In his recent blog post for San Jose Inside, Santa Clara County School Board Trustee, Joseph Di Salvo, who voted to deny Navigator Schools’ appeal, asserted that the school board members, district staff, teachers, classified employees, parents, and community members who e-mailed and spoke publicly are “adults who wish to continue the unsustainable status quo in education.”
Trustee DiSalvo is entrusted with the duty to be diligent on behalf all students in the county. This responsibility demands an understanding of all parts of the educational community. As a former public school educator, he should have some understanding of the training necessary to prepare teachers for new initiatives like the Common Core State Standards. He should also have some idea of the coordination, compromise, and conversation that will have to take place as Morgan Hill creates its new Local Control Accountability Plan. He should understand the amount of cooperation necessary to make the changes in teacher evaluation that Morgan Hill has implemented. He must know, having been on both sides of the bargaining table, the amount of work it takes to implement major changes in schools, like Jackson Academy of Math and Music and two new focus academies, while still following the spirit of a contract and the laws governing public schools that protect and provide for children. Trustee Di Salvo should know from his years in education that this is not “the status quo in education.”
Trustee Di Salvo’s commentary posted is certainly one-sided and implies that the adults who have pointed out the weaknesses in charter school petitions are somehow anti-children. The reason for denial of the Navigator petition was motivated by real concern for insuring the educational rights of our schools. It would greatly benefit Trustee DiSalvo to, not only visit charter schools, but to come into many classrooms in the many schools in Morgan Hill where the “adults” are serving students effectively and most importantly teaching them, working with their families, giving complete access to a demanding curriculum. It is far easier, less demanding and certainly less stress to just pass each charter petition (as has been the practice of Mr. DiSalvo and the county board) than to demand an accounting and thorough review.
The community, parents, teachers and employers in Morgan Hill demand quality education, demand parental involvement, demand resources to support our children and insure our students are well educated. The county board members should be active participants in that process and work with the schools, parents and staff. The county board of education must meet its responsibility to educate themselves in all aspects of the complicated challenge of delivering quality education, and not fuel the fire of divisiveness. Mr. Di Salvo is correct on one point; adults should work together to fund our schools, learn about the curriculum, the credential requirements for teachers, and the successes of our students in Morgan Hill.
Do you have a news tip you would like to share? Would you like to contribute to The Left Hook? Email us at LeftHookBlog@gmail.com
No Comments