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Letters
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- Written by: Jeannie Markham
I have to write in response to the two letters I just read regarding the climate at LUSD from current board members and a citizen. I feel I can speak more authoritatively than any of the last contributors as there have been very few days in the last 25 years that I was not on a campus.
So much of what I read in those two letters sounds fluffy and good. Yes, it sounds good, but the reality of how the district is actually working is not that pretty.
I have seen huge changes in the last two years, most of what I have seen has not been "positive."
I have seen almost no change in the quality of the meals provided for the children delivered from this $4 million kitchen. The students are still being served frozen chicken nuggets, beans from a can warmed up, pre-packaged dinner rolls in cellophane, burritos in cellophane packages and pizza bought from a local store.
It is too bad that the school board thinks the school climate is improved … quite the opposite. If they had come to campus and spent some time talking to teachers, they would have known why there was a mass exit from teaching positions.
Believe me, these teachers did not WANT to leave! Moves to other positions in the district and out of the district completely were to escape the stress of hostile work environments, lack of support from administration and lack of an effective discipline policy. Teachers being hit, kicked, slapped and spit on, called f*****g b**ch, food and class objects thrown at them. When this goes on all year long, this is a hostile work environment. Is this in the best interest of the students?
Restorative justice requires that a student come back to the classroom he has just destroyed by tearing work off the walls, throwing chairs, climbing on cabinets and yelling four letter words at everyone … and then apologizing. Then back to teaching as usual? How safe do you think those other students feel now that that student is back, and how well do you think they will learn after that?
Administration had to hire noncertified people to fill these vacancies because so few certified teachers are available. There are not enough curriculum coaches to meet the needs of these untrained teachers in the classrooms. How well do you suppose these untrained teachers are dealing with these events? Is this really what is in the best interest of the students?
What makes me sad is that the current board and administration are so blind to what is really going on. They don't seem to want to know what the real truth is, otherwise they would come to campus, spend hours to really observe, listen and enact change that would be in the students' best interest. How sad.
Jeannie Markham is a retired Lakeport Unified School District teacher. She lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Janice Hicks
Even though Don Anderson has several hundred endorsements, he does not advertise them. His reason is simple, a judge should not seek endorsements from people or organizations that may appear before him while he is on the bench.
As an example, the sheriff regularly is sued and has thousands of criminal cases before the court. How does it appear if he publically helped a judge get elected? What if you are a appearing in court and find out the other side has this relationship with the judge?
You obviously would be fearful of what favors that judge would give to the other side. This defeats the need for judges to be fair and unbiased.
Shanda Harry also boasts about having the Democratic Committee endorsement. But what does that really mean? Remembering this is the same Democratic Committee that endorsed Sheriff Frank Rivero both in 2010 and 2014.
This is the sheriff that received a “no-confidence vote of the Board of Supervisors; was put on the “Brady list” as a peace officers who cannot be trusted; that violated people’s civil rights; endangered police officers’ lives many time, and so many other things. It makes you wonder what goes into making these endorsements, obviously not good judgment.
Janice Hicks lives in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif.
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- Written by: Dennis Darling and Tom Powers
Bond funds have provided updated facilities and technology that meets the majority of the students.
The district prioritized the central kitchen/high school cafeteria and library/media center. Students now have a place to eat and socialize during inclement weather, and they can now be served and eat during the 30-minute lunch period. Healthier food choices are served due to the facilities upgrades.
The new culinary program will provide our students with future career opportunities. Our food services director and new culinary teacher from Fresh & Bangin will combine their efforts to improve both our food menus and student experience. The culinary program allows the district to apply for a grant to reimburse some of our costs of the new facility.
Despite soaring costs due to the economy and local fires, the district is actively seeking funding to build the pool, tennis courts, and fitness center. Grants are being actively sought and the application for Prop 51 funding has been submitted. State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry are working with our school board to facilitate that funding.
Safety continues to be a priority of the district. The District Safety Committee consists of Lakeport Police, Lakeport Fire Department personnel, the school resource officer, administrators, teachers, classified staff, directors, maintenance staff, the school nurse, and parents and meets monthly to deal with current issues.
The Aeries communication system allows parents to choose the method of delivery they prefer during emergencies including text, email and voice mail.
Training has been provided by the FBI for active shooters response and our school resource officer is trained in the DARE program which will be delivered to students during class.
The district is supporting systems to improve school climate as required by the California Department of Education to reduce suspensions/exclusion. We believe in teaching positive behavior and social justice as opposed to harsh punishment and exclusion.
Positive Behavior Intervention System, or PBIS, is being implemented at a higher level including more training for teachers, classified staff, bus drivers and parents.
A full-time PBIS teacher coach supports positive discipline options and restorative social justice to teach students how to repair relationships and the damage caused by negative behavior.
Lakeport Elementary School now has a sensory room for students to de-escalate when they are angry and disruptive.
Clear Lake High School has instituted an advisory period to build relationships, provide academic planning and discuss social emotional issues such as bullying.
Training will be provided for all staff on PBIS, trauma-informed care, adverse childhood effects, and de-escalation techniques to help staff deal with students who have social challenges.
Staffing changes have occurred at both the elementary and middle school. The majority of the staff changes were due to teachers moving out of the area, changing positions within the district, retirement, and credential issues.
The new teachers have a high level of support. Lake County Office of Education provided a summer institute, LUSD provides an instructional teacher coach at each school and a PBIS behavior teacher coach for the district. A wide variety of training and coaching is provided throughout the year tailored to the individual needs of the new teachers.
Our Local Control Accountability Plan is currently being implemented and we have many new and exciting programs at our schools including:
● A full-time K-12 music teacher providing chorus at all grade levels.
● Instructional teacher coaches at all schools and a PBIS behavior coach districtwide.
● Community partnership coordinator to assist parents and connect with our community.
● Dashboard teams of teachers, administration, and classified staff looking at our data and making action plans in the areas of English/language arts, math, suspension, and chronic absenteeism.
● Native American AmeriCorps social/emotional support tutor located at Terrace campus.
Dennis Darling and Tom Powers are members of the Lakeport Unified School District Board and both are seeking reelection Nov. 6.
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- Written by: Kathy Gonzales
This “team” approach sounds favorable in theory, but do we really want decisions that directly impact our schools and students to be made as a “team”?
It is obvious to me that this three-member team has a set agenda that does not take into account any of the services or actions that our existing board members are currently addressing. I know that I want members of a board that weigh the facts and aren’t afraid to independently do what they feel is best for the district and our students.
This three-member team has not only made their action plan public by Web site, social media, newspaper and campaign propaganda, but they have even resorted to delivering numerous evening robo calls. The one thing that is surprisingly missing from the basic three-point action plan is OUR STUDENTS!
In all of the articles, phone calls and propaganda distributed, they have failed to make any mention of our students and what they are going to do to directly help them.
This same three-member team also states that they have talked to teachers, staff, volunteers and parents, but what about talking to the administrators at each site and the superintendent?
I have made it a point to attend several board meetings, PTO meetings and both Lakeport Elementary School “Conversations with the Principal” events, and most recently a Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee meeting. What I have found to be consistent with our current leadership is the transparency of information and the willingness to openly discuss difficult topics, and opening up conversations on how they can improve. The one thing that is clear in every meeting that I have attended, is that the students best interests are at the forefront of decisions.
In addition, this three-member team who openly blames the new superintendent for the downfall of this district has obviously had blinders on for the past several years and isn’t aware of the problematic indicators that the California Department of Education notified LUSD about from data prior to the 2016-17 school year.
It surprises me to read or hear statements made from individuals who have never been on campus, have not taken the initiative to research the real facts or to physically show up to these events to ask questions. It appears from recent articles that the desire of this three-member team and their supporters is to go back to the system that was in place 20 years ago that is no longer legal and is not best for the diversity of our current students.
I attended the latest Conversations with the Principal event at Lakeport Elementary, where the topic was the discipline policy and the discipline matrix that were both developed by the PBIS Team and the teaching staff over the last three years.
I was surprised by the level of detail and the focus of teaching to the whole child (academics, behavior and social-emotional). It also dispelled the comments that I have been hearing in regards to this school not suspending students and having no real consequences for poor behavior. It starts in the classroom where teachers have a clear expectation of the desired behaviors and level of consequences that are expected within the classroom environment.
It seems logical that as the behaviors increased on the matrix, the students would be referred to the office by the classroom teacher for further consequences.
If you are really questioning how things are handled, you should call and ask questions and not just assume that because changes have been made in recent years that they are negatively impacting student learning. Like anything that is new, it takes time and acceptance to make it fully functionable.
The effort and energy that was evident from the last Lakeport Elementary PTO meeting and the Conversations with the Principal that I attended, it became apparent that the staff and leadership are working together to continue to refine a system that supports all students.
I would encourage you to ask questions, do some of your own research and not fall into the trap of basing your viewpoints from hearsay that is being angled towards an already predetermined agenda endorsed by the three-member team.
Remember that our school district board should be driving their decisions around what is best for all kids and not always what is easy for the adults.
Kathy Gonzales lives in Lakeport, Calif.