AVENAL — Complaints led to
an investigation of a Kings County school district this year.
The Kings County Grand Jury
investigated Avenal High School and the Reef-Sunset Unified School District as
a whole after receiving complaints from teachers and other staff about some of
their procedures. The grand jury recently published its report online.
In its findings, grand jury
members criticized the school and district for the implementation of its block
schedule, lack of Chromebook use monitoring, poor communication, being rude and
more.
“We’re still crafting a
response to the report, which will be delivered in August,” said District
Superintendent David East. “We will address all of the grand jury’s findings
and recommendations.”
Recently, the district switched
to a block schedule system for Avenal High, in which class periods are longer
than the typical 50-minute classes at many schools. The district has said it’s
to better prepare students for the time demands of higher education.
“It offers teachers the chance
to teach more deeply, which is really important especially with the new Common
Core standards,” East said.
According to the report, the
schedule received some criticism from teachers who said they didn’t receive
much warning about it and that they weren’t included in the development of the
schedule.
The district, however, said in
the report that the school board conducted an opinion poll of teachers about
the block scheduling and that, according to the board, up to 70 percent of
teachers were in favor of using the block scheduling.
The district also said it held
meetings with parents to inform them about the change and that training was
offered to teachers.
“I don’t think [the grand jury]
made the recommendations with complete information,” East said. “The amount of
teacher input and training was much more than they claimed.”
According to the report, the
grand jury also received complaints that the schedule wasn’t really helping
students learn, as their attention tended to slip toward the end of class due
to the extra length.
According to the district
website, however, the new scheduling resulted in a higher number of students
passing their courses in the first semester using the scheduling. The district
also said the scheduling led to fewer behavioral problems from students.
Upon attending classes and
investigating the issue, the jury determined that the block-scheduled classes
are too long and that students are unable to stay focused on their lessons by
the end. The jury recommended that the district keep a closer eye on the use of
block scheduling in classes.
The grand jury said one of the
reasons why they believe students aren’t staying engaged during the longer
class sessions is due to Chromebook misuse.
“While their purpose is sound
in theory, it was noticed by grand jury members that a number of students were
using these Chromebooks for things other than class work, [including] social
media, music and games,” the report said.
The jury recommended that
teachers should more closely monitor students using the devices to make sure
they are being used for learning.
One of the grand jury’s biggest
criticisms is the lack of communication between the district office and
teachers, as well as other staff. The jury said teachers and community members
have stated that they aren’t always made aware of what’s going on in the school
and district.
“I think [the jury] was
receiving information from an incomplete set of respondents,” East said. “Their
primary investigation took place at the high school, so I’m not sure it
represents the district as a whole.”
The report found that there
needs to be a better communication system between the district and school
staff, whether that’s in-person, over the phone or in writing.
The grand jury advised that
district administrative staff spend at least one day a semester at each school
to get a better understanding of its needs.
“This would provide an
opportunity for the district administration to better understand the concerns
and needs of the teachers and school staff,” the report said. “This also allows
for a better relationship between the district and the student body.”
Despite some concerns about the
investigation, East said he agrees with the jury’s conclusion that
communication should be improved.
“I think we can always do
better,” he said. “We definitely have room for improvement.”
East believes electronic
correspondence is satisfactory but wishes to put more emphasis on face-to-face
communication. He said he thinks that is the main area that needs to be
improved.
As part of the investigation,
the report said jury members attended a board meeting in which students made
presentations to grand jury members informing them about some of the goings-on
at each campus.
The report claims that during
these presentations, district administrators and board members were sometimes
rude to the presenters.
“Negative facial expressions
and gestures being made toward the presenter and/or audience were noted several
times,” the report said. “The grand jury observed gestures were also made by
district administrative staff toward the board. When the administrator making
the gesture saw that the members of the grand jury were watching, they
stopped.”
At a board study session they
attended, the jury also noticed inappropriate behavior, including board members
who, “appeared to be napping and one texting during part of the discussion.”
East said he couldn’t comment
on these incidents as it is a private personnel matter.
The jury recommended that the
district hold workshops for administrative staff on the need to be civil and
polite during meetings or when they are representing the district.
Despite the criticisms, the
grand jury acknowledged in its report that the district office and Avenal High
School were cooperative during the investigation. A grand jury spokesperson
couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.
June 19, 2015
Hanford
Sentinel
By
Joseph Luiz, Staff Reporter
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