Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/250321
Advocacy Sarah KirbyGonzalez wants to cultivate teacher choice when planning curriculum. One of my goals is to address frustration among Buellton teachers because they have gone more than five years without a raise while their medical costs are going up. I have brought it up at meetings that at some point, people working in the school district need to get a raise. My most difficult decision was voting for RIFs [reductions in force]. It was the elimination of two positions, which may not sound like much, but it was difficult. I knew the district had done due diligence and that it was necessary. I pushed not to keep those RIFs in place if the money came back. One person returned and one didn't. It was hard. The teachers affected came to a meeting to plead their case. It's tough because I've been on the other end. The best way teachers can advocate before school board members is to stick to the facts. It's not that emotion isn't important, but when a school board member is listening to 10, 15 or 30 people who are impassioned, what might change their mind is the presentation of factual information about how a decision could impact students. Ken Stevens' teacher perspective provides a sense of reality when it comes to planning new projects. RESPECTING THE VOICE OF TEACHERS Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez thought she might run for the school board in the distant future. But when someone from the Students First organization campaigned for a seat on the Washington Unified School District School board in West Sacramento, she filed immediately. Corporate-funded "reform" groups like Students First, run by Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of schools in Washington, D.C., blame teachers and unions for problems in education as part of their advocacy for the privatization of public schools. "I didn't want my daughter to go to school in a district where the teacher voice is not respected," says the fifth-grade teacher at Mather Heights Elementary in Folsom-Cordova Unified School District, where she was voted 2011 Teacher of the Year. "These folks have alternative motives, such as using test scores to evaluate schools and teachers. That's just not the real world as I see it." Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez The Folsom-Cordova Education Association member was outspent 2-to-1 by opponent Francisco Castillo, who was endorsed by the mayor. Kirby-Gonzalez was supported by Sacramento area teacher and labor unions and won every precinct. "This wasn't just about me," says Kirby-Gonzalez, who has a 2-year-old child and a baby due in February. "It's about the idea that a group like Students First can be beat by people with a positive message. It felt good going door to door, having conversations with people who really do respect teachers. And it felt good to have all that hard work pay off." As a school board member, I am proud of improving conditions to accommodate nursing mothers at school. A teacher was told she couldn't come to work because she needed to express milk every three hours. The district told her it was "unreasonable." When I was told we couldn't accommodate this situation, I said, "Yes we can," and called our district lawyer to make sure we were following the law and accommodating our nursing mothers. One of my goals is to step away from Open Court, which is scripted learning and is not going to prepare kids for the future. I want to cultivate teacher choice when planning curriculum and making decisions in the classroom. PHOTO BY JOHN HOUCHIN When it comes to funding I try to get other board members to see we need to invest wisely and not just throw money at things. I voted no on spending thousands of dollars to hire outside consultants to provide professional training on things I know we can easily do internally. It's insulting when you have very capable teachers within our district that can provide this and we can pay them. The district is going to spend $60,000 on an anti-bullying program. I let the administration and board know we should look at how other districts are doing a good job changing the culture of schools without spending huge sums. I'm very frugal. After all, I buy my own pencils. FEBRUARY 2014 Educator 02 Feb 2014 v2.1 int.indd 35 www.cta.org 35 1/27/14 3:52 PM