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.
