children not the schools.
Well, then, how do you feel about the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that: “parents . . . have no constitutional right to control what [their children] are taught at school. . . .”?
http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-11-03/bay-area/17400979_1_four-other-parents-palmdale-school-district-appeals
man, the problems seem to never end! if a solution comes up, it comes packaged with many downsides. What is it about our society that is taking so long to provide a good, solid, educational system for our children? I definitely don’t have the answer, and i definitely don’t expect anyone else to have the answer to this problem. I think that it’s a problem that we’re going to have to keep working through for many years to come. Maybe we can take the path that other asian countries take. I once asked someone why the asian countries have higher scores, better students, and “smarter people”? I was told that it’s because in those countries, they don’t try to accommodate students with special needs. If your child has special needs, he/she doesn’t go to school. On the other hand, here in the US, if your child has special needs, the school has to do whatever it can to provide that student with the adequate learning environment. I’m not saying that we should ignore students with special needs just so that our standardized scores can go up. i’m saying this to applaud the US education system for trying to help and provide a fair educational system for every student.
Politics make me crazy… this just seems like a never-ending cycle of politics that leaves me feeling hopeless. Everyone needs to be BIGGER in their hearts than they are currently being; to be willing to give of themselves more to find some common ground. Sometimes that means giving up some selfish ideas that we have to work for a worthwhile goal. Please listen to the message of fear that is coming from the alternative education staff. We don’t believe in educating our students in a regular classroom out of fear, and no one should have to work in that kind of atmosphere.
As a person believing in equal chance of education for everyone, I applaud your effort to gain more rights and care for at-risk youth!
I’m glad to see that there is plan in place so that improvements can be made for the alternative education program. I hope it proves to be successful!
I’m glad to see that there are efforts being made to get primary stakeholders involved in the improvement of the Alternate Ed program. Without their involvement, there is little hope that this plan can be implemented effectively. They are the people that will directly impact these students and are the ones that will be able to make the greatest changes in their lives. It is definitely not an easy job for them and they need all the help and support they can get.
After reading many of the comments posted in response to DiSalvo’s blog, I come to the conclusion that many individuals in the education field are upset with the current situations facing our schools today. Even though many feel passionate about modern day issues involving education, we are not working together to make change. Politics play a HUGE role and it is unfortunate that this gets in the way of important issues being addressed (for example, at risk students). All children have the right to an equal education, regardless of their socioeconomic status, cultural background, sexual orientation…
It is good to learn that improvement plans have been charted out and efforts are made to collect stakeholder’s input. The Board’s agenda to start by collecting input from teacher, community, students and parents seems like a logical first step. As mentioned, I hope the committee is able to establish goals and chart out an action plan for all individuals involved. I hope there are no more glitches going forward. I hope for a positive outcome and applaud the efforts of everyone involved.
> The Board’s agenda to start by collecting input from teacher, community, students and parents seems like a logical first step.
I’m sorry, but it’s stuff like this that JUST MAKES ME CRAZY!
We have had public education in this country for a hundred and fifty years, and now we’re giving credit to “educators” for the “logical first step” of “collecting input from teacher, community, students and parents.”
Reality didn’t just begin when you decided to tune in.
The lunkheads running public education are NOT suffering from a lack of input; they are prisoners of wrong-headed ideas which they insist on imposing on parents, children, and the rest of society.
The only point of collecting inputs is that they hope against hope that someday the objects of public eduction—children and parents—will finally recognize and generously reward the genius of the public education establishment
It’s a shame that people at the administration level can’t come to an agreement, everytype of job this type of situation happens, why can’t people get together and come to a compromise that will benefit everyone. Student’s need program to keep them off the streets and into the classroom. We need to build a better future for them and have better citizens. Schools are suppose to be communities, not a place were people are divided. It’s sad that this is happening.
> why can’t people get together and come to a compromise that will benefit everyone.
It’s very simple. Compromise never works.
Everyone involved in a “compromize” understands it is a bad solution from their point of view, and they are certain that better solutions exist.
When one side of a “compromise” gains more influence than the other side, the “compromise” is over, and the more powerful side strives for its “better solution”.
I am encouraged by the educators who believe in helping our At-Risk youth. Though, it is sad to know that at this time full collaboration does not exist. I believe that it is important for everyone to keep in mind that the most important goal is helping children find their path to success.
> I believe that it is important for everyone to keep in mind that the most important goal is helping children find their path to success.
Would you mind communicating that to the Wisconsin teachers union? They appear to think that the most important goal is preserving their fat pensions and their privilege to “collectively bargain” with sympathetic government officials.
I agree with Melissa F. I feel more schools need to take a similar approach to the Harlem Children’s Zone created by Geoffrey Canada. In these settings all the stakeholders are involved 24/7. From parents and students, to school personal and the nearby community. For many “at-risk” youth the door is shut on them at a very young age. I was shocked to hear the Probation Department and the East Side Union High School district were not in attendance. It appears you are in their corner, so it’s an opportunity for them to make some changes. I highly respect those that work at alternative schools for it’s a highly demanding position. While I am sure they care about their students, their absence from the meeting makes me wonder if they have let go, given up, or accepted the way things are and don’t believe in change.
It is a shame that alternative education programs are not receiving the support that they deserve. As these programs provide students who need the most help and understanding with a chance to learn how to succeed in the world. If these programs where to disappear these students would have no place to go except to get themselves into trouble, which these programs help to prevent. The community needs to take a stand and help the youth of today as they are our future and they all need a quality education to succeed.
I believe that educators have a strong role in helping a child develop into a positive community member. Often, parents are not always available to be the best role models for their children and educators have a responsibility to help these youth find direction in life. It is unfortunate that politics plays such a strong role with a relatively simple problem. Politics and beaurocracy tend to get in the way of easy solutions. Hopefully the board, administration and stakeholders will work together and focus on the positive outcomes that are possible by helping the alterantive youth.
I am hopeful of the new direction that the superintendent is taking. These children deserve more than to merely pass through a system. We wouldn’t expect an abused animal to go to obedience school and blend in with prior rehabilitation. Why do we expect if from children? I think the most honest and terrible truth is that many of these youth come from a disenfranchised population. Money talks in this country and the sad truth is that people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds have much less say in our system of government. It is up to brave people like Joseph and anyone else who is brave enough to speak up for what is right. We must, as caring human beings, speak up for children who need help! They can not vote so we must and should speak up for them. To do otherwise would be inhuman. I hope that this newfound interest by the superintendent lasts and that we the people continue to monitor this situation and impress upon our officials the importance of the situation.
Thank you for standing up for at risk students. They obviously don’t have many supporters and they can use all the help they can get.
I believe that we need to shift some of the educational funding to address at risk students because more and more are they the ones in need of help but are not getting any. I think that we should not let the politicians who take so much time to argue about issues involving education, when both side should be for helping education, make the rules because we need people who are going to take action fast and effective, so that we do not lose children like we are right now.
I also agree that educators play a huge part in a child’s success and future. While parents are also important to a child’s development and well-being, a child normally spends a bulk of the day’s hours with his or her teacher. Therefore, a teacher has an extremely strong role in a child’s life and has the ability to shape them into the adults they will someday become. In this case, I think that alternative education programs deserve more support and praise for what they are doing. They are responsible for helping students in need prosper and succeed in the world and are trying to prevent these students from getting into trouble.
“a very high proportion of the youth in our justice system—the same youth that the Office of Education (SCCOE) teaches—have serious mental health issues, report high levels of alcohol and drug use and have extremely high levels of trauma leading to post-traumatic stress, all of which seriously impair critical thinking skills and limit problem-solving skills. It is easy to presume that negative behaviors are intentional and willful, when in fact such behaviors are often a consequence of neurobiological factors and prior adaptation to dangerous circumstances.”
This is quite accurate. When dealing with at-risk youth, a more sociologist approach is often needed. Inside of these children are issues that need to be dealt with. Focusing primarily on at-risk youth’s academics is fruitless unless the deep issues are also addressed. Yes a seed can be planted but if the soil is not healthy, it will never grow. These kids are in specialty programs, so they should receive individual specialty care. This seems obvious to me.
It is very unfortunate that an agreement couldn’t be made. Alternative education programs provide students with the support and education that they need. The students need this program. It is a shame that the program is not getting the support it needs. It really upsets me because so many students can benefit from this program. However, changes need to be made just like DiSalvo said. We need to make sure those eight factors are present throughout the program. Otherwise we are really doing a disservice to at risk youth. We are not giving them the support they need to succeed. Hopefully, everyone can come together and help alternative education programs.
No agreement can come on how to begin helping vulnerable youth until all voices of those having the most stake are heard. A call was made for this and the superintendent seems to have gotten on the ball with a range of meetings to be held to gather much-needed input. The most important question now is how are the meetings being “marketed” so that a maximum number of people participate? Persons that know first hand about where SCCOE has failed up until now. A week or two may not be enough but it is essential to make sure this information is passed along county-wide. Every bit of information, every live example, each idea shown to work will give the board as well as the superintendent more of a grasp on how to help. Let’s hope the cycle of fear that employees have felt for so long can be lifted enough to allow true voices to be heard.
I have lost complete faith in politicians or the government. It takes so much bureaucracy to get anything done. Meanwhile, those who needs the help are loosing out. How come it take so much time for these people to implement educational programs that students need? I think that we need more private sectors to run these programs. Things get done and accomplished with not much fuss.
You GO, girl!!!!
On March 10 and 17, board members will hold hearings at Pathfinder and Odyssey community schools, respectively, from 6:30-8:30pm. Food, child care, and translation services will be provided. At these hearings the Board hopes to hear from parents, students and teachers about the recommendations in the WestEd Report.
This is wonderful news! I am gladdened to hear this. This meeting will create an environment of support and rapport in developing these programs further. I posted that many enriching programs really do go under the radar because of lack of communication. I am, again, gladdened to hear about this pro-active approach-yes!