GUTS and GLORY

Sometimes life just punches you in the gut. Not just once, but repeatedly until you retch and regain your composure. When times are bad, and people are hurt, and the future is uncertain, it’s a sickening feeling.

When news of troubled waters flows by us on the news, affecting other people, we give it only a fleeting thought, a little compassion, maybe a prayer. When we hear of thousands of teachers across the Valley losing their jobs, for example, we shake our heads, call it a darn shame. But we don’t necessarily recognize their faces, know how they’ve impacted their students’ lives or improved education.

But when it happens to us, in our community, it invades our senses and the worry, the fear, the reality is palpable. The faces are familiar, friendly. They are the people who have helped our children learn, inspired creativity, provided emotional support and

CCUSD let 85 people know they won’t have jobs next year unless the state provides the funding needed to hire them back. Among those listed in the district’s first tier of financial cuts were 20 teachers, which means letting them go will have an impact our already too-large classroom sizes.

At tonight’s board meeting, the board will  revisit its class size policy, which they previously voted to increase by an average of two students. That’s an average. Not per class, which means some classes could be larger than others. What’s interesting is that the board, at its last meeting, appeared to be surprised that they approved this increase and that it opened the door for laying off teachers as a first round cut to balance the budget, rather than as a last resort. Instead, the possibility of school closure–a gut-wrenching issue for so many people–seems have been completely dropped despite that merging the middle schools or making Black Mountain a K-8 school or some other creative option could keep our teachers employed, our classes smaller, and our budget in the black.

As the board again discusses the impact of the budget cuts tonight, hopefully they won’t belabor the microdetails instead of getting to the meat of the financial issues at hand.  Making a decision is going to take guts. And someone’s guts are going to ache regardless of the decision.  It’s not an enviable position, but tough times call for tough people to stand up and do what’s right. Not what’s popular. Not what they personally prefer, but what is right for all our children and our school community.

There’s a saying that with no guts, there’s no glory. In this situation, there’s not likely to be any glory, regardless of guts.  What I hope the people in our community will have the guts to make the best of any bad situation by supporting their teachers and schools and children.

Good luck!

 

Beauty and the Budget

The CCUSD Governing Board meets tonight to again consider district budget cuts as well as revisit the high school improvement project that was nixed at the last meeting. The board agreed this was not the time to pursue a plan to improve landscaping and lighting at the campus because of concerns about budget cuts and the economy. They didn’t think it sent the right message gto the community. Unfortunately, that meant it would be another year before the project could be undertaken, which was a blow to what could have sent our students the message that we care about their environment. Especially since the bond money is there and already designated for this purpose.

It was recently pointed out to me that the high school courtyard improvement is not simply a feelgood “beautification” project. It also is a matter of safety, and will improve lighting and walkways and a better flow of students as they move from class to class.

Regardless of the decisions tonight, there are bound to be people who will be unhappy with them. That’s truly a shame, but disappointment also is real life.  Hopefully people will be able to move beyond their ]immediate disapproval and start working together toward helping our children get the best education, even if its under less than desirable circumstances.

After all, they look to us to model  how they should handle the difficulties in life.

 

PAYING THE PRICE

There’s an old saying that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. When it comes to school funding, a free lunch has a price tag way beyond the cost of a meal for a hungry child.

As Arizona  school districts comb through already lean budgets  to trim expenses, many people want to know why these cuts have to be made at all, what with the eagerly anticipated monies from the federal stimulus package specifically earmarked for education.

Ah, if only it were such a simple a solution.

The Arizona Legislature is still kicking education in the teeth as it tries to close a $3 billion shortfall. Arizona lawmakers have always been short-sighted when it comes to education in this state, so why should we be surprised to see them hack away at it now?

Yes, Arizona is slated to receive about $1 billion for education, but don’t expect much of it to be deposited in our school district. About $477 million is designated for  Title 1 programs and special education and the rest will offset the deep cuts to higher education and the remainder will be divvied up based on how districts qualify for the funds.

It is naive to think this federal boost will be distributed equally among Arizona schools. In fact, one qualification for a district to get federal aid  is based on the percentage of students who receive free or reduced lunch.  Because free and reduced lunches are an indicator of poverty,  researchers and the federal government use this data to determine a school’s eligibility for Title I and IDEA funds, which means the districts  with higher eligibility percentages will receive a larger proportion of the stimulus money. Our district is fortunate that only a small fraction of our students are eligible for this program while other districts  have 90-100 percent of  kids who may get their only square meal at school.

While we can count our blessings there, this means poorer districts may receive 10s of millions of dollars  while CCUSD can expect to get about $1 million total.

The district is expecting about $188,000 in Title I  funds and another $844,000 in IDEA (special education) grants. The government isn’t handing this money over without restrictions. It cannot be used to supplant the budget, fix up a school, pay the utilities or retain teachers.

According to the Department of Education, Title 1  money must be used for programs to ensure all children meet state academic standards. IDEA funds must be spent on new programs that the district must then be able to sustain after two years. It’s an investment in the future, and the good news is that this funding will help improve special education and early intervention.

Most importantly, the stimulus money will not  make up for budgetary woes in our district created by the failure of voters to pass bond issues or the K-3 and M&O overrides for our schools. State Superintendent Tom Horne was quoted saying as much in a March 10 report by KTAR:

Horne said that state lawmakers have taken an unfair amount of blame for recent cuts in education funding. He said the most serious problems have been in school districts where voters failed to pass budget overrides last year.

As the CCUSD Governing  Board  discusses how to find another $2 million in budget cuts, parents from Black Mountain and Desert Arroyo are preparing to go to battle to protect their schools from being targeted for closure. Ironically, these schools are located in the very precincts that stomped out any flames of hope for fiscal stability when voters there soundly defeated school bonds and the K-3 override. Cave Creek Support Our Students (CCSOS) has an excellent map on its website  illustrating this point.

Although the parents claim their support system is “second to none” and that BMES and DAMS are an integral part of their community and crucial for their property values, the voting records show these very neighborhoods drove the nail in their own coffins at the polls.  This doesn’t mean their schools should be closed in retaliation, but that money would have most benefited their older schools in disrepair.

Yet when faced with these dire consequences, some of those parents are offering to take out their checkbooks to give a couple hundred bucks to “help.”  That’s all it would have cost the taxpayers at the most had they simply voted to appropriately fund education in the first place!

A couple hundred bucks. It’s a drop in the bucket when you compare that not only to your home’s depreciation but to the impact on your community and your child’s education.

 

BASEBALL KUDOS and RECRUITING REALITIES

Congratulations to the Cactus Shadows Varsity baseball team for 10-run ruling Chaparral High School last night for a 14-4 victory!

The win is especially sweet against this team, because Chaparral has long boasted itself as a “baseball school” and recruits some of the best players away from other districts. A lot of that has to do with the longevity of their coach, who has built his program from the freshman on up.

That’s why it’s important to understand the importance of retaining our best athletes in our local high school. Too often parents want to move their student athlete to another school because of its athletic record and the perception that their child will have a better shot at a college scholarship if they get more exposure elsewhere. Maybe that has worked for some, but there also are negative ramifications of such a move.

For one, the student has to adjust to a new school, new friends, new coaches, and new teammates he’s never played with before. Second, while he  may have been the star player at his own school, he very well may not even be in a starting position at a school that collects the best athletes , which could bring down his self-confidence and opportunity to shine. And third, how can our high school build it’s program if our most promising players want to leave?

Parents often get the idea that moving athletes to another school so the player has a greater shot at being seen by a recruiter for college or even the pros. Maybe that’s possible, but one college recruiter recently told me that just isn’t  how it works if a recruiter is really doing his job.

Recruiters are looking everywhere for talent, including tiny little schools in far corners of the state and schools with lousy records but a wealth of untapped talent.  Sometimes the “star” players may have already reached their full potential, while a raw talent is still sitting on the bench unnoticed by a coach who won’t take the time to develop it. He said recruiters look at an athlete’s body type. Is is still growing? Is he strong but not finessed? Does he have the ability and attitude but not the training he needs to succeed? Can he fill a specific position or need the recruiter is looking for to round out his college team?

It’s very exciting to imagine our children becoming star athletes who can pay their way through college by playing ball and maybe even making the pros someday. But the odds are slim, and many hopes are dashed not only by the reality of their abilities but by overaggressive parents who push their kids too hard, train them too much, or overindulge their fantasies of athletic stardom and riches.

Bill Dolezal, the athletic director at Cactus Shadows, is bringing a guest speaker tonight to discuss how the college recruiting process works. It should be interesting.

According to an article in the New York Times, the expectations of parents and athletes can differ sharply from the financial and cultural realities of college athletics. The Times used data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association and interviews with dozens of college officials. What they found is that a student athlete is lucky to get a scholarship worth 15 percent of  a $40,000 college bill. That’s $6,000, which probably doesn’t cover the amount the parents already spent for years of training. And one recruiter in the article mentions rejecting a top prospect because the dad was jerk. He said many parents ruin their child’s opportunity by being obstinate in scholarship negotiations.

That’s not to say an athlete shouldn’t shoot for the stars if he really needs that scholarship or has his eye on becoming a pro someday. But he should be aware of the competition he’ll be facing and that odds aren’t in his favor. A 2003 article in US News &World Report laid out the numbers game for getting that scholarship:

Statistically speaking, the chances of playing college sports are slim. There are around 7 million student-athletes involved in high school sports. More than a million play football alone, and smaller sports, like soccer, draw over 600,000 teens a year. Yet, at the NCAA Division I level, college athletics’ biggest arena, only 151,000 students play intercollegiate sports. (There are 75,000 athletes in Division II.) So what are the odds of, say, a high school basketball player going on to play big-time college hoops? Less than 1 in 100.

An article on varsityedge.com explains that no amount of exposure will help an athlete get recruited “if you lack the size or skill to play for that coach or team.” The article notes:

…in order to receive an athletic scholarship three things have to happen. One, you have to find a program that has available scholarships to offer. Two – you have to fin a program that has a pressing need that the coach is trying to fill. – And three, you have to be extremely talented and you have to contact the coach and find a way to display your skills to that coach. While there are hundreds of thousands of high school athletes, there are not hundreds of thousands of high school athletes that have the skills to compete at the high D1 level or the skills to be awarded an athletic scholarship.

I tell my children that sports  in high school are for fun, school spirit and experience working with a team. If the coach is a jerk, he’s that bad boss you might have someday, and you have to learn how to work for him. Your teammates are your future co-workers, and your level of success depends on your ability to work together for the ultimate success of the entire organization. The athlete who is only out to make himself look good is the guy you’ll meet later in the corporate boardroom who flames out for burning too many bridges.

So let them play, let them have fun, let them experience teamwork, winning and yes, losing. Let them make great memories of high school.

And if the odds are in their favor, celebrate!

 

GRAD NIGHT LIVE FUNDRAISER

Keep our CSHS graduates safe on their long-awaited graduation night!

Grad Nite Live is a fun night at Dave & Buster’s following graduation ceremonies on May 21, 2009.  How many times have you heard about graduation night tragedies? They don’t have to happen!

You can help send our graduates off with a safe and fun party and have a great family dinner at the same time at Babbo Italian Eatery. When you dine in or take-out anytime on Thursday, March 26th, the CSHS Grad Nite Live Committee will receive 20% of the total receipts.

It’s a great way to show support for our students, even if your kids are years away from leaving the nest. Babbo’s is at 29455 N. Cave Creek Road next to Fry’s Grocery Store at Cave Creek and Tatum. You can print out the coupon for the disount from the CSHS website.

 

CREATING CATASTROPHE

A professor of counseling psychology in education recently explained to me how rational thinking enables people to handle difficult situations and learn problem-solving and decision-making skills. He explained that people who have an irrational emotional response to an event ultimately create what they believe to be a catastrophic outcome.

For example, imagine you are riding a crowded bus and are unexpectedly jabbed in the ribs by someone. Your first reaction is fear (oh no, I’m being attacked!) or anger (this jerk is invading my space!). But upon closer examination, you realize the other bus rider is blind and there is no threat of harm to you whatsoever and any discomfort it caused was completely unintentional.

The event itself did not cause fear or anger, but your irrational belief of the intent made the situation potentially catastrophic in your own mind.

This analogy hits home when we hear the reactions of parents to the possible closure of their school. While no one is denying this option would cause some disruption and inconvenience for our parents and children, it is hardly catastrophic as portrayed by some in their comments to the district:

Please do not close our schools. This would be devestating (sic) for our children and community families.

The monetary gain would not be worth the emotional devestation (sic) of the BMES and DAMS community. It will cause to much heartache.

I think if you make Sonoran Trails the only middle school it would be a disaster.

The students who are already at DAMS will have a difficult time accepting STMS as their school. It won’t be until the student body turns over that you might begin to see any form of unity.

I am asking you to take closing BMES off the table. Not only for all the emotional reasons behind the closing, but it also seems like a knee jerk reaction to the budget cuts that must be made.

As a home owner near BMES, I am aghast that you would consider closing yet another school in
our community. You are placing and inordinate hardship on this community.

I respectfully urge you to remove the option of closing Black Mountain Elementary School from the table. Our school can not operate effectively, our kids can not focus on what they need to be doing which is learning and being a child. News of this potential closure has circulated though the students. They are understandably upset, as am I, for the many reasons listed.

In just the few days since this option was announced, our school environment has become one of turmoil and flux. Even our children are frightened and confused. We must turn this plan away and get back to the business of creating a secure educational environment for our kids.

My children have been immediately impacted, as their learning environment has been affected by the uncertainty about their school’s future.

Our children and teachers are currently in a state of turmoil and worry. The children are scared and confused and this is having a tremendous impact on them.

This is not just a school but a community. I have heard the word “divorce” used to describe what this would do to our children & family & I must say I agree.

This is a poor situation. Many of us told our children that the governing board will not close their school and not this morning we have to tell them the governing board may do it anyway. It is a shame they put us and our children on a roller coaster of emotions like this.

Much of the blame for these distraught parents and students can be placed squarely on the principals of BMES and DAMS, who called parents to alert them of the school closure discussions. These principals, at the very least should be reprimanded for unprofessionally inciting panic and trying to save their own jobs through a fear-mongering campaign. As one parent noted:

We have received numerous recorded messages, e-mails etc…. concerning closing of a school. This would not be something taken lightly…..it is serious. BUT it does not constitute having Black Mtn, DAMS staff or principals Etc… contacting public to contact the district to “not close my school”. It shouldn’t be that since X# of folks from Blk Mtn said don’t close us and only X# from DAMS contacted so they will be shut down since we didn’t get a massive out crying. There should be a business approach vs. emotion.

Parents also should think before they discuss potential school closures with their children. These are adult conversations that shouldn’t unnecessarily worry children or disrupt their existing learning environment. Parents most DEFINITELY should not be talking their children into believing that they will not recover emotionally, educationally or socially should any school changes take place.

Is this a rational belief? Will changing schools truly emotionally devastate children and families? When Desert Sun and Desert Willow students were moved to Lone Mountain, did they curl up and cry in the corner and fail to function in their new school society? When they were again moved from Lone Mountain and Desert Sun to Horseshoe Trails, were they heartbroken beyond repair? When Desert Sun was damaged by floods and students were thrust into the old Black Mountain school last year, did they fall apart at the seams from emotional distress or fail to excel because their learning environment was disrupted?

Yes, change is difficult, but sometimes necessary. Sometimes it is beyond our control and we simply have to cope with the bad taste it leaves in our mouths. We can choose to reprogram our thinking to turn a negative experience to a positive outcome.

Find out how to be a healthy thinker through the Virtual Counseling Center at ASU. The three-part, on-line multimedia program teaches how to relate the ABC principles of cognitive therapy to the sources of stress in everyday life–Action, Belief, Consequence.

Then ask yourself: Is it the action (school closure for the financial health of the district) that is causing your anger or fear, or you own belief (my child will be devastated) that would make the consequence an unbearable situation?




 

EVEN GREENER GRASS HAS WEEDS

It’s always interesting to listen to parents complain about their schools. Their range of perspectives is broad, emotional, and based on individual values and priorities. That means everyone has a different idea about what makes a good school.

Ask parents of an athlete and the discussion will center around the coaches, winning (or losing) records of sports teams, and the potential opportunities for student-athletes to be scouted and recruited by colleges and possibly the pros. They want sports programs to be funded and, in some cases, less stringent academic requirements for athletic participation. That’s doesn’t mean, however, that parents of athletes are not also concerned about academics.

Ask parents of an academic-oriented student, and they will talk about class sizes, curriculum, honors programs and academic counseling. These parents, however, also may judge schools on test scores as the benchmark of a good school, even though scholars say these tests are an unreliable and even harmful indicator of student success. (Tests Results Untrustworthy)

Students themselves might compare their schools’ art and music programs, availability of extra-curricular activities, school pride and the social aspects, such as a sense of belonging. School is so much more than a curriculum. It’s where children learn to become social, cooperative members of society and create memories of activities and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Humans are judgmental by nature, and it’s common for people to think the grass is greener elsewhere, though that particular idiom is somewhat amusing in our arid state. So many times have I heard parents make the same blanket statement to the possibility of a change in polices or programs in district: “If they do that, I’m moving my child to the _______district.”

Within that statement is the assumption that any other school district in Arizona is not experiencing similar problems. As the Arizona Republicc reported on March 13th:

the Scottsdale Unified School District recently announced that it would cut 221 teacher positions in next year’s budget. Paradise Valley Unified could cut 184 teacher, clerical and administrative positions. Mesa Public Schools, which could have to cut $30 million-$60 million, expects to have to ax 310 teacher spots and 130 other positions.

District administrators have spent the past month crunching numbers and creating worst-case scenarios to prepare for potentially more than $900 million in cuts to K-12 funding in the 2009-10 state budget. The Legislature is trying to close an estimated $3 billion budget shortfall.

Schools across the Valley also have experienced problems of rogue teachers who have inappropriate conduct with students, corrupt administrators, drug busts, bomb threats and, sadly, suicides.There is no school boundary that stops these social ills from crossing over.

Rather than running away from problems in our own schools, it is up to parents and community members to get involved, approve needed funding for improvements, hold school officials accountable and encourage our students in their educational endeavors.

Only by cleaning the weeds from our own back yard can we be proud of our own educational landscape.

 

AN UGLY DECISION

Some people can’t see the forest for the trees.

In the case of the CCUSD Governing Board, they can’t see the trees because they are blinded by the fear of opposition from the community forest.

On Tuesday, CCUSD Board member David Schaefer nixed the district’s plans to beautify the barren wasteland that is the Cactus Shadows High School campus. His reason? Spending pre-designated bond money that ONLY can be used for capital improvements–in this case landscaping–sends the wrong message to the public during a serious budget crunch.

The other board members solemnly nodded in agreement and then buried the well-planned campus beautification project that offered one small glimmer of hope and joy for our students during these ugly financial times in education. Unfortunately, this decision doesn’t just delay the project until after the budget is balanced next month.

Associate Superintendent Kent Frison explained that because of the extensive groundwork required to create a lovely campus courtyard with student gathering places, trees, grass and improved lighting, the project can only happen over the summer break. That means living another full year with this embarrassing “moonscape” of a campus. This action tells students loud and clear that having pride in their high school is not a priority in this district, so why should they care about their school’s image either?

Now THAT is the wrong message to send.

It’s understandable for the administration to be worried about losing credibility with the naysayers who will claim the district is wasting precious resources on beautification projects. But those people also are woefully uninformed about how school funding works. Rather than balk, the Board must educate those who squawk.

There is an insightful article in School Planning and Management magazine about just this subject. Grade Your Schools by Timothy J. Ilig, Ph.D. says the public’s first impression of your community schools could very well spell the difference between success and failure of the next bond issue.

The article basically says that while placing an emphasis on academics (or in this case the budget) is appropriate, it’s also important to pay attention to the school’s image in the community to avoid a downward spiral of support.

Unfortunately, such attitudes towards the buildings and grounds could come back to haunt many school administrators and, ultimately, their districts. With an aging population and tighter government budgets, the public’s first impressions of a community’s schools might very well spell the difference between success and failure at the next election when the district asks the community for more money.

To be clear, this project will have no impact on the current budget. The monies allocated cannot be spent elsewhere to offset deficits, keep a school open, sustain academic programs, prevent layoffs or even pay utility bills.

CCUSD Governing Board should immediately reconsider this decision and move forward with the campus improvement.

Yes, CCUSD Governing Board, the times are ugly. But do something beautiful to make our Falcons proud.

 

THE AGONY OF SCHOOL ECONOMY

The CCUSD Governing Board has some important decisions to make in the next couple weeks,and they aren’t easy decisions. They aren’t popular decisions. And they aren’t going to make everyone happy.

Faced with having to slice $5 million from its $35 million school budget, the board is challenged with hacking through line items. No easy chore. So far they’ve come up with about $3 million. Where will they cut another $2 million? Whose jobs can be eliminated? Which programs can be slashed to the bone? How much can be saved if we cut art, music and physical education, eliminate all-day kindergarten, increase class sizes, require unpaid furlough or cut salaries by 1 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent? What (gasp!) would the financial impact be if we closed a school? More than $1 million, it seems.

It’s a worst case scenario. The last resort. Because the impact of closing a school is more than removing a line item from a budget. It affects kids. It affects teachers. It affects neighborhoods and the entire community. Unfortunately, some people don’t see it that way. They only see “how it affects me.”

Me. My child. Don’t disrupt my life. Don’t disappoint my child.

Children are resilient. Much moreso, in fact, than their parents. Yet their worries, their fears, their sense of unfairness and their concerns about acceptance all come from parents who don’t tell their children to embrace another one of life’s new adventures. It’s a lesson in flexibility for all of us. An opportunity to learn and grow and accept and adapt to change, which is a reality of life.

It’s not an enviable position to be in. But it has to be done. It can be done with with care but not with emotion. It can’t be put off until tomorrow.

Tomorrow, we’ll have something else to worry about.