AnonymousBy Cheri Rae
On Tuesday night, the Santa Barbara Unified school board voted to spend $1,753,000 for a new reading curriculum.
It’s an action I’ve long wanted to see, and have worked for years to help bring about. But it didn’t feel so great by the time it happened, because of a troubling juxtaposition of issues that converged upon each other at the SBUSD meeting.
Before the vote on the reading program that night, a standing-room-only crowd of teachers expressed their concerns over financial woes and concerns over their physical and mental health, with some even sadly reporting they’ve decided to leave town because they just can’t afford to live here anymore.
As a large and loud group of district teachers demonstrated for significantly more pay and better working, inside the boardroom and outside the school district’s downtown offices, some testified to the board about their heartbreaking inability to serve their students; one detailed alarming special education conditions for moderate to severe students, while another addressed how so many of his high school students just can’t read.
For a district like Santa Barbara’s, the successful implementation of a completely different approach to reading instruction would be complicated enough in the best of times.
At a time when the workforce, from first-year teachers to 30-year veterans, is being called upon and expected to carry it out while experiencing life-altering worry over the cost of living in Santa Barbara and their ability to continue to live here, it’s almost unimaginable.
Bye-bye Lucy Calkins.
After the teachers finished their protest during the public comment period that begins the meeting, the school board got down to business: They voted to approve the purchase of a structured literacy curriculum known as “Wit & Wisdom,” a supplemental foundational approach known as “Fundations” and a library of what’s known as “decodable” readers known as “Geodes.” The total cost of the curriculum, along with three years of professional development is not to exceed $1,753,000.
For years I’ve worked with colleagues and allies in the community, practically begging district officials to jettison their commitment to the Lucy Calkins Units of Study “balanced literacy” approach. Now that they have finally decided to make a complete turnaround in the approach to literacy instruction, I want to feel good, even triumphant, at the very least, hopeful.
But the thought of those sign-waving, whistle-blowing, soul-baring teachers keeps me from celebrating what should be a big step forward. I’m trying to envision how these stressed-out teachers can possibly manage to add in the extra professional development training that will be required for them to implement this completely new approach to teaching reading.
Next fall.
Before and after
Soon, the teachers will soon be expected to throw out everything they’ve been taught by high-paid consultants hired by the district for their belief in the three-cueing “balanced literacy” approach. That was then.
This is now, when district officials have suddenly made a dramatic pivot in their beliefs about reading instruction; for the past few months they have decided to believe in science, with the expectation that classroom teachers must quickly embrace the change and completely alter their instruction.
Before the board meeting, I consulted with literacy leaders throughout California, and based on their expertise, emailed several questions for school board members to consider. I received confirmation from two of the five trustees that they had received my email; one of these two mentioned the email had been forwarded to the superintendent and administrators. Nothing beyond that. In the brief 90 seconds allotted for public comment, I also offered the suggestions relayed to me, including:
- Designate (or hire) a single experienced individual who would be responsible and accountable for coordinating and providing leadership, encouragement, and expertise for the new literacy implementation.
- Make support of teachers, including prep time for these new lesson plans, ongoing professional development; and a generous transition period from one approach to the other, top priorities in the changeover of systems.
- Emphasize the need for transparency and sharing of information as well as clear vision, goals, and strategies. I suggested as a model, the excellent Oakland Unified School District ELA website. Their transition away from Lucy Calkins to science of reading came about in large part through the leadership of the NAACP and community members who presented the school board with a comprehensive petition in January of 2021. SInc then they have teamed with educational leaders to roll out their plan in a reasonable way, which the district continues to view it as an ongoing process. It seems obvious that these two troubling issues, low literacy and low pay coupled with poor morale among teachers are inextricably linked.
We can’t solve one without solving the other.
Bottom line
As much as I want our children to finally be taught with a reading program that aligns with how they learn, I have an overriding worry that in the administration’s timetable to get it done, speeding up is not in the best interests of everyone involved.
Pay the teachers what they deserve, what they’re worth, before expecting them to revamp all their instructional practices on top of everything else that lowers their quality of life.
I’ve been working on literacy advocacy for 13 years and, during that time, have seen many well-funded programs to improve literacy go bad by poor administration, lack of leadership, and failure to think the whole project though.
I never thought I’d suggest taking more time to get it right, but teachers need to earn for students to learn.
Cheri Rae is the director of The Dyslexia Project and the author of DyslexiaLand: A Field Guide for Parents of Children with Dyslexia. You can reach her at TheDyslexiaProject@gmail.com.
Op-Ed’s are written by community members, not representatives of edhat. The views and opinions expressed in Op-Ed articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of edhat. [Do you have an opinion on something local? Share it with us at info@edhat.com.]
Agree 100%. Retaining good teachers is priority #1. Last time I checked Hilda and her heavily-paid Admin staff aren’t in the classrooms, and they’ve been both failing and resisting change for too long.
Wrong, they actually waste weeks and weeks doing feel-good tours all over the district. Good, you might think? Nah, the visits are a joke, there is no opportunity for feedback, there are no results. Just more admin waste of time.
“Last time I checked Hilda and her heavily-paid Admin staff aren’t in the classrooms, ” – Do tell, what did you find “last time [you] checked?”
Nothing will change while the current board and Superintendent are seated. The entire group of them needs to go and the District needs a fresh start with individuals who are dedicated to the STUDENTS and EDUCATION.
More than 60% can’t read & write at grade level per state testing dating back to 1998.
Dem endorsed school board the entire time.
SBUSD board chose to use an education model with an 80% failure rate instead of using the 60% successful model at Franklin school.
WHY?????
My understanding is that the budget is ~$230-$240 million. Santa Barbara Unified has ~13k students. That’s ~$18,000 per student, or around a half million per year for each classroom of 25-30 kids. Sure doesn’t feel that way to the teachers.
Administrative bloat
As a 30+ year teacher I totally agree. Thank you for your support.
I’ve heard people complain that the teachers’ union has too much power. Apparently not?
Not at all.
That’s a good point, maybe they are very reluctant to strike…but will need to to get heard.
We need a county living wage ballot measure in 2024.
This post nailed it. WE have been waiting so long to get a reading program and finally it happened but really at the worst time. There is money sitting in the bank yet the school board is refusing to pay our teachers. After watching the meeting I really feel for the teachers I understand they agreed on a contract however so much has changed, We never thought covid would be that bad, we didn’t think rents in SB would go up as fast and they did along with all other expenses. I think the board needs to give the teachers at least half of the increased property taxes that were recevied in the past few months. Our students have no chance if they have no teachers. Time to pay the teachers what they should have been getting all along. PLEASE PLEASE listen to the teachers so our kids don’t suffer.
Thank you Cheri Rae for years of speaking truth to power. So sad the district leadership stonewalled your message for years about the failed Lucy Calkins, balanced literacy curriculum and that it has in fact been the culprit all along to why well over half can’t read proficiently. Now they don’t even thank you for your perseverance and care . I wish I felt that the district would finally hear you and the hardworking , committed teachers and para educators now. So much waste at the top with consultants, large contracts to balanced literacy and all the hundreds of thousands from SB education foundation wasted on Lucy Calkins. despite your warnings about its lack of efficacy. I have personally witnessed the stonewalling that you and the teachers experience. Board meeting filled with pretend to care platitudes and proclamation about how they value teachers and para educators but leaderships actions tell the real story.
How can anyone think it is fair to pay a para educator who is bilingual 18.36 while the district hordes 19 million for more outside consultants and unnecessary expensive positions in admin. All the while our Superintendent makes more than our governor. So much waste and so much loss especially for our vulnerable students who already had abysmal scores before covid and now they are not even getting remediation. No one in admin or the board want to talk about this either. There are 6,500 students who need remediation now and can’t wait for the teacher training which will take three years. Are they just casualties of a system that has lost its courage, integrity and vision. How many more people will leave under this Superintendents term. Can our community just stand by as she wipes out all the institution knowledge and replaces it with outside former friends and colleagues from LA Unified.? How come no one in leadership cares about the effect of loosing our teachers even after the mass exodus where 20 admin left . The most painful part of all of this is that literally thousands of our students are not college read and won’t be because we need systemic change and a proactive approach that actually cares deeply about our students and teachers instead of just pretending to care. The listening tours are a complete misnomer. I was on the literacy task force and whenever I asked about remediation for the thousands of students in middle school and elementary was told we don’t have time for that question. When will it be time to care about our teachers and struggling students. This is not teachers fault or students fault but leadership that thrives on chaos and crisis. This will and already has hurt our community in significant and unalterable ways. Every child, every chance, every day is a lie. Our marginalized students whose primary language is english, our different learners, our foster youth, our homeless, and all those with socioeconomic hardship will have broken dreams and don’t stand a chance, and never really got a chance because the real help they need is too little and far too late. And when it does those who were responsible and could have done something will just write a proclamation saying how much they care and how it is all covids faults or something other than what it is…failed leadership that is only focused on looking good instead of being good. So very sad, and an so avoidable. Please help our teachers earn so ALL our students learn.
Some valid comments, but the time to ask for a raise is after you have done something good….like made lots of sales, dug the most ditches, painted the most rooms, and so on. The time NOT to ask for a raise is right after you’ve had a couple years off (pandemic) and heading into three months off from work for summer “vacation.” Three months off like we’d all like to have, but…..we gotta slog through the summer and maybe take a week or two off if we have a job that allows it. I want to be a teacher so I can work about seven months out of each year and get a full year’s salary. God bless teachers (my family is filled with ’em), but c’mon. At a minimum, ask for a raise when at least 50% of the students can read/write at grade level….now when it is b-e-l-o-w 50%.
Yesterday, more labor negotiations happened with no concessions from SBUSB to open up salary negotiations. Obviously, our superintendent feels it’s more important to hire outside consultants, assistants, and buy useless “programs” like SWIFT and Ellevate, than give us a living wage. SBTA needs to get tougher. If we can’t strike, we can call in sick. I actually am sick of this. Sick of being treated like certain people in the district office have more value than I do as a classroom teacher.
A teacher posted this on Facebook, and it is a good explanation of where the teachers are coming from. Montecito and Hope have been basic aid districts for some time, and this has allowed them to be more generous with spending on both teachers and students.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/sbplan/permalink/6180973178662849/
The linked explanation is helpful. Thank you.
Babycakes:The system and district leadership are the ones that need to do good rather than care about looking good. I am upset by the waste and bloated salaries at the top. The current climate is toxic for teachers. And another mass exodus is happening already. Waiting is not the answer. Solidarity with teachers and supporting values of fairness and cooperation is what is needed to turn this around.. Teachers have gone above and beyond. Taking extra caseloads in special ed, paying for classroom supplies, writing letters of recommendations and putting off pay raises. You’re comment does not recognize what our teachers have already given up and sacrifices and risks during covid… They are simply asking for a transparent look at the budget and a conversation about making working in SB financially feasible. This is the time to ask because the district is in crisis. We cannot afford to have our teachers leave. We already are trying to recover from all the institutional loss in the mass exodus in admin last year. Babycakes please listen to May 9th board meeting to hear the real life experience of our teachers. The district has the resources but is not spending fairly. How can a para educator survive on 18.36 an hour, and that is a bilingual educator. We can get our reading scores up when we have less crisis, chaos and a stable workforce. Stability is not possible in this current climate. Revolving doors in special ed and across the board are creating chaos which hurts our students. If you want success in literacy you need our teachers to be getting a competitive wage now. No point with a new curriculum training when the teachers leave for more competitive salaries as close as Goleta. It is long past time for teachers to be values and paid what they deserve and need. Your comments about them have two years off in Covid is inaccurate and dismissive. Also many work over the summer so saying they only work seven months also frames the situation that they have it so easy when they don’t. Listen to the board meeting and hear their valid issues .
LoveSBaLot: You say that the SBUSD teachers and para-teachers will do a better job at teaching their students if they get paid more. That does not show much dedication to their craft in my opinion, which tells me that they are prorating their skills based on pay. I wouldn’t hire people like that myself, but the people I would hire are not public employees. You also say that some accepted teaching positions that pay less than$20/hour. If the pay isn’t to their liking, then a job change is in order (my house cleaner charges $35/hr., the gardener is at $40/hr., and the nanny gets $23/hr.). This is one of the reasons why I believe we should be investing in trade schools for plumbing, electrical, carpentry, elder care, and so on. Bottom line is that teachers are not going to get wealthy in this town, and the students should not suffer because their teachers took low-paying jobs. I had low-paying jobs at one time, and know that if you want more dough, don’t stay in lousy-paying occupations. Change is good…..pocket change is not.
It would be better if everyone ignored the person you commented on. They are clearly desperate for some negative interactions.