By Jeff Ursino, PVUSD Trustee
When I first was considering running for the school board I had dinner with a friend who had spent his career in and around the classroom. After talking about what was needed in education he said something to me I have never forgotten. He said that in many Asian cultures education is considered a magic carpet that can take anyone, regardless of background, anywhere they want to go. I often think of this statement as I visit school sites and vote on any number of issues that comes before the board. I also remind myself of it as I think about what I would like to see get done in the upcoming school year. So despite the 4th of July just passing and beach weather upon us in Aptos I feel it is a good time to start to discuss what the board will need to work on and is facing in the upcoming school year.
Reducing Class Size
The first item I feel needs to be addressed is successful implementation of reduced class size for the first grade. It seems like a very long time ago, but in fact as late as the 2008-2009 school year, school districts statewide were mandated to keep all classrooms for Kindergarten through 3rd with 20 students or less per teacher. This program gave both students and teachers the opportunity for the one-on-one time that is so crucial to the educational process. It also helped teachers minimize classroom disruption and misbehavior.
Once the recession hit and state funding for education dropped, school boards and administrators across the state were forced to eliminate this program to balance very tight school budgets. Now with an improving economy and the increased tax revenue that it generates, districts are able to start to look at reduced class size again. At PVUSD, the board has asked that the district implement reduced class size at one grade level this upcoming year. Therefore, 1st grades across the district will benefit from reduced class size this upcoming year.
In addition, the district will continue in the next few years to fully roll out reduced class size in K-3 as the state’s financial situation approves. In this way, we can start to reap the benefits of reduced class size while also keeping an eye on the state’s educational budget. Full implementation of reduced class size means that for the upcoming school year the district will need to hire at least 20 new teachers for this program, as well as, finding the available space at individual school sites. As school populations have increased over the last few years and classrooms have been re-positioned into different uses, finding the space for additional classes is proving to be more challenging then was initially thought. These are the components of reduced class size that need to be addressed and that the district and board will continue to focus on.
Common Core Curriculum Standards
The next item that the board will be working on this upcoming year is the Common Core Curriculum standards. As I have mentioned before Common Core is a new curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking skills and application of what is learned in the classroom. This program was developed by both educators and business leaders in response to what is considered holes in the educational process.
Many states have already adopted the curriculum with the state of California being the latest. Though the change appears to be positive and a step in the right direction the amount of training that teachers and administrators will have to work through is significant and ongoing. Furthermore, all testing for this curriculum is eventually to be computer based so the district will need to continue to make technological upgrades to be able to make the statewide mandates.
With this said I am confident that the district will be able to work on this implementation in a way that is most beneficial for all involved. The board will continue to get progress reports as this is brought to the classroom.
On-Campus Drug Suppression
A final item that the board will be looking at this year is the expansion and continuation of the canine on campus program that the board instructed the staff to pilot this past May. This program is designed to utilize dogs on campus to uncover illegal substances brought to schools. It’s estimated that up to 1/3 of our expulsions are due to illegal substances and items brought onto our campuses. By utilizing these animals our aim is to deter students from bringing these items to campus thus reducing expulsion rates and improving the learning environment at our local schools.
When the program was initiated in May, school administrators staged a school wide rally showcasing how effective the canines were at sniffing out illegal substances. A week or two later the dogs showed up on these campuses unannounced to look for illegal substances. After over eight visits at school sites, no illegal substances were found. Expulsion at the corresponding schools also dropped as students responded to this deterrent. My personal opinion on this technique is that it is an effective way to keep students from bringing illegal items on campus. If it improves the learning environment, it is something we should continue to pursue.
As one can see the upcoming school year is full of change and opportunities for improvement in the educational process. Reduced class size, new curriculums that focus on real life application and efforts to help to reduce expulsions through techniques that have proven to be successful before will only help to educate our local students. In the end, that is what I, the board and the community at large is working to accomplish.