Morgan Hill Unified School District educators and officials
disagree about the level of teacher participation in curriculum
discussions, and the issue is so important to them, the 450
teachers in the district, have included it as a part of their
unfair labor complaint filed last spring.
Morgan Hill – Morgan Hill Unified School District educators and officials disagree about the level of teacher participation in curriculum discussions, and the issue is so important to them, the 450 teachers in the district, have included it as a part of their unfair labor complaint filed last spring.
Teachers are frustrated, according to Donna Foster, president of the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers, but the issue has come to the forefront again as district officials are considering a change to high school graduation requirements allegedly without teacher input.
“The efforts the district has made have been just a cursory nod to teachers, a one- or two-time conversation, not the in-depth process that’s necessary in order to make sure the curriculum is effective, aligned and able to deliver the best education for those kids,” said Foster. “Everybody’s goal is that kids should be successful.”
Assistant Superintendent Michael Johnson said he does not agree that the district is not including the teachers.
“What we’re doing is having task force meetings on an as-needed basis (to discuss curriculum changes),” he said. “The teachers are included in task force meetings, sometimes just department chairs, sometimes we open it up to all of them, just depending on what we’re working on.”
Foster said the district’s practice has been to have regular task force meetings and steering committee meetings, in years past, once a month, but more recently, quarterly or three or four times a year.
Now however, the teachers are not called to participate at that level, she said, pointing out that the teachers are not paid for participation in task forces or steering committees, they volunteer their time.
“The process had been that we had site level discussion within each department, but then all math teachers, for example, if we were discussing changes to the math curriculum, about textbook adoptions, changes in the district, whatever, would come together, then we could splinter off into K-3, 4-6, and secondary, to focus on a particular area,” she said.
Elementary and secondary steering committees met more frequently to do research or share ideas about more specific issues, she said.
Once the work was done, there would be a discussion about what to recommend to the school board, Foster said, and then the work to implement the new procedure would begin, with steering committees and task forces continuing to meet to discuss the necessary steps or problems.
The practice is not only something that has proved successful, Foster said, but something that has been included in the union’s contract. And state law.
“Ed Code (California Education Code) is very specific, providing for this opportunity to consult,” she said.
Because district officials have had “infrequent meetings, last-minute notice, with an incomplete (group) of people involved,” the union has included the lack of a structured consultation process in their unfair labor complaint against the district.
“They just don’t follow any process,” she said. “Please stop and consider, is what you are doing following best practices for education? The right to consult is one of the fundamental rights of teachers. We are professionals, we have spent years in higher education, at least six years in university by the time we are credentialed. You’re not talking about someone who has no investment or no knowledge to impart.”
One of the recent decisions Foster said the teachers have been excluded from is the proposed change to district graduation requirements. District officials are proposing requirements in math and applied arts be changed, as well other requirements.
School board trustees heard a presentation by district staff at a board meeting in August, but Foster said the proposal was premature, as teachers were not involved in the discussions. She asked trustees to hold off on making a decision until the teachers had time to review the proposal and comment.
Johnson said he believes the district is in compliance with the education code and the teachers’ contract.
“There is a difference between how the union at this point perceives the process ought to be, and how (the educational services department) perceives the process ought to be,” he said.
Superintendent Alan Nishino said when he arrived in the district two years ago, “the only task force in place was for textbook adoption.” He said if there were others in place, “they must have done away with them before I got here.”
“I absolutely believe teachers should have input in curricular decisions, in textbook decisions,” he said. “Regarding the high school graduation policy, historically around California, the board sets policy.”
