District: Get a Grip on Field Trips

It appears that a field trip this weekend for jazz vocal at Garfield (just over to Vashon), that had been approved by the principal and the district Risk Manager, got pulled by Michael Tolley and Sarah Pritchett (executive director for the region) at the last minute.  (The vocal teacher did get the paperwork in at the last minute because of the new policies but was told it was approved.)

There was no explanation given and, despite Principal Howard's best efforts to contact anyone at JSCEE yesterday afternoon, he couldn't get ahold of anyone.

There were to be 70 kids on this trip.  Some of the kids think it might be retaliation for the rally on Wednesday.

If the district has a problem with a field trip, they need to make that clear BEFORE planning is done, chaperones gathered and money paid.

Comments

GarfieldMom said…
My son was supposed to go on this trip. He said it was cancelled because the chaperones had not done some online video training thing but that they (teacher and chaperones) hadn't been told it had to be done.
10/25/14, 7:22 PM
Anonymous said…
This year for the first time all parent volunteers have to do Adult Sexual Misconduct Training. It takes about 15 minutes - involves viewing a video and printing the Certificate issued after answering some basic questions on appropriate behavior and risk signs.

http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=307222

It could have been done and printed off while kids were waiting.
10/25/14, 8:09 PM
ConcernedSPSParent said…
And the shadow of Ron (CMA) English is all over this....
10/25/14, 10:48 PM
Greeny said…
Are you serious? Garfield's principal can't manage to communicate to his peeps the basic need for chaperones/school volunteers to get qualified before a field trip? After...everything? wow.
10/26/14, 12:08 AM
Charlie Mas said…
I thought everyone was all trained and the procedures were clear.

Even though they did it at the very last minute in a way that didn't allow for corrections, it is good to see the procedures enforced.
10/26/14, 6:08 AM
Charlie Mas said…
Here's a question:

If the procedures had not been completed, then how did the trip get approved by the principal and the district risk manager?
10/26/14, 6:10 AM
Jon said…
It's stuff like this that makes me think this school system would be much better off if we fired Michael Tolley and Sarah Pritchett and most of the other overhead in District administration.

What do these people do other than damage? The schools run well in spite of SPS headquarters, not because of them. These highly paid executive managers do nothing but cause problems. They certainly don't do their job, which should be helping teachers and students in Seattle Public Schools. The only reason district administration exists is to help the schools, but, as they are currently run and managed, all they do is cause harm.
10/26/14, 8:31 AM
Anonymous said…
It may be a timing thing. The parent chaperones may have taken the training that very day but they may not have been able to reach the person who cancelled the trip.
NEmom
10/26/14, 4:15 PM
Anonymous said…
From what I heard several chaperones who had said they could go weren't able to go in the last few days, so other parent chaperones were recruited and they had to be approved to go. They may have completed everything but on the final day.
NEmom
10/26/14, 4:17 PM
Anonymous said…
As a parent volunteer, we knew about the sexual misconduct video from last year. Seems like it would be the responsibility of the adult who is coordinating the field trip to make chaperones and faculty aware of this requirement, not the principal. There was a requirement last year that you also needed to be fingerprinted but then that went away for some reason...

- not my first rodeo/field trip
10/27/14, 8:55 PM
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