VIBRANT SCHOOLS: SCHOOL BOARD BRIEFING FOR APRIL 14, 2016

VIBRANT SCHOOLS TACOMA COALITION

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING THREE PAGE BRIEF FOR APRIL 14, 2016:

The Vibrant Three:Top Three Priority Comments, Questions and Concerns (Also in the body of the report).

1. The coalition does not understand the rationale behind the policy of excluding members of the community from school boundary committees. Further, committee members should have notice and access to discussions that lead to boundary recommendations.
2. The purpose of report card standards is to set clear learning goals for each subject at each grade level. Once these learning goals are clear, Vibrant Schools would assume that the focus on them should ultimately result in more students passing their classes but it is hard to assess this based on data presented thus far.
3. While cohort groups may differ, when some student groups do poorly or really well every year, it may be an indicator of systemic impacts on certain groups of students and those systemic factors should be explored, understood and acted upon.

TOPICS AND ISSUES

• Recognitions:

Tacoma won a perfect score on its risk management survey and Mount Tahoma High School won a state award as 11 of 25 Palmer Scholars and 3 of 6 ACT scholars were Mount Tahoma students. Finally, the District won a College Board award based on recent outcomes in the district for access for under-represented students

1. Testimony

• Alton McDonald, commenting on his concern that there are no black contractors on current construction projects and no black principals at the district’s comprehensive high schools. He also expressed concerns regarding the hiring and retention of teachers of color in the district and around a recent disparaging comment directed toward a student of color.
• Bill Hanawalt, parent, and Executive Director of Peace Community Center, asked that neighborhood integrity be maintained and that community agencies’ efforts to support students in schools be honored during the redetermination of middle school boundaries. He asked that community members be included on the District’s middle school boundary committee.

• Liesl Santkuyl, a parent, indicated that there are real neighborhood identities and natural neighborhoods that need to be honored in the boundary-setting process. She suggested a number of community groups to include on the committee, and asked specifically about the Tacoma Mall area which now has many children but no school.

Deputy Superintendent Garcia noted that the current process is designed for all middle schools, and noted that forums will be available for community members but that community members will not serve on the committee.

Vibrant Schools Question and Concern

The coalition does not understand the rationale behind the policy of excluding members of the community from school boundary committees. Further, committee members should have notice and access to discussions that lead to boundary recommendations.

3. Report to the Board.  Goal One, Academic Excellence, Part One.

Marie Verhaar and Toni Pace reported on middle and high school metrics. The staff, administrative leadership team and school board members had an involved discussion around high school graduation rates and ninth grade failure rates with numbers and outcomes varying for each different groups of students with the need to review and present some of the results at the next meeting with clearer conclusions.

Vibrant Schools Questions and Concerns:

• Has the percentage gone up or down (or stayed the same) with the implementation of report card standards for 9^th graders?
• The purpose of report card standards is to set clear learning goals for each subject at each grade level. Once these learning goals are clear, Vibrant Schools would assume that the focus on them should ultimately result in more students passing their classes but it is hard to assess this based on data presented thus far.

 

• Superintendent Santorno asked about a decline in Asian students’ graduation rates from 86.2% in 2014 to 82.6% in 2015.
• Dr Garcia noted that each year the students are different–these are not cohort-adjusted numbers.
• President Vialle asked the definition of “multi-racial” and Dr Garcia replied that students self-identify by racial/ethnic group.

Vibrant Schools Comment

While cohort groups may differ, when some student groups do poorly or really well every year, it may be an indicator of systemic impacts on certain groups of students and those systemic factors should be explored, understood and acted upon.

4. Middle School Extracurricular Participation

Dr Jennifer Kubista then reported on middle school students participating in extracurricular activities.

Questions from School Board Members

• Director Cobb asked about the link between the participation levels of male students in activities and whether that participation impacts these young men’s graduation rates.
• Director Heinze asked if the cost of participation is prohibitive for kids and how families go about seeking financial assistance.

Other Comments

• Student Representative Bernante remarked that cost is an issue and students do not know about the help they could get, and that the help needs to be publicized more widely.
• Director Cobb asked about access to specialty clubs like Robotics.

Vibrant Schools Comments:

• There was no discussion about a possible link between participation in extra-curricular activities and either attendance or academic progress, despite the fact that this is a Goal One Academic Excellence metric.
• Vibrant Schools has heard from parents and community members that activities may be cost-prohibitive for many youngsters and families and so access to activities can become an equity concern.

5. The Goal 2 Partnership Report

Partnership staff Amanda Scott Thomas and Merilee Tanbara indicated there has been an overall increase in parent volunteers. Ms. Scott Thomas highlighted several key partnership efforts including the Tacoma Public Library, Family/Community Learning Academy at Jason Lee, College Tours for Parents and an effort to improve attendance by writing a letter to parents whose students have missed 18 or more days of school (10%).

• President Vialle asked if the list of partners could be broken out by level of partnership, so that it is easier to see who is doing what.
• Director Cobb suggested that the District then follow up with parents who respond positively to the first letter, thanking them for their efforts.

Vibrant Schools Observation

Because the data was not reported based on different demographics, it is not clear which groups of parents are increasing their volunteer activities within TPS. We understand that an on-line volunteer access capacity is being developed.  Some climate survey data were shown from the old climate survey so will be of limited value as the district moves forward with the new climate survey tool.

General Board comments. 

• Director Heinze had no comments.
• Director Cobb reported attending the National School Board Association and seeing well-designed reports for the community.       She also asked how children are assessed and identified as “gifted.”
• President Vialle talked about historically black colleges and universities and teacher recruitment, the assignment of mentor teachers to young teachers and her concern about takeovers of school districts in other states and the possibility that charter schools might receive large amounts of public funds. She expressed sadness at the unexpected death of Ms. Dralle, a teacher at McCarver.
• Student Representative Bernante gave additional kudos to Mt Tacoma High School staff.
• Student Representative Olson gave similar kudos to the Stadium High School staff.

VIBRANT SCHOOLS CALL FOR ACTION:  None at This Time

Here is the link the full report:

2016 April 14 School Board Report Website Finished Version PDF