Our school district's superintendent was a guest at church today. (not really CC)

[joannqn]

Our small church meets in a local high school and is very focused on being a part of the local community and meeting the needs of the community, including those of the school in which we meet. Pastor is doing a series on that idea and has been bringing in community leaders, interviewing them on what makes a healthy city, what they see are the barriers to our city being healthy, what they see as the needs of our city, and what goals would they see as impossible.

 

Today the school principal and superintendent were the guests.

 

The principal came across as a non-practicing Catholic trying to appeal to our faith in a very fake way. :glare:

 

The superintendent spoke more. Here's some of the tidbits that interested me.

 

He's from India and came here to go to grad school at the U of Washington. He was in banking, then worked for the city, and finally worked in the school system. He's been the super for 3 years.

 

He spoke of focusing on the wholeness of the child, financially, healthfully, emotionally, academically. He used the words whole and wholeness a lot. He spoke about the collective heart of the city coming together for the common good. That the health of the kids reflects the health of the city.

 

He talked about all decisions within the school being student centered, supporting them academically, with food (there is a Backpacks for Homeless Students program at this school), shelter, clothing, social needs, and behavior issues.

 

He talked about how they only have the kids six hours a day in the sense that they can't do everything they want to help the kids because they don't have enough time and influence with them.

 

He talked about a time (a while back) he was taken to a prison up north to meet some of the previous Seattle school district students. All of their stories were similar: we didn't get love at home, we didn't get love a school, we didn't get what we needed, etc. That prison spent $40,000, per inmate, at that time. He talked about if we could only spend that money on the front end, at school, making sure they get their needs met so they don't end up in prison.

 

He talked about, on a practical level, how we can help. We already provide months worth of food for the Backpacks for Homeless Students, underwear and socks for those same students, teacher breakfasts, and campus clean up. But we need to talk to the legislators and get them to see that the answer isn't as simple as test scores and better ways to evaluate teachers. They need to understand it is more complicated than that when kids are struggling with poverty, etc. He talked about increasing student bodies but not having the funding to build new buildings. He talked about funding a lot.

 

As for the impossible goal? That all students can come to school ready to learn without outside burdens. That all kids can go to college or trade/technical school and get jobs when they graduate. That we as a country would provide the funding necessary to accomplish this.

 

He left as soon as his interview was done, not sticking around in case anyone wanted to talk with him.

 

Anyway, just thought some might be interested in how one superintendent defined a "healthy city" from his viewpoint as a superintendent.

Edited March 12, 2012 by joannqn

[MHowell]

Sounds like he cares. In many ways I agree with him, but I don't know if dumping more money into our current school system will fix it.

[Slartibartfast]

I don't think it takes money so much as people who really do care about the kids and wants to do more than just tossing money at a problem.

 

I think the Kansas City, Missouri school district is a great example of how throwing money at an issue doesn't really help. It is also a great example of how a few people are working hard to make things work.

 

There are some organizations that might have more real information such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The people who I know who did the most good worked with them..and expanded from there.

Edited March 12, 2012 by Sis

[LucyStoner]

Projects like the Harlem Children's Zone are doing a good job IMO of pointing to the fact that it takes more than educational investments to break the school to jail conveyor belt for kids. This principal and superintendent seem to be saying that, what with the food packs and the tremendous drain on the schools to be social workers for homeless and very low income families. Parenting support, early literacy, stable housing and food access all promote school success. Many of the kids who do well in school, it was all pretty much determined by what they knew pre-school and what support they get at home on an ongoing basis. Many kids show up at school having had the most disorganized and disruptive home lives possible. I am contract writing for prisoners group right now and it is eye opening how very minor or early some of the turning points in the prisoners' lives really were. An ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure and all that. It is very expensive for society to deal with the poor outcomes of the educational system but underlying that very often is a lack of stability at home that no amount of money can solve. That said, I do think that more money in schools makes a difference when it goes to quality teachers, maintaining "extras" like PE and art and music, school nurse, and writing instruction (how writing and a nurse got to be seen as an extra is BEYOND me!), making sure students have the basic supplies and nutrition needed and that the buildings are decent, safe and adequately sized. More money for constantly changing expensive books or gadgets or bloated district admin budgets does not have a positive impact.

 

One of my favorite teachers always said that it didn't matter if the kids were poor or rich, what made a successful student was having someone at home or in the family/community who loved and supported them emotionally and having at some point been taught and fully accepted that education was a good thing. She said that without both of those things, there was very little she could do by the time she saw students (in high school).

Edited March 12, 2012 by kijipt

[Lisbeth]

 

He talked about, on a practical level, how we can help. We already provide months worth of food for the Backpacks for Homeless Students, underwear and socks to these same students, teacher breakfasts, and campus clean up. But we need to talk to the legislators and get them to see that the answer isn't as simple as test scores and better ways to evaluate teachers. They need to understand it is more complicated than that when kids are struggling with poverty, etc. He talked about increasing student bodies but not having the funding to build new buildings. He talked about funding a lot.

 

 

 

How many meetings is he having with the parents about priorities and caring for their own children? Why should those parents provide when the community is doing it for them? Where is the motivation there? Why is school now a meals program? What are legislators going to do except hit tax payers up for more money? Worst of all, what damage does this do to these kids who spend their formative years being taught that they can get handouts for everything? I am not heartless, but this is a ridiculous circumstance getting way out of control. The parents need to be held accountable for their children, in some fashion.