Nothing About Us Without Us

Democratic decision-making and robust structured dialogue are the best way to come to policy shifts that will benefit RPS.

This week, the Kamras administration attempted to make two substantial changes to school policy unilaterally: new start times for RPS students and new teacher work schedule requirements. Both of these policy shifts formally require approval of the democratically-elected school board. However, approval is the minimum standard. What we should actually expect from any Administration is for it to propose policy changes publicly and early, so there is sufficient time for public process. This allows our democratically-elected leaders to structure dialogue with parents, students, teachers, and community about what policies will work best to promote high quality public education.

The last minute rollout of these two policies represents both a lack of faith in democratic process and a lack of consideration for RPS families and staff, both of whom are justifiably upset.

This move to start high school earlier occurs amidst a growing body of research that suggest high schoolers do better with later start times that allow them to sleep in. It also happens amidst funding shortages for transportation, during which — in many cases — students are already riding to school earlier than necessary. In light of these considerations, the Kamras administration had a responsibility to identify all options, including allowing the school board the opportunity to review transportation funding with the new proposed changes in mind.

Similarly, the new work schedule proposed by the Kamras administration, including blanket district-wide professional development requirements, offers little potential to improve classroom instruction while placing an undue burden on school administrators, educators, and support staff. Our teachers need high quality professional development, which can only truly be designed with educator input. The articulated need to ensure an 8-hour work day for teachers, a formality that disregards the widely-recognized number of untracked hours educators work preparing their classrooms, designing lessons, grading homework, and interacting with parents and guardians. Finally, the last-minute nature of this announcement has left educators and staff in a panic at how they will solve a host of complications raised with regard to issues like child care.

The Kamras Administration’s top down, unilateral, and short-sighted approach has left many parts of the RPS family feeling justifiably hurt and disrespected. It also puts our school board in the challenging position of having to rush decisions that should involve thoughtful consideration and dialogue.

We encourage parents, educators, and students to turn out to Tuesday’s School Board meeting (9/4 at 6pm), wear red, and make our voice heard.

Specifically we are calling for the following:

  • The School Board must vote to approve or deny these policy changes, or announce when they will do so. We have a democratic right to evaluate which of our leaders support these policies. In regard to start times, there must be a thorough plan developed by the Kamras administration and School Board to communicate to families the practical result of the vote.
  • The School Board should vote against implementing a new work schedule for teachers. We, as the RPS community, need public discussion on whether these shifts would serve our schools and our classrooms. Further, we have a responsibility to RPS staff to not implement consequential changes to their work schedule without time for necessary accommodations.
  • Tuesday’s School Board meeting must be held in City Council chambers to accommodate the influx of RPS staff and families who have stated an intention to attend and speak. We call for sufficient time to be budgeted for all speakers to be heard.
  • Should any teacher schedule shift be approved, there must be a moratorium on the disciplining of any RPS teachers and support staff as they attempt to adjust to these changes.
  • The Kamras administration must articulate precisely which requirements from the Virginia Department of Education have mandated these changes and to put forward all available options for meeting that requirement to be considered for this year and the follow years.
  • The School Board and Kamras administration must reinstate teacher retention as a metric of district success in the new strategic plan. This episode serves as a reminder that a core role for RPS leadership is supporting staff and treating them in ways that are considerate and moral boosting. This metric will help us evaluate whether we are fulfilling that responsibility.

Broderick 4 School Board
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