ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
1
TimestampNameAre you pleased with how decisions were made this past summer regarding school modality? What would you have wanted to see done differently?Health experts predict a second wave of coronavirus in the fall and winter. Is it better to keep distance learning longer to see how things go? I'm fearful that it'll be psychologically damaging to the students to try in person school but end up reversing course. If it looks like in person school won't be happening for a long time, would you consider changing the elementary school schedule to be one group for distance learning? Currently, the teachers have to divide teaching time between two cohorts and the students get a lot less learning time. It's a strain on the teachers as well as the parents.We use a popular literacy program in our elementary schools. A landmark expert evaluation recently found serious weaknesses in this curriculum (Teachers College Reading Workshop). The report concluded that the curriculum is deeply flawed in teaching foundational reading skills, in vocabulary development, and in the use of grade-level or higher texts for all children, among other weaknesses. The curriculum developer Lucy Calkins has not publicly announced any changes to address these concerns. There is now a national conversation happening about how to improve early literacy, including for students who seem to be especially put at risk by this curriculum (students of color, English language learners). What measures will the Board take to address the major, documented weaknesses in the reading curriculum, which -- especially in a pandemic -- are putting our kids’ learning at risk? What specific ideas do you have around updates to curriculum or teaching approach at the high schools? Are there other, more innovative models that you believe Piedmont should be pursuing?What is your position on PUSD offering its own SAT and ACT testing for PHS students like other school districts have done? (after COVID, that is)
2
10/11/2020 15:07:49Hilary CooperI think our district has faced some incredible challenges this year and their hybrid approach to addressing learning modalities was made with the intention of meeting all of our students needs during a pandemic. I can't say what I would have done differently but I do think that as we reopen our schools, we need to be mindful of all learning differences and how we can best support our students.One thing most everyone can agree on is that the coronavirus is unpredictable and it is hard to know what the future holds. I believe that as long as Alameda County numbers remain low and we have the ability to send our students back to class, then we should do that. If our community sticks to the safety guidelines like wearing masks and practicing social distancing, we can keep our numbers down. There was a recent article in The Atlantic showing that schools across the south who went back in early August are showing numbers that indicate that schools are not super-spreader environments*. I believe PUSD is in unique position to send our students back safely and we should let every family make their own decision on this matter. *https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/schools-arent-superspreaders/616669/Our youngest students will be going back to class on November 3 and I am very supportive of this decision. I think distance learning has been particularly tough for this age group and they need to be back in class with their peers and teachers. My understanding is that teachers will either teach the in-person students or they will teach the remote learners -- not both. Hopefully this will be less of a strain on them. I am wary of changing the schedule to full distance learning because that model does not meet the needs of every student. We must strive to meet the needs of all students, and I believe offering students the opportunity to go back to class does just that.Education has seen many programs over the years that aim to become the next best practice, however it's usually the collective teacher buy-in that leads to the greatest success for students. What I would like to understand is how the elementary school teachers feel about this curriculum and whether they would like to see any changes made. I am also very interested in exploring professional development for 1st and 2nd grade teachers to better learn how to identify learning differences, like dyslexia, in our young readers. If we can identify where support is needed at a very early age, many of the later challenges will be diminished.One approach I am very interested in exploring is the flipped classroom model. I would like to see how other schools have incorporated this approach and see how it can be beneficial at our high school -- especially at this time. It seems that the practice of switching the direct instruction to the individual is what we are doing now with virtual learning, and then the group instruction (when we are back in class) would be a more dynamic, interactive learning time.I am very interested in this option. I know that there will be budget considerations to be made, but if there is enough interest from parents, then we should be exploring this option. I would also like to see some kind of creative option for the spring of 2021, in the event that trying to sign up for these tests resembles 2020. I have seen high schools set up desks along their tracks to ensure student safety and I envision that we could do something like that on Witter.
3
10/11/2020 20:37:44Cory SmegalThis summer was challenging for everyone. The Board worked to make decisions with the best information we had, realizing that whatever we decided might be superseded by new direction from our state and local authorities. All of the school districts in the state were really left to plan on their own. Given what we know now, I think it would have been helpful to spend more time at the beginning of the summer focused on our distance learning plan and the plans on how to pivot to hybrid learning.
Now that Alameda County is in the red tier, the Board voted on October 6, to phase in hybrid learning for our students, starting with our students with special needs and continuing with our youngest learners on November 3rd. We know that there may be a need to pivot back to 100% distance learning for certain cohorts, grade levels or schools, but we agreed that it’s important to work to bring our students and staff back on campus safely. I do not think it will be psychologically damaging to the students to try in person -- quite the opposite -- I think students will be very happy to see their teachers and their peers. The most important thing we can do is work together to take safety precautions which will prevent or lessen a second wave -- wear masks at all times when not at home, and be vigilant about washing hands, social distancing, and limiting the number of contacts.
As I mentioned, the Board voted on October 6 to phase in hybrid learning, starting with our students with special needs and continuing with our youngest learners (TK-3) on November 3rd. 4th and 5th grades will begin the following week on November 10th. As a reminder, even in a hybrid model, Mondays will be 100% distance learning for all students. Families have the option of continuing with 100% distance learning. Having the teachers meet with half the class at a time has the down-side of less time with the teacher but the advantage of more attention when they are with the teacher. Based on the experience last spring, it was felt that our youngest students would better engage in Distance Learning if they are in smaller groups. When in the classroom, it is easier to maintain social distance with smaller class sizes. So, during the pandemic whether in DL or in-person, it makes most sense to have the teachers meet with half of the class at the elementary level.
Curriculum is routinely reviewed every 4-6 years, and more often as issues arise. As a Board, we rely on the expertise of our administrators and teachers for recommendations on curriculum. Our teachers are amazing professionals who do not just rely on the specific curriculum to teach our students, but work together to ensure that all children can maximize their learning. In this specific situation, it sounds like a review is warranted.
One silver lining of the pandemic is that it is creating a need to rethink how we deliver education. We are forced to try new approaches, and this creates new opportunities. Teachers are trying a variety of approaches such as the flipped classroom and utilizing small group work on google. I have deep respect and appreciation for the educators who are continuing to find ways to make this work, and I appreciate them sharing their experiences with each other.
This fall, I asked the Superintendent to look into Piedmont offering its own SAT and ACT. I thought it would be an important service that we could provide for our families. Families with seniors are experiencing added stress around the college application process this fall. The administrative team did not think it was prudent at this time given the restrictions on schools in Alameda County. (Under the current Alameda County Public Health Order, secondary schools are not allowed to bring students back until early January.) The administrators also did not want to burden our teachers by asking them to proctor these exams. PUSD will not be offering these exams. Many colleges, including the UC’s, have announced that they will be test optional for this application year.

4
10/13/2020 12:42:32Jason Kelley
Everyone, including the Board of Education, was faced with difficult and quickly changing circumstances. I would have liked to have seen more communication with parents to allow families to plan as much as possible. It was a chaotic time, and more information would have been helpful.
I believe we should continue our efforts to open in-person learning for families that choose that option and to try to do so in ways that lessen the chances of a return to distance learning. That means strictly adhering to safety protocols.
It is very difficult to teach large groups online, especially younger children who do not have the self-regulation to sit and look at a screen for long periods of time. Smaller online cohorts help minimize the amount of each class period that is lost to behavioral issues.
I am not familiar with this particular issue, but as a board member I would support regular, thoughtful reevaluation of curriculum to ensure all students are best served.
As a board member I would support regular, thoughtful reevaluation of curriculum to ensure all students are best served.
If there is a desire for it among our students and it is cost effective, I would be interested in looking into ways to make that happen.
5
10/13/2020 13:02:39Hari Titan
I think we should be thoughful when criticizing the role of the school board over the past summer.

During this pandemic, parents, the teachers union and school board have had to handle a firehose of scientific information. Nobody saw this coming. Many more parents took time away from their families to attend school board meetings than ever before. At one point the Superintendent said he no longer had time to answer questions due to the incredible volume of emails. Many parents complained about a lack of transparency.

Another external factor to consider is that the State of California guaranteed teacher salaries without guaranteeing a sufficient number of online instruction minutes leading “crisis learning” in the Spring. State officials later added the requirement of more instructional minutes in mid-July but at the same time took away autonomy from local school boards, allowing them to be more restrictive but not less restrictive than public health department guidance.

I would have wanted to see a few things done differently:

* Not declaring the school board had expertise that trumped local health officials and instead declaring, at the outset, that Epidemiologists are the right expertise to follow for school closures and reopening criteria during an epidemic; I have an article that details this at https://harititan.com/article/epidemiologists-should-lead-way.

* From March through July, the school board received a lot of conflicting guidance and on multiple occasions sided with voices for being more restrictive than county and state guidance required. I was consistently arguing for the board to not be more restrictive and to act in tandem with the county in order to truly flatten the County of Alameda hospitalization curve.

* The scientific debate was hidden in union negotiations that carried on for over 6 months. Some information leaked out that helped shed some light on what was going on, see https://harititan.com/article/board-wavers-applying-waiver. I would have preferred to see open debate on classroom safety between union reps, Epidemiologists and school board members in a “safety summit”, see sample primer https://harititan.com/Safety_Summit_Primer.pdf
One of the big accomplishments of the school board has been to negotiate the right of parents to choose between 100% distance learning (DL) or hybrid learning, for now just at the elementary school level. No questions asked and no reasons need to be provided. If the person who asked this question is a parent of an elementary school-aged child they can choose 100% DL if they are concerned about their student’s reaction to potentially reversing course.

I don't think this is a universal concern. Based on the district’s recent survey, I would guess at least 20% of elementary school-aged parents will jump on board with in-person classroom instruction because 100% DL was not working out for their child.
In-person classroom instruction is now being offered to parents of elementary school aged children. At the October 6 special board meeting, Superintendent Booker clarified that each study group or “cohort” will have their own teacher. I understood that to mean an AM hybrid class has a teacher, a PM hybrid class has another teacher and a 100% DL class has a different teacher. I don’t know about any changes to the amount of learning time but I would want to track learning loss between the groups and make adjustments as necessary.
Teachers of English language learners would be the right people to contact for ideas on improving English language learner curriculum. I did take a look at some numbers in Piedmont Unified:

Beach Elementary reports well above average Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment in 2019 per Cal-DOE data https://www.caschooldashboard.org/reports/01612756002281/2019/academic-performance#english-language-arts. Hispanics and Asians are tracking very close to the Piedmont average in ELA education. There are too few students in many subgroups (e.g. <=5 English language learners per site) to publicly report a pattern. Wildwood Elementary and Havens report similar numbers.

I don’t see a widespread problem that requires major surgery to the ELA curriculum in Piedmont. If the questioner has better data on student outcomes in Piedmont, I would like to hear more.
Teachers are grappling with the new 100% DL and some will soon be grappling with hybrid learning challenges. I see now as the right time for all eyes on these approaches and finding ways to improve them.

I would be more open to “proven” improvements rather than “innovative” or experimental models of education. Our 100% DL is currently an “innovative” / experimental model that we are just grappling with and will soon be measuring learning loss from.

I have heard many ideas for updates to the high school curriculums. I would be interested in updates to the STEM subjects whose curricula can degrade in value over time. I am also interested in improved equipment for the labs.
I would leave the decision up to the high school principal and Superintendent Booker to decide. Is there a benefit for PUSD students to write those exams in town rather than going to a neighboring city? What's the cost of providing those tests at PUSD?
6
10/13/2020 23:56:33
Veronica Anderson Thigpen
This summer, educators and district officials worked deliberately to map out plans for making sure students received high-quality education amid the limitations of the pandemic. However, I would suggest more intentional communications with families. Parents that I’ve talked to say the district communicated with them a lot more in the spring than they did this summer. The district can do more to make sure parents are informed. Now that we’re moving toward getting students back into classrooms, I’d like to see the district over-communicate what they’re doing to prepare and offer some supports to parents so they can talk with young children and prepare them for the new rules and procedures they will need to follow when they go back.
Stability is important, but there are also other considerations, such as social interaction and managing pandemic risks. As long as the risk is low—and state and county public health officials say this is the case now—it makes sense to get students back into classrooms. Right now, they will be moving into a hybrid model, which combines in-person and distance learning. If we manage transitions well, and keep students and families constantly informed, students will learn how to manage change and build resilience.
Students are assigned to cohorts to meet public health guidelines that mandate no more than a certain number of students in a classroom at one time. Guidelines for in-person learning under a waiver have even more stringent limits.
If elected to the School Board, I would be interested in learning more about this curriculum, the evaluation report, what PUSD teachers think about it, and its efficacy with early literacy instruction with our students.
High school students would benefit from having more experiential and project-based learning, particularly those that include opportunities for leadership. These opportunities teach students to identify and pursue a line of inquiry, collect and analyze evidence, find root causes, propose solutions and plan actions.
It would be convenient for students here and surrounding communities to have another location available to take SAT and ACT tests.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100