Monday, November 23, 2015

SNEA Hosts Q & A With Superintendent, Dr. Jungmann and Chief Learning Officer, Dr. Dawson


The Springfield NEA meeting room was packed with interested educators for the November 19 Question & Answer session with Superintendent, Dr. John Jungmann, and Chief Learning Officer, Dr. Mike Dawson. Also in attendance were district CFO/COO, Carol Embree, and Chief Human Resource Officer, Parker McKenna.

Educators representing some 35-40 buildings were in attendance and many presented questions for district leadership. SNEA president, Kittilu Maxson, led the meeting and presented questions on behalf of those who were unable to attend but had sent questions via email.

The meeting opened with brief statements from Dr. Jungmann, who reiterated his support for SPS teachers, crediting his family and caring teachers for having helped guide his path to the position he now holds. Dr. Dawson, who mentioned that he had been an NEA building representative while teaching in California, recognized that he had once been in the same position as the educators in attendance, and he appreciated their work.

For an hour, Dr. Jungmann and Dr. Dawson fielded an assortment of questions that ranged from student attendance policy to district finances. Here are some highlights:

Attendance Policy – A school counselor asked why SPS was one of the few districts in the region that did not have a student attendance policy. Both district leaders spoke to this issue, stating that approximately 88% of the students had 90% attendance or better, and that moving that 12% to have better attendance was the key. Dr. Jungmann noted that establishing consequences for poor attendance didn’t seem to have the desired effect, so the district should look at creating paths, options and programs for student engagement.

Student Behaviors and Alternative Programs – An elementary related arts teacher expressed concerns that many teachers shared regarding escalating student behavior issues. Should the district expand EBS programs or functional skills classrooms? Why did the district cut these programs? Dr. Jungmann noted that neither he nor Dr. Dawson were in the district when those decisions were made, but he did explain that the district is talking with a local mental health provider and that the director of special services is looking at possible options.

Technology – An elementary teacher from a building that has yet to implement iGNITE expressed frustration that her building (600 students) shares 30 PCs on a cart, while unopened new Netbooks sat unused because the IT department apparently has no HP-Certified technicians. Dr. Jungmann explained that the district needed to proceed with “intelligent buying” of Chromebooks rather than purchase devices that are more costly and less efficient to operate (like Netbooks). Dr. Dawson pointed out that as schools are deployed, these issues will be solved in real time. A related question, from a “year one” iGNITE high school teacher, was about inconsistent access to wifi “hot spots” in the building. Dr. Jungmann explained that the Board of Education will be discussing this in December and that these issues need to be fixed.

Summer School – It was pointed out by a summer school teacher that many teachers were reluctant to return for a second year due to the lack of any break or conference times during a long school day. Dr. Jungmann agreed that expanding summer school in such a rapid manner did create some issues that had to be addressed on the fly, and that the district will be looking into adding “specials” to vary the instructional day and provide more flexibility for educators in the schedule.

High School Schedules – A high school counselor raised the issue of inconsistent scheduling at the high schools. This creates a problem for transfer students who may have to delay their graduation due to scheduling conflicts for required classes. It was noted – from the floor – that the district spent a great deal of time addressing this issue a few years ago, and no changes were made. Dr. Dawson stated that 157 students were potentially affected by this issue due to transfers, and Dr. Jungmann explained that there was no current plan to issue an administrative order to change to one schedule plan or the other. After full deployment of iGNITE, the district will take another look at this issue.

Fremont, a Model iGNITE School – Teachers at Fremont were told near the end of last school year that they will be asked to reapply for their teaching positions at Fremont for the 2016-17 school year. This news came as a blow to some teachers who had invested their professional energy into building relationships in this school community. Dr. Jungmann explained that if Fremont “is to be what we hope it to be”, the district needs to be assured that the right people are there. He mentioned that teachers often move to different buildings in order to have the opportunity to grow in a different spot.

Veteran Teachers and Teacher Morale – There were two or three questions related to this topic. Dr. Jungmann recognized the importance of retaining experienced teachers in order to provide consistency and continuity. In response to a query about the sometimes overwhelming pace of change and how it affects teachers, Dr. Jungmann responded that the first year was a fast start to a new initiative and that district leadership will now be a position to offer more support as the shift is made. It was mentioned from the floor that building principals do not always “get it right”, or mix in their own personal ambitions, when implementing directives and new initiatives from district leadership.

District Budget – A teacher asked how the district was paying for all the new technology, building purchases and remodeling. Dr. Jungmann answered that some of the tech purchases came from the existing Bond Fund and the rest will come from the General Fund. Smarter purchasing has made it possible to purchase more devices (Chromebooks) for less than other devices would have cost. The state funding formula, though still under-funded, has increased the last couple of years, and the expansion of summer school has also generated increases in revenue from the state.

This was a lot to pack into one hour of discussion, and we’ve left a few things out. From an SNEA perspective, it was great to see so many dedicated teachers assemble on their own time to discuss and bring forward issues for district leadership to discuss. Typically, presentation of discussion items tend to move in the opposite direction, from administrator to teacher. For this opportunity, SNEA is grateful to Dr. Jungmann and Dr. Dawson for their professionalism and for their willingness to field questions in a wide open forum with SPS educators.

The discussion that followed the departure of Dr. Jungmann and Dr. Dawson was mixed. While the meeting was professional, cordial and provided some meaningful insights into how the administration views our district and the work of its teachers, many in attendance felt that specific answers to questions were somewhat elusive. Perhaps it was the constraints of time that limited the expansion of responses regarding some of the issues raised.

From an SNEA perspective, the sight of a crowded room of teachers attending a meeting on their own time was a thing of beauty. A sincere thank you to all who attended and contributed. We hope to sponsor similar events in the future and are always open to ideas from our members.

On a related note, SNEA will soon be entering into negotiations with the district regarding the 2016-17 contract for teachers, counselors and librarians. The bargaining team will be holding preliminary planning meetings in coming weeks. Be reminded that virtually every proposal SNEA makes at the bargaining table comes from educators like you, so please keep the lines of communication open.

The next SNEA meeting – December 10 – will be held from 4-5:45 at Big Whiskey’s on Battlefield. This will be our SNEA/Holiday Happy Hour with beginning appetizers provided and Happy Hour drinks on your own. Please drop in and celebrate with your SNEA friends.
 
Kittilu Maxson, SNEA- in collaboration with Ray Smith, MNEA

 

No comments:

Post a Comment