Dr. Gloria Johnston, WCCUSD Superintendent,
will be available to answer any questions regarding the recent grade/class reconfiguration.

4TH, 5TH & 6TH GRADE CLASSES RECONFIGURED

Our kids came home with an important notice from the principal. Please be sure you read it. In summary, the notice tells us of the need to "close" a classroom due to a shortfall in enrollment. Ms. Elissa Greene, 2nd grade teacher, will be leaving, and 4th-6th grade classes will be reconfigured. Feel free to contact the District employees who mandated this decision:

Karen Frison, Regional Superintendent (oversees Kensington?)
(510) 620-2073
karen.frison @gw.wccusd.k12.ca.us

Kay Burnside, Regional Superintendent
(510) 620-2170
kay.burnside @gw.wccusd.k12.ca.us

Dr. Gloria Johnston, Superintendent
(510) 620-2205
gjohnston @wccusd.k12.ca.us

And the School Board, who oversees our District employees

Charles Ramsey, President cramsey @wccusd.k12.ca.us
Glen Price glen @glensprice.com
George Harris gah_iii @yahoo.com
Patricia Player Playeredu @cs.com
Karen Fenton kfenton @pacbell.net

SEPTEMBER 22 • SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
Next Board of Education meeting is at the Lovonya DeJean Middle School Multipurpose Room, 3400 Macdonald Ave., Richmond, and begin at 6:30 p.m.  The entrance to the Multipurpose Room is on 33rd Street, around the corner from the school's main entrance on Macdonald Avenue.

Response from school disrict email I recieved,

Thank you very much for your feedback. The decision to reduce staffing at Kensington was based on the number of students enrolled and our district-wide staffing guidelines. Unfortunately, the enrollment numbers were low in the upper grades, and based on these numbers Kensington was over-staffed. KF

glen@glensprice.com, gah_iii@yahoo.com, Playeredu@cs.com, kfenton@pacbell.net, gjohnston@wccusd.k12.ca.us, karen.frison@gw.wccusd.k12.ca.us,
kay.burnside@gw.wccusd.k12.ca.us

This information below turned out to maybe not true. Updated posting to come tomorrow on 9/23
Posted 9/20/04

Several parents have contacted and spoken to School Board members.  Presently, there appear to be two members who would vote in favor of rescinding the transfers;  a third is sympathetic and open but not committed either way.  One Board member advised that although we have the chance of overturning this transfer decision, it is imperative that we turn out in large numbers with the superintendent tonight and be vocal about our desire that the decision be overturned.  WE NEED EVERY PARENT TO COME TONIGHT AND BE VOCAL.  PLEASE GRAB ANOTHER PARENT OR TWO OR THREE AND COME TO THE MULTIPURPOSE ROOM AT 6:00 PM.
 
The arguments that will likely further the goal of rescision are:
 
           One board member who previously ok'ed the transfer decision did so on a straight fiscal analysis -- enrollment was down, they had to make a cut.  It appeared to be a cut and dried fiscal decision.  The District had taken this kind of action many times before at high schools.  This was a standard way of dealing with under-enrollment. 
 
          What was not thoroughly explored was a balancing of the benefits of the decision to transfer vs. the detrimental effects.  The one board member who has vocalized the most opposition to the transfer decision is very concerned about the effects of the decision on the District's literacy program.  That member recognizes that the impact of such transfers is much different with elementary age children than with high school students.  We have to emphasize the relationship between the classroom teacher and her/his students -- elementary age children do not change teachers for every class.  They have one teacher.  Also younger children are simply more susceptible  to the impact of disruptions.
 
         On the benefit side, one board member pointed out that when considering the cost of all 4 teacher's salaries in combination (these transfers involved 4 teachers at 4 different schools), it is a miniscule drop in the bucket in comparison to the District's budget.  These teachers are still under a yearly contract and still have to be paid by the District.  They are simply being transferred to other positions which are now open.  Here, we have to emphasize that this is a short-term one year exception which should be made in light of exceptional circumstances (construction relocation). 
 
           It is probably important to recognize that this transfer decision impacts not just Kensington but 4 other schools -- schools that don't have the resources we have.  If we argue this as just asking for rescision of the decision to reconfigure Kensington, the Superintendent (and Board) may not be so sympathetic.  They see us as a rich school with more than ample parent support.  They might assume that with all this support and parent involvment, our kids should have no difficulty bouncing back. (Not so -- parent activism, support and involvment cannot replace classroom teacher.) On the other hand, we do have the disruptive effects of the relocation which our students are already suffering.  The point is that although we have unique circumstances with the relocation, the other schools are suffering too.  One school member is already concerned with the impact of the transfers on the District's literacy program -- we, too, at Kensington have many children with special needs who, most of all, will be severely impacted by this reconfiguration.

The corrections to previous information above:  There are 5 teachers involved at 5 schools.  Their salary comes to $180,000 which is a drop in the District's $250,000,000 budget.

Below are some of the letters that have already been sent to
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS & SCHOOL OFFICIALS...

This email is to let you know of my extreme displeasure at the reconfiguration of the Kensington Elementary school classes mid-year  resulting from the decision to eliminate teacher due to low enrollment. The loss of one teaching position, due to seniority issues, will result in the dislocation of 200 students from their classrooms. This decision was made without any input from the school administration, teachers, or parents.  This is extremely unsettling. What kind of concern does this demonstrate for the children's well-being and quality of education? Ultimately, I fear this short-sighted decision making will result in increasing drops in enrollment from Kensington Elementary as more parents get a strong message that the School District really doesn't care about their children's well being. Especially at a time when the entire school has been relocated to the Portola site, already a somewhat stressful change for children, how can you conceive that disrupting all these classes could be a viable solution to this problem. How can saving a portion of a teacher's salary for one year be worth such an outcome?

I urge you to reconsider this decision and continue to fund the teacher's position for the remainder of the school year. Please make the decision that is best for our children!!

Helen Bean

(Please feel free to post this letter.)
Dear Karen Frison, Dr. Gloria Johnston, Charles Ramsey, Glen Price, George Harris, Patricia Player, and Karen Fenton:

I am a concerned parent of a student in the 6th grade at Kensington Hilltop School. It concerns me that you seek to restructure classes at the 4-6 levels, and lay off Ms. Elissa Greene. I have experienced a split class, and I can assure you the experience wasn't pleasant. Therefore, I certainly do not wish this experience upon any other student or parent. I believe it takes a special educator that can successfully meet the high demands of a split class. In my opinion, team teaching or class swapping provides for a learning environment that is more productive for students tenfold, and should be implemented before split classes. Split classes should be a last resort. As I understand the need to balance a budget and not over spend, increasing class size and incorporating split classes oppose "No Child Left Behind." I believe I am not having an epiphany that you haven't encountered. I sincerely hope this action has not been made too hastily. Please understand it is not my intent to insult your intelligence or experience, but I encourage you to consider other options.

Have you looked into the possibility that some 6th grade children will be return to our schools because they entered the Albany school district with false addresses? I have heard the Albany superintendent is making house calls, and finding illegally registered students. I have heard this not only from my son, who states one child may have already returned, but also from a trustworthy source in the Albany school district. I encourage you to discuss this with Albany before we find ourselves with an inadequate and stressed out teaching staff. If a cut must be made, please reconsider offering a desirable retirement incentive to teachers that may have out stayed their motivation. Their higher salaries go a lot further in addressing budget shortfalls than very gifted and motivated lower-salaried educators do. Please "walk the talk."

Sincerely, TL, A very concerned parent.

Dear School Officials

Many parents, as well as their children, and I are distraught over the newest chaos that is to occur at Kensington Hilltop School this Monday, September 20th. As you can well imagine, having our children beginschool in portables while bulldozers and dump trucks filled their halls and so called playground, was incredibly unsettling and lead to many nervous and sleepless nights for the students. The children are just now beginning to feel safe in there new surrounding. But the news of the loss of a beloved teacher, Ms Elissa Greene, and the possibility of losing the teacher they currently have, being tossed into another class and destroying the bond between the teacher and students that developed in the difficult beginning weeks of school has begun an incredible amount of high anxiety. Under the present circumstances I find it completely irresponsible of the school district to subject the Kensington school children to more chaos.
Please reconsider this decision.
Thanks, SG& RG

Dear Superintendents and Board Members:
 
On Wednesday of this week, Sept. 15th, Gloria Johnston announced that Kensington Hilltop School will lose one teacher, necessitating the complete restructuring of all 4th through 6th grade classes.  The reason:  less enrollment than anticipated.
 
Any reasonable person would recognize that changing teachers, classrooms and classmates for children only 1 month into the school year is extremely disruptive and destructive.  It disrupts their educative and negatively affects their psychological health, both at school for the duration of the school year and at home. 
 
Any reasonable administrator would recognize that there are other, simple solutions to the problem.  Kensington Hilltop School is the jewel of the WCCUSD district.  It is the school which always places in the top 10 % on STAR and other mandated testing upon which the District is not only judged but dependent for funds.  Obviously, if the school's performance were eliminated from the overall computation of the performance for the District as a whole, the District's performance would be dramatically reduced, resulting in a loss of funds and other benefits, tangible and intangible.
 
At the same time, and based on the same reality of the high quality of Kensington Hilltop School (which, incidentally, is a product of the tremendous fund raising and volunteer contributions of the parents at Hilltop, not the graces of the District), parents from all around the community, including neighboring school districts, actively attempt to transfer their children into Kensington Hilltop.  Many of these transfer students come from Berkeley and other communities which are outside of the WCCUSD.
 
Had Ms. Johnston or the administration of the District had the foresight to consider other solutions, it would be apparent that the most reasonable solution would be to recruit students from such other districts.  Indeed, Hilltop parents would be willing and able to do the recruiting.  Further, it is still possible to recruit these students from other districts if we are given the opportunity.  This solution would avoid a loss of funding, avoid any restructuring of the school, and avoid any further trauma to the students and parents of Hilltop.
 
Unfortunately, after the many actions taken by the District in recent years that are clearly harmful to the best interests of our children (e.g., the attempts to increase class sizes, the resistance to the temporary relocation of Hilltop to the lower Portola campus), scores of Hilltop parents are now afraid that it will be destructive to our children to allow them to remain in the WCCUSD District.  Although the news of the restructuring was only disclosed yesterday, many parents have already discussed their intentions of removing their children from the school.  At the same time, we have been warned that a further reduction in students will result in a further restructuring . . . which means the remaining students will be shuffled again.
 
On behalf of our children, our children's fellow students, and our fellow parents, we hope that the Board will take responsible action to eliminate the chaos at Hilltop and allow our children to receive their state-mandated education.  We sincerely hope that you will not force a continuing cycle of more students leaving the school due to restructuring in the middle of the school year, followed by more restructuring, etc., etc.  We respectfully suggest that you instead choose the most reasonable and effective solution, and allow the parents at Hilltop to assist you in this process.

AK and MO

As a parent of two children at Kensington Hilltop School, I am writing to ask that you reconsider the layoff of a 2nd grade teacher and the reconfiguration of the entire 4th, 5th and 6th grade. We are now ending the 4th week of instruction and the children and their teachers have delved into the work at hand to get to the task of learning. Everyone understands how each classroom works, what the expectations are, what is expected of each other, who their classmates are and what personalities are like. To alter things at this juncture would be extremely disruptive and detrimental to the learning process.

Also not to be overlooked is the relationship building that takes place during the first weeks of school. My 4th grader has built an excellent
rapport with his teacher who is scheduled to move to the 2nd grade. He has had the best start to the school year ever and the teacher and I have already taken the first steps as partners in my sons education to ensure a successful year.

In short, you are asking too much of the parents and children at
Kensington Elementary. You are asking over half of the school to disrupt the progress they have made and start over again. I realize that the process of combining classes after the school year has started may be standard within the district but it should not be so at Kensington. As a school community we have already had to endure too much change and compromise to try and make this year a successful one for our students. We have agreed to a relocation that is saving the district over $900,000 in Measure M funds. The Kensington Education Foundation (KEF), which is funded by parent donations, has stepped in and provided water to the school site because there is none in the classroom. KEF has also agreed to fund 2 activity directors because the playground is lacking in both size and activities. Through donations our school offers many educational programs such as reading, science, art and music that the school district cannot provide but which should be standard core programs at all sites. Kensington is the school it is because the teachers, parents and students put forth the time, effort and financial resources to ensure it is the best school it can be. At this time, the district needs to do the same.

It seems to me that the decision to reconfigure is shortsighted at best. Kensington is a flagship school and in this transition year, the district should take steps to ensure that Kensington remains a great school. I do not believe it is too much to ask, as a parent, school supporter and staunch supporter of public education that the district choose to keep things as they are at the Kensington site.

This proposed change was conveyed quickly to the student body and parents. I suspect it was to minimize the chance that parents be able to provide feedback to this change or provide a strong financial argument as to the value of keeping the classes as they are. I ask you to act just as quickly to reconsider these changes so that our children’s lives and schooling are not interrupted any further.

Thank you for your consideration. LG

(Slightly Edited version)
Dear Ms. Frison,
I have another very real concern about what will happen after this is implemented. A number of these parents will be pulling their kids out of Kensington Elementary. This is not just speculation. I know of about 7 parents who will be leaving. Help!

Many parents are already unhappy with the School District and with the condition of the temporary school. The "playground" area is dirty and there is no playstructure.

So my question is, what happens next month after the enrollment will (most likely) drop even more?

Thank you, Linda Lozito

(This was sent to some parents via email)
Hello all, this morning I spoke with Charles Ramsey and George Harris regarding my continuing (and apparently undying) concern with our reconfiguration and layoff.

Although neither Board member would say so in as many words, it sounds as if we have a chance to press the Administration to rescind its decision. Perhaps we have an opportunity to participate in creative solutions after the fact.

If you are still feeling strongly that this restructure is a bad thing, please continue to lobby our Board. In particular, please get in touch with Patricia Player. Pat is a retired teacher and she has serious concerns about the effect of our changes on literacy and academic success.

Also, it's a good idea to write notes to Glen Price and Karen Fenton, whose recommendations would make a huge difference as to whether the decision stands or is rescinded.

All in all (and I'm preaching to myself here), we need to prepare creative solutions and forward-thinking approaches for Monday evening's meeting. How can we save the District the equivalent of a teacher's salary + benefits? Do we turn out the lights for a half day every week? Can we commit to gathering a working group to address this issue and come up with solutions?

I don't know, but I'm still thinking....

-DE

I am writing to add my voice to the others who have expressed concern and outrage at the changes that were announced yesterday for Kensington Elementary. While I understand the difficult budget situation and the needto keep an eye on enrollment numbers, these changes are just too drastic.One teacher's salary cannot make a significant difference in the budget, but the loss of that one teacher makes an enormous difference to the children and families in the classes that are now being changed, not to mention the impact on the teachers and the general moral at school. A 4th
grade teacher who has prepared for a year of 4th grade can't easily take over a 2nd grade class, and the same can be said about the teachers who are now asked to teach split classes. It should be reasonable for parents to expect prepared teachers who can instruct and inspire our children and for teachers to know in advance what level they will be teaching so they can prepare. Once the teachers and children begin the school year and start to get to know each other it is devastating to all to make changes like these. The teachers, children, and families deserve much better treatment than this! Make adjustments for next year if need be, but it's just not right to disrupt so many classes, so many children and their families, and our dedicated teachers a month into the school year.

RD