Stragetic Plan

After several years of talking about developing a long-term strategic plan for the Berryessa School District, the Board held a one-day retreat in early December to put together a plan with three-year goals for the district.  The retreat included a broad cross section of community members and district employees.  We spent the day brainstorming about the strengths and weaknesses of the district, developing three-year goals and then working in small teams to create a 6-month action plan. 

The Board officially approved the Strategic Plan at our Jan. 21 meeting and the goals have been disseminated out to the school sites so that everyone is aware of the primary objectives for the district.  Each month, the Board will receive a report on progress toward the 6-month objectives and the entire Strategic Planning group will reconvene in May to review the results, adjust the goals, and develop the next action plan.

The first exciting outcome from the retreat was a modernization of the district's Mission Statement.  We continue to focus on developing lifelong learners, but the statement now includes a nod to the 21st century and the global nature of our society.  We are proud to live in as diverse a community as Berryessa, which is a microcosm for the entire world.  All our students need to be prepared not just for college and career, but to be contributing members of an ever shrinking world.  Therefore, our new Mission Statement reads:

Berryessa Union School District provides all students the skills to become lifelong learners and successful 21st century global citizens.

We formulated 5 key 3-year goals for the district, which I hope you agree capture key things that will make our district successful in achieving our mission and improving the educational outcomes for the students we serve.  The five goals are:

1. Ensure a safe learning environment
2. Enhance proficiency in the 4 C's: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity
3. Enhance technology
4. Provide professional development for all staff
5. Increase parent and community involvement and education

Each of these broad goals is supported by a 6-month action plan to get the district on its way to being successful.  The full strategic plan with the action plans is posted on the district website.  These plans include detailed timelines and names of those responsible for implementation.  I look forward to regular reports from the district on how well each of these plans is being implemented.

Local Control Accountability Plan Testimony

California Governor Jerry Brown and the Legislature took bold action in 2013 to change the way funds are allocated to school districts.  The so-called Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) allocates additional money above baseline for targeted disadvantaged students.  One of the exciting things about the new funding model is that it provides flexibility to local school boards to tailor services to the local needs of students in their districts.  Rather than proscribe the way the supplemental money is spent, as traditionally done through categorical programs, districts are supposed to be able develop district- and school-wide programs that work best for their students' needs.  School boards will then be accountable for the success of their programs.

The legislation left it up to the State Board of Education (SBE) to develop spending regulations to guide districts through the process of creating a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).  The Berryessa Union School District is sending out surveys and holding constituent meetings to gather input as we develop the LCAP for the 2014-15 school year.  As the SBE develops the regulations, they are under lots of pressure to put restrictions on the ways districts can spend their money.  This may end up taking much of the local control back from school boards.  

Next week, SBE is holding a hearing to gather input on the spending regulations.  Since I am unable to be in Sacramento on Thursday, I sent the following letter to SBE today in place of providing personal testimony.

January 9, 2014

President Michael Kirst and Members
California State Board of Education
1430 N. Steet, #5111
Sacramento, CA  95814

Re: January Meeting Agenda Items 20 & 21: Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)

Dear President Kirst and Members of the State Board of Education:

As a member of the Berryessa School Board, I am very excited about the promise of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).  The flexibility afforded districts to spend resources as they see fit allows local priorities to be met and makes the board more accountable to local stakeholders.  Our district takes very seriously the requirements that LCFF planning needs requires a focus on equity and transparency.  We held a discussion at our December Board meeting to discuss plans for developing a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) that meets the needs of our very diverse district.  

The process is beginning right away, with meetings being held at school sites and with other stakeholder groups in the district, to make sure that the plan reflects the needs of our students and families.  We will be surveying parents and members of the community and involving all constituents in the process.

One of the best parts of the spending regulations as proposed is that they allow districts to decide how best to serve their own students.  Districts will be held accountable for results without being proscribed on how to spend added resources.  In addition, LCFF allows for the development of both district- and school-wide programs and services.  Both are important in promoting student achievement and success.  There are many different educational models that can achieve good educational outcomes, and it should be left to local districts to decide the best way to allocate the money to achieve those outcomes.  

Thank you very much for the opportunity to share my comments with you and for your thoughtful approach to developing the spending regulations that govern the implementation of LCFF.  

Sincerely,
David Cohen
Trustee, Berryessa Union School District

Common Core is Here!

If you have a school-age student, you may have noticed that education strategies have changed a little bit this year.  Teachers in the Berryessa School District are embracing the transition to the new Common Core standards.  These standards have been adopted by 45 states in order to allow for consistency no matter where families move during their children's school years.  

The main purpose of Common Core is to help students become college and career ready by being "robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers."  The standards stress critical thinking and promote a conceptual understanding of math and language arts material.  That is why the standards in math, for example, ask for more than learning and repeating techniques, but also the ability to explain why techniques and methods apply to different kinds of problems.  

Common Core standards stress Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking.  When I visit classrooms, I see students working on group projects and utilizing team learning.  I see teachers drilling down to make sure students truly understand the context of what they are learning.  In the long run, this kind of learning will better prepare our future adults to be successful in whatever endeavors they choose.

Changing standards will require a new way of evaluating student performance.  Starting with the 2014-2015 school year, students will take computer based assessments that are able to adjust the level of the questions on the fly, depending on how students perform during the test.  This will allow a more accurate and thorough evaluation.  

Implementing these new Smarter Balanced Assessments requires a robust technology infrastructure since tests will no longer be done using #2 pencils, but will instead require a computer for each student.  The State of California has decided that this year should focus on preparing students for the new testing next year.  Therefore, the state has suspended STAR testing for the current school year.  Schools will pilot the Smarter Balanced Assessment instead. 

There are many resources available online to learn more about Common Core standards.  The Curriculum Corner offers a simple summary of Common Core Standards.  The California Department of Education website provides an overview of Common Core and details of the state standards.  And you can take a pilot Common Core test on your own computer at Smarter Balanced's site.

Time to Invest in District's Infrastructure

The schools in the Berryessa School District are all more than 35 years old, and a few are more than 50 years old.  As a result, our students spend their days in outdated facilities.  Some of our school libraries are too small and some schools don't have a true stage for performances.  The electrical systems are unable to handle modern demands.  In some cases, fuses blow when more than 2 computers are plugged in at the same time.  Our plumbing needs an overhaul.

Other key pieces of the infrastructure are beginning to fail.  Last year, Sierramont Middle School's boiler shut down during the coldest part of winter, and the district had to spend nearly $200,000 for temporary and permanent fixes.  Last week, the power went out in a portion of Vinci Park Elementary School for an hour.  There are leaky roofs in the district office.  The district's central kitchen is small and the lack of modern equipment limits the kinds of meals we can serve in our school cafeterias.

Our maintenance team does a great job keeping things working, but a time comes when major upgrades are in order.  In addition, the maintenance yard is so old that it isn't a safe place to work.

The integration of 21st century technology into our schools requires modernization of the electrical systems and internet backbone and new models on how to structure classroom learning.  We started the process of upgrading our internet infrastructure a few years ago, and used a series of bonds and loans to finance it.

Becoming more energy independent will save the district money from our general fund.  Installing solar can reduce our monthly energy bill, freeing up resources to pay for critical classroom needs, as well as ensure that our salaries are competitive with other districts in Santa Clara County.

Addressing all of these needs will require the community to invest in our schools.  That is why the School Board is considering placing a bond on the ballot in 2014.  Polls show that we have strong support from the community to address all of the things I outlined above.  Anyone who cares about educating our children and has been watching the state of California school support knows that this investment is necessary.

Bond money could not be used to augment our general fund, as the money would be earmarked for facilities upgrades and additions.  Given all the unfunded needs in our classrooms, we have not been able to set aside the money needed to make these upgrades.  The modest parcel tax that property owners pay in the district augments our classroom funding, but is unavailable for infrastructure spending.

There is a misperception floating around that because we are a declining enrollment district, we don't need to invest in our schools.  While our district has gotten smaller by about 200 students, that is no reason to deny the 7,800 who remain the best possible facilities so that they can become a key part of the 21st century economy.  And the large amount of development occurring in Berryessa, particularly at the flea market, means that it is likely we will be serving even more students in another decade.

It is time to make important infrastructure investments in our schools.  Our Berryessa children deserve nothing less.

Science Camp and Other School Activities

There has been a lot of confusion reigning since AB 1575 was adopted this year, codifying into California's Education Code the rules governing how schools collect fees from students.  The rules were required after a lawsuit (Jane Doe and Jason Roe v. The State of California) found that California was illegally allowing students to be denied opportunities in school based on their ability to pay fees.  The lawsuit reaffirmed the principle that public schools must afford an equal opportunity for all students to participate in anything related to the educational mission.

A great summary of the issues raised by AB 1575 can be found in an EdSource report written in March of this year.  Many school districts reacted with abundant caution earlier this year when evaluating how to proceed with various programs that cost money and that couldn't easily be covered out the districts' general funds.  For example, how will schools pay for all the supplies needed by students in the classroom, musical instruments needed for band, uniforms for PE and sports, and enrichment trips by clubs and music programs?  There was some temptation to cancel programs rather than risk being on the hook for all the money that used to be collected from students.

One thing has always been clear.  It is still ok to ask those participating in school activities to make donations and raise money to help fund them.  But is it ever ok to simply charge people to participate?

A management advisory published by the California Department of Education helps clarify this questions, providing a list of 20 things for which a district CAN charge, including Science Camp and Field Trips.  It is ok to charge students for their participation in these activities, as long as no student is denied participation if they are unable to pay.  Therefore, it will still be necessary to raise money in order to cover the students who will not be able to cover their own costs.  (Anyone who would like to make a donation to their neighborhood school in order to cover  those students who can't afford to pay, please visit the school office and ask them how.)

One of the most memorable activities for 5th graders in the Berryessa School District is Science Camp.  Each of our schools sends 5th graders for a week at one of the local outdoor science camps.  Most schools attend Walden West in the beautiful redwood forest above Saratoga.  As our elementary schools prepare for this year's trip, they can continue to charge students as they have in the past. 

It is very important that our students continue to be afforded the educational opportunities of music, PE, science, and field trips as part of a well-rounded school program.  I will continue to work with the Board of Trustees and district administration to make sure that we find a way to continue to offer all of these programs.

Celebrating our Students and Preparing for the Future

It is always wonderful to spend the second week of June celebrating the promotion of our 5th graders to middle school and our 8th graders to high school.  They have such pride as they walk across the stage to collect their certificates, knowing that they have much to look forward to in life.  Their futures are even brighter now that Governor Brown and the California legislature have agreed on a budget that finally treats education as a top priority.

Last week's state budget includes an exciting new method for funding K-12 schools in California.  The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) gives local school districts more flexibility on how money is spent and allocates higher levels of funding for school districts with large numbers of disadvantaged students, including English-language learners, foster youth, and those from low-income households.  The final budget includes a higher base grant than the Governor had proposed in May, and helps get schools on track to recover to pre-recession funding levels.  The budget also includes $4 billion to pay back deferrals owed to school districts, along with $1.25 billion in one-time funding to support the implementation of Common Core standards, which schools must implement in 2014. 

What does all this mean for the Berryessa School District?  We are still waiting to get the final numbers, but this week the Board approved a budget that includes income that is more than $2.5 million above the level from 2012-2013.  Once all the additional funding added this month by the legislature is taken into account, there could be another $1 million in income for our district.  

The budget is good news, and means that we can begin to rebuild the programs that have been cut to the bone over the past decade.  The Board will reconvene on July 16 to review (with our new Assistant Superintendent of Fiscal Services) the updated budget numbers and begin to discuss our priorities for adding services that are so desperately needed in our schools.

One thing is clear.  Our teachers must get a raise so that they can be adequately compensated for the tremendous work they do and so that our district can remain competitive with others in our region.  I am confident that we will find a way to provide a salary increase for all our staff in the coming year.  I also look forward to having discussions on making sure we have adequate support in the following areas: counseling services; in-school suspension programs in our middle schools; campus security; custodial and maintenance support; library services; and modern information technology.

I am very pleased that we took a modest but important step this week to improve customer service in our school offices by instructing the district to add an hour of time to our school clerks.  It is our secretaries and clerks that serve as the public face of our schools, manage all school data, deal with children and parents who come into the office, and help students who are injured or sick.  Our schools have been understaffed for that past few years as a result of our need to very conservatively manage our district's budget.

I hope everyone enjoys their summer.  The Board will be hard at work to make sure the district is prepared to provide the best education possible in the coming school year.

Filling the School Board Vacancy

Two weeks ago, our Board colleague David Neighbors submitted his resignation and left the Board of Trustees.  State law dictates that we have 60 days to either call an election or appoint a replacement.  As a special election to elect a new board member would cost the district $250,000 and the result would only fill the term for 12 months, until the November 2014 election, the Board decided this week to go through an appointment process to identify and select a member of the community to fill the vacancy.

An application is available today.  Anyone who is interested can pick it up at the District Office or download the application from the district website.  Applications will be due back to the District Office by Friday, April 5. 

The Board has decided that if there are more than 5 applicants (there were 17 when we filled a vacancy in 2007), we will convene a committee made up of employee representatives and members of the community to interview the candidates and recommend a set of 5 to interview with the Board.  If there are 5 or fewer applicants, the Board will hold a meeting on April 23 to interview all the candidates and have a discussion about them.

If a committee is involved, they will make their recommendation by April 29 and the Board will meet and interview the 5 finalists on May 6.  Either way, the Board will make a final decision by May 6.  The new Board member will then be seated in time for the May 21 Board meeting and will take part in the development of the 2013-2014 school year budget and our Strategic Planning process.