Submitted by Dana Kelleher.
There was much discussion at the Clover Park School Board’s January meeting about academic rigor. I sense that there is a perceived division between those who think academics should be the only, or highest priority for the district and those who think success in school encompasses more than academics. I propose another view which I believe is more conducive to us working together to improve our schools. The work on SEL, communication, relationship building, regulating emotions, and social support is all in place and geared to advancing the ultimate goal of increasing academic performance. It is not one or the other. One paves the path for the other. You cannot have academic rigor without the other work.
It seemed there were some genuine questions from the board and speakers about why our kids aren’t succeeding at the levels we want. The answers to those questions far exceed the scope of my time here and more importantly, should not be answered by one person. This kind of necessary inquiry requires collaborative, open communication with a diverse group of stakeholders including teachers, students, parents, administrators, support staff and district leaders. The topic should be discussed on a regular basis, in a neutrally facilitated format where people with differing views can talk, listen, and learn from each other. Until the district provides that sort of forum, which I sincerely hope they decide to do, I will continue to share my thoughts at board meetings and other public forums, and attempt to provide information when it is requested.
The question was asked why some of our schools declined more than others over the Covid years. The answer is complicated and multifactorial. One huge factor is the disproportionate impact Covid had, and continues to have, on disadvantaged populations. While Covid was hard for everyone, it was certainly harder for people who did not have access to health care, steady employment, daycare when they did have employment, experienced food insecurity, those whose families lost a loved one or multiple loved ones, those who quarantined with abusive family members, and those without stable housing. The list goes on. Our district has a highly transient population in the best of times, in part because of the large military population, but also because of the economic displacement of families when the price of housing becomes too great, forcing families to move to areas where rent is lower. Those forced re-locations were even more common over the past few years. So why did our schools suffer? Simply put, because a high percentage of our students were disproportionately impacted by Covid. Because out of an abundance of caution our district was slower to resume in person learning for most kids than surrounding districts so our kids spent longer than some without the benefits of in person learning. They are still lacking the extra opportunities that some surrounding districts are providing like in-person after school science clubs, field trips, and overnight athletic trips. The restrictions on in-person volunteering in schools in this district are just beginning to loosen and the opportunities have not been well publicized so there are fewer volunteers in our schools than in other districts. The impact of Covid on our schools did not end with mask mandates. The effects will continue for years. We must understand that improving academic performance will also take time, even with great effort.
What was interesting to me about the Lake Louise presentation at the January board meeting, having observed similar trends in the elementary school where I now work, was the marked drop in test scores for the current year’s 4th graders. I have a theory (just my own hypothesis for now) that those kids as a grade cohort have rebounded less well than other elementary school grade groups. They were in 1st grade when the world shut down. They had at most, a year and a half of formal education and then 2-3 years of some kind of online, hybrid learning with varying levels of adult support at home. While every age group suffered in a slightly unique way during the pandemic, the experiences some kids missed were even more critical. These students missed the opportunity to learn the behaviors necessary to be successful students. They must learn those skills before they can learn arithmetic or phonics. That means it will take time to raise their academic scores. They didn’t just come back to school ready to pick up where they left off.
Director Wagemann asked the question last month about students who are not achieving state benchmark levels, “Can’t their parents help them?” he wondered. The parent voice that could tell us why they can’t help their kids with their homework is often missing from these conversations. Those parents are not able to be at school board meetings or write letters to community publications for a plethora of reasons. I am fortunate to be able to do both those things and I can tell you how it works in my family. My husband and I have 2 boys. I can work part time and go to graduate school while my husband works full time. We spend nearly all our free time supporting our boys in their academic, athletic, and extra-curricular endeavors. This often means each of us sitting next to one of our sons assisting with homework, teaching time management, helping them learn study skills, tutoring them in pre-calculus, wiping tears when long division is so terribly frustrating, reading the novels they are studying so we can discuss themes and character development, checking in with them multiple times a week about what they are doing in school, what assignments need done and turned in, how a certain test went. It is difficult and exhausting and a privilege to be able to help them in these ways. I am acutely aware, and you must be as well, that very few families are able to provide this level of support. Many parents never took pre-calculus. I took it over 30 years ago and couldn’t tutor my son in that subject if my life depended on it. Thankfully my husband, a teacher in the district, is willing and able to do it. Some parents cannot read above the 6th grade level. Several do not speak English. Many are single parents who work multiple jobs. So many high school students cannot participate in sports or activities, which research shows helps them feel more connected to school and achieve more academic success, because they are responsible for helping to raise their younger siblings while parents work, are incarcerated, or otherwise absent. We have students living without homes and don’t even have a place to do homework, let alone someone to help them do it.
If you have been in a school in the last 2 years, you know that our students are struggling with mental health issues at a rate that surpasses the pre-covid years. Even pre-pandemic, the most common reason the high school students at Clover Park High School visited the health room when I worked there was for a mental health concern: depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal ideation, substance use or abuse. It is worse now. Even at the elementary school level the number of students experiencing debilitating anxiety is staggering. Many of them come to the health room daily and some are unable to return to class. These students will not be able to achieve academic excellence or even moderate competence until they can regulate their emotions to the level that they can remain in the learning environment all day, every day of the week. So, when nurses and counselors and teachers say that we need more staff and more support to meet the needs of our students, we mean that if schools do not fund these professionals and additional services, they will NEVER achieve the academic rigor everyone desires.
I agree with John Arbeeny and Jim Cooper when they said we should be asking questions about why some schools are succeeding and others are struggling. I wish these were actual conversations instead of 3 or 6 minute speeches at board meetings. We need dialogue. We need more voices. We need less blame and more listening. We should be asking these hard, complicated questions, but with all due respect to our board directors, we should not be asking them to answer these questions. We should be asking teachers, classroom paras, nurses, counselors, coaches, students, and parents. Why do they think schools are struggling? What do they think would help? The voices of hundreds of professionals and thousands of students and their families would be infinitely more valuable to identify the challenges and propose collaborative solutions than 5 school board directors. We need to ask the questions of the people who know the answers. Then we must listen to the answers and ideas. The role of the school board is not to tell the superintendent HOW to fix the problems, but to give him all the support he needs to enable the teachers to act as professionals and do the outstanding work they were hired to do. It is not their job to know what to do but to allow those who do know, to do it. We do not need the top-down approach that Director Wagemann described last month where the school board sets the policy and tells the superintendent what to do and he tells the principals who tell the teachers. If you want real and meaningful change, it must come from the people doing the work. Allow them to collaborate and encourage their creative ideas. Have patience with their visions, while still expecting accountability. The greatest asset of the CPSD is the people working in it. They must create the solutions for how to improve our schools and they must be allowed to do the work they were hired to do. Only then will we have things like the Custer Lemonade Stand which will lead to higher graduation rates with academically rigorous curriculums and various pathways for post-secondary success in education and society.
This is the smartest, most well supported commentary about the challenges (and potential solutions) facing CPSD. Bravo!
I agree 100%!
Parent involvement… often is the difference in whether a student is successful or floundering. The inability of a parent being able to participate is a societal issue. Struggling to feed, clothe and put a roof over your family is real. I cannot fault parents for making that a priority.
But that is where others can step in. Aunts, Uncles, grandparents and family friends can step in for support.
I was always involved with my child’s school. I found time, even if it was just an hour, to volunteer. This made me aware of the environment my child was learning in, and how I could help. I never met a teacher or staff member that was unwilling to accept help. With the Covid years and subsequent limit on volunteer involvement, I felt I was shorted the opportunity to participate in my child’s on-site education experience.
I always loved the fact I could easily look up my child’s educational journey. I would ask if I saw missing assignments on his web portal. Often it was because a teacher had yet to post a score, but a few times it was because my child failed to get an assignment in. Well then, we sat down and made sure it was completed. Checking the status of your kids grades and assignments is easily done even if at 2 am. That is a responsibility we have and owe to our kids. I don’t know how many parents complained that they received “too many” texts, calls and e-mails” about what was going on in their kids education. I welcomed every single one of them.
If you know of a family struggling to support their kids education, step in. If you have the desire to see our community create a good learning environment, offer to volunteer.
Paul, you mentioned that our children are on an “educational journey” and that really resonated with me. It helps describe that the pathways our children take are not meant to be the same because our children are not carbon copies of each other; their journey is dependent on so many variables.
As a parent, you had to offer different levels of assistance when needed to guide your student through choppy waters. I hear this same explanation when our teachers and administrators talk about the different pathways and support students need to achieve a meaningful diploma. When a student struggles, we need to provide interventions. Sometimes those interventions are in the form of recognizing a students strengths instead of their flaws and allowing them to take a pathway that respects who they are and better compliments their strengths.
Why do we have two school board members who keep calling our students, teachers, administrators and schools failures based on high stakes test scores meant to measure if all students are “college ready”? In doing so, they insult every student who does not fit their definition of success. With the same broad brush they demean all professions that do not require a college degree. My child could pass all the tests but hated the pathway he was expected to take and lost interest and hope until wise counselors and teachers recognized something different was needed. And, we listened! He is now on an “educational journey” that is a much better fit with the goal of having the training and skills to be successful…and happy with what he is doing.
Not all parents are able to assist their children like you have done. Dana really did a great job explaining the very real demands placed on families. I applaud you for recognizing the needs of your children and helping them on their journey. Well done!
Thank you so much for this thoughtful view of academic success and the challenges children and families face. As a parent of children in Clover Park SD, school nurse, and spouse of a Clover Park SD teacher you have a unique perspective.
This is an excellent commentary, Dana. Thank you so much for your thoughtful, insightful opinions. I can tell that they are based in fact and personal experience, motivated by a true desire to see positive change. I raised two children of my own, many years as a single mother. Now I have grandchildren ranging from a college junior to a three year old, and still care deeply about their education. Our children and grandchildren are the ones who will be making the decisions when we are elderly and/or gone from this earth. Their education now – both at school and at home – will determine how well they do that. I am not optimistic, but with more people like you writing pieces like this, and more people like the ones interested enough to read them, there is hope for a better future. Thank you again.
Thankyou Dana for your “inside” perspective.
It isn’t only children of “disadvantaged” households who deal with these very important educational issues.
For lack of faith, trust, and confidence in the public school system, based on the direction we see society heading, we are paying our child’s way through private school, and will have spent around $200,000 on her education before she reaches university.
Now before you hit the “privilege!” button, realize that we are also paying for the public school system we do not use, and the money for both is no longer in our budget.
All that aside, the fundamental question remains, “What is our kid getting from the time and money spent on her education?”
Well, that seems to vary based on who is delivering the information.
Some subjects she thrives in and others she struggles.
Some teachers she relates to and others not as much.
We have all the same distractions as other families more-or-less, short of a drug addiction or anything like that.
We do monitor our kid’s workload and grades, but we don’t interfere too much with her obligation to get it done.
That’s on her and she knows it.
To learn how to learn is far more important than short-term memorizing of content.
That’s what will get them through life, not just a diploma.
As for “Covid” as an excuse: well, let’s just admit that Florida got it right and we got it wrong.
Time to move forward with a purpose, better judgement, and a better example for our kids to follow.
The Velveteen Rabbit Story and What It Has To Do With Education
“What he didn’t know was that it was his very own Bunny, come back to see the boy. For he was the reason the Velveteen Rabbit had become Real.”
The final sentence of the bedtime story for kids about the well-loved bunny, is the beginning of every kid’s story to becoming ‘Real’, to living a life with purpose.
It’s mentoring, tutoring, parenting, teaching, coaching, role-modeling.
It’s coming alongside, being there, instilling hope, inspiring dedication, opening the windows of the world to possibilities.
It’s adopting a school, fielding a team, revitalizing a neighborhood, but not with the emphasis upon program but rather upon person, not through outside-in delivery of goods and services, but inside-out delivery of the message that the future is yours – ours – to create.
It’s the hardware chain store tagline, ‘you can do it, we’re here to help.’
It’s what William Wilberforce – whose story is told in “Hero for Humanity” – believed was non-negotiable for changing culture: that everyone – everyone – has a skill, gift, talent, and ability, and therefore a responsibility, to make their community better for having lived there.
You can live in a gated community with a view of the water, but if you drive through a community to arrive at home then you have an obligation that extends beyond that iron fence.
The ABCD national model for community revitalization works. Asset-Based Community Development works because it has as the community’s greatest assets those who call that community home.
A Bunny becomes Real because they are well-loved.
It’s the same with children.
Reality, awful politicians, sub standard woke teachers and poor parenting!
Thank you for your reasoned discussion of a most important issue: the future of our children and society.
It’s not a matter of academic or character building. It’s more a matter of emphasis. Schools are ultimately created to provide a challenging academic education that prepares students for life after school. The social emotional maturation that occurs during passage through the educational process is one that primarily occurs at home and outside with assistance from schools. Yes both are needed but we have schools as academic institutions, not primarily as mental health institutions.
Unfortunately this necessary inquiry you mention has not occurred in the past. The first step in solving a problem is to admit you have one. This has been avoided by both Board and Superintendent for years. The “stakeholders” often have largely represented gross majorities of District and predisposed community members rather than students and parents. “Forums” such as the EDI “stakeholders” have been in closed encounters with the public largely excluded. Public forums have been advocated for years by Director Wageman and now Director Anderson yet none to my knowledge have been conducted to date.
Although there are several factors relating to COVID that have affected both academics and mental health, COVID alone can’t be blamed for the entire problem. Indeed academic achievement has been declining while and behavioral problems (an indicator of mental health) have been increasing, for at least 6 years or more. Too often demographics are used as an excuse for academic failure. For example military associated children transient population is often cited as a cause for poor academic performance. Yet in reality the 4 elementary schools on JBLM are the highest performing academically in District and have steadily advanced even through COVID. Why are they not being analyzed as models for the rest of the District rather than used as an excuse?
I think you’re probably correct in your hypothesis about 4th graders. Disruptive events in any child’s (or adult’s) life can leave a mark. However that mark doesn’t have to be indelible! This is not unlike our military members with PTSD addressing the trauma, getting beyond it and living a normal fulfilling life. If this turns out to be the trauma that 4th graders have encountered then in the “spirit of equity” special attention should be given to the task of making them whole regardless of race, ethnicity or any other demographic qualifier. I think you’ll find that the enhanced self esteem that comes from academic success will increasingly leave that trauma in the rear view mirror. Success tends to breed success. Yet there is no indication from SIP/SAAPs, budgeting or programs that this equity is being addressed or even considered.
I have to question whether parents, pre-COVID attended meetings or wrote letters any more or less that post-COVID. Yes there are several reasons. Perhaps one is that Parent Teachers Associations (PTA) have all but disappeared from the District due to neglect on the District’s part.
“Because it is a separate organization, the District does not maintain its communications, including newsletters, and does not have the PTA’s internally produced records. Furthermore, it is not the District’s practice to maintain lists of PTA members.” District response to FOIA request 22-61.
So much for SIP/SAAR goal #2 Community Engagement.
Parents assisting homework is another disappearing artifact when with block scheduling where “homework” is often competed in class rather than at home. Community engagement amounts to little more than one on one individual relationship between teacher and parent. However parents collectively don’t have a voice except perhaps during board elections. Even the current board election process, ostensibly by district but actually at large, leaves large areas of the population in apathy while candidates campaign in voter rich districts.
I don’t doubt that mental health issues are up due to COVID and a lot of other issues to include discipline and unsafe learning environments. Take a look at discipline involving suspensions and expulsions and you’ll see they are trending downward even as mental health visits are increasing. This is a seeming paradox. Perhaps data on mental health visits would be more indicative of the District’s “psyche” than a watered down discipline policy. When was mental health visits a matter of concern for the Board? Not that I can remember.
There is a very important distinction between elected Board members and employees regardless of professional expertise. Elected Board members are elected as representatives of their district although this is compromised by the current at large voting process. Employees, to include Superintendent, staff, administrators, principals and teachers are hired to use their expertise in pursuit of goals and policies established by the elected representatives.
Unfortunately it appears that the “experts”, even across the country may not know how to reverse the downward academic slide in the US, Washington State or CPSD. Perhaps the problem is actually systemic at upper management level rather than down at the principal and teacher level. “Top down” direction only works when it is broad and flexible enough in a dynamic environment and places confidence in subordinates’ competence to understand simple directives with the freedom to form what’s effective where the rubber meets the road.