Teacher Interviews
I have emphasized my dedication to open communication with teachers for feedback on past measures, future mesaures, and the current needs of our schools. This begins with teacher interviews during my campaign to get an overall picture of where our schools currently stand. The results of these interviews will be posted here below.
These are intended to provide an overall picture of the responses received, and no names will be used without express permission.
Updated: 8-28-16 , 3-1-16
Overview of Results so Far
Of the 23 current and recently retired teachers I have spoken to thus far, nearly all expressed the need for more Teachers' Assistants, most spoke of the lack of usable textbooks at all (let alone up-to-date ones), and several spoke of the constraints of copy rations. A few also expressed a need for greater administrative support.
These are the primary things which I will work to improve.
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A Few More Details
Teachers' Assistants: Going into last school year, everyone was uncertain whether we would have the budget for teachers' assistants; it wasn't concrete until shortly before school started, such that it was a couple of weeks into the school year before those positions were filled. We were, of course, greatful to have them at all, but what I learned from these interviews is just how inadequate the number of assistants we have really is. One of our elementary schools went from having 13 teachers' assistants a few years ago to now having less than 5, who are shared between the classrooms, lunchroom, and buses, further reducing the amount of time in which they are able to help with classroom instruction. With our ever-increasing class sizes, and an ever-decreasing budget (our current budget, as set by the state is substantially less than the 2008 budget), the need for teachers' assistants should be a top priority to increase the effectiveness of instructional time.
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Textbooks: In addition to what I experienced in our school system (as described on my Campaign Platform page), our teachers have shown me that our current textbook situation is much worse than I realized. For example, alhough common core has been the curriculum for a few years now, our teachers have textbooks which are 8 years old and do not cover/use common core (and some have only online resources, which doesn't work for students who cannot afford internet at home). Thus, they are left to find whatever resources they can in order to teach the material. Although there is some benefit to having the freedom to structure the class in whichever way they think is most effective for their students, there is a serious problem when they cannot print out copies of these materials for their students to use, which beings me to the next point:
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Copy Rations: This is one issue of which I was unaware prior to my campaign. All of our schools operate with copy rations, as there are limited resources. In situations where there is no usable textbook available (which is the majority of cases), handouts are the only materials available to students. As such, the copy rations severly limit how much material the teachers can provide to our students to help them succeed. Some of the teachers I spoke to could not send EOG practice work home as a result of these copy rations. The EC teachers in particular, who have to tailor the curriculum to each student's needs, and thus rely even more heavily on handouts, are hurting from these copy rations; the bulk of which are eaten up by the IEPs (Individual Education Plans) which must be kept on file and provided to parents. For starters, if we have to have copy rations, they should be fair to all teachers and should not adversely affect teachers who have to do more administrative paperwork. Thus, any paperwork which must be put on file and/or provided to the parents, which is not used for instructional purposes (classwork/homework), should not count against a teachers' copy rations. To address the greater problem, some teachers have informed me of a more economic copy machine which we have in some of our schools, which does not acount against the copy rations. Making sure that we have these more efficient copiers in all of our schools would alleviate these restrictive copy rations.
Administrative Support: Sadly, some of the teachers to whom I have spoken expressed a lack of support for their concerns within the schools. Our teachers should not feel like they have to make an appointment in order to talk to their administrators. Just as teachers have office hours, so should the administration be required to set time aside each week, after hours, specifically to address teachers' concerns.
Below are the questions which I have been asking our teachers. If you are a parent or teacher, I would love to hear from you;
please visit the Ask page to share your concerns, or email me at the address above so that we can meet.
Elementary Schools
Our elementary schools provide the basic foundation upon which our middle and high schools build our students' body of knowledge. These are a child's formative years, so it is crucial that equal opportunities and resources are available, and that students are exposed to a variety of enriching experiences and learning opportunities.
As I want to gague the degree of the current problems in textbooks and classroom resources, arts and music, and technology, I considered asking questions specific to these departments, but I decided to ask the question more generally (as all three are about resources and funding) and see how the different departments will respond.
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Do you often have to change your lesson plans or tailor them differently due to budgetary or resource shortages?
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How old are the textbooks in your classroom?
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When thinking of measures passed by the school board in the past few years, what positive or negative impacts have you observed in your school?
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What is the one thing that you would change in your school or at the county level to make a difference in your students' education?
Middle Schools
Middle schools are where we really begin to specialize education and students begin to choose different paths for themselves. The availability of electives and programs, as well as the use of standardized testing are among the additional considerations which become more relevant at this level.
I will ask all three levels of schools the questions listed above; they have separate headings because there may be value in examining the responces in these categories.
I will ask the middle school faculty the following additional questions as applicable:
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For elective teachers: Are there any competitions, projects, performances or other engagement and enrichment activities that you were not able to do as a result of limited resources or funding?
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For librarians: When was the last time you were able to bring in new books? About what proportion of the books you currently have are in disrepair?
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What electives or programs do you think are superfluous in this day and age?
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What improvements would you suggest for standardized testing methods and the preparation for them?
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What new or additional electives or programs do you think will help students prepare for higher education and choosing a career?
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What are some life skills which you think should be included in the school curriculum, programs, or other activities?
High School
High school begins the acquisition of higher knowledge, and the skills and test scores from this level directly impact our students' prospects for higher education and employment. Making sure they have adequate resources for success is crucial, as is exposing them to necessary life skills.
The questions already listed cover the majority of concerns; re-working them to address the differences at these levels would just create overlap, as the key concerns are the same; so, there is only one additional question to pose to the high school teachers:
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What do you think our schools and/or county can do to better prepare our students for college and to be better productive members of our society?
PCC
Although PCC is not part of our public school system, the instructors here see firsthand the output of our system. So, I am asking them different questions:
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Based on your observations in class and around campus, what do your students seem unprepared for academically?
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What life skills, if any, do you think are lacking in their education?
Community, Private, and Charter Schools
Although these schools are not part of our school system, their faculty (and parents) can provide valuable insight into what they think their schools are doing better. These perspectives are helpful towards the goal of creating equal opportunity for all students in this county.
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What educational goals do you think your school achieves better than the public school system?
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What resource advantages, if any, do you think help to better prepare your students for success?