School Safety

Teacher/Educator Survey Results

From May 5, 2013 until May 17, 2013, a survey was open to VEA members. A link was provided on this website as well as through VCUSD district e-mail. 176 responses came from the link provided through the district e-mail and 88 responses came from the link provided on the website.

The results of this survey are posted below.

1. Are you currently looking for a teaching/education position in another school district?

Yes     31.8%
No 68.2%

2. Do you feel that District Administration generally supports the work of teachers/educators in their classrooms?

Yes 25.4%
No 75.8%

3. Do you feel safe on your school campus?

Yes 53.0%
No 47.0%

4. Has a school board member visited your school site this school year?

Yes 45.5%
No 55.3%

5. Do you believe that PBIS has been an efective strategy on your campus?

Yes 38.3%
No 64.4%

comments about PBIS:
“If PBIS is an effective strategy for working with people, then why aren’t the Administrators and Superintendent modeling the same strategy in their own interactions with us? The lack of training on how to deal with SEVERE Behaviors is of great concern. I have no problem with learning a new strategy, but the community must adopt it for it to show systemic results.”

“The students have no consequences for their actions anymore and they continue to repeat undesirable behaviors because there are no real consequences for their behavior.”

“It will take sometime to implement and adjust these new ideas on discipline and consequences.”

“For the majority of students, PBIS is working, but there are a few outlier (Tier 3) students whom PBIS is not working for.”
6. Do you believe restorative justice has been an effective strategy on your campus?

Yes 16.7%
No 84.6%

Comments about restorative justice:
“I’m not sure what it is or what its purpose is or whether or not students have any buy-in. Teens are very conscious of what’s fair and what’s unjust but they are not involved in “restorative justice”. Are they?”

“Very few teachers even understand the concept behind this program and little to no explanation or training has been given to support the process whatever it is. The district officials make it sound as though it is in place throughout the district but in reality very few individuals at our site know or understand how it is being used. We have very few support systems for our students and don’t see how they are being “restored” or rehabilitated.”

“Not enough time for all interested parties to meet and work out agreeable solutions to problems. Training for implementation of restorative justice seems inadequate.”

“We have not implemented all of the strategies of Restorative Justice, but theones we have in place are proven effective. I can’t wait to implement all of Restorative Justice next year. We have some great ideas for promoting a healthy and engaging school climate using Restorative Justice.”

VCUSD lowers standards on acceptable behavior

AR 1250 – Community Relations:Principal’s Registration Authority has replaced BP 1314, which used to be known as the “Civility Policy.” Both policies are posted below in their entirety.

AR 1250 – Community Relations: Principal’s Registration Authority
The principal or designee may refuse to register any outsider if he/she reasonably concludes that the individual’s presence or acts would disrupt the school, students, or employees; would result in damage to property; or would result in the distribution or use of a controlled substance. The principal or designee or school security officer may revoke any outsider’s registration if he/she has a reasonable basis for concluding that the individual’s presence on school grounds would interfere or is interfering with the peaceful conduct of school activities or would disrupt or is disrupting the school, students, or staff.

BP 1314
1. Any individual who disrupts or threatens to disrupt school/office operations; threatens the health and safety of students or staff; willfully causes property damage, uses loud and/or offensive language which could provoke a violent reaction; or who has otherwise established a continued pattern of unauthorized entry on school district property, will be directed to leave school or school district property promptly by the Superintendent or designee.

2. If any member of the public uses obscenities or speaks in a demanding, loud, insulting and/or demeaning manner, the administrator or employee to whom the remarks are directed will calmly and politely admonish the speaker to communicate civilly. If corrective action is not taken by the abusing party, the district employee will verbally notify the abusing party that the meeting, conference, or telephone conversation is terminated and, if the meeting or conference is on district premises, the offending person will be directed to leave promptly.

3. When an individual is directed to leave under such paragraph 1 or 2 circumstances, the Superintendent or designee shall inform the person that he/she will be guilty of a misdemeanor in accordance with Education Code 44811 and Penal Code 415.5 and 626.7 . . .

4. The Superintendent or designee will ensure that a safety and/or crisis intervention techniques program is provided in order to raise awareness on how to deal with these situations if and when they occur.

5. When violence is directed against an employee, or theft against property, employees shall promptly report the occurrence to their principal or supervisor and complete an Incident Report. Employees and supervisors should complete an Incident Report and report to law enforcement any attack, assault, or threat made against them on district premises or at school-/district-sponsored activities.

6. An employee whose person or property is injured or damaged by willful misconduct of a student, may ask the district to pursue legal action against the student or the student’s parent/guardian.

When the school board trustees were questioned on this change, they seem to be unaware that the old policy had been replaced with the new one.

Numbers don’t tell the whole story

This letter is in regards to the recent article, “Vallejo district to avoid major budget cuts,” (April 25). In this article, the Superintendent speaks to the drastic reduction in school suspensions and expulsions. She states the District is not looking the other way on student behaviors, rather that students are being suspended for suspendable offenses.

How do we know that this statement is true? The teachers don’t know it as they have been denied access to being able to easily look at a student’s discipline record that used to be readily available on AERIES, the computer program that tracks attendance, grades, and discipline. The discipline tab was disabled shortly into the Superintendent’s first year in the district.

Teachers will report that too often referrals that are written are never returned or are returned days letter. Teachers will say that even after sending a student out for a suspendable offense (offenses are listed under 48900 of the California Education Code), such as engaging in threatening behavior, students are returned to class. Even after a referral is returned days later, too often the referral provides no information as to what, if any, action was taken by the site administrator. Teachers will also report that it appears that their site administrators are under great pressure to reduce suspensions and expulsions and that many referrals disappear.

The one reliable source that teachers could use to see what consequences was given after a referral was written was disabled on AERIES. This action was taken after the District claimed that a teacher at a school site shared confidential information. This teacher was disciplined, but so was every other teacher in the district. There was no conversation with VEA on how to make sure confidentiality is not breached, rather the one tool we had was conveniently disabled around the same time the push to reduce suspensions and expulsions was put into place at school sites.

I keep trying to remind our school board members to be thoughtfully skeptical when the district provides information, whether it is on finances or discipline. There is a deep distrust with the numbers reported because I know from talking to teachers at our school sites that referrals are not being handled in any way that can be tracked by anyone outside of site and/or district administration.

Christal Watts,
President
Vallejo Education Association

(This letter appeared in the Vallejo Times Herald on Sunday, April 28, 2013.)

District seeks to ban and illegally confiscate teachers’ personal property

VEA has issued a demand to bargain on the letter that was sent today by VCUSD employee Denise Brogan-Whitford, most likely at the the direction of new District Administrator, Stephen Lane.

This letter was sent to all VEA members and issued the directive to stop immediate use of personal appliances such as microwaves, refrigerators, and coffee makers. This is supposedly due to an increase in energy usage.

No mention is made in this letter about the cold snap that has hit Vallejo and other parts of Northern California in the past couple of weeks.

Instead the blame for this increased energy use is placed on the usage of small appliances used by teachers in their classrooms.

The District has stated that if personal appliances are not removed by January 31st that they will “confiscate” these items.

VEA believes that perhaps the District has larger issues to address, such as the safety of their employees and the students of Vallejo, rather than the use of small appliances.

We also believes that in light of the fact that many teachers report having heaters that do not work in their classrooms, including VEA President Christal Watts’ 3rd grade classroom, that this District should spend more “energy” (no pun intended) on updating antiquated heating systems rather than seek to ban and illegally confiscate the personal property of VCUSD employees.

VEA’s Bargaining Team meets with the District’s bargaining team tomorrow. We will keep you posted!

School Site Safety: A concern for students, teachers, and staff

On Thursday, November 3rd, the teachers at Steffan Manor took a courageous step. After a student brought a hammer to school and threatened the teacher with it, the student was suspended for three days. The student was supposed to return to the same classroom where the assault occurred. The teachers decided together that parents at this school site needed to be aware that the safety of their students could be endangered unless the district took action. They urged parents at this school to contact Superintendent Ramona Bishop.

Instead of engaging in conversation with the teachers at Steffan Manor, the district has decided to scapegoat them. First, it appears that someone contacted a well-known community activist who stated that the teachers violated this student’s civil rights. Second, Superintendent Bishop was only willing to meet with the teacher directly involved in this incident. No conversation with the other teachers at the school site regarding school site safety has occurred. Third, at the November 16th VCUSD School Board, Dr. LaTonya Derbigny presented information on the suspension and expulsion rates for the district. At this meeting, teachers were scapegoated once again. School board members made outrageous claims that teachers were writing referrals “for their convenience” or “because they were in a bad mood.” Adding insult to injury, Dr. Derbigny turned to the reporter for the Vallejo Times Herald and demanded that he put in the paper that “teachers are lying when they say the district is not suspending or expelling students.”

VEA is hosting a forum “School Site Safety: Silent No More.” We can no longer stand on the sidelines while the district and school board members vilify our colleagues in a public forum. We are urging ALL VEA members to attend this event in order to develop a plan of action on school site safety.

In order for this district to “attract and retain quality educators” (a district goal), they need to start by listening to us about our concerns regarding the safety of our campuses. Our students deserve campuses that are safe and free from threats of violence in order to ensure their civil rights to a quality education.

School Site Safety Forum “Silent No More”
Hogan Middle School Theater
4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
December 8th, 2011

An injury to one is an injury to all!