Barbara Anderson Responses to SLPS Survey (via Susan Turk)

Link to main article on SLPS Elections. Barbara Anderson Please supply a brief autobiography including relevant employment and academic degrees completed.  (one paragraph},  Born and raised in St. Louis, I am a graduate of St. Louis Public Schools, as are my husband, daughter, and granddaughter.  I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Harris Teacher’s College, and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Webster University.  I also hold a Master of Arts in Administrative Leadership and a Doctorate in Education from St. Louis University.  I have been a student, parent, grandparent, literacy coach, and principal.  These experiences give me a unique perspective as to what happens in our educational institutions on a ground /grass roots level.   I have taught on the elementary, middle, and university levels throughout my professional endeavors.  I am first, and foremost, an educator. The SLPS is currently governed by an appointed Special Administrative Board, whose current term ends June, 30 2019.  The elected board has limited responsibilities. While possible, it is not guaranteed the elected board will return to power during the term for which you are running because the state board of education may extend the SAB for as many terms as they wish.  Why, then, are you running?  I am first, and foremost, an educator.  Having been a student, parent, grandparent, teacher, instructional coordinator, and building principal, I have a unique perspective as to what really happens on a daily basis in our classrooms.   If you believe the elected board will return to power, please explain why.    The district has achieved full accreditation.  It was originally stated that should the district achieve full accreditation, the elected board would transition back into decision making power.   What is your understanding of the role of a school board member and what do you want to accomplish as a board member? My understanding of the role of a board member is that that person is one of a group who is dedicated to a shared vision of solid and effective educational foundation for all students.  Board members must have high expectations for all students and staff.  It is expected that St. Louis Public Schools will be the framework for this expectation.  (Inspect what you expect. Dr. Lynn Beckwith} Are you the parent or grandparent of children who currently attend or recently graduated from the Public Schools? Our granddaughter, Chanel Smith, a graduate of Clyde C. Miller, is our most recent graduate of St. Louis Public Schools. Did you attend and/or graduate from the SLPS? I first attended SLPS at the age of four at Marshall Elementary, and graduated from O’Fallon/McKinley in June, 1970. Have you ever worked for the SLPS or are you related to a current or former employee? I was first appointed as classroom teacher in Sept., 1976.  I retired from St. Louis Public Schools on June 30, 2012.  Have you, in the past served as a board member? I have never served as board member. What are your thoughts about the Special Administrative Board which currently governs the district? The State Appointed Board was appointed according to state guidelines.  Since the district has achieved full accreditation, it is time for board members elected by the community to transition into authority. What is your understanding of the impact of charter schools on the SLPS?  Should more charter schools open in the city? Charter schools are here to stay.  I do not believe that charters are a cure all for our district.  School choice is needed for parents to make educational decisions for their children.  Parents must be convinced that the best educational choice for their children is St. Louis Public Schools. The SAB is currently developing a not for profit corporation called the Consortium Partnership Network which will be governed by its own appointed board and whose purpose will be to govern the lowest performing schools. Meramec and Ashland elementary schools have been assigned to the CPN for the 2019-2020 school years.  The CPN will be empowered to contract with private not-for-profit companies to manage these schools. If returned to governance, the elected board will have an as yet undefined oversight role regarding the CPN but no direct oversight of the schools they are assigned. What are your thoughts on this? CPN is not a viable solution for failing schools.  We must take a look at successful schools.  We must duplicate/imitate what is working and eliminate what is failing.  Instead of creating more divisions/programs, (charters/CPN), we must take a look at what is working and duplicate it.  CPN is not a solution.  CPN will simply ignore the real problems of attracting and retaining quality educators and instructional processes.  Instruction is not about the program, it is about delivery by qualified professionals. Do you have any ideas to improve public confidence in SLPS and improve enrollment? I do.  We must stop playing the blame game, and drill down to what is going to move our students forward.  We must present a district climate and culture that attracts the best and brightest educators.  We must create a district that encourages post- secondary skill training.  We must stop teaching our students that they cannot be successful unless they leave their communities.  We must ask our parents why they choose not enroll their children in SLPS and honestly address their concerns. The Missouri legislature usually considers bills that would expand school choice by expanding charter schools, using vouchers, education savings accounts or tuition tax credits making it possible for students to attend private schools using public money or depriving the state of general revenue so parents could use their own money for private tuition without suffering tax penalties. The Trump administration promotes school choice and may re-allocate Title I funding away from providing low income, children with extra resources to master reading and math toward expanding school choice options. School board members will be faced with an uphill battle in a struggle to attract and retain students to our school district. How will you respond to these challenging developments? I cannot emphasize enough the importance of making SLPS the first choice for education.  Parents are always going to make the choice that best benefits their children.  It is our job to make sure their choice is SLPS.  Anything else is a farce. What are your thoughts on the following legislation being considered by the Missouri legislature this year? HB130 Sponsor: Carter This bill specifies that the State Board of Education shall terminate the St. Louis City transitional school district if the district is classified as provisionally or fully accredited. Terminating the transitional school district shall return governance to the elected board of the school district. Since the SLPS is fully accredited this bill would have the effect of immediately returning the elected board to governance. The last time I checked, and according to the school signs I have observed, the district is fully accredited.  I believe the requirement states that once accreditation is achieved, decision making should be returned to the authority of a duly elected community based board of education. HB629 Sponsor: Quade Beginning with the 2020-21 school year, this bill requires specified charter school applications that are approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) to not become effective until approved by the voters of the district in which the charter school is located. The bill requires that the charter approval be submitted to the voters of the district at the next municipal election or, if the next annual school election is more than 60 days away, at a special election. A majority vote is required for approval of the charter school application. Again, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of convincing parents and caregivers that SLPS is the first and best choice for the education of their children.  Trying to persuade parents that what looks good to you isn’t always good for you, is a losing battle.  Parents want to make the best choice for their children’s education.  We must convince parents that SLPS is the best choice.  Any other battle is a losing one.  The voting public must make appropriate decisions that will benefit student learners of all ages. What are your thoughts on SLPS magnet schools? We must eliminate the disparity between magnet, charter, and neighborhood schools.   All schools should afford opportunities for visual and performing arts, technology, athletics, and career skills, as well as basic educational foundations.  I do not like the idea that students are led to believe that they must leave their neighborhoods in order to get a quality education. What are your thoughts on neighborhood schools? The biggest disservice to learners today is that they are taught that they must leave their neighborhoods in order to be successful.  Attending neighborhood schools has become synonymous with having no other options.  This must change.  The only way to rebuild our neighborhoods is to remove the negative stigma of remaining in communities, and rebuilding our neighborhoods and neighborhood schools. What ideas do you have to help students learn? In addition to having fully certificated staff, a positive, nurturing, and safe environment, must be established for students, staff, and parents.  Educators must feel free to make educational decisions for their students.  Although it is recognized that some uniformity is required throughout the district, instruction involves risk taking and constant review and revision.  The only person who can make those decisions accurately is the person involved in the instruction of those students daily.  Other ideas include flexible classrooms and grouping.  Students who are engaged in teaching their peers are actually amazing teachers.  Their self- esteem is also exponentially enhanced.  A stable staff is vital.  Another strategy I used extensively, as a building principal, was to use the public address system as a teaching tool.  The staff and principal would determine the most important messages to convey.  School pledges, classroom rules and school rules of conduct are repeated daily.  This sends the message to students that these messages are important.  I actually became famous at the postal service office, and in the neighborhood, for my morning and dismissal announcements.  Adult staff members were able to convey consistent messages to students because the message was delivered consistently, whether I was on site or not.  It is also vital that students are recognized for following those rules.  These actions confer to students that positive behaviors will be recognized and rewarded.  School wide rules are few and far reaching.  At the school to which I was assigned, we had three simple rules:  come to school every day on time; complete class work and homework daily; and engage in good behavior at all times.  We conducted black history trivia contests every Friday.  These contests were designed to enhance writing, research, and reading skills.  The contest winners got a chance to enhance their classroom libraries by selecting books of classroom interest.  We also sponsored weekly writing contests.  These winners would read their submissions.  Another winning strategy was to engage in reader’s theater.  One would be amazed at the practice that would engage students to make their performances on the public announcement system highlight their reading skills. We also had student readers to make daily announcements. Every school should be able to engage in activities that enhance performance and comprehension skills for their sites. I believe that obstruction to instruction should not be tolerated. I believe that In School Suspension rooms should be established in all elementary schools, and that those classrooms should be staffed by fully certificated personnel (preferably with special education training).  Instruction should not be interrupted because of inappropriate behavior, and there should be better direction than “there will be no suspensions”. What do you think about the MAP tests and standardized tests in general? Although it is vital to measure progress, I think we place too much emphasis on one shot measurements.  I further have questions as to why SLPS changes requirements for success so often.  Progress monitoring is a much more useful tool.  The scoring of selected MAP sub-tests is subjective in nature.  Perhaps another instrument should be explored?  Missouri has one of the most challenging state mandated standardized tests in the country.  I don’t like the pressure placed on staff and students for performance on the MAP.  The whole idea for maximized performance on state mandated standardized assessments is for learners to be so comfortable with subject matter that pressure is minimal.  Standardized testing is problematic in educational circles.  Ours is the only profession where students are promoted with deficits.  Why do we blame teachers for the deficits of a poorly designed assessment instrument?  I am glad this is not how airplane pilots are trained.  Closer to home,  would you like to be trained to drive an automatic car and have to pass the driver’s test with a stick shift?  What is wrong with knowing what you are supposed to know?  Yet this is the requirement we place on classroom instructors.  Approximately 70% of SLPS high school graduates who enroll in college must take remedial courses.  What policies would you promote to lower this statistic? I would promote a policy of having a staff that is fully certificated for all professional positions in all buildings.  That would include an in school suspension room with a fully certificated teacher (preferably with SPED training).  I promote a policy that does not allow for overcrowding of classrooms.  Even more effective, is to employ special education teachers in overcrowded classrooms, when high classroom numbers are unavoidable.  Special education teachers are specifically trained to make individual education decisions based on individual student learner needs.  We must pursue and develop district policy that addresses the needs of all learners. I would explore current school calendars.  One of the biggest complaints of teachers is that so much time is wasted at the beginning of the school year in remediation.  In the urban setting, students no longer need time to perform seasonal agricultural activities.  Schools are air conditioned now, so there is no need to shut down schools for temperature concerns. In the past, the elected school board has been criticized as dysfunctional.  Local media have unfairly perpetuated this impression.  How would your election to the board help to dispel this inaccurate perception?   The only thing to be done is to conduct business professionally.  There is no time for personal disagreements.  Transparency, accountability, and accountability are vital for any functioning entity.  The only group to change this dynamic is the voting public.  It is our duty, as educators, to keep the citizens properly informed, and to engage in educational activities with the voting public