"Works Well with Others, but Socializes Too Much in Class"

I still have many of my report cards from when I attended Lemme Elementary, South East and City High.  Beside each grade given, there is a space for teacher comments.  There must have been certain canned phrases to select from because the following two comments are repeated over and over throughout the years:  "Works well with others" and "Socializes too much in class."

While these traits definitely were a blessing and a curse in the classroom, I think that my teachers all hit the nail on the head.  I do play well with others and, yes, I do socialize too much.  As a potential board member I hope these traits serve me well.  It may be too late for me to try to change.

I guess if you really want to know something, ask a teacher.

Remembering Bill

There is a great opinion piece in the Press-Citizen today by Jan Martins regarding special education needs in our district.  Stability, Safety and Continuity specifically are mentioned in the article.  I highly recommend giving it a look. Martins' piece is a perfect segue to share a story about a long time Iowa City entity named Bill. 

Bill Sackter was a man who, by today's standards, would be considered as special needs.  Bill lived in a time when institutionalization was the norm for people with special needs.  He spent much of his life in a very sheltered existence until a young film student at the University of Iowa named Barry Morrow met Bill and little by little broadened his horizons.  Listen to this audio clip of the story by clicking here: Barry and Bill

Barry Morrow went on to write the screenplay for the movie Rain Man.  Bill Sackter successfully ran Wild Bill's Coffee Shop which still exists to this day in North Hall on the University Campus.   There were even two movies made about Bill and Barry starring Mickey Rooney and Dennis Quaid.  

I remember seeing those films as a child and I remember getting to meet Mr Sackter on numerous occasions around the town.  My parents made a point to see that I was introduced to the man who became an Iowa City icon whether he was just out and about, working at the coffee shop, or playing Santa Claus to the children of Iowa City.

At the Friends of Community Inclusion Forum last Monday, I noted that the District Belief Statements list that each person has intrinsic worth. Also listed is that the understanding of and respect for human diversity are fundamental to individual rights and enrich community life. In Bill's case, all it took was one man to recognize that intrinsic worth and give Bill the tools to achieve his highest potential. 

Bill Sackter's intrinsic worth and his contribution to our community still exists today.  He personifies what Iowa City is about and is just as much a part of our city's history as Helen Lemme, Irving Weber or James Van Allen.  I am honored to have met him and believe his story to be one worth keeping alive in our collective consciousness as we consider our commitment to students with special needs. 

Psst, pass it on.....

My WWII Marine Corps grandfather had a book that someone gave him called The Grandparents Book.  If you're not familiar with it, I highly recommend you check it out.  It's full of introspective questions that you're supposed to take the time to sit down and handwrite your answers to.  The idea is to share the answers with your grandchildren so that they can get to know you.  Long story short, grandpa was a pretty quiet man and for whatever reason, he never shared his book with us grandkids. After he passed away in 1999, all of us received a photocopied version of his book.

As I read through it, trying desperately to understand a man who had never opened up to any of his family, I was struck by one question in particular. Under the section for History and Politics, in response to a question about what issues and causes he felt strongly about, he answered "Apathy of American voters.  Democracy will fail if 70% of eligible voters do not: 1. Inform themselves and 2. Vote.  Apathy is one of the reasons for the sad state of politics today - we get what we deserve."

This is true of school board elections in particular.  People don't inform themselves and sadly, people don't vote. Typically here in our district, we can only expect 4500-5000 voters to vote in school-related elections.  That's less than 8% of eligible voters.  Sad, indeed.

I believe and have stated numerous times that schools are the most important public service that we can provide to our citizens.  Roads, sewers and stoplights are important, but people don't move to an area because of those things.  They move to an area because of the schools.

Our schools prepare our kids for their future.  Our schools teach our kids to think critically and analytically.  Our schools provide the social structure where our kids learn about the world beyond their  community.  Our schools can provide inspiration and teach not how our world is, but how it ought to be.

We owe our entire district and all of our kids a fair shot at a good beginning to the rest of their lives.  We owe them safe facilities that inspire and nurture them.  We owe them creative programming that allows them to achieve their highest potential. It is our duty.

I feel that if you believe in something strongly, you should roll up your sleeves and work for it.  I believe that if you feel that there is injustice, you should work to make it right.  I feel that you should advocate for those that can not advocate for themselves.  That's why I'm doing this and that's why I want you to get out and vote.

If you're tired of feeling like it should be better for our kids and teachers, get out and vote.

If you're fed up with the back and forth tit-for-tat in this district, get out and vote.

If you believe that our entire district deserves to have a bright future, get out and vote.

If you are optimistic that we can be more transparent and communicate better, get out and vote.

If you believe we can do better and should, then get out and vote.

Voting is the only way that anything is going to get better.  No matter who you vote for, just get out and vote.  Apathy is the enemy.....

Pass it on.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not."
-Dr Seuss from The Lorax

Ah yes, the North Liberty Question....

One not at all suprising frequent question I’ve encountered over the course of the last few months, especially from my friends in North Liberty is, “What are your thoughts on the new high school?”

Here’s my reply to a recent Facebook inquiry of that nature….

Regarding North Liberty, I understand the crisis of confidence in the district to follow through on the North Liberty high school.  I’m excited that once infrastructure needs (sewer, roads, water, etc) are taken care of, there will finally be motion forward on getting spades in the ground and starting construction. I suspect that, even then, folks will be skeptical until the doors finally open.

As it is, I am told by the facilities people at the ICCSD that it is highly unlikely that a high school could be completed prior to 2018….and that’s if everything goes right on schedule. I suspect North High will be completed somewhere between 2018 and 2020.  I sincerely hope no later than that, as there are too many young children in North Liberty that by then, will be matriculating into high school.  That being said, I am not a facility planner, an engineer or an architect. These are only estimations. 

With the Facilities Master Plan that was passed on July 23, there are numerous projects that need to occur to accommodate the current and projected growth of our entire district at ALL levels. Passing that plan was critical to getting started right away. No plan, no construction.  That being stated, I’m anxious to see the timetable that Mr Murley will present in November.

One major focus that we should have at this point is to work to regain public confidence because much of this stems from the lack thereof.  Whether it’s a lack of a high school in North Liberty, un-air conditioned old elementary schools, lack of new elementary schools in areas of continuous growth, or repeated discussions of facility closure, people throughout the district feel (rightfully so) a lack of trust. The best way to regain that trust is to actually follow through and complete the projects we have committed to. Doing it with transparency every step of the way is essential as well.

Consider that during the massive Kinnick Stadium project on the U of I campus a few years ago, there were active webcams monitoring the progress through all phases of the construction. I would love to see inexpensive webcams utilized the same way throughout our district so that people can log on and see the projects occurring and can watch with excitement and anticipation as projects begin and progress toward completion.

In addition, I’d like to see a comprehensive chronological list of projects that are planned with start dates and completed dates listed prominently on the district web site. Member so the public could then monitor how the district is keeping on the path to our future. Concrete and tangible progress is hard not to be excited about.

If the end result of our district-wide face lift is that all corners of the ICCSD have the new, expanded or renovated schools to accommodate growth and provide and equitable educational experience, then we will have regained the trust of the entire district. Right now, we have two of the top 1000 public high schools in the nation. Our goal should be three.

Carver and Borlaug....

And now, for something completely different....a bit of trivia with relevance to our school district and a deeper message about our community.

Before you read any further, read this amazing bit of trivia: Carver and Borlaug   There may be a quiz.

It seems our very own Iowa hero Norman Borlaug who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his efforts to combat world hunger is only two generations removed from George Washington Carver's famous pioneering work in agriculture. All it took was one woman guiding and advocating for the young Carver to create a ripple that saved over a billion lives.

Here's how this relates to our district.....

We currently have an alarming performance disparity between minority students and their peers when measured at all levels.  Across our district, there is an 30% or greater disparity in proficiency in Reading and Math.  See for yourself on page 5 of this document: District Report Card

There are a few ways to address this issue.  First and foremost we need to go to teachers and see what they think.  No initiative is going to work without their input and enthusiasm.We also will have to enlist parents and community leaders, because we already know that the most powerful changes start with the broadest base of support.  I do have a few ideas of my own though, if you were wondering.....

• I believe expanding access to Pre-K is critical.  Ensuring kids get started with a solid foundation in reading and math concepts will help to streamline their kindergarten matriculation.  If you start off behind your peers, it'll never be easy to catch up.

• I believe we need to actively recruit recently graduated minority teachers from across the country. This effort should be fully funded by the district.  Good healthcare, low crime, great schools and a university town should be attractive to many.  Having positive role models in teaching and administrative roles is a must. 

• We can create a "career cluster program" to have minority students mentored by teachers who are people of color in order to foster a love of teaching in our own students who may show interest. Working with community groups we can commit to scholarships as well for minority students that are pursuing an education degree with intent to teach in the area.  Recruiting from within may be more powerful than recruiting elsewhere.

• As minority teachers leave the district, we must truly dig into why they left as part of the exit interview process. We need to know what we can be doing better to retain these talented individuals and role models and we need to commit to fixing it. 

For us not to insist on every single child reaching their highest potential means that we are failing all of our students. We need to try harder, because what we're doing isn't good enough.

So which child is it?  Which student just needs us to try a little harder?  Which one, through a small act of kindness like Etta Mae Budd's advocacy for Carver, may go on to do great things?  Which of our current students is going to be the one that changes the world?  Let's find out.

Small Schools Anonymous

Hi, my name is Brian and my children attend a small school. That school is Shimek.

Shimek elementary only has about 200 students which makes it one of the smallest schools in the district.   Only 91 of those students live within one mile of the school.   If it weren't for the fact that Shimek serves the entire area reaching out to Newport Road and there are no other alternatives that are nearby, I'm sure Shimek would be targeted frequently for closure.

Traditionally, Lincoln enrolls about 250 students.  93 of those students live within one mile of the school. Like Shimek, it serves an area that really doesn't have another alternative facility within a reasonable distance.  I know that Lincoln has been mentioned at times in sentences that end with closure, but for the life of me, I can't imagine what alternative facility those 93 students who live near Lincoln would attend.

Then there's Hills.  108 students attend Hills.  39 live within one mile.  There is no alternative to Hills Elementary school in the immediate area.  Hills is the only school for roughly a 7 mile radius.  Their community has taken exciting steps to address infrastructure needs and is poised for growth.  That school serves a large area. I think that to consider closing Hills would be extremely short-sighted.  Remember, 20 years ago Penn was the only school in North Liberty.

Which brings me to Mann.  Mann has about 250 students enrolled each year over the past decade.  105 live within one mile of the school. After the anticipated renovations that are part of the Strategic Facility Plan approved by the Board in July, it is projected that Mann will be able to house over 400 students. Mann serves the historic GooseTown neighborhood and, like Lincoln, doesn't really have a nearby walkable alternative.

I want to share these thoughts because as we move toward new, larger,  more peripherally-located and cost-efficient schools as part of addressing our district's explosive growth over the previous and coming decade, we must still recognize that there is intrinsic value to maintaining a small school when and where there are no other alternatives.  Although larger schools are more cost efficient to operate, the true test of a neighborhood school is its sense of community.  Being able to walk in as a parent and have the principal and the school secretary able to recognize you by face and know where your children are at is comforting.  There is no dollar value that can reflect that.

Exciting changes are about to occur with our district-wide facelift.  Let's ensure that we don't lose track of our roots.

Hi, my name is Brian and my children attend a small school....

Video Killed the Amateur Blogger

Thought I'd check in to invite you to watch this brief video to introduce you, constant blog reader, to me.  One take, no editing.  My apologies for the Umms and Ahhs.  This wasn't as easy as it sounds.

And now, on with the show....

http://view.earthchannel.com/PlayerHD.aspx?PGD=iowacity&eID=578