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Granite School District > Superintendent's Office > Sup’s Vlog

Sup’s Vlog

Superintendent Snapshot – This is what it is all about

All,

Here is the last snapshot of the school year. Keep sending your questions and we will start up again in the fall.

Superintendent Snapshot – Granite District Teacher of the Year!

All,

In the last snapshot of the academic year, Superintendent Bates surprises the Granite District teacher of the year. Enjoy!

Superintendent Snapshot – School Visits

All,

Here is the latest superintendent snapshot from Vista Elementary, the last stop on the superintendent’s in depth visits to schools this year.

Question – Movies in the Classroom?

Question – As any good teacher, I realize and understand that movies cannot, and should not, be used to replace other teaching materials (textbooks, direct instruction, etc.). However, as an artistic person, I also realize that there can be great learning taking place while watching a movie with students. My understanding of district policy is that G-rated material is generally approved, so far as there is a curriculum connection. Any material that is PG or PG-13 needs a request to show form signed from the principal and parental permission for each student to view the content. Any R, X, or NC-17 material is strictly prohibited. As far as my understanding goes, this is a blanket statement for every classroom in the district, with no distinction between grade or school levels; elementary rules are the same as junior and senior high schools. I recently created what I think is a brilliant literacy activity that includes reading strategies, character development, compare/contrast, cause/effect, and persuasive writing all done by watching a movie made from a book that my students read. Wanting to follow proper channels, I looked up the policy, sent it to my principal, who then checked with her supervisor, and we were told we could not watch the movie in class. The reason we were given is because the supervisor felt that it was inappropriate to show PG material in an elementary school (5th grade, by the by).

My question, then, is three-fold: Is this really the district policy? Is the policy really the same for all grade levels? And, if this is the policy, then why, when I followed the correct procedure, was I not allowed to implement my brilliant lesson plan? I don’t want to ruffle feathers, make waves, nor get anyone mad at me, and I’m not just trying to get my own way (I’ve already made plans to show a different, if inferior, movie of the same book that is rated G, and adjusted the lesson plan accordingly), I only want to understand.

Response – First of all, thanks for planning engaging, relevant lessons!  I’m confident you’re brilliant lesson plan isn’t to show movies as a reward or just for fun (Finding Nemo was on in a math classroom I visited recently, not quite sure how it fit into the curriculum) but that you’re teaching explicit learning objectives in a multisensory educational way.  Different media and technologies present so many opportunities – please share what you’re doing with colleagues.

As far as movie use is concerned, you are correct, but let us flesh this out a bit. The district policy does not differentiate among elementary and secondary and the rules are the same for all. ANY movie shown (and it cannot be rented, you need proper licensure to show it – movies rented or bought at the store are typically licensed for home use only) must have an explicit instructional purpose and tie directly to concepts or objectives in the State Core Curriculum. Only G-rated movies can be selected unilaterally by the teacher. PG or PG-13 rated movies must be approved in writing (there’s a form attached to the policy) by the principal, and a parent permission slip (also a form attached to the policy) must be sent home with every student in the class. Obviously movies with ratings beyond PG-13 cannot be shown. Sounds like you have been working hard to create an engaging class activity. I hope this helps clarify the policy.

Thanks to the Teaching and Learning Department for their help in responding to this question.

Question – Dual Immersion and Go Math! Curriculum

Question – I don’t teach a Dual Immersion class but there is one taught on my grade level at my school. I am seriously concerned about the fact that, while our district is adopting this great new math program- Go Math!, our D.I. classes will still be teaching a separate curriculum. WHY? I get that Go Math! probably doesn’t come pre-translated but why is that stopping us? If we are saying that this is a great program- and we are also saying that the D.I. is here to stay- then why aren’t we following through?

My school does a FABULOUS job of collaborating- particularly my team. We work together a lot and wonderful things come of that (see our STATIS Report for evidence- or just come visit!). However, our poor French teachers are totally isolated. Not only are they responsible for 60++ students and teaching in a different language, but they also have to do it on their own? When teaching from two different math curriculums, it’s really difficult- I will go so far to say impossible to have regular and meaningful collaboration time. Why are we excluding the teachers who likely need the support the most?? What a huge disservice to our teachers and students!

I know that translating the math into Chinese might be a ridiculous undertaking. But you’d be hard pressed to convince me that it would be too hard to translate it into French or Spanish. Pay a team a stipend to translate it. It’s a one-time cost but the benefits will out weigh the cost a hundred times. Isn’t the whole goal to get everyone in our district on the same page? Then let’s stop saying “Everyone but…”

I understand that there are a lot of logistics that would go into this- but we have very smart people in our district that are absolutely capable of figuring out all the details! I don’t speak French, but I know first grade math, so I would absolutely be willing to help as needed. And I know others who feel the same way.

Has this even been discussed?

Response – We are well aware of the importance of providing math books for dual immersion students in Spanish, French, and Chinese and have been addressing that need over time. Remembering that dual immersion is a program under the purview of the USOE, those folks are also well aware of this issue and are working with us and other districts to address the situation.

While I appreciate the suggestion that you and possibly other excellent teachers in our district might translate the new Go Math! program materials into other languages for a stipend, it simply would not be resource effective to tackle such a project. Granite District’s Interconnections materials were created largely by teachers, but when we involved some in translating our own Interconnections materials into other languages it literally took several years. In the same several years we will be able to purchase the necessary materials already published in those languages.

Here’s where we are now, however. Go Math! is currently available through the publisher in Spanish, and all of our dual immersion Spanish programs are being provided those materials at all grade levels. As far as French and Chinese are concerned, Pearson Education has translated their Envisions Math program in French and Chinese, which has been aligned with the new math standards. We are currently using this Envisions Math translated program in 2012-2013. All of the French and Chinese Immersion programs in Utah are using the program with support from the Immersion team at the USOE. Since each district with immersion programs may have adopted a different math program in English, it falls to the district to provide additional support and correlation. Granite District Immersion specialist is providing support and training for teachers in French and Chinese in following our district math curriculum maps. It is in this area that you and your team can and certainly should collaborate. You and your colleagues can discuss concepts that need attention and share lessons and instructional activities that can address them, whether or not you are employing the same textbook. Our French and Chinese teachers can certainly translate great ideas from their colleagues into meaningful support in their own classrooms and vice versa.

Thanks to Curriculum and Learning for their assistance in responding to this question.

Question – Cell phone use of district drivers

Question – What is the policy of cell phone use while driving a vehicle during working hours. If we don’t have one, Why not?

Response – In addition to a state law that prevents this, we also have district policy and practice which indicates (from the bus driver manual), “A driver shall not use a cell phone, talking or texting, while operating a school bus, unless the bus has been pulled over safely and stopped. Drivers may never use a blue tooth or any form of earphones. Improper use of cell phones will result in at least a written warning, whether talking or texting.” We also comply with a state office of education memo which indicates the same restrictions as our own policy.

If you see district employees violating this policy, we would appreciate notification directly to the Transportation Department at (385) 646-4280.

Thanks to our Transportation Department for their assistance in responding to this question.

Question – Property Tax Increase?

FY 2012 Tax proposalQuestion – Last year, as the school board considered raising the property taxes in order to fill the deficit in federal money, I supported the tax increase knowing the schools would benefit and therefore the whole community would also benefit. However, I am left with a question of how this increase will impact us on the school level. We are seeing cut backs on every side. Just this past week, our support staff hours were cut dramatically. This trend is disturbing to me. When will the tax increase impact the schools? Or will it even impact us on the school level? And are we to have the benefit of the extra revenue during this school year at all or will we not see any benefit until next year?

Response – We have attached a few slides from the tax hearing (last year) that might be helpful in responding this question.

Here is a little info on the tax increase:
· Granite had shortfalls of $28 million in FY 10, $17 million in FY 2011 and $12 million in FY 12
· Total shortfalls over the 3 years – $57 million
· Cuts were made for the full amount of the shortfalls in FY 10 and FY 11
· The Board made cuts of $7 million in FY 12 and chose to increase tax revenues by $5 million to close the budget gap
· Taxes were increased to “maintain class size & services to schools”
· Without the increased tax revenues, schools would most likely have seen increases in class sizes and cuts to services in FY 12
· There was one significant enhancement in the FY 12 budget that all elementary school teachers should be benefitting from – PE specialists have been assigned to every elementary school

As far as what you are referring to when you say that you are seeing, “cut backs on every side” or “support staff hours were cut dramatically.” Based on our review of your specific schools budgets for hourly paraprofessionals, your school has an additional allocation from Education Equity which has all been spent. It may be that they had to cut hours through the end of the year to stay within their budget. Schools have different funds that they use for support staff – Educational Equity, Special Ed, Trust Lands, etc. The principal has to manage those budgets throughout the year. If they spend their budget before the end of the school year, they might have to cut back on the hours that they use.

Thanks to our budget director for his assistance in responding to this question.

Question – 4 day school week

Question – What do you think about a 4 day school week?

Response – Interesting question.  After the state board of education granted waivers to a couple of rural school districts we explored having four academic days and scheduling ALL sports and extracurricular activities on Fridays.  Significant scheduling conflicts became obvious immediately.  In any event, the state has indicated (by denying subsequent requests) that requests from districts without the rural transportation issues would not be granted.

Question – Benefits

Question – Is there an effort being made to offer insurance benefits to same sex partners? Salt Lake and Park City have done so. It seems logical and fair that Granite should consider it.

Response – Thanks for the question. Insurance plan benefits are negotiated with employee associations.  Please raise this or other health insurance benefits you would like to see included with your employee association.