Apologies for the long delay in reporting. I left for the National School Boards Association annual meeting on April 11, and this is the first free day since then.

D1. Teacher of the year awards.

We should all show our gratitude for the incredible professionals that choose to work in WCCUSD despite the low compensation. The Ed Fund’s 25th Teacher Excellence awards honored great teachers working to transform student lives. Again, this year’s winners were:

• Nathan Jackson- DeJean Junior High
• Beth Levine- Montalvin Elementary
• Steve Mainini- Kennedy High
• Mike Mannix- Richmond High
• Eric Verspraukus- Lincoln Elementary, and
• Kennedy High Counselor Fini Prak.

This event is truly a highlight of the year.

D.3 Common Core Standards Project Plan

A team of teachers, administrators and parents toiled over six facilitated sessions to create a common view of WCCUSD’s move to the Common Core State Standards over the next two years. The work is exciting and challenging, requiring some deep changes in the ways students are taught. Working with the United Teachers of Richmond -our teachers’ association- we made advances in defining a collaborative approach to enormous tasks ahead. Thanks to UTR President Diane Brown for her championing the teacher’s perspective throughout the process.

By no means complete, the task force product came down to a framework based on a cycle of inquiry. School sites and WCCUSD Educational Services will both develop greater capacity to support the complex changes required by the Common Core. The board will receive a regular update on progress made.

F.2 Scholar-in-Residence

WCCUSD like many large districts is subject to a litany of mandates, trends and policies not designed with our schools in mind. I proposed that we develop an internal research capacity through a visiting Scholar-in-Residence.By inviting a new scholar every year, we have the possibility of adding deep understanding to our collective capacity in different areas of need. You can read  my proposal here.

Given the relatively low expense and potentially high reward, I was surprised by the deep concern expressed by my fellow board members. In keeping with my campaign promise of frugal innovation, I will continue to offer ideas that have transformative potential while remaining fiscally responsible.

F.2 Restoration of Elementary Music

The arts must be part of a WCCUSD education. The board embarked on the steady path to restoring elementary music in phases over the next two years. We will allocate 2.5 positions to serve a set of elementary schools starting in 2013-14. We will add more positions growing to serve all schools in the following academic year. Phasing in the program allows WCCUSD to create well-planned, fiscally sustainable and highly effective music education for all elementary students. Implementing a district-wide program in one year would likely lead to a less effective result.

In the special meeting to address issues in the Portola-ECHS family, the board directed the ECHS establish a differentiating arts program to attract and retain students. To support this new program,  board member Ramsey offered a motion to assure that the ECHS feeder schools be in the first phase of the elementary music restoration. The remaining schools in the first phase will be decided in our May 15 meeting. If your child’s school is in the second phase, please know that elementary music arts are coming. It stinks that we can’t do everything all at once, but the benefits of a prudent start are large.

The WCCUSD Board of Education convened a special meeting this past Wednesday, March 27 to hear the community’s vision for the new Portola campus.  A crowd of 50-80 attended with representation from across southern WCCUSD. Principal Matt Burnham received a thunderous ovation for his presentation- and his accomplishments. Around 20 speakers offered strong support for current school improvement efforts while sharing visions for the new Portola. The evening resulted in an overwhelmingly positive exploration of ways to expand on current successes.

Converging factors prompted the board to call this meeting.  After 10 long years, the new campus is becoming a reality. WCCUSD received six bids for the new Portola building. The contract should be approved at our April 10 meeting. The board also wants to honor growing elementary parent commitment through GoPortola, “an inclusive forum for potential, future, current, and past families of Portola Middle School to share information and foster long-term community involvement in Portola.” Additionally, the board acknowledges that schools in the El Cerrito family have significant attrition of students- the highest in WCCUSD- a trend we want to reverse.

Superintendent Bruce Harter gave a data rich presentation illuminating Portola-El Cerrito family of schools.  Dr. Harter’s data confirms that schools in the southern district lose more students than other regions. Neighboring Albany USD attracts 450 WCCUSD students with Berkeley and Accalanes serving close this amount. The student loss is a serious concern and a main reason for this meeting. Note that competitor districts receive higher per pupil funding than WCCUSD and serve fewer low resource students, a situation Governor Brown is trying to address with the Local Control Funding Formula.  Portola serves elementary schools with the highest and lowest API scores in WCCUSD, creating substantial challenges in serving all students well.

Principal Matt Burnham presented an overview of Portola’s current standing and future plans. Extreme student performance range presents challenge to academic growth. As the public education proponent Bill Daggett states, equity is in conflict with excellence. If we simply pick which kids to serve, we can achieve excellence easily, yet Portola’s greatest strength resides in student diversity. My daughter attends a highly selective East Coast college. Witnessing the effects of sheltered upbringing on her “privileged” classmates, she is thankful every day for the perspective given by her WCCUSD experience. We must strengthen learning for all students, but we offer an unrivaled lesson in community.

To better address individual learning needs, Mr Burnham requested support to implement Universal Design for Learning and all day learning center on campus. By providing more options and personalized support for all students, Portola will better serve its diverse student needs.

Speakers represented current and potential future Portola parents. Recurring themes centered on keeping a safe and well-behaved campus, improving academic rigor and offering more electives. Views were more mixed on physical education waivers. Many students play sports and may want to take more classes, an option sought by a few speakers. Others felt that PE brings the school together and provides important developmental, social and health education needed by all students. Parents from Washington Elementary’s dual Spanish/English immersion program sought assurance that the program will continue on through Portola to El Cerrito High School.

The Board then addressed specific proposals to enhance Portola’s attraction. To support strengthened middle school learning, I proposed that WCCUSD attain a Scholar-in-Residence next year versed in Universal Design for Learning. This one year position will add substantially to WCCUSD’s capacity to deliver a more personalized learning experience, moving away from  one-size-fits-all. The Board then directed staff to develop a vibrant “School-of-the-Arts”-type program centered around the ECHS Theater. To assure that all students have an equitable opportunity to participate, The board directed that elementary music be restored district-wide. Finally, the board made physical education waivers more accessible to parents wanting the option.

WCCUSD staff will develop ideas generated at our March 27 meeting into detailed plans to be adopted, most likely at our April 10 regular meeting. While the Brown Act precludes board members from publicly sharing our views of actions items until after our vote, we welcome your thoughts. This recap will be cross-posted on my blog on El Cerrito Patch.

March 20 became quite the evening, running from 5:30 to 10:30. We had a full and eventful agenda.

F1. No contract with United Teachers of Richmond

We began the evening waiting for word from our teachers’ association as to whether they accepted the tentative agreement reached between them and WCCUSD negotiating team. In an apparently close vote, UTR membership rejected the tentative agreement. Both sides worked diligently over a long period to get this far, and I thank both teams for their efforts.

UTR President Diane Brown has sought a district commitment to better pay for teachers. I believe our teachers deserve a better wage, as do our other employees. The added burden of higher insurance costs are causing real hardship. The most senior employees, attracted to WCCUSD by lifetime benefits, have lost much. Lower salaries translate into lower pensions, and none will now receive the promise of free health care for life. I understand the pain this causes.

Better salaries will come only with more revenue. Two paths exist. We can follow communities like Albany and Piedmont by supporting more parcel taxes. I would certainly pay a few hundred more dollars yearly for more effective learning. A near supermajority continually vote yes for more local school money, but not enough to cross the 2/3 threshold. Efforts are underway in the assembly to lower the threshold to 55%.

We can also get behind the governor’s Local Control Funding Formula. The LCFF would provide significant funding for districts serving high poverty and English learning students. Few districts will benefit more than WCCUSD. If you support this bold approach to real equity, tell your legislators Assemblymembers Nancy Skinner and Susan Bonilla along with Senator Loni Hancock.

As revenues pick up with a growing economy or legislative act, a deluge of pent up needs will vie for the funds. Students must be first in line for the money. I’ve pondered if lowered class size is the best use of new funds. We had low class sizes for a decade prior to the fiscal emergency with little to show for it. In fact, most of our high schools’ performance declined with the entrance of the first classes starting in 20 student K-3. Are there better uses for the money?

F2 Second Interim Report

WCCUSD is required to send two updates on financial status each each. The Second Interim Report covers finances from the fiscal year’s start to January 31, 2013. We appear to be in good fiscal health, although we are running a structural deficit barring increased revenues.

G1 Caliber Charter School

An enthusiastic crowd showed up to support a charter proposal from Caliber. As we still must vote on the application at our May 1 meeting, I can’t share my thoughts until afterward.

Item C11 Single Plans for Student Achievement (SPSA’s)

Buried in the consent calendar was an item to approve SPSA’s for the current year. I pulled the item out of dismay. SPSA’s constitute the bulk of our School Site Councils’ effort and comprise a great many hours of principals’ work. To have them adopted in such a cursory manner as a consent item is symptomatic of everything wrong in public education. We take a practice meant to prompt reflection and self-examination and turn into a empty compliance exercise. Stuff like this has to stop!