Teacher, student development at the heart of superintendent’s new plan for the district.
Teachers won’t just work in the classroom but will return as students under a new plan proposed by Santa Monica-Malibu Unified Superintendent John Deasy.
Deasy’s vision for the district centers on continuous professional development both through the central administration office and through the individual school.
“Drive-by professional development doesn’t have staying power,” said Deasy of the school district’s current form of teacher training. “Somebody comes by, makes a presentation and then moves on. What we need to do is trust our teachers to know what works and doesn’t work in their classroom and facilitate a continuous professional development over the course of their career.”
“What we need to do is trust our teachers to know what works and doesn’t work in their classroom.” — — JOHN DEASY Santa Monica-Malibu superintendent
Upon Deasy’s arrival six months ago as superintendent, he proclaimed that he would “leave no child behind” and “equalize student performance” throughout the district by implementing a system focused on results and a continuous learning process.
To achieve that, the school district will implement a learning survey, currently used in 22 other states. The extensive survey is given to students, teachers and parents to make sure classroom practices are being used by children at home too.
“This survey is not going to access the quality of our instruction,” Deasy said, “but it will provide our facility with an enormous amount of information and a comprehensive look at how their teaching practices are following through.”
A team of 12 coordinators will be used to develop individual learning plans for each student and serve as mediators between teachers, students and parents, as well as provide college and career guidance. By creating this team, Deasy expects a 40 percent drop in current counselor’s case loads.
“The work of implementing this for September is no small task, but I don’t want another parent asking me, ‘When will something be done to improve student performance’,” Deasy said. “If I made an error in my thinking it’s that I waited too long in implementing this plan.”
“This model is about continuous learning and being relentless about student achievement.”
Parents and school board members applauded Deasy’s recommendations, which they believe will revitalize achievement scores throughout the school district.
“I think for the first time when we say we will offer the best for our kids it will happen,” said School Board Vice- President Maria Leon-Vazquez.
Deasy warned that the benefits of his plan would not be seen in months or even a year, but many years down the road.
“It will be impossible to see the successes of these changes immediately,” he said.
Deasy also wants to reorganize the district’s various entities.
All day-to-day operations of the school district will be moved to the first floor of the administration’s office building at the corner of 16th Street and Broadway and all policy-centered positions will be aligned along the second floor corridors.
The move is intended to remove the hustle and bustle of the school district’s business and personnel offices from disturbing the thought process of policy administrators.
The new system, slated to be in place by next school year, will divide the two Assistant Superintendents into areas of educational and instructional services and student and family support services.
In addition to restructuring the central office, Deasy set forth an ambitious reorganization of Santa Monica High School. He wants to create one CEO, or Chief Educational Officer, who would oversee three assistant principals. The current system relies on two co-principals and four assistant principals.
Two deans also would be added to free assistant principals from the arduous task of discipline and allow them to concentrate on policy implementation.
“These recommendations are not about administrators or teachers not working hard enough,” said Deasy at last week’s school board meeting. “I won’t even consider that [criticism] because it is simply not true. This is entirely about creating a framework that facilitates and delivers instruction to students.”
The proposed plan would require several new positions, which are not currently budgeted.
“The net effect on the central office would be an increase in positions, especially in the development of math and science curriculum, that currently do not exist and are not currently budgeted,” Deasy said. “It will be my responsibility then to find the necessary funds to fill these positions.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 22, 2002. Read the original PDF.