Submitted by John Arbeeny.
Each week as a public service Lakewood CARES will be providing an academic based response to schools highlighted in the Clover Park School District (CPSD) “#SuperSchoolShoutOut“ articles in The Suburban Times. This is data you will not find elsewhere in CPSD public relations pieces, Board meeting agendas or “Inside Schools”. This week’s CPSD “beaming with pride” article covers Lochburn Middle School which was featured in a Suburban Times article on 21 May 2024:
Congratulations are in order for teacher Katie Hosking and eighth grader Deoni Reed. May they serve as role models for teachers and students at Lochburn and throughout the District. However a couple of anecdotal stories of success do not an academically successful school make.
What about the rest of the story: academics? Not a word is mentioned in this article.
Lochburn has for nearly a decade been at the very bottom academically not only of CPSD but all middle schools statewide. This perennial state of very low academic performance doesn’t seem to have been influenced by all the technology, building improvements, “effervescent interior lighting” (?), extracurricular activities, programs or a student expenditure of $22,375 annually which were supposed to make a difference. It hasn’t because the underlying systemic problems have not been addressed.
Lochburn is ranked 525th out of 539 Washington State middle schools. That’s 2.6% which means 97.4% of state middle schools outperform Lochburn academically. Here’s a graphic representation of Lochburn’s ranking academically.
If Lockburn were a cardiac patient and this their EKG, immediate and heroic efforts would be undertaken to revive them: triage*, emergency and long term care. That same level of District commitment academically is required to address this academic “flat-line”. “Band-Aids” aren’t going to get it done. It’s going to take a systemic approach. Lochburn should be on the agenda of every CPSD Board meeting until it gets the attention it deserves but it’s not just Lochburn.
*Triage: “the preliminary assessment of patients…in order to determine the urgency of their need for treatment and the nature of treatment required.”
There are four principal elementary schools that feed students into Lochburn. Dower Elementary is academically ranked 19.4%, Lakeview Hope Academy ranked 12.7%, Four Heroes Elementary ranked 12.4%, Tyee Park Elementary ranked 6.5%. All these elementary schools have similar low achievement academic trends with no improvement since 2016. Together they are academically average ranked 12.75%: 87.25% elementary schools statewide do better academically. Their 12.75% ranking is less than half the average District academic ranking of a mediocre 28.5%. Collectively these four elementary schools’ academic ranking plummeted from a 2016 ranking of 32.8% to a 2023 ranking of 12.75%. That’s a 250% drop in academic ranking in the last 8 years!
https://www.schooldigger.com/go/WA/schools/0141000263/school.aspx
OSPI statistics confirm the situation discussed above as shown below:
Only 17.5% of Lochburn students meet the combined state English, math and science standards: 82.5% fail to do so. Student Growth Percentiles (SGP) shown as “high” for math and ELA are actually “very low”. OSPI needs to be honest about growth and label it truthfully on its “report card”. Lochburn academic growth is far less than the SGP median of 50% needed just to stay even academically with peers. As a result, Lochburn students are falling further and further behind their peers.
OSPI defines “discipline rate” as “What percent of students are excluded in response to a behavioral violation?” “Exclusion” means suspensions or expulsions. Since 2018 Lochburn has had the highest rate of exclusions by far at 17.23% annually compared to other District middle schools (Thomas MS 7.65%; Hudtloff MS 12.10%). Yet the four feeding elementary schools have an average exclusion rate of only 2.56%. Lochburn’s learning environment has an exclusion rate seven times that of the feeding elementary schools. Is class room chaos the result? Students need a stable environment in which they can learn without disruption.
https://washingtonstatereportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/102239
The Lochburn article states “Lochburn was founded in 1967 and its halls have been graced by many generations of Clover Park High School graduates.” I did a Suburban Times (20 May 2024) article on Clover Park High School (CPHS) detailing its problems academically. CPHS, Lochburn and feeding elementary schools are all linked together and share many of the same systemic problems.
The District has concentrated some of its lowest academic performing schools through elementary-middle-high school. That academic deficit feeds on itself and compounds negatively over the course of a student’s 12 years in the system. Things not learned in elementary school lead to things not learned in middle school, high school, through graduation and beyond in life.
The school association decisions may have been made in the distant past, may be District tradition or based upon school location or some other rationale. It might even be a consideration for bus route efficiency. However we don’t have schools for efficient bus routes at the expense of student and school academic achievement. Administrative “efficiency” must not trump academic effectiveness. System design must focus on the top priority, academics and change with changing times or be overcome by events.
Academic performance, disparities, long term neglect, unsuccessful “solutions”, lagging student growth, school associations, discipline and administrative decisions are eight systemic issues, among others, that should be addressed before Lochburn’s academic performance and that of associated schools can improve. More “people”, “stuff” and “money” aren’t necessarily the solution to these systemic problems. It’s going to take changes to system design to get meaningful long term results.
Resting on the laurels of CPSD or Lochburn’s long ago academic past does nothing to fix the academic situation today. To fix CPHS’ academics requires a fix of Lochburn’s academics which requires a fix of elementary schools’ academics. Today is the day to start that process.
Thanks for a realistic assessment of the school to counter the PR fluff and BS put out by the district.
Mr. Arbeeny points out uncomfortable facts while those administrating and associated with CPSD whistle pass the graveyard. No amount of public relations and puff pieces change the truth about the districts’ academic performance failure.
If facts continue to be ignored the poor results will continue and deprive the parents and their children of the education the parents expected for their money.
I find myself thinking “Has Mr. Arbeeny ever said anything positive about the CP school district?” Since I have not read everything, he has written I cannot really respond to the question. I do see his name associated with negative remarks about the district quite often. I read the article for things that are suggested as improvements for the particular school. Were there any? I missed them.
Attacking me for being “negative” as you put it is irrelevant to the topic at hand. There is nothing “negative” about the facts: they just are facts. See if you can focus on Lochburn’s academic performance.
Triage:“the preliminary assessment of patients…in order to determine the urgency of their need for treatment and the nature of treatment required.”
That’s what my articles are attempting to do in the absence of anything done by the District: identify the systemic problems as the basis for determining the solutions. It’s the first step in problem solving.
The sad thing is that the Board and Superintendent are indeed “whistling past the graveyard” when it comes to identifying the problems. The facts show the inevitable results for nearly a decade with Lochburn and other schools.
The “solutions” they propose completely ignore the actual problems they are supposed to solve but don’t. “Effervescent lighting” was never the problem and thus never the solution to anything systemic. Nor are more money, people or “stuff” (i.e. technology, new buildings, improvements) because they are not solutions to systemic problems.
I have had “good things” to say about the District most notably the success of 6 elementary schools on JBLM and the systemic reasons for their success. You might have missed it. Without these 6 schools academic excellence I suspect that the District academic rating would fall to about 20%. Yet the District mentions “military associated students” in the same breath with “free lunch” and other alleged detractors as the source of the District’s academic woes.
https://thesubtimes.com/2023/03/13/letter-minorities-do-the-best-in-the-best-schools-and-those-schools-are-the-ones-on-joint-base-lewis-mcchord/
Have the Board and Superintendent learned anything from this academic success or the stark academic disparities? Apparently not. Lochburn’s academic “EKG” proves it.
LakewoodCARES.org
What exactly are the systemic problems referenced? A clear actionable definition would be appreciated for addressing the needs for change. Thank you,
A systemic problem affects all parts of something. In this case it’s a school district consisting of individual parts, specific collections of parts, assembled and used in a specific manner to achieve a particular goal. That is a “system”. Its design determines whether it will be successful in achieving the goal. When it does not achieve stated goals, despite the best of intentions, the system design must be questioned.
In the article I have mentioned 8 systemic problems relating to Lochburn and associated schools: there are many others to be addressed.
1. Academic performance ( failing 4 elementary schools, Lochburn, CPHS pull entire District down academically)
2. Disparities academically (between the above 6 schools as compared to other academically successful District schools)
3. Long term neglect (failing academic trends back a decade with no improvement),
4. Unsuccessful “solutions”(more people, money and “stuff” which were never the problem in the first place)
5. Lagging student growth (compounding academic failure for 12 years for at least the last decade culminating in CPHS)
6. School associations (grouping failing schools for convenience, tradition, location etc.)
7. Discipline (huge jump in Lochburn which suggests unstable classroom environment)
8. Administrative decisions (too often admin makes decisions for the sake of “efficiency” vs effectiveness)
These and others are interrelated and affect the entire education system individually and collectively.
I too would like to know exactly what the systemic problems are. Again, a clear actionable definition would be appreciated ,so we know what needs to change. I know that the on base schools get some extra support with things like: getting parents to be responsible for kids getting to school, or behavior issues; getting extra counseling for the kids as well as families, due to deployments for example. What else might you be referring to?
I’ve given you 10 systemic issues to think on.
Take low academics for instance.
When DEI predominates in District importance, overshadowing academics, you can expect social engineering to have a negative impact on academics. I recall the Superintendent saying that he wasn’t as concerned about academics as changing the District’s “culture”. Indeed, the District’s PR frequently hammers on cultural issues while completely ignoring academics. That’s a systemic decision affecting the entire District.
The Soviet Union tried unsuccessfully for 70+ years to “engineer” a “new man” and failed. The district’s attempt to “engineer” a “new student” will similarly fail. Instead they should be dealing with the reality of what children are rather than attempting to create them in the educators’ image. That’s a systemic decision.
Instead of building on what are common educational approaches for all students DEI has demanded the impossible in “culturally responsive” instruction. Even a class consisting of all students of one race or ethnicity will have a wide variety of unique cultural experiences. That is less important than the things they share in common which should be emphasized and the bases for instruction. Skin color is no indication of “culture”. That’s a systemic decision.
Putting move value on subjective assessments of student social (and political) development versus the objective measure of academic performance degrades academics. You’ll often hear educators downplay the importance of testing most notably when their students do poorly on tests. That’s a systemic decision
Each one of the 10 systemic issues I mentioned (there are many more) need to be addressed and then dissected to determine the policies that are driving the District as a system towards failure. At that point, the District can start to undo or redo its organization, policies and procedures with the objective of increasing academic performance.
I am reaching out as a former employee of Lochburn Middle School, compelled to address concerning issues that have persisted due to a lack of support and guidance from our administrator, Carla Estes. Regrettably, I found myself in an untenable position, subjected to daily verbal abuse and degradation from Carla, students, and fellow staff members in an environment meant to foster support and growth. After careful consideration, I cannot remain silent while witnessing the erosion of a potentially thriving educational institution into a toxic workplace under current leadership.
Outlined below are instances of observed violations spanning various policies and regulations, including those of CPSD School Board, Human Resources, Payroll, Office of Professional Practices, OPSI, as well as associations such as Clover Park Educations Association, ESPCP, CPACE, WEA, and OSPI.
Principal Conduct:
Carla’s conspicuous absence and lack of presence in crucial areas such as hallways, lunchrooms, and supervision periods have contributed to an unsafe environment, leading to serious altercations among students and staff. She comes to the building after 8:30am and leaves well before 4pm, sometimes before 2:30pm. Her sporadic appearances, often limited to her office or the Professional Development Center, coupled with early departures and late arrivals, undermine the stability of the school community. Furthermore, her frequent absences under the guise of district meetings, while actually attending personal engagements, such as coaching her son’s track team at Curtis High School, raise serious concerns about her commitment to her administrative duties.
Absence from essential meetings and events, including committee meetings, department meetings, and PLCs, further exacerbates the lack of leadership and accountability within the school. The absence of administrative supervision, particularly at sporting events, leaves both students and staff vulnerable.
A staff member filed a lawsuit because they were never observed by Carla and she falsified an evaluation for that staff member. Ron Banner has knowledge of it but refuses to report it to the Office of Professional Practice to protect Carla. This has also occurred with other staff members at Lochburn.
A parent of a students presented legitimate accusations which were brought to Carla about a male staff member having inappropriate conversations with students about his homosexuality and talking about sexual content to students and other staff members.
Instances of retaliatory behavior, such as threatening to revoke privileges or resources have been in response to perceived infractions. For example, she threatens to take away food, field trips, the block schedule, programs such as Google Classroom etc… only serve to foster an atmosphere of fear and distrust among staff members. Additionally, misplaced blame and retribution indicates a lack of effective leadership and management.
Failure to participate in significant school events, such as honor roll assemblies, demonstrates a lack of engagement and recognition of student achievements, further eroding morale and cohesion within the school community.
Neglecting crucial administrative duties, such as facilitating student testing and credit allocation, which has resulted in 31 students missing out on getting high school Spanish credit due to Carla not sending the information to counselors to schedule the testing. This has resulted in significant academic setbacks for students, reflecting a disregard for their educational welfare.
Delegation of administrative responsibilities to unqualified or inexperienced individual and other staff members, CT’s coupled with a lack of oversight or support, compromises the integrity and effectiveness of school operations.
She had the CT’s put her whole school board presentation together. She also allows the CT’s to leave work early and staff members have reported them shopping at nearby stores and/or eating at restaurants and picking up their kids/grandkids to bring them back to the school to avoid daycare costs. During school hours, they also use their school computers to plan family trips and vacations and can rarely be found by staff for support.
Failure to recognize and celebrate staff achievements, such as years of service, (certificates, lanyards, and pins were placed in mailboxes and/or mistakenly given to staff members by a student office assistant) further diminishes morale and professional satisfaction among employees.
Neglecting professional obligations, such as conducting classroom walkthroughs, constitutes a violation of established protocols and standards of practice.
Imposing arbitrary mandates and restrictions on staff, such as dictating assessment criteria and student growth goals, undermines academic autonomy and professional judgment.
Creating a hostile work environment through punitive measures and intimidation tactics, such as monitoring absenteeism, discourages staff from exercising their rights and privileges.
Mismanagement of special education resources, resulting in unequal treatment and inadequate support for students with disabilities, reflects a failure to uphold principles of inclusivity and equity.
A certified employee is allowed to call students at Lochburn on their personal cell phones during school hours. She calls them about ASB related topics and other things.
Budget Mismanagement:
Lack of transparency and accountability regarding budget allocation and expenditure undermines the integrity and effectiveness of Site Council such as not sharing the budget and not following site council bylaws.
Misuse of funds for personal or unnecessary expenses, such as lavish office furnishings or catering, raises questions about fiscal responsibility and ethical conduct.
Inequitable distribution of overtime pay and benefits, coupled with abuse of leave policies, indicates systemic issues of favoritism and misconduct within the organization. Utilizing overtime pay as a means of silencing dissent or rewarding loyalty represents a gross misuse of financial resources and institutional authority.
For example, there are many classified staff receiving underserving and an excessive amount of overtime pay. Certified staff and cts do lot of Carlas important administrative reports such as Title I forms, and receives a lot of overtime pay for more than what she actually does. She also leaves early without taking the time off properly. The secretaries have boasted about how they receive extra pay and do not come to work but do not use their sick leave. They all also receive excessive overtime pay for work not completed and have been able to work from home on numerous occasions.
Manipulation of course codes and misrepresentation of educational programs for financial gain reflects a lack of integrity and ethical conduct. One example would be that Carla changed the course codes of 2 art classes and 1 world cultures class to change them into CTE classes to get CTE funds but the teachers of those classes were not teaching CTE classes. Carla changed them back when CTE called asking questions about the classes and realizing the teachers were not CTE certified and the classes were not CTE classes.
This is too sad to hear. Adding neglect, incompetence, bullying and mismanagement to systemic issues and you wind up predictably with schools like Lochburn. Indeed students aren’t dumb: they pick up quickly on how adults are acting and incorporate that behavior into their own. Are you thus surprised at the high disciplinary rate? Lochburn’s teachers, students and parents deserve better.
Laurie Dole,
I hear the spewing of a disgruntled former employee who admits that students, fellow employees and boss were unhappy with her job performance and/or attitude and/or personal behavior. Red flags! There is more to this than just the story you tell. I certainly hope the person you publically slandered contacts an attorney; as should the school district.
Hmmm? Do you have personal knowledge that what Laurie Dole has laid out is false or did you just assume it is?
What about Lochburn’s academic performance?
How about Lochburn’s disciplinary environment?
What’s happening among the student population is often a reflection of what’s happening in administration and staff: they’re interrelated. It’s how systems operate.
A common trait of all the discussions surrounding public institutions (pick one) is that there are those who identify shortcomings, and there are those who demand a silver bullet solution.
Perhaps the core issue is the intended purpose of the institution.
You can’t stuff a square peg in a round hole of equal width.
An “equal” education system will never serve a group of people of unequal learning ability.
An “equal” education system will never teach well with unequal teaching objectives.
Universal equality means everyone doing and receiving the same of everything.
That in and of itself is a ridiculous plan – it goes against any sound economic study ever undertaken.
Schools should perform early evaluation of a student’s intelligence and learning ability, and then subdivide them into categories that will give them a best probable outcome in life-preparation.
Some kids bloom late.
I know because I was one of them.
I struggled terribly as a kid in a structured group learning environment.
My life skills were developed on a farm.
My academic understanding had to be self-taught later in life as I earned my way with the skills I had.
Better late than never, and perhaps better late than ever?
Learning is a lifelong process.
The idea of compressing all kids into a singular pipe, at the same age, and expecting them to come out the other end “equal” is silly. Kids are not sausage.
The problem is not the kids.
The problem is the system.
I believe that is what John is saying.
Change the system to interface with the students at various levels of intelligence and capability and readiness, and in doing so put them on a proper trajectory of self-reliance.
A proper system has to be merit-based or it will just be another farce. We don’t have time for any more of those.
I can’t think of a better path to excellence, mobility, and a respectable society.
Ok, you can throw mud at me now.
I can take it. I grew up on a farm.
That is precisely what I’m saying!
While I was on the Lakewood City Council (2003-2008) I had an interesting conversation with Dr. Alan Cohen who was the then CPSD Deputy Superintendent. I asked him why students weren’t segregated by intellectual ability so that those who excelled had advanced opportunities while those at the other end of the spectrum got the intensive attention to make the most of their ability. He replied ” That’s what we used to do but it was unfair. It was all about elevate the best and to hell with the rest!”
He also implied that the “old” system of numbering classes numerically from top to bottom based upon student academics would damage self esteem of students in the bottom numbered classes.
So to make if “fair” we now have something of an “intellectual integration” with a wide range of abilities in classes wherein those who excel become bored to tears at the slow pace while those at the other end of the spectrum never catch up. This is yet another systemic decision that has affected the entire district and become a problem that can only be solved systemically.
I suspect that “block scheduling” was adopted (late 1990s? but no one can tell me the specifics) to allow teachers to deal with slow learners in intellectually integrated classes while those excelling were left to their own devices in “independent study”. The net effect is about 50% of the instruction time and other negative effects (limited attention span, interval between classes, no homework). This is yet another systemic decision that has affected the entire district and become a problem that can only be solved systemically.
You can see how these decisions “snowball” if left unchecked, the result of which is a system that has been designed to fail.
I cannot say I enjoy reading anything written by Mr. Arbeeny. He wields Statistics/Percentages like swords, or possibly daggers, aimed at the backs of our Administrators and Educators.
Statistics can be viewed in many ways. But often, what affects the “statistic” is not measured. Right off the bat, the four feeder schools mentioned in the article have some of the highest numbers of English Language Learners. Secondly, these same schools also would normally have the highest numbers of “free” or “reduced” lunches, however that has changed being that the district qualified for total free meal programs.
In the many paragraphs berating Lochburn for their failures, in just a brief search, I found a positive. The 4 feeder schools had an average of 57.02% of students attending 90% of classroom instruction time. At Lochburn, that number had risen to 75.5%. That is a considerable jump, which means that students actually being in class have a better chance of success.
Mr. Arbeeny also wrote “I have had “good things” to say about the District most notably the success of 6 elementary schools on JBLM”. Let’s look at that success. The schools on base have unfair advantages over non-base schools. A large percentage of those homes include 2 parents. Those families have a steady consistent income source, access to medical care, access to affordable recreation and in general a greater support network. How many of these struggling schools have an unmeasured statistic, and that is families without strong support networks? How many have 2 functional parents or access to positive adult role models?
I will continue to support the district and their efforts to educate the youth of our community. I have always believed that life education starts at home and is augmented with more structured educational opportunities through our schools. I ask the Mr. Arbeeny spend less time at the fruit stand, so he can stop comparing apples to oranges.
Facts are neither “swords” nor “daggers”: they just are. Yes my articles are aimed at “…our Administrators and Educators.” at their front, not at their back. I’ve laid this out for everyone, including them, in a public forum open for discussion and debate. Essentially I’m doing a job they refuse to do! It is they who are ultimately responsible for the systemic decisions that created the current CPSD academic situation: not teachers, students or parents (more in a future article on the latter).
Paul you’ve made my point about systemic issues. Why concentrate students who “…have some of the highest numbers of English Language Learners…and also would normally have the highest numbers of “free” or “reduced” lunches”. That’s a decision at the systemic level that has academic consequences. Excuses don’t solve problems: they allow people to ignore the problem (and responsibility) which only gets worse.
I’m sure there are other “positives” such as Lochburn’s attendance as you mentioned. However praising a single functioning component of a system which is otherwise failing is faint praise indeed. On the flip side is increased attendance in a high discipline disruptive environment such a positive? Things in systems tend to be interrelated.
Clearly Lochburn’s attendance though laudable, much like anecdotal stories of success, may make you feel better about the situation but it does not address the real reasons for failure. It’s a convenient way of thinking things aren’t all that bad and then ignoring the inconvenient truths.
In the military we would say, “The maximum effective range of an excuse is zero meters”.
It’s been said by people smarter than me that there are two things that never change: The laws of physics, and logic.
Everything else is a falsehood and an attempt at manipulation.
There’s little wonder that so many of these intricate institutional plans are failing – they were built on false hope.
You can no sooner effectively educate the unwilling and the unable, than you can effectively employ the same.
Yet, the institutions (pick one) keep making sausage out of people and labeling it USDA “good enough”.
I no sooner want to undergo surgery by a surgeon who was selected by some quota based on anything but ability and excellence, than I want to perform such surgery on someone else.
To dream up an alternative reality where that seems acceptable is ludicrous.
But then there are a hell of a lot of things these days that fit into the category of “ludicrous”.
Doesn’t it seem odd that our borders are wide open for people supposedly looking for work which the people here don’t want to do, while we focus the education system on anything but filling that need?
We have a couple generations of folks with degrees that don’t mean much and a debt to the institutions which now want the rest of us to pay off. How about “No”.
I see a lot of confusion, anger, unrest, and resentment flowing out of those institutions, not a confident competent workforce.
A proper public school system would put young people on a better individual trajectory than that.
In response to Paul f. Nimmo.
Since you brought up the issue of English learners I looked up the statistics for English learner assessment between 2016 and 2023 on the OSPI Report Card website to get some trends.
The statistics address “percent progressing”/percent met standard”.
Lochburn:
2016: 91%/15%
2023: 11%/3%
Dower:
2016: 72%/16%
2023: 57%/10%
Lakeview:
2016: 65%/10%
2023: 39%/3%
Tyee:
2016: 56%/10%
2023: 58%/3%
4 Heros:
2016: 67%/11%
2023: 48%/11%
Totals:
2016: 70%/12%
2023: 42%/5%
The takeaway is that overall the English learner assessment has significantly dropped among Lochburn and associated elementary schools between 2016 and 2023 in both “percent progressing/percent met standard”. Lochburn specifically shows a precipitous drop in both percentages. These declines in English language assessment coincide with the declines academically in these schools. Are they more than just coincidence? They are probably connected systemically.
At this point I cannot attribute this decline to a specific or group of systemic issues but clearly something happened in CPSD to the English learners program to cause this drop in performance over such a short period. Further investigation is necessary. If you’re going to cite English learners for poor academic performance you are obliged to dig deeper into why that performance has dropped and its impact systemically.
These Arbeeny Op-Ed’s are garbage. It’s an opinion piece masquerading as analysis. I’m not sure why The Suburban Times even bothers to publish them. He’s got lots of “you kids get off my lawn” energy.
His opinions are kind of like Taco Bell: I can see how some people find it appealing but if I consume it I’m just left with indigestion. They can be ever so slightly spicy but the “meat” they pretend to have is just filler. Just like Taco Bell doesn’t serve any actual Mexican food, John doesn’t serve any useful thoughts.