A Proper Thank You

I just posted a blog entry on Stories from School offering a big thank you to Tucson Unified for the support they gave us through the NBC process last year.

http://www.storiesfromschoolaz.org/2013/01/a-proper-thank-you-note.html

Voting for Education: Resources in Arizona

Please register to vote before October 9.

If you've read my blog at all, you've probably seen some of the entries that express frustration and exhaustion surrounding my work as a teacher.

While teachers have always worked hard and sacrificed personally in order to teach students, working conditions for teachers (and other support staff in Arizona's districts) have come to a tipping point.  No longer do we have the support structures in place to do the job we need to do to prepare students for their futures and workers, learners, informed citizens and happy human beings.  

Working conditions for faculty and staff are learning conditions for students.  

1. When we work second and third jobs to keep up with the rising cost of a middle-class lifestyle, and to provide our own families with health care, transportation, multimedia communications, college educations, and healthy lifestyles, we reduce our ability to meet the needs of our students. 
2. When we lack librarians, teachers' aides, admin assistants, school nurses, copy clerks, security monitors, custodians and disciplinary support (such as parent liaisons at the high school level, a position which was abruptly cut in recent weeks in TUSD), we either take on extra responsibilities or ignore important aspects of creating a safe and responsive learning environment for students.  
3. As a parent, when district services such as after school programs are centralized (to be more "efficient"), the ability of school staff to be flexible and work with parents on payments is limited; tuition money goes back to a central pool instead of back into the schools where those parents' kids attend.
4. When we lack technical support, equipment, software and training, we use less technology in our instruction.
5. When we lack money for copy paper, students spend more time copying what is on the board and less time learning.  This is not why districts have purchased sophisticated tools such as Smartboards.
6. When class sizes are larger, we lack the time and energy to learn about and respond to our students' needs; we lack the time to give good quality, timely feedback on the complex assessments that are required by new more rigorous standards.  

These and many other changes are happening which have VERY concrete and observable impact on schools and classrooms.  As a parent, I wish that I had even more time to invest in researching and advocating for all the issues, especially at a local level.

Here are some resources for voters in Arizona who want to learn more about the issues and who want to vote for propositions and candidates that will support strong funding and a drive for excellence in Arizona's schools.  Of course my agenda here is to support both excellence and to FUND excellence in AZ education.  I'm sure my list is biased toward that goal.

• Voting information for supporting education (AEA fund for public education).  Includes candidates and propositions.
• Quality Education and Jobs Act-- Prop 204.  Information.  Vote for this, please.
• Expect More AZ -- A broad-based organization devoted to supporting excellence in education in Arizona
• Arizona Education Association's Legislative Issues page
• Arizona Education Network  
• [Please send me more if you've got 'em.]

TUSD/ Southern AZ issues/ candidates:

• Vote this woman onto the TUSD board: a teacher, and a teacher of teachers.  A Southern Arizona Writing Project fellow. Kristel Foster for TUSD board!  I have met her in a variety of contexts, and completely trust her intelligence, knowledge and judgment. She will help to change the conversation.
• TEA's endorsement for Cam Juarez and Kristel Foster.

Blogs about teaching in Arizona:

• www.storiesfromschoolaz.org  Arizona K12 Center runs this blog about how policy affects practice.  See my entries there, of course, while you're there.

Send more resources if you have them!  This is just a start.

Things that Need Posting

OK-- so, there are a few things that need posting.

First of all, Tucson is going to choose its first poet laureate, and here are the procedures for nominations if you'd like to participate.  I am open to suggestion and would love to form a coalition for someone local.  We need a true poet, and a true Tucsonan:  http://www.tucsonpimaartscouncil.org/public-art/opportunities/tucson-poet-laureate-nominations/

Second of all, a teacher colleague of mine from Southern Arizona Writing Project is running for TUSD School Board this fall.  After the AZK12 Center's Teacher Leadership Institute, I am convinced that we need more teachers on school boards, and Kristel Foster is a great choice.  Check out her website and facebook page, and spread the word, and more importantly, VOTE.

Another sweet opportunity is that the deadline for Copious, an effort by Charles Zoll to recognize local artists, and if you are a Tucson poet you can have your poem put to music as part of the performance next year: http://www.copiouscollaboration.org/#!

Fourth, my children need something to do.  L is currently dancing, writhing on the floor, singing under her breath... everything except sweeping the floor, which I asked her to do.  They are getting the summer boredom, and word to the wise:  It takes proactiveness to sign your kids up for summer programs early.  They are all full or already in session at this point.  I'm screwed!  :)  It's okay, though.  We have projects to do.  But it would be easier if it weren't June in Tucson (i.e. Hell Month.)

Letter to TUSD Regarding Seniors not Walking Due to AIMS Math

Sent today to John Pedicone, TUSD superintendent and our governing board.

Hello— I am a teacher at Tucson High, a parent of students in TUSD, and a voting citizen in TUSD.  I am writing to make you aware of the high school seniors who have just found out this week that they will not be graduating due to having failed the newer, more difficult AIMS math, many of them by a VERY narrow margin.  I talked to two students this morning, who are shocked and devastated, and I will tell you one of their stories to show you how unjust and harmful the current situation is for a certain population of students.

This student is in my English 11 class.  She has been carrying a load of two English classes this year because she was behind on credits.  She is perhaps not the most academically motivated student, but she has been working consistently this year in my class and is currently earning a strong B in my class.  She also has all of her other classes poised for passing.  She has been making plans for her future throughout the school year, visiting Pima college, taking her placement exams, and setting herself up with student volunteer opportunities in the field she hopes to study.  She knew this spring that she had to pass the new, more difficult AIMS test.  Although she refused to drop steel drums to take an additional math class when the opportunity was given to her only a few weeks before the AIMS test, she did take advantage of all the after-school tutoring sessions to try to prepare for the exam.  She has paid for her cap and gown and other graduation expenses.  She was told on Monday that she failed the AIMS test by five points and will not be able to walk or receive any kind of recognition that she has completed her coursework for graduation—10 days before graduation, five days before her last day of classes.

The implications?  She will not be able to return as a repeating senior next year to improve her math scores because she has earned her credits and will no longer be an enrolled student.  She will not be able to attend Pima to improve her math score because she was counting on financial aid to help her go there, and cannot receive federal aid without a diploma.  She cannot begin the volunteer job she had lined up because she will not be a student in that program.  She is left to do what?  Perhaps find a minimum wage job until she can take AIMS in October and get the scores... when?  The current unemployment rate for teens is 25%.  She is truly stuck in the cracks of this system.  There are others in this very situation.

TUSD can’t change state policy, but the district can decide to let students who have earned their credits at least walk with their classmates, and work out the rest later.  I was told there might be about 50 students affected by this at Tucson High alone.  2000 statewide is what John Huppenthal’s office estimates.  Anything you can do to support the best interests of our students will be hugely appreciated by them and their families.  This kind of situation is also very demoralizing to the juniors who might be struggling with AIMS math— if they see these seniors tossed to the winds, they are that much closer to giving up.

We need to hold standards high, but we also need to recognize the efforts that many of these students have made to create a future for themselves.

Thanks for reading.

Amethyst Hinton Sainz

Laptops for Learning-- Please Donate!

Please consider donating to my current Donorschoose project. It is my most ambitious proposal yet, and if it doesn't get funded I will have risked 4 of my hard-won points (earned by completing other successful projects) for nothing.

Laptops for Learning



The idea is to get some laptops for use in my classroom at Tucson High Magnet School, to support the writing process as well as our online learning community (a Ning site.)

This proposal will get us 10 mini Dells with wireless internet capability. Sweet.

Our local TUSD override election, props. 401 and 402 failed in November, which, paired with crippling budget cuts at the state level, means that there will likely be few to no computer upgrades and inadequate maintenance for years to come. However, the techs at our school know that I created this proposal and they have offered tech support for any computers I get for my classroom.

Please help if you can, or at least spread the word!

Thanks!