Sup’s Vlog

Question – Videos in the School

February 2012

Question: I have recently discovered many great ways a digital camcorder can be used to enhance curriculum and instruction in the classroom. I have also realized the sundry privacy issues that accompany its use. Allowing parents and others to view those videos can be a very powerful tool. Other schools have posted videos on the district’s YouTube page, so I wonder what process(es) they had to go through to be able to do that without major (or minor) repercussions stemming from privacy issues. I know the district’s privacy/media policy recently changed, so what do I have to do now to be able to post videos to YouTube, whether on the district’s page or not?

Response: I have attached a link to a page that includes both the student privacy guidelines that govern this issue in addition to the media policy.

https://www.graniteschools.org/depart/superintendent/communications/Pages/default.aspx

Filming classroom activities for additional educational purposes is allowed under the following stipulations (pulled from the policies mentioned above):

Students who are filmed have NOT opted out under our “Student Privacy Rights” policy (a school secretary can run a query in Discovery to see who has opted out). We do not identify any specific students in videos with any additional text in the description or cutline. We do not interview students without express parental permission. Personal contact information about students must never be published.

We already have some videos from classrooms on our page. You can submit videos for youtube to Randy Ripplinger. You can email him at this address.

Thanks to the Communications Department for their assistance in responding to this question.

Question – School Marketing

February 2012

Question: I try to keep up with issues involving education and specifically public education. I am aware that the idea of traditional free public education is under great scrutiny, with charter schools, school voucher programs and any other list of ideas. There are organizations that lobby for the use of our public money and resources and who are successful in the current political climate. Many of these organization advertise their “achievements” and the “failures” of traditional education platforms. Has their been any consideration in Granite, as a large organization, of using some resources to remind the communities of the large amount of success that is produced in our organization. Our communities benefits from the work done in our organization and should be aware of it and how to protect the work we do.

Response: Great question! We have made an ongoing effort to educate the public and our legislators regarding our students successes. Our Communications Department regularly communicates with patrons and taxpayers using direct mail and email to highlight program successes. Additionally, they work closely with the media to get coverage for our schools. We also have great relationships with our legislators to ensure they receive regular and accurate updates on pertinent information. This has to be an ongoing and sustained process and every effort we make (collectively and as individual schools) can quickly be diminished by a single problem or issue. The Communications Department continually requests tips and information on your successes so they can be highlighted appropriately. Email that information here.

Question – Maternity Leave

February 2012

Question: Why does GSD not offer a maternity leave option? Many educators are devoted mothers and fathers that wish to expand their families. I understand we do have a summer break, but some things are beyond our control no matter how well we try to plan! A neighboring district offers 6 weeks paid leave and allows 6 more weeks without pay. It would be nice to know I could afford to take a short leave of absence to expand my family without eliminating the larger paycheck (or using all my sick leave), even for a short period of time.

Response: Granite School District values its employees and their families. GSD also understands that many of our employees are in the process of starting families as well as raising children which means employees may have to miss work in order to fulfill this responsibility. Because of that, GSD has implemented numerous leave options in an attempt to allow employees the opportunity to balance work responsibilities with family responsibilities. Although GSD does not offer an actually policy entitled “Maternity Leave,” there are various options that provide our employees (both mothers and fathers) time off for the birth and care of a baby. Here are some examples:

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) –
An employee can take up to 12-weeks off for the birth of a baby under Family Medical Leave (FMLA). If the employee has the sick leave, they are eligible to use up to six weeks of their sick leave from the date of birth and the remaining time would be unpaid. If the employee is the father of the new baby, he would be able to use up to 10 days of sick leave (sick family) and up to 12-weeks of time off under FMLA.

Short-Term Disability (STD) –
If the employee has enrolled in Short-Term Disability (STD), they would be eligible to apply for that benefit for the time off for the post-partum recovery. In order to access the STD benefits, the employee must use all of their accrued sick/personal/vacation first.

15-Day Leave of Absence –
If the employee does not have enough sick leave, is not enrolled in STD or does not qualify for FMLA, but wishes to take time off for the birth and care of a baby, they can take two consecutive 15-Day Leaves of Absence.

Thanks to the Benefits Office for their assistance in responding to this question.

Question – More than 180 days of School?

February 2012

Question: Most industrialized countries in the world require students to attend school for more than 180 day per year. With the decline of U.S. students’ test scores in reading and math, why isn’t lengthening the school year been a consideration? Throughout my 20 years of teaching, more and more has been added to the curriculum but no additional time is provided for instruction. Yes, it would cost tax payers more money but it just makes sense that if we are to truly compete in a global educational society, we need to increase the number of days students attend school so that adequate time can be spent learning the concepts that are required.

Response: You won’t hear an uproar of resistance here. In fact, we supported former state superintendent Scott Bean as he pushed hard for two or three years to get the school year extended to 240 days, then later to 220 days. Then he gave up. You are hitting the nail on the head when you identify this as a financial issue. Activating teachers an additional day costs more than $1,000,000 in Granite, we are about 11% of the state. That means a rough (and low) estimate would be more than $9,000,000 per day. Multiply that by 60 days, or 40 days, and we’re talking about real money – year after year as well (not a none-time expense). Thanks for your work with the limited resource (time) you have!

Superintendent Snapshot – YPP: We Heard You!

January 2012

Welcome to the latest superintendent snapshot addressing some feedback we have received concerning YPP. Enjoy!

Superintendent Snapshot – Employee Goes the Extra Mile

January 2012

Hello All,

We had a situation last week with a lost special needs student. I am sure you will be touched as I was by the effort made by this employee to locate this student successfully. Hope you have a great weekend.:)

Superintendent Bates

Superintendent Snapshot – Merry Christmas!

January 2012

Here is the latest snapshot video featuring the Taylorsville High Choir singing to special needs students at Hartvigsen. Hope you have a wonderful Holiday break!

Superintendent Bates

Question – Credits Toward Lane Changes

January 2012

Question:

I think that many teachers feel that they are jumping through hoops in order to get credit for lane changes. We come into the teaching profession with skills that we can’t get credit for or we hold back taking classes until they can actually count. I feel that if the credit was earned but was not needed for the bachelor degree or the master degree it should be able to be used for lane change no matter when it was earned as long as it applies to our subject area. This will encourage teachers to take extra classes at the beginning of their career instead of waiting for the credits to count for something.

It is sad that even with a double major and a master degree and 7 years of experience and teaching an extra class every day I still can’t afford to pay off my student loans and my family is still considered poor enough to apply for WIC. I have looked into programs that would forgive part of my student loans but because I am not employed at a Title 1 school I didn’t qualify.

I thought that by doing extra work in college that I was getting ahead so that I could better provide for my family. I have been able to use this knowledge to help my students and become a good teacher but I have not been able to see much benefit in payment for my efforts.

Response:

This question does come up a few times, but also in regards to credits earned before a teaching license. In Granite School District we only recognize credits earned after a degree AND a teaching license to count towards a lane change. We don’t recognize credits earned before as we don’t have a system to pay people to get their degrees nor their licenses. It is wonderful that a person would take various classes in different subject matter as it does make them a more rounded person. This is the intent behind a Liberal Arts education and the general education requirements for Bachelor’s degrees. However, we recognize the degree and not the many hours leading up to the final degree as it just isn’t possible nor feasible to do so. Education is one of a few careers that do encourage employees to go back to school and take classes and then give them additional salary because of it. There are many professions that require employees to take classes to re license, just as education does, but they do not give additional salary for the classes.

The Federal government does sponsor a loan cancellation program that is determined by the poverty level of the school (basically the number of students eligible for free or reduced lunches), not just for Title One schools. Here is a link that you can check out to see if your school qualifies: https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp

Thanks to the Human Resources Department for helping to respond to this question.

Superintendent Snapshot – Flexibility in Curriculum

December 2011

Hello Folks,

Here is the latest snapshot video. I apologize if it is difficult to hear. Our flipcam broke and we are filming these on an iPhone. We will have another camera with better sound for the next snapshot. Please keep sending your questions to superintendentsblog@graniteschools.org.

Question – Recycling

December 2011

Question:

I work in the district office and see so much paper being thrown away and not being recycled. The county and city both have recycling programs and I think they would come and pick up the products. I am wondering why we don’t recycle in every department in the building. I notice some schools have recycling bins in their work rooms, but I am not sure it is district wide. What up with this?

Response:

We do recycle paper and cardboard throughout the district office and there are collection stations located throughout the GEC. Please talk to the custodial staff to identify the location closest to you (it may be the communications office). The district office does not provide receptacles to collect the paper other than at those locations. By all means, get a “paper only” receptacle and take those to the designated locations when they are full.

Beyond paper and cardboard, we would actually get charged for recycling. To this point we’ve decided not to spend our money on recycling – if it were even cost neutral we’d jump on it. We’re check for new programs frequently, if you run into one, please let us know!

Thanks to Support Services Department for their assistance in responding to this question.