Summary of October 17, 2012 Meeting

The second meeting of the 2012-13 Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council – called together by Superintendent Steve Joel – was held at Lincoln High School on Wednesday, Oct. 17.

Here are a few highlights.

Opening activity

Members of the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council watched a video called, “The Ever Increasing Burden on America’s Public Schools,” that speaks to the increasing number of responsibilities that have been placed on public education.  Participants then talked in small groups to discuss the video.

A few responses:

  • “We’re all living and breathing this everyday. It’s what we do….But I’m hoping the guy in the grocery store line could see this.  Other people need to watch this.”
  • “This video doesn’t take the next step…While it reflects many of the components of education, it doesn’t touch on the financial responsibilities. It takes money to do all these things…And people wonder why our property taxes go up.”

LPS Superintendent Steve Joel: “Every time society has an issue, public education is expected to solve it.  And partly we understand.  We have little people at the right time in their learning cycle.  But we have reached a point when the answer doesn’t come with, ‘You need to teach harder.’ It comes with community support.

“I’m taking this message everywhere…I intend to spend the rest of my years in public education carrying this message.  We have to stop being defensive about what we do. We must stop apologizing. We have to be proud.”

Superintendent Update

Joel gave Council members a brief update about LPS issues.

Technology:

“We bought several thousand laptops early this school year, taking a first step,” Joel said, “as we continue to work on the appropriate definition of 21st century classroom…I’m more convinced than ever before that within five years we’ll see digital conversion for our textbooks. I know that scares some people, but I think the key to making this work – is appropriate professional development.”

Career academy

“We continue to explore the concept of a career academy high school, and I believe this one will have a wow factor.  We’re looking at a partnership with Southeast Community College, dual credit, an educational experience that will lead to internships, mentorships and jobs…a stand-alone site that will handle about 1,000 students.

State of the Schools

Joel said the State of the Schools Report is coming in November – and this year will include some “ranking” of schools and school districts.

“Here’s what I want you to know:  Politicians might react to these links, but we’re not going to.  As leaders we will look as this data, but we will not over-react.  You heard it from me….This is an archaic system. Unfortunately we’ll have a couple days of dealing with those labels. But don’t lose hope.  We will move on.”

Professional dress

Joel asked Council members about what they have heard about professional dress expectations:  “I didn’t expect to have this conversation in my third year, but we are.  I have told principals that we have some staff members who are not dressing professionally – I see people in jeans, t-shirts, even tank tops, not looking as good as the kids – and I believe we should dress professionally.”

Joel said he receives questions such as: How short can capris be?  Are jeans really unprofessional? How about flip-flops?

“I really do not want to create a district policy.  I don’t want to do that.  My approach has always been…that I have an expectation that we dress professionally in public education…I know that we all work very hard here, and I do see that most of the time people here dress very professionally…So here’s what I want to ask you: What are the issues here?’

Some responses:

  • “I believe you’re right on target.  Children act differently when we dress professionally.”
  • “I think the problem is all the rumors.  I keep hearing that you can only wear this t-shirt on Friday, and that you can only wear jeans on district days.  But I don’t think anyone knows if there are real rules.”
  • “Our school had a new principal and went from a very relaxed environment, to something with more rules…It was difficult at first…But I believe the professional attitude in our building has changed, even the persona coming down the hall is more professional. And it’s no longer an issue.”
  • “I think there is confusion about what the standards are. There seems to be inconsistency from one school to another…It’s different from building to building.”
  • “I think there needs to be some recognition that some of our teachers are crawling around on their hands and knees…Some teachers work with materials that harm their clothing…There are PE teachers, art teachers…”
  • “Here’s what frustrates me.  I wore jeans everyday … with a shirt and tie.  But the guy wearing old cargo pants with a polo shirt – he’s OK and I’m being told I’m not professionally dressed.”
  • “I think some people think it’s an insult to our professionalism…that we need someone to tell us how to dress professionally.”
  • “And I’d like you to show me our test scores will improve…if I’m wearing fancy clothes instead of jeans.”

Jane Stavem

Jane Stavem, associate superintendent for Instruction at LPS, introduced herself to the group.

She also told them she is starting to collect information about how schools are dealing with serious behavioral issues with students.  “We have some students really pushing the bounds …and I want to make sure everyone feels equipped to deal with these issues….I know this is one thing that really wears down principals, teachers and staff.”

Future Teacher Council meetings:

Dec. 19, March 20 and May 15

Updated October 19, 2012