Hidden Super Powers

Super Community Member to the Rescue!

Did you know you have a super power?




It's true. You probably don't know it, but you use it all the time. It's like your very own secret weapon, only it's not a secret and everyone knows you have it.  Everyone, that is, but you.

Everyone else in the room can see it, everyone else but you.

It's a crazy idea, but it surprisingly accurate. You are the only one who doesn't realize the power you hold. You're the one who has a gift, a power, an ability that's so incredible, it's shocking you don't use it all the time.

Do you want to know what this amazing, incredible, life-altering and community shaping super power is?

VOICE

Perfect! Amazing! Excellent! Super-Powered!

Not "The Voice."

YOUR VOICE.

It's the most powerful thing you have, but most of you aren't using it. Most of you don't realize you even can.  Most of you don't realize how incredibly powerful you are. But you are SO powerful. You can change the world. You can!

You can bring pens to board meetings! Swords, not so much.

Something pretty incredible happened recently. A lot of you saw it happen, but probably didn't realize the miracle you were witnessing. First the school board met to discuss possible bond options. Then a couple weeks later they voted on what they would like to see put on next year's bond.  No biggee right?  Actually, YES BIGGEE!  If you weren't watching closely you probably missed the little something that happened in between those two events.

A voice.

One voice.

One voice spoke up and changed the course of the bond.

A letter was written to the board that dramatically changed what the school board proposed to put on the bond.

If you still aren't attending board meetings, you are missing some high quality entertainment (and possibly an ulcer).

On May 10, the school board held  a study session (which is a public meeting that anyone can attend, so check it out sometime) to discuss possible bond options. Here's the Video of the Study Session in case you missed it. In this video you will see the board discussing the needs of our schools in regards to overcrowding.  The board looks at multiple possible bond options. NONE of them include adding on to Chiawana High School.  In fact one board member passionately argues that there is absolutely NO overcrowding at the high school level.

On May 22, one teacher, Mrs. Marcie Stillwell, wrote a letter to the school board. We know the contents of that letter because she also posted it on the Parent's for Partnership Facebook page. Her letter was a clear, firsthand account of the overcrowding she has seen first hand at Chiawana High School and how it dramatically impacts the learning environment there.

It's pretty obvious from the address that Mrs. Stillwell is a math teacher, not an English teacher. 

On May 24 the board met again and voted on what they would like to see on the upcoming school bond (Check out that video here.).  Strangely enough, they weren't saying the same things they had said just two weeks previously. Instead they were passionately repeating the words of one teacher's letter. One teacher. One.

This number wrote a letter and then flew off into the sunset.

We all know that correlation and causation ain't identical spandex uniforms, and usually there is no way to know how much influence a single letter has. In this case, though, school board members specifically reference Mrs. Stillwell's letter when justifying the decision to add an extension to Chiawana high school. Previously, expansion of Chiawana wasn't even being considered. The board didn't even think it was crowded. Then they repeat the passionate words in that letter and it becomes pretty clear; this one letter changed their minds. One.

While I'm really happy that someone spoke up for what they felt they needed, and I'm REALLY happy that the board was open-minded and listened, I'm still kinda disappointed. I'm disappointed in you.

That look your mom gives you when you neglect civic
participation. 

Yes, I'm talking to you, Pasco. I'm talking to you because you're not using your superpower. You are not allowing your voice to be heard.  If one letter can be that powerful, why is there still just one?  Where are the others? Where are the parents and teachers at Pasco High? Why aren't they writing letters demanding better? Where are the letters from McLoughlin parents and teachers telling their stories of horrific overcrowding? Where are the parents and teachers from all our bursting elementary schools? We aren't just one. We are thousands. Thousands of voices that are currently silent.

That moment when you realize the only one stopping you from being heard is you.
Also, you used the last of the tape on your mouth and now have to go to the store and get more.

I know it seems like, in the past, our voices have been drowned out or ignored. And I know you guys have enough on your plates already without me nattering at you over writing letters to the school district's leadership. But if ONE voice can make this big of a difference, we have to ask ourselves, why wasn't that voice mine? Why didn't that letter come from me? I've got meaningful experience and an intelligent mind, so why didn't I let the board know what MY VOICE knows? More importantly, can you imagine the change we can affect with THOUSANDS of our powerful voices all put together?

When every one of these ants wrote a passionate letter stating their point of view,
the grasshopper board had no choice but to acknowledge their concerns and change
plans accordingly. 

The board isn't perfect but they are attempting to solve problems. Hard as that already is, I promise they can't fix what they don't know is broken. They need you. While it's magical and wonderful and powerful what one voice can do, it shouldn't be just one voice. It should be many voices. It should be your voice. We can do better. Our kids need us to do better.

Captain Planet recently replaced "Heart" with "Writing letters to local public officials to affect meaningful change". Heart was just too vague. 

So, the choice is yours. You can leave your superpower at home, keeping it in a box or only using it to complain to friends and neighbors that you don't really like the way things are going, or you can spend a few minutes, write a letter or email, and use that superpower to change our schools, lives and community for good. Because we've seen first hand what one voice can do.

What will you do with your voice?

Sardines: What over crowding really looks like

FACT:

Our schools are overcrowded.  Seriously, grossly, ridiculously overcrowded.

What does that mean in numbers? It means that a school that was built to house 500 children, actually has 800-900 children in it. This isn't  just happening at one school; it is happening at ALL our schools. It means we could build a new elementary every single year and still not have enough room in our elementary schools for all our children. It means that there are almost more children attending school in portable buildings than in actual school buildings. It means Chiawana is the largest high school in the state and Pasco High isn't that far behind.

We're talking about "bursting-at-the-seams-defying-the-laws-of-gravity" full!

But kids aren't numbers. They are tiny humans who must live and learn and interact.  So what does over crowding look and feel like?

Overcrowding is when six-year-olds only get eight minutes to eat their lunch because they have to get out to make room for the next bunch of  children coming in to eat.

No time to eat your carrots, just throw them away and keep the line moving!

Overcrowding is when 40 girls try out for a middle school softball team, so they have to take turns playing every other week.

Overcrowding is a high school where the average student has never even met the principal, let alone formed a relationship with him or her.

Overcrowding is a brand new art room filled with supplies that will never be used because the art room just got converted into a third grade classroom.

Overcrowding is children being marginalized as they become just a random face in a sea of students, feeling disenfranchised.

Dude? Who just touched my butt? This isn't a subway ya know.

Overcrowding is holding assemblies in waves because you will never ever fit all of your students together in one gym.

Overcrowding is precious children being reduced to the numbers they contribute to and a cog in the system that needs to be simply turned.

Overcrowding is a principal welcoming in over 125 new kindergartners a year, into a sea of nearly one thousand students.

Have you ridden a school bus to McLoughlin lately? Here's what you're missing.

Overcrowding is students who have to change teachers (and sometimes even schools!) weeks into the school year because there isn't enough room to stay in the class they were originally assigned to.

Overcrowding is an elementary student who only gets taught music once a week because that's all the time available to each of the forty different classes she has to teach.

Overcrowding is a place called Portable City, where your middle school student only enters the main building once a day for lunch at 10:20 because they have to eat in shifts in order to fit everyone in.

Overcrowding is high school teachers sharing classrooms because there aren't enough rooms to go around, some times as many as three teachers in one room.  English being taught in math rooms, and history taught in science labs. The visuals and extra learning tools we would expect to see as part of a world class learning environment are unavailable simply because of space.

I can totally scaffold these lesson plans to accommodate the needs of the 40 kids in my class, no problem, I'll get right on it just as soon as I can get back into my classroom after the band teacher is done using it.

Overcrowding is an elementary orchestra class that meets in another teachers classroom during their prep hour, depriving the students of a proper environment to practice and the teacher of a proper place to plan.

Overcrowding is kids who will never be able to play sports because there are already too many kids on the team.

Overcrowding is bullying and fighting because there are more than 2000 students in the halls at the same time and there is no way for administrators to properly supervise them.

Overcrowding is never having the option to change schools no matter what the hardship because no school has room for even one more child.

My school has a brand new art room, but I"ll never see it because it's being used for math.

Overcrowding is Art on a Cart. It sounds cuter than it is.  There are no rooms left for art or music to have their own space. Teachers must bring all their supplies from classroom to classroom limiting what  they are able to prepare and use with students.

Overcrowding is not having enough building administrators to cover the needs of all the children.

Overcrowding is students who have their opportunities to participate and excel in extra curricular programs limited because of sheer overwhelming numbers.

The more the merrier! I'm happy being "just one more!"

Overcrowding is when middle and high school teachers have to change rooms every hour because there aren't enough classrooms for them to have their own. They can't be at the door to greet students when they arrive because they are trapped themselves in the hall among the hundreds of students also making their way through the chaos. Teachers can't take a few minutes to answer questions after class because they are rushing out the door to get to their next room assignment.  Teachers are limited to the supplies and resources they can carry with them.

Overcrowding is spending 20 minutes of your 25 minute lunch time in line waiting for food that is likely to run out before you even get to the front of the line.

Overcrowding is when a school uses a closet for a special education classrooms because it is the only space left available.

If it's good enough for Harry, it's good enough for me!

Overcrowding is a small number of adults watching nearly a thousand children on a single playground before school every morning.

Overcrowding is decreased family involvement because it's not worth fighting the crowd of hundreds to get into the building on Monster Math night.

Wow. That's  a lot of kids.

Overcrowding is teachers not knowing the other teachers in their building.

Overcrowding is students not knowing the other students in their building.

Overcrowding is not forming relationships, not making connections, being lost, and not belonging.

Just keep packing them in like sardines.  It won't make a difference.

OPINION:

In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as a bad bond in Pasco right now.  We need more space. Seriously! WE NEED MORE SPACE!  It doesn't really matter where. The west side is the most crowded. The elementary and high schools are the most crowded.  Some schools are horribly overcrowded. Some are grossly overcrowded. A few are just extremely overcrowded.  But EVERYTHING is crowded.  So no matter what is on the upcoming bond, we NEED it. WE NEED IT! I don't know what we need most. But there is no such thing as a bad bond at this point. We need schools of all shapes and sizes and locations. We need more schools. Every kind of school!

Well....
all kinds of schools except not preschools.

The one thing we don't need to pay for right now is a preschool.

We are overcrowded. DUH!  Why would we bring in more kids when we don't even have room for the k-12 students we've got right now?  That's just crazy!

And while any bond is a good bond at this point, there are some that are better than others.  One new building is good. Two new buildings is better. Three new buildings would be awesome! Ten new buildings would be pefection.

But let's be realistic. We can't actually run a bond with ten new buildings on it.  But what we can do is run a bond (and run our mouths) as if we actually have a clear picture of how we are going to deal with how massively behind the growth curve we are right now.

The school board recently agreed on a bond option that includes one new elementary, rebuilding Stevens, and adding a couple of classes to CHS and Marie Currie.  Those are all great things. Those are all things we need. BUT REALLY? IS THAT THE BEST WE CAN DO?

The school board thinks the community won't vote for a bond that's too high. They also think the overcrowding isn't THAT bad. And they have said they don't want to have to run another bond for 5 or 6 years.  We are several thousand children over capacity today.  We will be several thousand more children over capacity in five years.  Is one new elementary going to be enough? Obviously not.  We need more.

I believe the community will vote big (you did for the levy *thanks*) and that we need more than just one new school and a couple of classrooms on the bond.

There isn't much time to change the boards mind, but if they hear enough from the community about what you are willing to support on a bond, they may overturn this week's vote in favor of a better plan.

CALL TO ACTION:

1. Let the school board and the bond committee know what you'd like to see on the next bond. Let them know you will support a big bond. Do it today!
2. Get involved with the bond committee and help raise awareness about the bond.
3. Tell your friends why you support Pasco schools.
4. Vote for school bonds (no matter what) and encourage your friends to do the same. Voting no on a bond only punishes kids.  The board does not EVER get the message you are trying to send.  They still think the last failed bond was because no one wanted a middle school.   ??? 

Good luck my friends.

Look for the Helpers

So some stuff happened.

Some rotten people said some rotten things. I'm not even going to dignify them by using their real names. They don't deserve any recognition.

But just for a quick summary....

The Tale of the Enchanted Pizza Rolls Or
The story of Mr. Big Pants
and Ms. Angry Ruffle Pockets

    Once upon a time there was a land called Kennewickville. In this land was a king who surrounded himself with counselors. One of those counselors was a man named Mr. Big Pants. Now Mr. Big Pants thought he was pretty important, and he thought he was pretty funny. In fact he thought he was so important and so funny that he could say whatever he wanted, even if it was mean and not actually that funny, AND he thought people should laugh like it was a hilarious joke.

Pants possibly near as large as the pants
mentioned in this tale. 

       One day Mr. Big Pants told a joke about the people in the nearby land of Yakimaville.  Nobody thought it was funny. In fact it made a lot of people mad.  The people in Kennewickville had a lot of friends in Yakimaville, and they didn't think it was right at all for someone like Mr. Big Pants to be making fun of them.  The people of Kennewickville started talking about asking Mr. Big Pants to resign, and even asking the king of Kennewickville to banish him. Mr. Big Pants didn't like this one bit. In fact, just to show how sure he was of himself he started telling even more mean jokes about even more people.

   Meanwhile the people of  Pascoland had heard about the mean jokes Mr. Big Pants was telling. They didn't think they were funny one little bit. But the people of Pascoland were glad, since Mr. Big Pants didn't live in their kingdom. They really didn't like that kind of talk happening in their land.  

 One night the citizens of Pascoland were having a meeting to discuss the needs of the children of Pascoland. Lots of people were talking and sharing ideas about the good things that could be done. But then one woman got up and shared an idea that confused everyone. Her name was Ms. Angry Ruffle Pockets. Ms. Angry Ruffle Pockets was VERY angry at Mr. Big Pants. She thought the school board should help the children of Pascoland by telling Mr. Big Pants to stop being so mean to the children of Pascoland. Now, everyone was surprised by this idea, since they didn't know Mr. Big Pants had even said anything to the kids of Pascoland. That's when things got interesting.

Oooohhhh! So ruffly!
You'd think they would
make the owner happier... 

    It turns out Mr. Big Pants did say something mean about some of the kids of Pascoland, but it was said on a private Facebook page so no one knew about it. No one knew about it that is until Ms. Angry Ruffle Pockets started sharing the post all over Facebook. People in Pascoland really started getting mad at Mr. Big Pants for being mean. People also started getting mad at Ms. Angry Ruffle Pockets for repeating Mr. Big Pants mean words all over the place. 

Well, lots of people wanted to help the children of Pascoland stand up against the mean words of Mr. Big Pants.  Some suggested the kingdom no longer trade with anyone in Kennewickville as long as Mr. Big Pants was still there. Others made formal statement condemning Mr. Big Pants' words. People started talking in general about how mean words can hurt and scare children. People talked in general about how people need to be sensitive and kind to others. People can actually be pretty cool some times, you know.

The news said the kids of Pascoland were saying What?
Yeah, that didn't happen.

Then the news got involved. Unfortunately, they led people to believe that lots of kids all over Pascoland were crying because other kids were copying people like Mr. Big Pants and saying mean things to each other at school. This wasn't actually the case. In the end a lot of people had hurt and angry feelings, and Mr. Big Pants became the most famous person in Kennewickville, Pascoland, and all the surrounding kingdoms.  Mr. Big Pants still thinks he is really important, and the people of Pascoland have spent a whole lot of time worrying about somebody who doesn't even live in their kingdom.

As I've watched the events of the past two weeks unfold, I have been very sad to see so many of my friends angry and deeply hurt. I've wondered what I could do to help.  Would standing up against Mr. Big Pants be helpful? Or would it just give him the attention that he is so desperately seeking?

While pondering what to do, I was reminded of a quote by my hero,  Mr. Rogers.

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."

I would like to take Mr. Roger's advice and point out just a few of the helpers in this situation.

Our KIDS

At the community meeting where this topic was first brought to light as it relates to Pasco's kids, a principal there stated that children had come to school crying because they were concerned their families were going to be deported. They apparently either overheard things about immigration law enforcement either from their parents or from the news that scared them. The principal said that other students were comforting and encouraging the children to help them not to be afraid. Unlike what the news reported, students were not at all trying to hurt one another. They were trying their best to help.

Our TEACHERS

At the same meeting, a teacher confirmed that many students come to school scared and confused about issues surrounding racism and prejudice. She told of how she has regular conversations with her students about what racism looks and sounds like, the importance of tolerance, and how they can stand up for themselves while still treating others with respect.

Our SCHOOL BOARD

Although the school board as a whole chose not to fulfill one community member's request to formally go on record denouncing the words of "Mr. Big Pants," at least one board member did personally make a public and formal statement encouraging everyone to reach out to one another in respect, humility, and love.

These are the helpers. These are the people that matter. Not the Mr. Big Pants of the world. As my friend TayTay always says, "Haters gonna Hate."

Don't you even let Mr. Big Pants tell you what you gonna do.
You just go and be amazing like I totes know you can.

In Pasco we love. Every child. Every day.

That is why I love Pasco.