Vision 2020
Our education system is in a once-in-a-generation crisis, with kids out of school for 3 months, and school districts across the country forced to rethink their approach to education. When students come back to Alachua County Public Schools in the fall, we will need to be as flexible as possible while working with other local agencies and our state/national governance. In this time of heightened anxiety, we are frustrated with inconsistent planning or lack of details. It is important to remember that the same school district that rose to the occasion of pandemic pedagogy will be there for us in this school year of uncertainty. It feels like a can’t right now, but we will get to can.
This is a crisis, one that research shows will have an impact but it’s also an opportunity to rethink how our school district operates. Overall, I believe that we need a new, clearly communicated vision for 2020 and beyond to guide our mission and provide a clear understanding of where our school district will go.
Through my advocacy work, I have had the opportunity to visit several school districts. I have noticed their vision statements that guide their operations. My personal favorite comes from Flagler County: “As a courageous, innovative leader in education, Flagler County Public Schools will be the Nation’s premier learning organization where ALL students graduate as socially responsible citizens with the skills necessary to reach their maximum potential.”
I would like our school district and School Board to develop a new vision and set forth guiding principles to add to our mission statement as part of a full community review of our strategic plan that includes all stakeholders in education (students, parents, guardians, teachers, administrators, school support staff, the business community and the community at large). Alachua County, let's start to think about our Vision 2020 and what is possible. Here are some of my thoughts and space to give me some of yours:
No matter where you’re born, what your income is, or how you interact with the world, your children deserve an equal shot at success. That’s not the case now, and it needs to be. The truth is that there are a number of achievement gaps that need to be addressed, and each one is slightly different with different causes and solutions. We know the gaps that need to be prioritized - Black-White student achievement, migrant students, un-housed students, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and foster students . This is by no means a comprehensive list of what is possible, but a start of what I would like to see happen …
Reconciliation of the community - Without trust that the teacher in front of your child can help them learn, the gap will not close. Historic harm has not been acknowledged and reconciled, which has to be the basis for returning to a place of trust. Teachers have guided students over these gaps, but we must work together with the other leaders in the Friendship 7 and beyond to ensure that we heal our county.
Using a holistic and individual approach - We can identify the students that need intervention and develop a plan that meets the individual needs of families and find adequate resources and funding to meet those needs - whether it be reading deficiencies, social-emotional needs, special needs students, or others.
Multi-Agency engagement to bring whole community solutions to achievement issues. The United Way is leading the Grade-Level Reading Initiative to ensure that everyone from the after-school programs, to early childhood education providers, to our school district provides consistency in addressing literacy gaps within our community. We can do the same to address school attendance, minimizing chronic absenteeism to keep kids in school, and engaged in learning.
Instill personal empowerment and empathy in every child - Make sure that every child understands they are an asset, their communities need them, and every peer is part of their village.
My thoughts and experiences: In my personal education experience and support of my children’s education, I believe in more blended learning environments. Diversity matters, and children learn better together. Our classrooms and schools are too segregated, and that needs to change.
Find ways for teachers to get to know their students, especially those in vulnerable groups. Consider ways to pay educators for home visits. I know many teachers, administrators, and support staff already do this. If this could be expanded, it will make a difference for families.
My Thoughts and Experiences
As part of Florida PTA, I spearheaded resolutions that directed PTA priorities on Testing in the Native Language, which the Florida League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has recognized. Since then, I have advocated alongside LULAC and UNIDOS for migrant families and ELL students for more equitable policies.
I am also leading a resolution for FL PTA on chronic absenteeism. This work stemmed from work I did on the Florida State Report Card, (a web site that compiles student data at the school level), and understanding the lack of consistent reporting on attendance data. Even though school attendance is the second leading indicator of student achievement and most school-based early warning reports include the measure, it is not consistently defined across the state and is lacking importance in overall state and district planning.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is used as a lever for equity at the District Level. If we are requiring teachers to deliver this in our classrooms to ensure we are meeting the needs of every student, then we need to operationalize this at the district level in all aspects. SEL can be used as a lever for equity to ensure we are making equitable and fair decisions. Through my advocacy work, I have participated in the Florida Partnership for Healthy Schools. Our school district has earned a gold rating, which means we hold the highest standards in infrastructure and the component areas of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Coordinated School Health model and the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model. We have good plans, but we need to find solutions for improving implementation.
I have had the pleasure of working with several programs that promote self-advocacy in students at the district level. One program, RADkids, promotes three values (1) every child is special and no one is allowed to hurt them, (2) their peers are also special and they are not allowed to hurt anyone else, and (3) if someone does get hurt, every child can tell. This program enhances the partnership with our existing School Resource Officers and includes them as the educators they are.
We need to rethink the way we approach career training. By working with our educational institutions, local businesses, workforce board, and nonprofits, we can build a system that will support our economy while giving students a brighter future with alternatives through career pathways to success.
Use the CTE principles to re-imagine how we use and deliver programs to every level of K-12 schools. Students deserve the opportunity to explore, grow, and succeed at each stage of their education, and be supported in whatever pathway they choose. We can create programs from elementary to high school that will have students engaged to explore their neighborhoods, grow in their communities, and succeed in the world they will inherit.
Current state direction already has every institution with a CTE program perform an audit of the program in light of local labor markets to determine program needs. We can plan programs that will directly relate to local businesses and their needs. We can engage with local businesses in new ways.
My Thoughts and Experiences
In my statewide advocacy work spearheaded a resolution to direct state advocacy work within PTA. In the last 2 legislative sessions, I have helped to build relationships with industry advocates, local University of Florida experts, and with the Florida Department of Education. We have 2 main objectives: (1) to raise awareness with parents that Career and Technical Education is more than the traditional vocational fields and (2) to advocate for improving policies to ensure we are consistently meeting the skills and labor needs of our markets, which require a better understanding of our local communities.
Our school counselors and deans support our children’s mental health. They help to identify problems before they arise, support children through their learning, and ensure our students have the skills they need to succeed. Our support services are woefully underfunded for the big responsibility they hold. We must develop working relationships with regional and state entities to maximize resources for students.
My Thoughts and Experiences
Working on state legislation regarding Baker Acts (involuntary examination) in schools, I have developed relationships with our state Managing Entity directors. These agencies manage the Department of Children and Families' funding for local providers of every type of social service. Our regional Managing Entity Executive Director oversees 23 counties including Alachua. We can expand our village for our school district administration and work not only with our local providers but tap into the resources offered by the Managing Entities. We can advocate together to better meet the needs of our vulnerable populations.
Addressing Suicide - Suicide is the second leading cause of death among children and young adults. Through my advocacy efforts, I have worked with NAMI and UF Pals to raise awareness and to provide resources to parents, students, and teachers. Now with the required mental health education for sixth grade and above, we need to remove the stigma around mental health and understand it is a necessary part of being healthy. We can not accomplish our vision if children lose hope in their present.
My Thoughts and Experiences
In my statewide advocacy work, I led the passage of a resolution to advocate banning conversion therapy on youth. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) youth are more likely to have poor health outcomes than their heterosexual (straight) peers. When we are allowing anyone to place a child at risk of being eight times more likely to commit suicide, five-times more likely to report high levels of depression, and more than three times more likely to use illegal drugs than their peers, we need to send a clear message to our LGBTQ+ children that they are enough as they are. Part of demonstrating that LGBTQ+ youth is enough is to provide allies on all school campuses, not only for our students but also for faculty. Working with Equality Florida, we can ensure we have the best practices to send a clear message to our LGBTQ+ students that they are valued part of our community and enough as they are.
Our School Board passes and oversees an annual budget of nearly $500 million dollars. That budget goes a long way, paying the salaries of over 4,000 teachers, support employees, and administrators, educating over 29,000 students, supporting 43 school campuses, overseeing an entire transportation system of school buses, daily food for students, and more. It’s a massive organization with a lot of moving parts. We need to ensure it is run efficiently and fairly.
As we improve transparency, let’s improve stakeholder understanding. Budgets and financial statements tell a story. Let’s make sure ours is in line with our vision and shows we address the identified areas of need.
Embrace data- Let’s measure what matters in classrooms and principal decisions and make sure that is what is guiding our budgets and allocations. If principals and teachers are using data to adjust for student’s needs and improve outcomes, we need to make sure to build this into our budget and allocation decisions.
Fulfilling our promises. Making sure our community voices are heard in our decisions.
My thoughts and experiences
In 2018, I was tasked with overseeing a team to develop the “wish list” of projects for the half-cent for school facilities. Every school has more issues than we could possibly afford. It wasn’t an easy project. The team tackled this the hard way: we walked into every school, talked with principals, teachers, and parents, and worked to gain a better understanding of what is happening on the ground in our school district. It’s that level of attention to detail we need to be making with all major decisions, ensuring that schools that need it the most get the resources they need.
Sustainability isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of our school system, but there’s so much our schools, educators, and students could be doing to protect our environment.
Integrate Zero Waste Principles
Between the classroom and the lunchroom, our schools generate a lot of waste. We need to find ways to reduce waste in our public schools, which will in turn save money.
Invest in renewable energy
Thanks to the voters passing the half-cent for school facilities, we will be making major renovations to every school in the district soon. This gives us a unique opportunity to improve the long term sustainability of our schools, implementing energy efficient standards into buildings and powering our schools with solar. This not only saves money, but improves the environment in which our students learn.
Use the coming changes in curriculum for Health, PE, and Science to ensure we are preparing our students with accurate materials to ensure they are readyfor the communities they will inherit.
We should do a better job of working with our parents, community groups, and cities, to ensure we are all working together to support our kids. I want to re-envision our community engagement process, to ensure our school district is a partner in your child’s education. I want to see us make the pathways for parents, educators, and students to bring changes to address their needs clearer and simpler.
My Thoughts and Experiences
I have been a parent in this school district for 13 years. I will continue to be a parent of ACPS students for another 9 years. Being a child advocate, I have experienced the difficulty in learning how to effectively work with school, district, and state leaders. Through my advocacy work, I have laid the pathways for parents to better engage with their school communities to bring about change. By re-chartering the Alachua County Council of PTAs, we now have the ability to better utilize the resources of a state and national association and the relationships to raise concerns and find solutions with policy makers. We started addressing issues from 41 campus visits with facilities and exceptional student education (ESE). I was part of the group that led the half-cent sales tax to re-imagine new learning environments for every campus. ACCPTA continues to provide workshops, to build relationships, and to help our school district engage with parents of students with disabilities. We created more entry points for parents to engage in their children’s education.
I am currently working with the Florida Department of Education to improve our state report cards for parents as required under the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act. The purpose of these report cards is to give parents a broaders perspective beyond test scores to better advocate for their child and their schools. Parents must understand the importance of data today. We must improve understanding of how we are addressing areas of need and how to improve advocacy efforts of all stakeholders.
This means elevating the principals and teachers of each individual school when major decisions are made, so they’re made by the people who work closest to the issues they face. It also means making sure that feedback on the when and why decisions are made is communicated.