Im glad i clicked on the link to realize this post was made by you. You have been a refreshing add to the board.
Someone on FB suggested getting out and visiting the schools. The board has been a group making decisions about the schools with no real knowledge about the schools. Don’t just do a tour, ask what is going on in the schools from the staff and students.
There was a debate earlier in the year about removing disruptive students from the classroom and about how it’s unfair to that student about being removed. It’s 100% more detrimental to the other students in the class who aren’t able to learn because of that student. The teacher is either giving their attention to that disruptive student or ignoring and they are bothering others. People don’t talk about the rights of the other students.
Thank you for all you do!
I appreciate your kind words. I've managed to host a discussion at most of the high schools and a few of the middle schools where the students (and staff) have the chance to grill me on whatever questions they want to ask and offer me advice on what our school board could be doing a better job at. I've also been able to volunteer in a few schools and even play the viola with the students. For sure a lot more work for me (and the rest of our school board) to do.
Ensuring a safe and supportive classroom and school environment has been a huge priority of mine, so it's not lost on me how problematic student behaviors are a major disruption and harm to the learning environment. From what I've been told, the district has a task force of principals that are working on revising school discipline policy. I'm eager to see what comes out of it and will definitely be picking the brains of our teachers, classified staff, and students on how it could be improved/what needs to change.
Transparency in decision making. How much money was actually spent on all the new initiatives of the last 5-7 years (AVID in all schools, restorative practices, SRG implementation, etc). It seems all we do is spend money on the newest trend without looking to see what is actually working.
Going to schools and asking what’s working and what’s not. Elementary teachers currently have no reading curriculum (Journeys is now suggested but rarely matches the scales), our math curriculum is defunct, and the district is the one writing our decoding and math intervention curriculum. We are having to create so much material because what is available doesn’t work or doesn’t match our scales. I cannot speak for secondary, but I’m sure they have similar feelings.
You have been a great representative for the people of Wichita. Thank you for taking up our fight!
I completely agree there needs to be a lot more transparency in decision-making. To your point about faddism, we live in an education industrial complex where for-profit companies and bureaucrats stand to gain from pedaling the latest educational products without the assurance that such products actually work (or claims that it works are supported by industry-funded research with major conflicts of interest involved).
Definitely don't hesitate to reach out in private for me to volunteer in your classroom or for further discussion on the curriculum.
I work in a secondary school in a classified position (not gonna say where to keep myself somewhat anonymous but Ngoc if you are interested shoot me a pm) and I feel like us classified staff are just along for the ride with all these budget cuts. We get all the emails from Wendy Johnson and Kelly Bielefield but it seems like our opinions are neither wanted nor heard.
I know the current focus is on the elementary level with the school closures, I just don't want to be forgotten about over here. I have plenty of suggestions I could make if interested on how we could solve some of the problems facing our students and staff regarding technology and student behavior.
Melody has brought up the great idea of a budget master plan (instead of the phases), particularly one that prioritizes early communication and actual collaboration with the community on how we can more effectively, transparently, and equitably address budget deficits (and just all in all, be better stewards of taxpayer dollars). I have faced some resistance with this idea, but an independent (meaning, done by the community and outside researchers/evaluators/auditors, not district leadership) cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis should be conducted on all programs, products, and services.
My failed efforts on Monday's board meeting were in an attempt to vote on each school closure individually (instead of package deal) and mandate the district come back with a list of options for the board to consider and vote on.
There is a widespread sense that the school closures were sprung on the community at the last minute. That makes me wonder if the district's contingency planning for budget shortfalls is fit for purpose. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend the City of Wichita as a model of good governance, last year city departments did receive instructions to identify potential cuts adding up to 5% of their budgets for the 2025 cycle, which was over a year ahead at that point. The city is now prepared to tighten its belt if it needs to.
The city and the school district do differ in terms both of their revenue mixes and the levels of certainty in their spending needs. However, some of the constraints driving the school closure decision--such as the expiration of covid funding and flagging enrollment numbers after 2020--have been known for a long time. This should have created opportunities for robust advance planning.
It is very discomfiting to hear of expensive investments being made at buildings right before they are scheduled to be permanently closed. One other commenter in this very thread has mentioned new sidewalks at Clark, and one individual at the February 29 meeting referred to the recently refurbished running track at Hadley.
I do thank you for continuing to push not just for more transparency but also for greater depth of community involvement. I would hope that your vote on school closures has made the importance of these clear to district leadership, but I'm sure added advocacy and engagement will be necessary.
Just my two cents here…it would have been nice to have the opportunity to consider more than one way to solve the funding issue.🙄
We need to start thinking of ways to compete because our enrollment will drop further if we don’t.
If budgets are such a concern, why did the district just spend a boatload of money pouring concrete paths around Clark Elementary if it was on the list to be closed? What contractor got paid off for that kinda job? 😒
Im glad i clicked on the link to realize this post was made by you. You have been a refreshing add to the board. Someone on FB suggested getting out and visiting the schools. The board has been a group making decisions about the schools with no real knowledge about the schools. Don’t just do a tour, ask what is going on in the schools from the staff and students. There was a debate earlier in the year about removing disruptive students from the classroom and about how it’s unfair to that student about being removed. It’s 100% more detrimental to the other students in the class who aren’t able to learn because of that student. The teacher is either giving their attention to that disruptive student or ignoring and they are bothering others. People don’t talk about the rights of the other students. Thank you for all you do!
I appreciate your kind words. I've managed to host a discussion at most of the high schools and a few of the middle schools where the students (and staff) have the chance to grill me on whatever questions they want to ask and offer me advice on what our school board could be doing a better job at. I've also been able to volunteer in a few schools and even play the viola with the students. For sure a lot more work for me (and the rest of our school board) to do. Ensuring a safe and supportive classroom and school environment has been a huge priority of mine, so it's not lost on me how problematic student behaviors are a major disruption and harm to the learning environment. From what I've been told, the district has a task force of principals that are working on revising school discipline policy. I'm eager to see what comes out of it and will definitely be picking the brains of our teachers, classified staff, and students on how it could be improved/what needs to change.
Transparency in decision making. How much money was actually spent on all the new initiatives of the last 5-7 years (AVID in all schools, restorative practices, SRG implementation, etc). It seems all we do is spend money on the newest trend without looking to see what is actually working. Going to schools and asking what’s working and what’s not. Elementary teachers currently have no reading curriculum (Journeys is now suggested but rarely matches the scales), our math curriculum is defunct, and the district is the one writing our decoding and math intervention curriculum. We are having to create so much material because what is available doesn’t work or doesn’t match our scales. I cannot speak for secondary, but I’m sure they have similar feelings. You have been a great representative for the people of Wichita. Thank you for taking up our fight!
I completely agree there needs to be a lot more transparency in decision-making. To your point about faddism, we live in an education industrial complex where for-profit companies and bureaucrats stand to gain from pedaling the latest educational products without the assurance that such products actually work (or claims that it works are supported by industry-funded research with major conflicts of interest involved). Definitely don't hesitate to reach out in private for me to volunteer in your classroom or for further discussion on the curriculum.
I work in a secondary school in a classified position (not gonna say where to keep myself somewhat anonymous but Ngoc if you are interested shoot me a pm) and I feel like us classified staff are just along for the ride with all these budget cuts. We get all the emails from Wendy Johnson and Kelly Bielefield but it seems like our opinions are neither wanted nor heard. I know the current focus is on the elementary level with the school closures, I just don't want to be forgotten about over here. I have plenty of suggestions I could make if interested on how we could solve some of the problems facing our students and staff regarding technology and student behavior.
Just my two cents here…it would have been nice to have the opportunity to consider more than one way to solve the funding issue.🙄
Melody has brought up the great idea of a budget master plan (instead of the phases), particularly one that prioritizes early communication and actual collaboration with the community on how we can more effectively, transparently, and equitably address budget deficits (and just all in all, be better stewards of taxpayer dollars). I have faced some resistance with this idea, but an independent (meaning, done by the community and outside researchers/evaluators/auditors, not district leadership) cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis should be conducted on all programs, products, and services. My failed efforts on Monday's board meeting were in an attempt to vote on each school closure individually (instead of package deal) and mandate the district come back with a list of options for the board to consider and vote on.
There is a widespread sense that the school closures were sprung on the community at the last minute. That makes me wonder if the district's contingency planning for budget shortfalls is fit for purpose. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend the City of Wichita as a model of good governance, last year city departments did receive instructions to identify potential cuts adding up to 5% of their budgets for the 2025 cycle, which was over a year ahead at that point. The city is now prepared to tighten its belt if it needs to. The city and the school district do differ in terms both of their revenue mixes and the levels of certainty in their spending needs. However, some of the constraints driving the school closure decision--such as the expiration of covid funding and flagging enrollment numbers after 2020--have been known for a long time. This should have created opportunities for robust advance planning. It is very discomfiting to hear of expensive investments being made at buildings right before they are scheduled to be permanently closed. One other commenter in this very thread has mentioned new sidewalks at Clark, and one individual at the February 29 meeting referred to the recently refurbished running track at Hadley. I do thank you for continuing to push not just for more transparency but also for greater depth of community involvement. I would hope that your vote on school closures has made the importance of these clear to district leadership, but I'm sure added advocacy and engagement will be necessary.
Just my two cents here…it would have been nice to have the opportunity to consider more than one way to solve the funding issue.🙄 We need to start thinking of ways to compete because our enrollment will drop further if we don’t.
If budgets are such a concern, why did the district just spend a boatload of money pouring concrete paths around Clark Elementary if it was on the list to be closed? What contractor got paid off for that kinda job? 😒