The Hero of the Levy

Hurrah, hurrah! Levy passed! We have succeeded! We beat the odds, literally! We collectively put our money where our mouths are and passed our levy!  

A Party For The Levy Passing! Gold stars for everyone! Congratulatory party and doing the limbo for a solid week! (Okay, maybe that's too much. Three days of limbo are far more sensible.) 

Party!

Party!

Party!

I’ve seen posts and comments abounding in the last twenty-four hours with this general theme, but in all this congratulations and praise, something is missing. SOMEONE is missing. There’s a big someone here who deserves the credit more than anyone else. That someone is one of my favorite people in the world. 

You, Pasco. You.

This is my love for you, Pasco. It's big, it's shiny and it might make you a little uncomfortable. 

To you and no other, Sir Alastair Pemberton tips his hat.
He's from Alabama so you can trust him. 

Here’s the thing. We can nod our hats to the levy committee, we can nod our hats to the editorial writers of the Tri-City Herald, and we can certainly give a well deserved nod to the parents, children and teachers who stood out on street corners waving signs in the frigid cold. But we all know they aren’t the real heroes here. We, they, and all of us should give credit where credit is due. And if we’re going to be really honest with ourselves, that credit is due entirely to the people of Pasco. To you, my friends. All of you.

I know what you did, and I know what it took for you to do it. I want you to know that I know it wasn't easy.

Voting for something you believe in is easy. Voting for something you believe with all your heart when there’s a high likelihood of success at the other end of that yes vote is likewise simple. But we, myself included, asked something far more complicated and difficult of Pasco. We asked you to give PSD another shot despite all previous evidence. To take a leap of faith. To vote yes even when you’re worried your vote will be abused. A yes vote, with trepidation and fragile hope for the future, though there’s no guarantee that hope is going to be fulfilled.  

Ugh. I want to give the school district money for clubs,
but I gave them money for curriculum for like fifteen
years and they didn't buy curriculum. Ugh.

We’ve asked a lot of you, and I don’t want you to think I didn’t notice. You had some serious, very real and very pertinent worries going into this levy vote. You felt betrayed and ignored by the people asking for your money. You might have felt fed up with this district after having witnessed its complete disregard for integrity during the strike-- But you came through anyway. You swallowed your pride and put the kids first no matter how painful it was to check that yes box. I’m not going to try to pretend it wasn’t conflicting for a whole lot of you. That’s ridiculous. There is a good reason why almost every single place where there’s been a recent strike, levies fail afterward. People are upset. Things have obviously gotten off track somewhere.

We will not fail levies without a fight!

But not here. Not today. We did not go quietly into the night, we did not surrender without a fight. We moved on. We pushed through the doubts and dismay because we all know at the end of the day, that all Pasco kids are worth it. The city is worth it. We are worth it. And those crazy invading space aliens are going DOWN. ...wait. That's not right. That’s for my other blog.

Pasco, I thank you. The kids thank you and the future of the city thanks you. But today I am thanking you, personally, right now. Pasco, you did it. Nobody but you could have done it. So take that celebratory lap, stand a little taller, limbo a little lower, eat that extra slice of pie. You did it.  

Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, this is your big day!

The past few months have been confusing and frustrating times here in Pasco land. Most of us just woke up to the reality of what is going on in our schools, and we are still trying to get the little crusties out of our eyes so that we can more clearly see what's in front of us. It's been scary. It's been confusing. It's been frustrating. It's been exhausting. I'd be lying if I didn't confess that many days I just want to shout, "Five more minutes, Mom!" and close my eyes and go back to the happy sleep of not knowing. Ignorance is bliss right? It was easy just assuming that everything was fine. It was so relaxing not having to think about these big, complex issues.  But we aren't asleep any more. No matter how tight we keep clutching our pillow and squeezing our eyes shut, we can't  go back to that dream. We are awake. We are adults. And for good or for bad, we are responsible. Now brush out that bed hair of yours and let's get started.

So what is it we need to do today?

Pass the levy.

I know. I know. I can hear you groaning from way over here.  I HATE talking about the levy too. It is soooooo boring. I get it. But it is one of the dirty jobs that grownups have to do. So even though I'd rather talk about something more interesting (like the new Star Wars movie or my new favorite recipe for for tortilla soup) we are going to talk about about the levy. Today, tomorrow, and every day until it passes.

Pass the levy, you must.

I'd love to see this served in our cafeterias!

For all of our sakes, though, I will keep it short.

There have been a lot of people lately saying they don't want to vote for the levy because they aren't happy with the way PSD has been spending their money in the past. I TOTALLY GET THAT.  I am not at all happy with what they have and have not spent money on in the past either. However, today is a new day. Things are different now. They are different in two ways. First, we have clear contract language that makes very specific demands about where that money must be spent (i.e. curriculum, supplies, teacher pay). Second, we are all awake and watching to make sure they follow through on their end of the bargain.

Let me explain it one more time.

For the past twenty years or so (while we were all sleeping) we have been paying PSD a certain amount of money every year for the education of our children. We did this because we all believe education is important and we agreed that a certain amount of money was necessary to make that happen. We did this with out ever checking to see where our money was going or how it was being spent. Since we were all asleep then, we really have no idea where all that money went. Nevertheless we gave this money willingly without any accountability.

Now we are awake.  We all still agree that education is important, and we all know that a certain amount of money is necessary to make that happen. But now we are watching. Now we have contractual guarantees about where our money is going. Now we have thousands of eyes and ears holding the district accountable to how and where our money is spent.  There has never been a better time to spend money on Pasco Schools. There has never been a better reason to pass a levy.

You all gave your money willingly when you had no way of knowing if it was doing any good. Now I am asking you to keep giving your money (the same amount, a little less even, not any more) to PSD when we have a real chance of making sure it goes to all the right places.

You were gambling before. This is a sure thing now.

We finally have all the right pieces in play, don't quit the game now.

Please vote YES for Pasco schools.

The Grinch that Stole Valentine's Day

Recently a question was raised about holiday parties at Franklin Elementary. I thought it might be interesting to enlighten you all with a little bit of background on this issue. 

Last year there was quite a stir when Franklin students, parents, and teachers were informed they would not be allowed to join their counterparts across the district and take part in traditional Valentine Day activities. This was the message from Franklin's principal, Diedra Holmburg, explaining the situation in 2015.

Valentine’s Day at RFSE
Here are our reasons for not supporting parties or card exchanges during school hours:

(1) Parties and card exchanges are disruptive to the learning process and have no educational value. It's very hard to get anything accomplished if students are anticipating a celebration or recovering from one. With only 180 days in a school year and rigorous standards and assessments, every instructional minute is precious.

(2) Not all students' religious beliefs include Valentine's Day and celebrating it in the classroom could be considered discriminatory.

(3) Valentine's Day is perfect fodder for bullying, clique behavior and hurt feelings, even if the "everyone gets a card" rule is enforced-which is impossible to do at the administrative level at RFSE. Instead of providing the opportunity to send cards with unkind messages or to make fun of certain types of cards, we ask that Valentine's Day celebrations and exchanges take place outside of school.

(4) Food associated with Valentine’s Day is typically unhealthy and is potentially unsafe for our large number of food-allergic students.

(5) 48% of our students qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch, which means that every other one of our students cannot afford extra spending on items that have no educational value. Families with 3 or more students on FRL could be heavily impacted.
Hopefully, everyone can see that our time is better spent engaging students in hands-on, minds-on learning activities. We hope to see you and your family for our Mission: STEM Possible event on February 17th at 5:30.

Have a great day,
DH

Although many parents were upset about the announcement, courageously, a few parents challenged this decision. Their actions were probably what inspired our superintendent, Saundra Hill, to submit this 401 to PSD employees. You can see the original document by following this link:  http://www.psd1.org/cms/lib4/WA01001055/Centricity/Domain/70/The%20411%20Issue%20209.pdf

Perhaps if parents wanted to unite and address this issue changes could be made.  There is strength in numbers and being quiet is not going to help anyone. 

On Valentines of Ghosts Past... 

Valentine’s Day-I don’t really care. There. I’ve said it and I mean it. Talk about your holiday manufactured by the greeting card industry. And, what comes of it? Kids all hopped up on sugar and hurt feelings, disappointed adults when things aren’t going their way-that’s what. 

My most memorable Valentine’s Day as a teacher was spent as a substitute teacher. Now this was back in the day when teachers just called and said “I’m not coming in,” and you were greeted by the principal who said, “So sorry. No plans. Have a good day.” I learned that lesson early as a sub and always carried a big bag of tricks. No plan? No worries! I have my big bag right here! 

Chief among my tools were two albums (vinyl LPs, for you youngsters out there). I never left home without  the soundtracks from “Star Wars” and “Grease,” both very popular movies and pop culture with kids in those days. (Now you know the era.) Dance parties, writing lessons, math lessons all set to the epic orchestration of Star Wars or the croonings of John Travolta and Olivia Newton  John helped me survive the day. 

So it was on this particular Valentine’s Day that I landed in a 5th grade classroom that would send most teachers into a spiral of career doubt and fitful nightmares. The absent and unplanned teacher had papers that needed to be graded stacked in 3 foot tall piles all over the classroom floor. I started sifting through them and these uncorrected papers were from SEPTEMBER! remember this is February 14!) No sooner had I gotten settled than I was met by a wall of students and room mothers asking what our plan was for a Valentine’s Day party. I don’t even remember what I did...it’s all a blur of construction paper and cupcakes set to a “Star Wars” (or “Grease”) soundtrack. But, much to my dismay, we did have a party. It was a disaster but I survived it and vowed to take a different path when I had my own classroom. (Like write lesson plans and pre-plan a fun ,but sane, event.) 

When I was in sixth grade I got a BIG lacey Valentine from one boy, but I wanted it to be from another. The Valentine giver went on to become a murderer truly, but that’s another story. Nothing good comes of too much sugar and pre-teen crushes. Nothing. 

And, today there are so many more things to think about. We already don’t have enough instruction time, and we are working harder than ever before to close the opportunity gap. Every minute counts. Of course allergies are much more prevalent than they were then. For those of you who don’t know, those “room mothers” usually came with dozens of cupcakes and peanut butter cookies in tow. Bring on the gluten and peanuts -the kids with the allergies had to beware. 

Okay, so maybe you enjoy Valentine’s Day. Make your kids a heart-shaped pancake in the morning. Host an event after school at school or in your home. Take your spouse/significant other out on a date. My husband asked what I wanted to do. “Dinner? Movie?,” he asked. “No, diet,” I retorted, “and I don’t like any movie made after 1950.” He said, “We could just stay home and relax...maybe watch an old movie?” Hello, Valentine! 

So, in spite of my Valentine’s Day experience over the years, I hope yours is filled with love (from the people  you love) and just enough sugar to tide you over to next Valentine’s Day.  Spring is on its way..  Saundra