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Show THE ZEPHYR JUNE 1990 PAGE 8 Grand County Schools... what will the future bring? by M. Clokey-Til- l Another school year has coma to a doss. It la a time to recollect diverse experiences, Impressions and thoughts, and to reflect on the year as a whole. Personally, Ifa been a banner school year for our family, one filled with rewards and hope. My first grader bounded eagerly off to school each day, excited by the prospect of learning and socializing with her friends. She became a reader this year, and we watched with wonder as she began deciphering the printed world around her. I felt safe In the knowledge that her teacher valued and respected her as an Individual and cared for her as a person. Her teacher, Ms. Mullen, welcomed my participation as a volunteer In the classroom, and my life has been enriched by the acquaintance of twenty-fo- ur unique and capable first graders. I met with the at Bedrock Elementary, and found Margaret Hopkln principal to approachable and willing listen to parents, ever mindful of the needs and feelings of the faculty. She skillfully balanced the Interests of many parties, while retaining her own Integrity. I had occasion to meet with the Grand County School Board and found them concerned for the citizens wishes and acting In a responsible, knowledgeable fashion. Finally, I have had the pleasure of getting to know other parents Interested In committing time and energy to their children's education. All these factors have given me confidence In the future of education In Grand County, despite certain problems that loom ahead. Whether or not we are satisfied with the quality of education In Grand County now, we need to realize that It will be vitally and permanently affected by decisions that will be made this year. The most Important of them will undoubtedly be Novembers 2 mil tax levy vote. Parents and other citizens can make a difference both at the ballot box and In the school If they are willing to participate. But there are probably many citizens for whom the Issues are not yet clear. Perhaps they might be more willing to get Involved If they had a better sense of what our schools are doing right and where they have fallen short In an effort to more clearly define the strengths and weaknesses of our educational I conducted brief Interviews with system, parents and teachers of all age levels, a principal, a school board member, and the Superintendent My experience as a teacher and a parent play a critical role In my reporting. As I asked people what they foresaw as pressing needs for the future of Grand County schools, what emerged first was the pride people felt about the good things that were happening. It Is clear that Grand County School District's greatest assets are Its extraordinary teachers, dedicated to their profession. Everyone I talked to agreed that teachers went the extra mile for their kids and wanted to Improve education. The Superintendent pointed out the teachers willingness to Innovate. I believe teachers to be genuinely concerned for their students, and willing to put In extra time, effort, and even money In order to meet their many needs. Teachers are doing the best they can with limited ed resources and classrooms -- - all for a salary ranked second to the lowest of all counties In Utah. We are Indeed fortunate to have committed professionals willing to do over-crowd- Computer Misuse in GCSD by Jim Stiles Last week, local resident Marvin Clever complained to the State Superintendent of Schools over what appeared to be misuse of school-own- ed computers at the Grand County School District office. While visiting the office, Clever observed that "church related materials were being Inputed Into a computer by a school district employee. Clever confirmed his observations and contacted former Superintendent of Schools, Bill Meador, and later, current State School Superintendent, Dr. Scott Bean. In a conference call Interview with Dr. Bean and Director of Finance, Jay Jeffries, the Zephvr confirmed the allegations. According to Jeffries, "I got the feeling from the Superintendent that he was aware of some things that maybe needed to be dealt with, and he would take care of It to see that any Indiscretions were taken care of and cleared up. But when asked If the State would follow up at a later date to see If those Indiscretions were corrected, Jeffries explained, "Normally I would think wed assume It would be dealt with (by the District). Dr. Bean added, lf we had any other complaints though, we would be much more formal on It, but when you have an Initial one, thats the first notification to the District When they say they will Indeed take care of the problem, we assume that Is the case. A second referral will make It much more serious. Later, Grand County School District Superintendent Glen Taylor agreed to an Interview. Regarding the allegations, Taylor said, "If they were used, It was not very often. They may have been used during breaks, but this Is not a common practice. They were not using employee time. If an employee had a break, they were tiylng to learn the computer to see the things you could do and how you could use K. Anything that happened that way would be paid for, will be paid for. I would personally pay for IL We got a reprimand from Mr. Jeffries to stop using the computer and has. Mr. Taylor said further, "Ill be honest with you, Ive used this computer for my personal use. I have some files on It, addresses and phone numbers. But I dont abuse It and It helps me organize my time It better. their best under less than Ideal conditions. Other positive features mentioned about Grand County School District were: administrators dedicated to Improving educational programs by searching for additional training that encourages teachers to stay abreast of funds and trying new Ideas, new information In their field and allows opportunities for professional growth; committed working cooperatively with and caring office staff In the schools; competent teacher-aid- s, Individual students needs; meet mainstreaming of the Resource the teacher to better an Integral part of the Program, making children with learning disabilities and special needs of regular classroom; parent and citizen volunteers performing a myriad tasks, ranging from In a strong sense of the lessona to In office classroom; the clerical help conducting Outcome-Bas- ed an valued as and known Is Incflvldual, community where every child Important; Education, a system where students work towards achieving goals and mastering specific skills; and a genuine desire to continually Improve education In any way possible given the resources available. You can see that Its the people of GCSD who are Its greatest In-ser- assets. It Is not surprising that opinions vary about GCSD's most pressing needs for the Immediate future, and that many of these problems are Interrelated and the solutions complex. Although the people I Interviewed disagreed about the school district's specific needs, most did realize that money (or lack of It) was frequently the underlying Issue. All education discussion eventually ends with the question, "What Is this going to cost the district? The reality In Grand County Is that the revenues generated by the taxpayers are not enough to cover the cost of educating our children. Currently the school district Is operating on a deficit budget The state "balls out Grand County, so the district can operate within the guidelines of the law, with money from a special contingency fund ust for such emergencies. Though the district Is not nearly as far In debt as It was several years ago, It still Is operating In the red and foresees doing so Into the future. The inequities between rural and urban school districts are one of Utah's greatest problems. The financial weakness of GCSD reflects the disparity In resources between rural and urban districts. The former simply do not have a large enough tax base to raise necessary monies to adequately fund school programs. I can safely say from my experience as a teacher In Salt Lake City School District that teachers and students In Grand County have far less opportunity available to them than their counterparts In SLCSD. I noticed this first when I surveyed the supplies and materials available In my child's Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. Then I noticed a friend's outdated and tattered high school textbooks. I asked for Information about a program for students who show an academic or other talent and found there was none In GCSD. (SLCSD has a gifted and talented program In all the schools from 4th grade on.) I discovered there are no Advanced Placement classes at the Jr. High and High School, though concurrent enrollment at USU extension campus here In Moab Is an option for high school students. Course selection at the middle and high schools suffers because there are not enough students to Justify offering a wider variety of classes, or there Is no current teacher able to teach them. I witnessed children coming to school hungry and was told there were obstacles to Instituting the federal breakfast program. I hear from teachers who are discouraged because they cannot purchase the necessary materials to run a quality band or orchestral program. Teachers In regular classrooms feel as though they are barely getting by with the texlbook and supply budgets they have. Field trips are Infrequent I wondered where the counseling, social work, and psychology staff were In Grand County ' Schools. (Currently the elementary has one sodal worker and an aid working under a grant There are no formal counselors In foe district that I know of.) These were not major concerns when I taught In SLCSD, where I always felt the district had adequate resources to meet students needs. Equal money does not mean equal education In Utah. Equal opportunity In education has become an Indispensable right and In rural school dstricts this will require higher spending from both the state and local taxpayers. Other states already have "equalization policies that, In effect, transfer some resources from wealthier to poorer school districts. Some Moabites have suggested the option of filing a class action suit against the State of Utah to achieve equality of education In this state as well. Perhaps that Is foe only recourse we have for changing the allocation of funds throughout Utah. Class size continues to be an Important Issue for most teachers and some parents, not Just In GCSD, but throughout Utah. This past school year we had Kindergarten classes with over thirty children, fourth grades with thirty-fo- ur students, some high school classes had 38 and 40 students, and sixth grade band had over fifty students. This constitutes a problem that affects the quality of education for all Involved. The obvious solution to reducing class size Involves hiring mors teachers, thus lowering foe ration of students to teacher. This Is not a viable solution at this time because It Involves spending money foe district simply does not have. Another partial solution could be to equalize class loads throughout the district, so that all teachers see approximately foe same number of children during the course of a day. This becomes more difficult at the middle and high school levels where classes offered, number of students selecting a class, and what teachers are certified to teach all come Into play when schedules are worked out Some people do not understand why large classes are so debilitating to a classroom. They say, Twenty years ago, forty years ago, I went to school with thirty-fi- ve kids In my class, and all of us learned Just fine. Why, the teacher got up there and did her Job without complaining about IL I take Isaue with this attitude and argue that achools have changed significantly even In foe past 10 years, let along 20 or 40 years, first of all, educators are expected to present a much greater body of knowledge to their students now than they were In years past Technology (computers) Is changing quickly, and students are expected to keep up In this field. Teachers are bombarded with Information they are supposed to teach. There Is a higher expectation for what students need to know In order world. Second, foe family and society have changed greatly and students arrive at school having to cope with situations In their homes and In their communities that were uncommon 20 years ago. In adctition, there has been a rise In the . - These are Just a few factors that make learning more dHflcult when there are too many students In a An emerging Issue In GCSD Is foe dspute over foe effectiveness of foe ay school week. There are currently groups who week the ay strongly favor and those who favor staying wHh the week. This premises to be a public debate. An initial survey of teachers Indkatsd that 60 of teachers were In favor of the 4- day week (45 as It Is, 16 with mortifications while 36 favored a return to the ay week. A random survey of parents Indkated 27 schedule, while 63 preferred the ay y11 nunfBtud,wUnflProb,l- 4-d- 5-d- 4-d- ay "But Its something that happened, Im not going to deny lt. It was there. It wont happen anymore, and 5-d- 4-d- |