Looking Forward

By Gregory J. Dannis

A relevant email exchange between Greg and a parent who wanted to know Greg's perspective on our schools and some of the challenges that lay ahead.

Question:

"...[Greg] Your technical qualifications for the Hillsborough Trustees job are surely unsurpassed, but I was just wondering where your passion lies around educational issues. My pre-mom background lies in brand management (11 years with Procter & Gamble and S.C. Johnson); business acumen is price of entry, while higher value is placed on vision and leadership: who is your customer and how will you take the brand to new heights?"

Answer:

There is an old phrase that goes something like "think globally, act locally."

We need to act locally - remain vigilant in our case - on at least 2 levels:

· To preserve as best we can our fiscal identity as a basic aid district, or as the newer and more accurate label states, a locally funded district; and

· To protect, nurture and change where appropriate, our curricular identity as we increasingly are compelled to intersect with state and national standards.

This means not only satisfying the needs and desires of our direct constituencies - the students and their parents - but also the indirect beneficiaries of our quality schools - the approximate 10,000 residents who do not have kids in our schools. (The Hillsborough sign on 280 says our population is around 11,000 I think; the current student population is around 1525.)

On the "think globally" side of the equation, I am mindful that part of our District Mission Statement is to "educate the whole child and empower each student to become a contributing member and responsible participant in our changing world."

To me, this means we must care passionately not just about protecting our jewel of a district, but also about our statewide public education system (if not national, but that's hard to impact meaningfully). In other words, we must have a care for all students in our state if we are to be responsible worldwide citizens. All children need to learn; all children deserve a meaningful opportunity to succeed; and all children should be offered education programs that are at least equitable (assuming pure equality in this respect is not possible).

If we perceive ourselves only as educational isolationists (e.g., our District is great, so we will devote all of our time and effort and energy and money only to protecting and preserving this "beautiful bubble of a district"), and we do not also advocate for children and schools statewide, it will eventually but certainly lead to the demise of public education for all, including districts like ours.

Our challenge then, is to "raise all boats" to the highest level of funding possible, rather than sink the highly financed districts to the lowest common denominator (or even an average of the two). This is a "delicate dance" (as I put it to the San Mateo Daily Journal), but one we must perform at all costs. With one of every 6 or 7 students in America sitting in a California classroom, we have no choice, and it's just the right thing to do, especially f we are to maintain the creative and economic engine that is Silicon Valley and the greater Bay Area. Those companies need more great brains than just our District can provide!

In the curriculum area, I will admit openly that I am increasingly uncomfortable with the seemingly singular spotlight on standardized test scores - and I am fully aware we are the #1 ranked elementary District in the State of California! For this reason, I was a strong proponent of adoption of the third of 3 Board goals last year - meeting the social and emotional needs of every child. By the way, this was the first time anyone can remember that our District set three tangible goals with specific metrics and timelines.

We have a rich curriculum that is an amalgamation of state imposed standards (which are among the highest in the nation) and locally adopted enrichment. Now, we are on the cusp of needing to comply with national "common core standards" which have been adopted by our state. As long as the budget stays flat or worsens (can't get away from that!) we will face challenges regarding keeping curriculum current with diminishing resources, even while new and additional levels of accountability are imposed. Did you know the state has delayed adoption of new textbooks for the last 3-4 years because of the budget?

Fortunately, with our state standards so high, and our quality local enrichment, we are probably already "above" the national common core standards. With all these factors, we need to remain globally cognizant, but be prepared to act locally in order to meet our District mission. This means remaining active in education advocacy groups on a statewide level, and doing everything we can to remain deserving of community support, primarily through HSF.

In short, as the state falls behind the rest of the world in information, developments, etc. and this is reflected in stale curriculum, we need to be prepared to offset that deficiency locally. Failure to do so is failing a whole generation of kids - future "responsible participants in our changing world."

On a related but not so obvious point - We need to do what we can, whether it is through evaluation, enhanced accountability or financial reward, to elevate the profession of teaching to one to which young people aspire, rather than one to be avoided (as it is now). We can raise all the money and buy all the books and computers and Smart Boards we want, but it all comes down to a smart, passionate and dedicated classroom teacher. If our best and brightest do not see the teaching profession as a promising and rewarding career, the whole delivery system of education breaks down.