- EXAMINER
- EDUCATION & SCHOOLS
- APRIL 29, 2010
- BY: TAB UNO
“The (Salt Lake District) superintendent and the board of education fully support shared governance,” stated James Olsen last Tuesday, the District’s Communications Officer, in response to allegations that the District has “eradicated” the voices of the teachers in the District. He said that, “Shared governance is a valued asset in this district because it provides all stakeholders a voice in the education process, and it provides a structure for making difficult decisions.” Nevertheless, Will Carlson, a Salt Lake School Board challenger in this year’s upcoming elections responded last week charging that, “The schedule (for high school) voting sham (reported earlier) shows shared governance is being dismantled. The vehicle for collaborative leadership is becoming a lawn ornament… Parents, students, teachers, and community members are all invested in our schools. It’s time to put them back in the driver’s seat and restore shared governance.”
Mr. Olsen, suggested that it was important to understand what “shared goverance” in the District really means, “Each group involved in shared governance has a defined role in how those decisions come about. Some responsibilities are directly assigned to the board of education and district administration while others fall to schools and parents.” He used the recent discussions regarding high school schedules as an excellent example as how shared governance works. Mr. Olsen goes on to say that, “In the Written Agreement, which was developed based on the principles of shared governance, it states the board of education has the responsibility to determine school schedules. At the high school level, this could include semester schedules, block schedules, modified block schedules, etc. The responsibility for scheduling the school day falls to the school improvement council, made up of teachers and administrators, with input from the school community council, which is comprised of teachers, parents, and school administrators. These scheduling decisions are then subject to approval from the superintendent. Working together, the board, the district administration, the schools, and parents are able to determine a schedule that meets the needs of students.” Rosemary Emery, another Salt Lake School Board challenger and a 26-year veteran teacher who is retiring this year from the Salt Lake School District, insists that the high schedule was prepared for School Board approval by the District without sufficient study or input from teachers and parents and, personally, believes that the block schedule rather than a tri-semester schedule is the worst schedule she’s taught under as a teacher.
As a personal commentary and a former Salt Lake School Board member under Mr. Donald M. Thomas who developed shared governance in the late 70s and later under superintendents John Bennion and Darlene Robles, this author always fought strenuously for shared governance to ensure that those closest to the students – the students themselves, the teachers, and parents had as much equal participation as possible in policy decisions as the school board. It has never been easy to balance the various stakeholders’ interest as the time involved, various personalities and power struggles influenced how decisions were made in the school district. Nevertheless the singular most powerful influence on how policy is formulated comes from the school superintendent (appointed by the school board) and the president of the school board. Sometimes it comes down a very personal belief and one’s professional experience as to how shared governance is to be interpreted and administered.
“The Salt Lake City School District has a long history of supporting and sustaining the principles of open dialog and shared governance,” insists Mr. Olsen. He stated that, “The district administration is continuing that tradition. Shared governance training is held regularly throughout the year. The training has been conducted at every district office and at every school. New employees also take part in this training to ensure that shared governance maintains its vital role.” Yet whether or not the balance of power has tilted too severely towards the past traditional, hierarchical top-down management system can only be determined by how the teachers and parents and students view the current School District actions that affect them and how much they feel their opinions and voices are heard.