School Committee candidates share their views

BACHUS

HALL

JOHNSON

TESTA

Warwick Beacon · Thursday, November 3, 2016 2:19 pm

Karen Bachus

Which community organizations do you support?

Warwick School Committee, Warwick City Council Charter Review Commission, The Community Outreach Educational Committee, Warwick Veteran’s Service Organization, (WVSO), Volunteers of Warwick Schools (VOWS), St. Benedict’s Church, JONAH Center

Career Information

I am a clinical social worker for the State of Rhode Island, Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals.

Education

B.A. English & Education, Minor in Religous Studies, Providence College; M.A. Clinical Psychology, West Chester University; URI undergraduate and advanced graduate coursework in psychology and counseling (40+ credits); CCRI Emergency Medical Technician-A Training

How long have you lived in Warwick?

I love Warwick and chose to make my home here 20-years ago.

Do you have, or have you had, a child in the Warwick schools?

I have no children of my own. However, I have a nephew and nieces that attend/attended Warwick Schools.

If a parent or a principal comes to you regarding a situation involving a particular teacher or a particular school, how do you see your role as a school board member in resolving the issue?

I contact the principal/administrator as appropriate, explain the situation, and ask them to intervene and resolve the matter. If warranted, I contact central administration and speak with the appropriate director, request that they assist in the situation, call me if I am needed, and bring it to resolution. In the Atoyan matter, I reached out to the mayor and colleagues on the Council because central administration was directly involved.

A key point of disagreement with the contract is how students with IEPs are counted when calculating class size. What are your thoughts on this issue?

Weighting, as it is called, protects and provides a safeguard for the teaching and learning of all students. When we fail to provide a safe, nurturing environment in which to teach and learn, it leads to greater failure rates, decreased motivation, emotional and behavioral dysfunction, and increased stress for students and teachers. Filling a classroom to maximum capacity with a heterogeneous population of students without weighting is not beneficial to anyone.

Child advocates suggest that student learning outcomes would improve if high school students started school later in the morning, and younger students had more recess time. How will you reconcile the needs of students with the needs to spend time on task in the classroom, schedule practices, games, activities and bus transportation, and manage the school budget?

Learning outcomes improve when high school students start school later in the morning, and younger students start earlier. More recess correlates with increased cognitive functioning for all. Students who enjoy this schedule present with greater focus and attention to learning and other activities. There is no impact on the school budget because elementary and secondary school start and end times are reversed, not substantially changed. Overall, it is a win-win for all.

How do you see the school district responding to declining enrollment; do we need further consolidation?

I am a proponent of the philosophy that “as our schools go, so goes our city.” We must look to improve and rebuild our schools—to bring in programs that are strong and academically challenging, and services that meet the needs of our less able students. When this happens our schools will be attractive and people will return to our community and our schools. If we don’t look to improve, then certainly enrollment will continue to spiral downward, and additional consolidation will result.

What are your thoughts on school governance? Would a larger committee, say 9 members, give the city better representation? What about an appointed committee, or a combination of elected and appointed members?

Nine people—one school committee member per city ward, would be optimum. The Warwick School Committee could establish subcommittees without violating the Rolling Quorum Rule, and so much more. The current committee size is too small and is not entirely representative of our citizens. A completely appointed committee may be very political, and not in our best interest. As for a combination of elected and appointed members, I would need to see the plan before I could comment.

Danny Hall

Which community organizations do you support?

Apponaug Improvement Association, Warwick Neck Improvement Association, Riverview Improvement Association, Arnolds Neck Improvement Association, Warwick Boys and Girls Club volunteer coach, Community Development Advisory Board, Historic Cemetery Commission Volunteer

Career Information

RI Department of Corrections

Education

Scott Elementary School, Robinson Elementary School, Winman Junior High, Toll Gate High School Graduate and an Associates degree in Political Science from Community College of Rhode Island

How long have you lived in Warwick?

My entire life. 34 years.

Do you have, or have you had, a child in the Warwick schools?

We are expecting our first child this year, who will be entering the Warwick School system in 5 short years. Part of the reason I am running for school committee is so I can help ensure she gets the same quality education as I received.

If a parent or a principal comes to you regarding a situation involving a particular teacher or a particular school, how do you see your role as a school board member in resolving the issue?

I would bring any situation pertaining to school, parents or teachers before the entire school committee or any outside agency that could assist with rectifying the situation depending on the severity of it. The safety of our children is paramount, so if local law enforcement should have to be involved, then I would involve them immediately.

A key point of disagreement with the contract is how students with IEPs are counted when calculating class size. What are your thoughts on this issue?

I believe that meeting the needs of the students has to be considered with regards to the individual student needs. Some IEPs are more severe than others and some children require more individualized attention, where others work very well with peers in smaller groups. I believe that ultimately the concerns of the parents and the teachers must be heard and considered by administration for the well-being of the child.

Neighboring cities have already implemented a later start time for high school students and longer recesses for elementary school students. These neighboring cities also have test scores that remain at the top of the charts. Something should be said for that. I don’t believe that learning is solely done in the classroom. Group sessions outdoors such as additional physical education, peer to peer education, and students positively interacting with one another can optimize social skills.

How do you see the school district responding to declining enrollment; do we need further consolidation?

I hope that the district doesn’t respond to the declining enrollment in the city of Warwick by consolidating or closing more schools. Based on the commentary from students and teachers at school committee meetings, classrooms have reached capacity. Consolidating more schools only hinders the children’s ability to focus and retain information during learning hours. I would be an advocate for finding alternative and constructive solutions to saving current funding allocated to the schools.

I feel that a larger committee would certainly give the city better representation, but I also feel as though 9 members would be too many. At this point in the elections, there are many unopposed seats. I believe that 7 members would be an ideal number of committee members. I would propose for there to be 4 city wide elected seats, and 3 district elected seats. Adding more members would ultimately add more brain power and ideas to committee decisions and solutions.

Dean Johnson

Which community organizations do you support?

Rhode Island Food Bank, Holliman PTO, Ocean State Dice Devils, American Legion, Korean War Veterans Organization

Career Information

As a disabled veteran I had my military career cut short so I now work as a small business owner. I also devote a fair amount of my free time to charitable pursuits, including work with the Holliman PTO.

Education

I am a proud graduate of Pilgrim High School, class of 1995. Following my time at Pilgrim I enlisted in the United States Army where I attended Signal School. After the Army I attended Rhode Island College where I received my BA in History and Geography.

How long have you lived in Warwick?

I’m a lifelong resident of Warwick; we moved away briefly, returning to enroll at Aldrich Junior High School. I have lived in Warwick ever since.

Do you have, or have you had, a child in the Warwick schools?

I enrolled both sons in the early intervention program at Holliman at 3. I made a difficult decision this year to send them to Catholic Schools due to uncertainty with consolidation and the school committee’s willful disregard for implementing IEPs.

If a parent or a principal comes to you regarding a situation involving a particular teacher or a particular school, how do you see your role as a school board member in resolving the issue?

I would refer them to the appropriate figure to ensure the issue was looked into and resolved to the satisfaction of all parties involved. I would also follow through with the concerned party to ensure that the issue had been addressed, and if I were to find it had not been I would refer it to a higher authority and intervene if I found it to be within my purview.

A key point of disagreement with the contract is how students with IEPs are counted when calculating class size. What are your thoughts on this issue?

I firmly believe that weighting is an important aspect in ensuring that every student receives the appropriate attention and care needed to guarantee academic success. By woefully disregarding the interests of our students, and in some instances breaking requirements stipulated in IEP’s we are sending a message to our students and community that we do not take our children’s education seriously. I firmly stand behind our teachers in this debate.

Above all else our focus should be on what is best for our students. Our children are not dollar signs on a spread sheet, they are our futures, they are what we live for. A dialogue must be opened in which parents and educators collectively review and implement approaches to education that have the well-being of our children at the heart of the conversation. Is it important to balance the budget? Yes. Is it important to cut costs at the expensive of our children? Absolutely not.

How do you see the school district responding to declining enrollment; do we need further consolidation?

The question here should be why we allowed our schools to decline and deteriorate for so long that young families that once made our city thrive have moved out in search of better educational opportunities for their children. Consolidation in theory made sense, the implementation of it however has been a disaster. If we focused on rebuilding our schools, and once again making Warwick a beacon of educational excellence our schools will once again flourish and consolidation will be unnecessary.

The beauty of democracy is the mandate given by voters to elected officials to serve. We have the power to vote them into office, and when they lose our confidence we can vote them out. Any expansion of the School Committee should be done to include a representative from each Ward, allowing equal representation for the people of Warwick. Any appointed official should be limited to providing advice and counsel, without having the ability to cast votes.

David Testa

Which community organizations do you support?

Warwick Schools Parent Community Advisory Committee since inception in 2008, Chair from 2009-present.

Career Information

Gordon Food Service New England Division, Taunton, MA

Education

B.A. Political Science, Providence College 1985

How long have you lived in Warwick?

25 years

Do you have, or have you had, a child in the Warwick schools?

Two currently, a freshman and junior @ Pilgrim plus a 2015 Pilgrim graduate who is now in college. All of my kids have been in Warwick schools from kindergarten and have been very well served by our schools and our teachers.

If a parent or a principal comes to you regarding a situation involving a particular teacher or a particular school, how do you see your role as a school board member in resolving the issue?

I would immediately report it in writing to the Principal, Superintendent, Director of Elementary or Secondary Ed (depending at which level the incident occurred) and the HR Director. I would then expect the Committee to be updated along the way - as much as personnel law, rules and regulations will allow and a full, detailed report from which the Committee would render any necessary and appropriate judgment.

A key point of disagreement with the contract is how students with IEPs are counted when calculating class size. What are your thoughts on this issue?

Weighting and class sizes are two sides of the same coin. I’m concerned that we’ve exploded the ratio of IEP to non-IEP students in classes to levels that are simply not conducive to learning. I’m deeply concerned that teachers don’t have the appropriate resources and/or support in the classroom to work effectively. I’m also concerned about overall class size parity between our junior highs. Sometimes, just because something is legal doesn’t mean that it’s right.

I support mandating recess at the elementary level. It’s too bad that we had to pass a law for that. Studies show that un-constructed play time helps in the student’s overall educational development. Later high school start times are a newer phenomenon and some data suggests that it’s beneficial, but I need to know more. I’m not sure of the budgetary impact of that and we’d need to know more about its spillover effects on elementary start times, sports, after school activities and transportation

How do you see the school district responding to declining enrollment; do we need further consolidation?

Our population figures tell us that we can consolidate, but I’m not convinced that the recently approved plan contained the right schools or the right timeline. Moving to middle school does allow us to consolidate. Once we get through this round I think we should be done for a while. It may be then that we look to the late 2020’s to begin studying the feasibility of building new schools to replace our older schools.

I can support a larger committee. I like at-large seats because they represent the whole city rather than just certain districts. I strongly oppose an appointed committee because it becomes political. It would be a disaster. They’re found in urban cities (Boston, Providence) and we’re not urban. Nationally, the overwhelming majority of school committees are elected. The idea that voters can be trusted to elect their Mayor and Council but not their School Committee is an insult to the voter.