Students

Question – Fire Alarm Health Concerns

November 2011

Question:

I understand that the district is doing everything it can to protect our children from excessive heat in the classroom. I am grateful for your efforts.

I do have another concern related to healthy safe environments. I was in school for a routine fire drill. Once again, I am grateful for an organized way to practice for emergency situations, but I believe we have overlooked one important health issue. We are exposing our children to very dangerous sound levels as we practice routinely for these emergencies. There are ways that the fire alarm sound could be played over the intercom so that the students know what it sounds like, but so that the volume could be controlled in a safe way.

Could we not record an alarm, and play it over the intercom for practice so that the volume can be controlled? They would still know what the sound is, and in the event of a real emergency, they would respond. Additionally, the alarm system in the building could be checked when school is not in session. That would help to protect our children’s hearing.

Response:

Not just student hearing. Since the last fire drill in the district office (we have them here too), it’s been easier to talk behind the superintendent’s back – he can’t hear us whispering anymore! More seriously, fire alarm systems are installed according to the Uniform Building Code, Uniform Fire Code and NFPA 72 Fire Alarm Code. Most fire alarm horns today are factory set according to the code requirements at 15db above the highest ambient noise. I believe 110db is max. Newer horns may have a lower and higher setting depending on manufacturer. We try and put all classrooms on the lower setting (if available) and hallways on the higher due to greater ambient hallway noise. Fire alarms are installed to a very strict code and horns are spaced and placed according to these codes. Like smoke detectors in airplanes, fire alarms are strictly regulated and tampering with them is a significant offense.

Thanks to Kurt Fisher, our district’s deputized fire marshal for his assistance in responding to this question.

Question – English Immersion Program for ESL Students

November 2011

Question:

Would you please address the possibility of developing an English Immersion program for ESL students; I understand Granite District had this at one time. This program would truly help the students in their academic achievement and relocation issues.

Response:

Though we could certainly use more individual supports for some English Language Learners, our “English immersion program” is provided at every school – the core subjects are taught in the English language in all grade levels. You are right, we had a separate immersion program for English language learners, housed centrally to be able to bring the requisite resources together. The federal government descended and, while acknowledging our good intentions, labled it segregation and made us change the program. We are actively pursuing other alternatives to best serve all our children – they are not only the future of our community, they are our community today!

Thanks for the question.

Question – Media Impact Coursework?

November 2011

Question:

Why don’t we have a Media Impact course for High School kids? I’m talking about educating kids on how the media (internet, tv, cable, movies, magazines) show them a perspective that is often unhealthy and not based in how real life is.

In our culture today with everything out there…I feel very strongly that there must be an emphasis on neutralizing media influence and promoting hands on, real life opportunities for kids. I know there are many programs that offer many opportunities in the school district, but balancing that out with education on what media does to their everyday view of life is going to be more and more essential.

I think this should be a required course. I know there are so many classes that are required through state mandate, and maybe making it a required course at first would be too much of an uphill battle. But maybe it could be at least an elective that really delves into violence, misogyny, healthy/unhealthy role models, etc.

If the district does have a course like this, I would very much like to learn more about it. Thank you and I look forward to your response.

Response:

The state core curriculum for grades 3-6 has three strands: information literacy, literature, and media literacy; the last strand addresses at the elementary level what you are asking about. Here’s the link to the state core for those grades. The state core curriculum for grades 7-12 is broader and focuses on a set of “Big Six” skills; the idea of media literacy is addressed in standards 2 and 4, objective 2, however, as you have mentioned, the difficulty with mastery of these standards at all grades is time. Elementary teachers often feel that they don’t have time to teach all core curriculum areas – this among them, and there is not specific secondary course that addresses only the library media curriculum; as it is expected to be embedded in other content areas.

We do recognize the importance of this topic and it is being addressed. We hope our parents will help fill in the blanks where necessary. Thanks for the question and to the Teaching and Learning Department for their assistance in responding.

Additional Response To The Use Of “Word Searches”

October 2011

I have appreciated the many comments and feedback we have gotten on this topic thus far. Here is one from Dawn Hauser, a district specialist over curriculum and instruction, that I found particularly interesting. Keep the feedback coming!

“In response to the superintendent’s request for feedback regarding WORD SEARCHES:

In their oft-quoted “Research-Based Homework Guidelines” for teachers, Robert Marzano and Deborah Pickering (2007) discuss evidence that, when used appropriately, homework benefits student achievement. These two experts include a short list of four guidelines for teachers, the first of which reads as follows:

· Assign purposeful homework. Legitimate purposes for homework include introducing new content, practicing a skill or process that students can do independently but not fluently, elaborating on information that has been addressed in class to deepen students’ knowledge, and providing opportunities for students to explore topics of their own interest.

I can find no mention in the K-12 Utah State Social Studies Core Curriculum of identifying letter patterns or distinguishing vocabulary words from among other words and letters, the skill most arguably associated with word searches. Rather, the verbs in the core that indicate WHAT students should be doing with new social studies content and skills include: describe, analyze, compare, use, examine, explain, propose and investigate. None of these learning “actions” are achieved through word searches, which also don’t reinforce knowing and using key vocabulary.

It is impossible to argue that word searches are purposeful or legitimate for introducing new content, practicing a social studies skill, elaborating to deepen knowledge, or providing an opportunity to explore a topic independently. Adults don’t gain a better understanding of why they pay taxes or how to file by circling tax-related vocabulary words in a word search. What makes us think students will have a better understanding of important concepts and skills by doing the same? There are so many better ways students can practice and demonstrate what they know and can do with their knowledge – let’s use our professional expertise to “search” those out, instead.

Research-Based Homework Guidelines
Research provides strong evidence that, when used appropriately, homework benefits student achievement. To make sure that homework is appropriate, teachers should follow these guidelines:
• Assign purposeful homework. Legitimate purposes for homework include introducing new content, practicing a skill or process that students can do independently but not fluently, elaborating on information that has been addressed in class to deepen students’ knowledge, and providing opportunities for students to explore topics of their own interest.
• Design homework to maximize the chances that students will complete it. For example, ensure that homework is at the appropriate level of difficulty. Students should be able to complete homework assignments independently with relatively high success rates, but they should still find the assignments challenging enough to be interesting.
• Involve parents in appropriate ways (for example, as a sounding board to help students summarize what they learned from the homework) without requiring parents to act as teachers or to police students’ homework completion.
• Carefully monitor the amount of homework assigned so that it is appropriate to students’ age levels and does not take too much time away from other home activities.

Source:

Marzono, Robert J. and Pickering, Debra, J. The case for and against homework: Teachers should not abandon homework, instead they should improve its instructional quality. Educational Leadership, March, 2007, Vol. 64, No. 6, pages 74-79.”

Dawn Hauser, NBCT
Curriculum & Instruction
Granite School District

Superintendent Snapshot – Word Searches

October 2011

Dear Friends:

Here is the latest snapshot video regarding a question about word searches. I have a full inbox of questions that I am trying to get to as quickly as I can. Keep submitting your questions and I appreciate your patience as I work to respond to them all. Thanks and have a great Halloween weekend!

Sincerely,

Martin

Question – Cloth Towel Dispensers

October 2011

Question:

Thank you for your informative blog. In reading over some of the other questions that have been submitted, this may seem like a trivial question, but I’ve had children in Granite School District for five years and still haven’t seen any action being taken.

My question is: What is keeping the district from replacing the pull-down cloth hand towels still being used in elementary schools? I’ve seen over the course of several years that elementary-age students are not able to correctly use the towels, and large groups of children end up drying their hands with visibly dirty portions of the towels. With the Swine Flu scare, chicken pox outbreaks, and everyday childhood illnesses, I’m disappointed that more action hasn’t been taken to provide a more sanitary way for children to wash and dry their hands throughout the day. What can we as parents do to help our schools replace these towels with a cleaner, easier option?

Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate all that you do to ensure that our children are well educated and well taken care of during the hours they spend at school.

Response:

There are two parts to this response.

First we need to understand the financial ramifications of such a decision. Currently, there are over 2,300 cloth towel dispensers being used at various locations through our district. There are two options for replacing these dispensers. There is a standard paper towel dispenser that students usually waste vast amounts of the paper towel along with the environmental impact. The battery operated “sensor” dispensers limit waste, but have ongoing costs related to manpower and changing the batteries. There are also air dryers that require the additional expense of running additional electric outlets to our restroom facilities (particularly in our older buildings). New facilities are being designed and constructed with these outlets. We are testing out several types of hand dryers. However, they are cost prohibitive due to the significant upfront expense that hovers around $600-$800 for installation. Overall, whether we switch all of these devices to one of these alternatives, the cost to immediately replace these 2,300 dispensers would cost around $100,000 to over $1.8 million. As you can see, an immediate transition to an alternative is cost intensive.

Secondly, we must consider the actual health ramifications of these cloth dispensers. In working with the health department and in reviewing studies available on the subject, cloth hand towels are far more hygienic than both paper towels and air dryers. While the perception is contrary to these studies, the television news program 20/20 also did a segment and found that people should avoid air dryers because they are blowing bacteria in the air (in the restroom) onto your hands. Because drying removes most of the bacteria, cloth hand towels are the most safe form of drying your hands (I know what you are thinking because we all had the same perception). Additionally, they are completely sanctioned by our local department, the FDA and the federal department of health and human services. There is no evidence that bacteria can travel through the physical barrier in the dispenser from the contaminated portion to the clean portion of the towel and since the cloth is more absorbent than paper and effective than the air blowers, they are more sanitary.

You have a great point when it comes to using the machines correctly. Our schools who utilize these devices should be instructing children on how to use them properly. Additionally, we need help from our students and patrons to let us know when any of our devices are not serviceable so that local janitorial staff can remedy the problem quickly.

Not only are cloth towels superior when it comes to actual hygienic standards, they are far superior as far as cost, safety (think fires), vandalism and environmental impacts. We will continue to have problems with vandalism and other issues with all of our dispensers. After carefully studying this issue in our janitorial department (since we initially received complaints back in 2010 during the H1N1 scare), it has been decided to continue to utilize cloth dispensers until there is good rationale to change.

Thanks for your question and for all the research and efforts made by our janitorial staff. If you would like to review some of the independent studies that have been conducted on this topic, a folder with the information is available in the Communications Department.

Superintendent Snapshot – Health Code Cut-Off for Temperatures

September 2011

Dear Superintendent Bates,

You’re doing your part but I missed in your video what the health code cut-off for temperature was. Or is that a “need to know” thing? My principal has brought in water in 7th period for two days straight(great idea). We want to thank him (Ike Spencer at West Lake) for that. Keep up the good work. I never thought, at my age, I would be thought of as a “HOT” teacher, so thanks for improving my reputation.

RESPONSE:

Great Question! The Utah Department of Health has identified four “heat health hazard” levels: Below 79.9F – No Hazard; 80 to 89.9F – Caution Level; 90 to 99.9F – Extreme Caution Level; and 100F or Above – Danger Level.

The following language is from our school services manual of which every principal has a copy of.

Caution Level – schools are to encourage loose-fitting, light colored, lightweight clothing; encourage wide brimmed hats and sun screen (SPF 15 or higher) during recess and outdoor activities; maintain adequate fluid intake (encourage students to bring water bottles and take frequent water breaks); increase room ventilation (open windows/doors, use fans); provide wet wipes, damp clothes and/or spray bottles to cool forehead, arms, legs, and face; decrease physical activity at recess and in PE classes; and, limit recess to cooler morning hours if necessary.

Extreme Caution Level – all of the above and move students/staff to cooler areas of the building, as often as necessary, to avoid being in the above 90 degree F areas for longer than 60-90 minutes at a time.

Danger Level – all of the above and immediately move the students/staff to cooler areas of the building. If there are no suitable locations below the “danger” level, immediately contact the School Leadership and Improvement Services Department to determine what actions, including the possible dismissal of school, to initiate.

To my knowledge, this direction has been followed throughout this hot time. In fact, I understand that action steps have frequently been taken even when thresholds have not been met.

I greatly appreciate the professionalism and team work of our educators and staff in protecting both the safety and learning of children through the difficult heat. My own wide-brimmed hat (worn while the air conditioning was off in my office this week when temperatures reached the Extreme Caution Level) is off to all of them!

Sincerely,

Martin

Superintendent Snapshot – Welcome back…to the HEAT

August 2011

All,

Here is the latest snapshot video regarding the heat wave and an update on air conditioning projects. This is first video of the school year and we look forward to seeing your questions week to week. Anyone can submit a question via email to SuperintendentsBlog@GraniteSchools.org and responses will be posted here on the blog. Thanks for your patience and for all the work you do.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Martin Bates

Question – Gifted Programs

June 2011

Question from a patron:

Hello Mr. Superintendent,

First, thank you for being open to questions and comments, and thank you for your blog, it is informative and helpful.

I have a daughter who attends the Advanced Learning Center magnet program at Fox Hills Elementary. I’ve begun investigating her options for junior high and I am dismayed that there is no junior high level program to follow up on the ALC pattern that is established in Fox Hills Elementary. I’ve learned form other parents that Morningside Elementary has Churchill Junior High to feed its kids into, and that Churchill has programs that educate these gifted and talented kids from the ALC program. I know that junior high schools in my area- Eisenhower, Bennion, and Kearns- have their own honors or gifted programs, but they aren’t the same caliber as the ALC program.

I’ve also learned that there will be a new junior high built on the west side, and that it will be completed in time for the 2013-2014 school year. I would strongly encourage the district to include in this new junior high a magnet Advanced Learning Center program. It must be possible, and there is a need for such a program.

Response –

Thank you for the great question. There is an error is assuming that Morningside students feed to Churchill because it has a program. In reality, most of the students at Morningside choose to attend Wasatch. At this time we have no formal magnet programs at the junior high level. Each parent of a sixth grade student receives a letter and informational handout that is updated with information each fall. Parents are encouraged to explore all of the junior high options and make the choice that is best for their child.

There is a general misconception in relation to the gifted endorsed teachers at the school. Churchill and Wasatch have a lot more gifted endorsed teachers, so the parents perceive that as having a gifted program. However, all of our junior highs offer either honors or gifted classes. The difference in the class label is whether the teacher has a Gifted and Talented endorsement.

I hope that addresses your question. I have also attached an informational sheet regarding Junior High gifted programs (linked below). If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me again or Sheri Sorenson at the district office.

Granite School District Junior High Gifted Program

Superintendent Snapshot – Dual Immersion

June 2011

All,

Here is the latest snapshot video regarding dual immersion. This is our last video of the school year, but keep submitting your questions to SuperintendentsBlog@GraniteSchools.org and I will post responses all summer long. Thanks so much for all the work you do.

Sincerely,

Martin