Carolyn's Corner

October 7, 2004

A s I visit sites around the district, I am astounded by the level of stress and frustration present so early in the year. NCLB, AYP, API and the rest of the government alphabet soup are taking their toll on everyone. Pile on the missing textbooks, frozen budgets, and other repercussions of the ever shrinking resources we face as educators and the situations worsens. Added to the mix is the National debate on war, healthcare, the economy, etc. and the situation intensifies to an intolerable level. I get it—life in education has lost its joy and somehow we've got to get it back.

At the meeting on Monday at E.A. Hall, the message from the rank and file was clear. The teachers of this district have reached the end of their rope. “No more from us” was the message. The direction to the negotiation team was apparent and they heard you loud and clear. I hope everyone of you appreciates the hard work, professionalism, and dedication of this team! Always keep in mind that they are full time teachers who believe in you , the union, and our district so strongly that they are willing to take on this job to study and understand the budget, strategize their approach, and represent our interests at the negotiating table. I believe everyone at the meeting Monday was impressed by our great team and that this message was brought back to your sites. Your concerns, questions, and ideas were listened to, answered, and valued. This union believes that the members are the driving force of our organization and we will not waiver from that commitment—EVER!

This year we are working very hard to get as much information out to our members as possible. But you need to take responsibility also. Read the “Flyer”, visit our website (www.pvft.net) for agendas, minutes, upcoming events, etc., consult with your Building Representatives (and make sure you have one and they're doing their job) and get involved. You are the foundation of PVFT. I am your President which means I represent your interests, concerns, complaints, and beliefs—no more and no less.

We have clearly delivered our message to the Board of Trustees. We need to control the use and abuse of teacher time and restructured days. And—we can't work any harder, run any faster, or give any more to this district!

The Mystery of NCLB
The pressure is on! According to the federal government, Pajaro Valley Unified School District has three schools in year 3 of program improvement, and four schools in year 4 of program improvement because they didn't meet their AYP (annual yearly progress) as determined by the Dept. of Education in Washington, DC. That means that all seven schools need to begin to take corrective action immediately.

The curious thing about this situation is that all seven schools showed significant growth on their API (academic performance index) as determined by the state of California. In fact most of these schools should be celebrating their amazing growth! Those schools in the fourth year category raised their API scores by a total of 143 points! The year three schools raised their scores by a total of 74 points! Yet, according to the federal government, these are failing schools which are under sanctions and directed to restructure themselves so that no child is left behind! How much more growth do these fine schools need to show before the feds go away?

Even at the district level, the results are reason to celebrate, not to mourn. The API growth for the state of California was 10 points; the growth for Santa Cruz County was 8 points; the growth for Pajaro Valley Unified School District was 21 points. Somehow, it is unclear why we as a district should be labeled as the “under performing” one when our growth is more than twice that of either the county or the state. Something just isn't making sense!

So let's take a moment to celebrate some of our most prolific schools; those who improved their scores by more than the district did:

Freedom 38 points Hall District 41 points MacQuiddy 54 points Starlight 61 points Lakeview 42 points Rolling Hills 34 points Aptos High 32 points Watsonville High 33 points New School 73 points

And to all of our fine schools, take a moment to celebrate your successes and your fine staff who are implementing high quality programs with minimal resources. You are truly the heroes.

Carolyn Savino