Christina Resolves, An Unusual Step for a School Board

Dear Christina,
Christina changes slowly.  And those changes are often reactionary.  It's the nature of recovery.  It's the culture of education in the United States today.  When something goes awry, it's easy to cast the first stone, to blame the USDOE, the DeDOE, the School Board, the administration, the classroom teacher, the parent ... It's much harder to chart the course of correction, to complete the systems of self-assessment, to accept the responsibility of our role and our own complacency and it's even harder to do so in the public's eye.

As I wrote the initial version of the following resolution, I submerged myself in research.  The first, most basic, question was just how does one write a resolution?  With all due respect for the wonderful educators who touched my life and shaped my future, my BA of English never required this level of competency.  And though I consider my education classical and critical in nature, I became very aware of my own deficits.  These are the deficits we depart to our children.  And this became the starting point for my resolution.

In long term care, where I began my career, the truly great facility looks upon the maximum federal requirement, as the minimum foundation of good care.  It builds upon what the law requires to create heightened standards.  I know of only facility in Delaware that has achieved Medicaid's gold standard, five stars, for creating a comprehensive level of management where the federal maximums are the daily minimums.  They've exceeded compliance.  This is hard work. And that work was the second foundation of my resolution - a generalization that can and should be applied to education - we must exceed compliance if we are to enable our children to grow.

I know I am not the first to get this resolution out to the public, Transparent Christina and Kilroy beat me again.  But, as the writer, I knew that I wanted to provide to you, the reader, the voter, some explanation of what led me to offer this resolution to the board, who, with some debate and amendments, embraced the spirit of the motion by 6-0.  In the end, I offered a document that became a collaborative work, a foundation for exceeding compliance, because compliance is simply not enough.  And while we are working hard to achieve compliance, we are working harder to exceed it.  This is what education demands of its leaders.  This is the heart of my work for Christina.  And with the board leading, this will become the heart of Christina.

And if you have not yet read it, here it is:

Whereas, the Christina School District Board of Education is the elected governing body of the Christina School District whose mission in accordance with Board Policy 01.05, Statement on District Accountability, is to improve student achievement and eliminate racial socio-economic achievement gaps by supporting teaching and learning in the classroom;


Whereas, the board lauds the Governor of Delaware, Jack Markell for signing into law on the 17th of June, 2010, HB 328 with HA/1, an act to amend Title 14 of the Delaware Code Relating to Exceptional Persons, a bill that requires courts, administrative tribunals, school districts, and schools to use the definition of “free and appropriate education” with respect to disabled children that has been enumerated for this region of the country by the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Ridgewood Board of Education v. N.E., 172 F. 3d 238(3d. Cir. 1999);


Whereas, the Board recognizes that the Christina School District’s special education population, as a whole, has historically failed to meet its proficiency targets in Math and ELA; as evidenced by the 2010 DSTP testing data which confirms that students with disabilities in grades 2 through 10 not only failed to meet or exceed the standard in Reading but further fell by 9 percentage points from 2009 to 2010 and further reveals that only 32% of special education students scored 3 or higher on the DSTP in Reading and Mathematics in 2010;


Whereas, the board acknowledges the adoption of the new statewide measurement of achievement, the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System, DCAS, and the subsequent higher standards integrated into DCAS as approved by the Delaware State Board of Education,


Whereas, the CSD Board, in accordance with Board Policy 01.02, Statement on Management Oversight, has charged the superintendent with overseeing the district’s major systems, which include but are not limited to Human Resources and Curriculum and Instruction;


Whereas, the board has received numerous complaints of irregular, atypical, and inadequate hiring practices, the board stipulates that its oversight in the administrative hiring process is limited by the superintendent’s contract commencing on July 1, 2009 which cedes to the Superintendent administrative authority and responsibility for the assignment, reassignment or transfer of all personnel other than the assistant superintendents and deputy superintendent.


Whereas, the board recognizes the de-facto Turnaround status of two district schools as a result of failed efforts to win School Improvement Grants and the resulting destabilization through high employee turnover and the recent inclusion of two district schools in the Governor’s Partnership Zone which has the potential to result in continuing destabilization;


Whereas, the board acknowledges that the failing status of many of its schools does not reflect on the current leadership of those schools, but is the result of repeated administrative turnover and a historical lack of administrative support and oversight;


Be it resolved on this date, October 12th, 2010, The Board directs the Superintendent in accordance with Board Policy 01.02, Statement on Management Oversight, to enact the required annual review of the performance of all major management systems using metrics proposed by the Superintendent and approved by the Board and commencing with Human Resources.


The Board further resolves to direct the Superintendent to review the Integrity of all major management systems, where a review has not been completed within the past three years, in accordance with Board Policy 01.02 and further directs the superintendent to provide all documents generated regarding these reviews to the board for consideration.


Lastly, the Board affirms that the Christina School District can and will become a destination district for all children regardless of ability where the emphasis is on teaching and learning, curriculum and instruction where the maximum regulatory requirements are viewed as a minimum foundation for the achievement and success and; where all children are of intrinsic value, where a love of learning is cultivated and success is celebrated and; where students who are need of special education services are provided those services by the most dynamic and dedicated leaders who have the demonstrated the ability to convey their own educational and experiential strengths through our many dedicated teachers, specialists and professionals to our children who will succeed in the attainment of their goals whether they are academic, vocational, or self-determined domains and specialties.


Adopted 10.12.2010 by the Christina School District Board of Education




Sincerely,

Elizabeth