Recently, I inquired at my daughter's future elementary school as to the ethnic composition of the School Site Council, the council tasked with developing the school site's Single Plan for Student Achievement. A guide to this plan is found here.
http://www.wccusd.net/cms/lib03/CA01001466/centricity/domain/86/SPSA_guide_draft.pdf
I specifically asked if the council included African Americans and-or Latinos, two groups who did not meet their API growth targets. I was told that the council did not, that none had applied. I found this troubling as this council is tasked with addressing the biggest problem that the district faces, that being the achievement gap. I suppose it is possible that most parents at this school site simply decided that the current SSC members were able to adequately represent everyone, that it does not take an African American or Latino to represent African Americans and Latinos.
Recently, an African American parent shared with me the difficulties they encountered in getting elected to their child's SSC, including the lack of adherence to SSC protocol. They took these issues up the chain-of-command to the state level, with some resolutions adopted as a result of their efforts. Are any additional improvements needed? Are SSC instructions, including election ballots, communicated in Spanish?
Are there community outreach programs that encourage representation by all on the SSC? I had inquired with WCCUSD Community Relations Director, Mr. Trujillo, if such outreach existed in my town of Hercules. I never received a reply. If the WCCUSD is serious about bridging the achievement gap, then such programs should exist in all WCCUSD communities.
Giving this matter some additional thought, I have to wonder if the sensitivity of this issue might possibly cause some to shy away from seeking a seat on such a council, that they might prefer to work on these problems in a different setting. Pasadena has the African American Parent Council (AAPC) found herehttp://mckinley.pasadenausd.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=111065&SID
They make recommendations to the SSC. This option might be more comfortable for some, so the development of such additional councils should be considered as an option.
Whatever it takes to get EVERYONE involved with the improvement process, let's do it!
