County Issue / Back-to-Basics School :...

Joseph Spirito, Superintendent, Ventura Unified School District

The reason I brought it to the board for their approval was I kept hearing from parents about what they would like to see happen in the schools. This school will offer more choice for parents. I believe this kind of school setting will not only offer parents a choice, but will meet the needs of students who need that structure. I’m not talking about going back to the “See Dick and Jane” primers. What I’m speaking of is the whole issue of basics in education in terms of dress code, homework policy, parent volunteers and discipline. Also, a renewed emphasis on basic skills: basic skills in math, heavy concentration in phonics for reading and attacking word skills. Things that students need before they move onto more complex concepts. We have about 7,500 K-5 students in our district, and I believe we have at least 300 to 500 parents who would support this kind of school. The response from parents so far has been tremendous, overwhelmingly positive. I’ve even had parents who said they would be willing to take their kids out of private school for this.

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John Gennaro, Ventura teachers union president, instructor at Balboa Middle School

Personally, I think it is a great idea. I think that one school will not be sufficient to fulfill the need. I know it’s turning the clock back a little bit, but I think we can afford to do that. I think we need to incorporate modern technology and all that we have learned about educating students, yet put in a little more discipline. Too many families are so broken and scattered, with the parents just trying to hold things together, that they just don’t have the time to take a more active part in their children’s education. I personally don’t have a problem with limiting teachers to more formal dress. As long as people know the rules going in and they sign on the dotted line, then it shouldn’t be a problem. People keep saying we got this wake-up call from Proposition 174, but I don’t believe that. The initiative was overwhelmingly rejected. But I think that we need to continually be improving what we do. Really, until society makes some fundamental changes, schools like this are a wonderful alternative. I don’t think it’s going to be a trend, but I think it’s going to be another alternative.

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Wendy Lascher, Ventura lawyer, single parent of two students in Ventura Unified School District

Although my children are past elementary school, I doubt that I would have sent them to it. They are responsible and flexible and willing to accept diversity. It’s probably right for some people. But I am uncomfortable with a parent being required to volunteer to work at the school three hours a week. That is a laudable goal, but it would be very difficult for some families. I know from personal experience that my week is so busy, I wouldn’t have time to put in extra hours at school. I don’t think you can say all children have to spend the same time doing their homework. Some kids are better able to get their homework done in a shorter amount of time. Although I would like people to take responsibility for looking better on their own, I am uneasy about decreeing what people should wear. We already have too much government and regulation. I like the idea of accountability and saying we have standards. But I think that the mental set behind this is a reactionary “edge-’em out” attitude. It’s “Let’s have everyone think the same, do the same and follow the same schedule.”

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Helen O’Donnell, Second-grade teacher at E. P. Foster School in west Ventura

I don’t know that you can honestly get parents in each week for three hours. I also don’t know if we would have enough work for them to do. I have 30 students. I know I have lots of things for my parents to do, but I don’t know if I can come up with 90 hours a week. With regard to the dress code, I would like to see a stricter districtwide code put in place. I don’t think girls necessarily have to wear only dresses and boys wear slacks, but you don’t wear a shirt that advertises alcohol or drugs and you don’t wear cutoffs. I don’t mind the requirement that teachers dress more professionally. There is a possibility that schools with large minority populations, like E. P. Foster, could get shut out of the back-to-basics school. Our parents don’t always have the ability to transport their students away from their neighboring schools. The majority of our parents have only one car and are working. I think there will be a lot of parents who say, “Yes, this is just what we need.” And I think there are just as many parents who will say, “Sorry, too many restrictions. That’s not for me.”

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Clifford C. Rodrigues, Board member, Ventura Unified School District

I support the general concept, but at the same time, I have concerns. Mound School, which is a magnet school, is not racially diverse. The back-to-basics school would also be a magnet school, and I would not want to create another situation like Mound. Parents who live in poor areas usually aren’t able to transport their kids across town to go to magnet school. And poor parents who work all day can’t take time off to volunteer at school. We want all kids to have access to this back-to-basics school, but I don’t think this would readily achieve that. If we decide to achieve equity by busing kids, that would take a big chunk out of the budget. I don’t think it is Dr. Spirito’s intention to segregate students, but I am concerned that is what might happen. These concerns need to be taken into consideration.