Rivera Has Some Suggestions on School Closures

Former School Board director Lisa Rivera was on last night's public testimony list but didn't make the cut. (And I note that district watchdog, Chris Jackins, offered that President Rankin could expand the list but she didn't. This despite the fact that the Board had virtually no business to conduct.) Here's what Rivera would have said (bold mine):

"Hello, my name is Lisa Rivera, and I am the parent of two SPS graduates and one current 2nd grader. Most of you knew me as the Board Director of District 2. And while I no longer serve in that capacity, I am here today to stand with my Native community, and with all the students of SPS, for whom almost every adult in this room is in service of. I may no longer have a vote in the matters before this board, but I still have a voice.

 

"Having recently served on this board, I’ve received many questions and concerns from families who are worried about the impending changes that may soon come to this district. But I don’t think it’s worth spending any of my 2 minutes to argue against school closures. I know a done deal when I see one. But what I will argue for, as are many, many families, is for three things:

 

"1) Authentic STUDENT engagement. I got the email about the upcoming Well-Resourced Schools Community Meetings, and what I’m predicting is a replay of the meetings that were held last fall - they were adult-centered and lacked outreach to students. Please stop saying how “student centered” you all are, if you’re not going to sit down with the one population at the heart of everything we do at SPS.

 

She's right here. Where are the student voices in all this from a Board that says this over and over?

 

"2) Show your homework. For a “data-driven” district, there has been a serious lack of data coming out of it. And I’m sure a lot of families figure, “Well, they must be giving the board more information than they’re sharing with us.” But are you? My experience on the board says that you’re not, but I have been gone for three months, so maybe the seven of you do have some trove of data, figures and analysis you've been given. But if you do, you need to share that, asap. You are doing a disservice to your communities if you are not being fully transparent throughout this process.

 

I've said this and so did several parents testifying last night. WHERE IS THE DATA AND THE ANALYSIS?

 

"And 3), trust families enough to work in partnership with them. 

 

Board members and district staff always lamented about how the public didn’t trust them. But you don’t trust our families, either. They are often seen as obstacles to overcome, when they should in fact be your strongest partners. SPS has worked that way before. 

 

Some of you might remember the way the Southeast Elementary Attendance Area Boundary Changes were chosen. In the summer and fall of 2019, District staff spent six months meeting with community and together they came up with 7! options for families to give feedback on. That work was done in collaboration with district staff, school leaders and parents. In the end, Scenario G was most supported by the affected communities, and was unanimously approved by the board. The Mercer boundary changes were selected in much the same way. 

 

So we CAN do it. We can work together, to not just convince families to see things your way, but to learn from families and community members. Stop Talking. Start Listening. 

 

"And lastly, for the upcoming Well-Resourced Schools Meetings, you must offer childcare at them. The onus in on you to remove that barrier to participation. Thank you ~"

I would love to see more former Board members also weigh in on this matter.