ADDENDUM TO/OUTCOME OF -JULY 11 2023 PARENT ALERT- IUSD BOARD VOTED TO CODIFY INTEGRATION OF EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE STANDARDS INTO CURRICULUM & CULTURE
Agenda Item Of Business 16(c) "IUSD Continuous Improvement Efforts" Unanimously Approved
***Note: This post is the closure to the post I made on July 11 which can be found here. If you haven’t read my post from July 11, I recommend reading it along with my recap from last July’s Board meeting to get the full context. ***
I was not able to attend the July 11 IUSD Board of Education Meeting in person, nor was I able to tune in for the live stream but I did watch the replay of the meeting on demand in its entirety. The recap, below, is derived from what I was able to glean from watching the replay and what I know about the Continuous Improvement Council and its efforts from having served on it July 2021-January 2023. The recap does include some opinion but I do my best to clearly delineate where I’m inserting opinion. I encourage you to watch the presentation for yourself to draw your own conclusions- watch the entire meeting from start to finish if possible. Ms. Parham’s presentation on IUSD’s Continuous Improvement Efforts commences at the 26 minute mark.
In my opinion, the July 11 meeting started out in somewhat bizarre fashion compared to anything I’ve observed or witnessed over the the past 2 1/2 years following IUSD Board Meetings closely- 23 months of which I spent attending every Board Meeting open to the public in person. Around the 1 minute 56 second mark Board President Lauren Brooks states that she is going to “read the protocols for public comments” ahead of 2 public comments that would be shared that evening. This set the tone for the meeting which seemed to be that public comment should not be shared if it could be construed as discriminatory in nature towards any protected group. This is a subtle request to the audience to self censor and implies that the Board will censor public commenters if they deem it warranted. The Board fails to define what is considered a “protected” group. Here are the “protocols” recited & verified by scrubbing the video transcript:
Thank you all for being here tonight. In accordance with the Brown Act the board may not comment on items that are not on the agenda. Please do not mistake our silence to mean that we are not listening. We appreciate engagement and feedback from our communities at all times. [Also] we know that sometimes issues addressed to the board can be emotional and heartfelt. To ensure an open and civil environment that is inclusive of more than the 36,000 students we serve and their families, we remind speakers that their comments must be consistent with the California Education Code pertaining to discrimination. This includes comments that are derogatory, disparaging, or insulting to particular groups. Such comments about these protected groups are not appropriate at a meeting such as this where attendance is open to students as well as members of the community who may be within one of these protected groups.
It’s odd that these protocols were not read ahead of public comments at any prior meetings nor was any change to public comment protocols mentioned or discussed in public forum at the most recent Board Meetings on June 13 & June 27. Based on personal experience, I can’t recall a single meeting attended where any public commentor was not civil or spoke disparagingly about a “protected” group. Not only that- IUSD Board and Administration got themselves in trouble with the ACLU in April 2022 over this same issue. The ACLU came down hard on Irvine Unified School District for violating first amendment rights of public commenters stating “The Brown Act specifically states that a legislative body may not “prohibit public criticism of the policies, procedures, programs, or services of the agency, or of the acts or omissions of the legislative body.” Cal. Gov’t Code 54953.5.” It’s as though Ms. Brooks was virtue signaling to Ms. Parham that the Board had her back in anticipation of public comments objecting to her presentation and opposed to the explicit focus on Social Justice even though hardly a soul was in the room for the meeting.
Superintendent Walker teed up Ms. Parham’s presentation by remarking “Tonight feels like it's the State Of The District from an Ed Services lens. All the amazing things that have happened and evolved over the last ten years are such a credit to that department…… It's an exciting night and I hope everyone feels a tremendous sense of pride… one of my favorite nights.”
The Irvine Unified School District Board of Education, after hearing a 30 minute presentation from Cassie Parham (Assistant Superintendent Education Services) AND singing her praises for another 20 minutes upon conclusion of the presentation voted unanimously to approve the 2023-24 Continuous Improvement Efforts and its “Ensuring Success For Each Student” accompanying document. The unanimous vote took place at the 1 hour 17 minute mark.
Similar to last year, there was no discussion. There was no critique offered by the Board, nor were there any concerns raised about an explicit focus on Social Justice and the Continuous Improvement efforts. In my opinion, questions asked of Ms. Parham by Board Members seemed pre-planted and were asked for the sole purpose of illustrating how forward-thinking the IUSD Board perceives IUSD Administration to be. Data supporting the premise and underlying themes of Ms. Parham’s presentation were missing, in spite of being referred to repeatedly, and no interest or desire was expressed by the Board to see any data. There was no discussion about indicators of progress tied to the efforts unanimously approved by IUSD Board on an annual basis. Instead, the sentiment was overwhelming support and enthusiasm expressed by all present at the dais. In my opinion, the words Ms. Parham interleaved throughout her presentation-endorsed and regurgitated by the Board members themselves-are an indicator of where IUSD Administration & IUSD Board priorities lie. Please refer to APPENDIX at the bottom of this post for my analysis of the semantics Ms. Parham strategically interleaved. What was apparent, based on remarks made by several of the Board Members and Mr. Walker, is that the comments I submitted via email the morning of the meeting had been read. Ms. McEwen & Dr. Kim did not address my concerns via the feedback they shared & questions posed. The other three indirectly addressed my concerns. Mr. Bokota, Ms. Brooks & Ms. Yu proclaimed IUSD has
“moved beyond just the three Rs and discovered that [social justice] is a critical aspect and is an expectation by the public, by our parents, by our staff and our teachers.”
They offered assurance that IUSD can “walk and chew gum at the same time” further defending Ms. Parham’s assertion that IUSD remains focused on academics but that Social Justice and Social Policies are foundational to true academic excellence. Such focus is necessary in providing the best possible educational experience envisioned for IUSD students. Mr. Walker brought this item of business to a close by re-iterating
“The work the Continuous Improvement Council is doing is critical. Excellence in Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EEDI) is critical in order for kids to feel like they are in an environment that supports them, that they have that sense of confidence and hope and connection, in that environment, with the people in that room. You can't just leave that to chance. We have to be strategic and intentional about it.”
In my opinion, listening to this Board and Administration is like trying to listen to an audio version of an Ibram Kendi book. It’s really hard to sit through!
I’ll close this post by bringing attention to how pay for performance works in the the public education bureacracy. An explicit focus on social justice (for 3 years and counting) earns lots of praise and endorsement but has resulted in a record number of student discipline cases and a lower percentage of students meeting grade level standards than prior years. Apparently praise and endorsement are weighted heavier than actual district wide performance metrics on the scale because the Assistant Superintendent of Education services just got a Board approved 9% pay raise, job security and longevity benefits! Ms. Parham’s contract was renewed for a 3 year term at the June 27, 2023 Board of Education meeting for a term of July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026 with an updated annual salary of $252,924 plus longevity (up from $232,040 in August 16, 2022 Board Approved contract renewal). Ironically (or maybe not) this year’s pay raise was approved before Ms. Parham’s presentation on the Continuous Improvement efforts whereas last year the raise came the month after the presentation……
Are you satisfied with the performance your tax dollars are paying for?!
APPENDIX
***Semantics Strategically Used Throughout Ms. Parham’s presentation on IUSD’s Continuous Improvement Efforts and associated Board Member Feedback****
Student: More than 40 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation alone
Learning: 17 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation
Data: 12 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation- although the word was used repeatedly and there was reference to data there was no actual data shown during the presentation
Connection: at least 10 times
Social Emotional: at least 8 times
Equity: 8 times
Wellness: 8 times (7 by Ms. Parham)
Resources: 7 times
Continuous Improvement: 7 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation
Opportunity: 6 times during MS. Parham’s presentation
Inclusion: 4 times
Parent: 3 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation
Progress: 2 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation
“Excellence for All”: 2 times
Indicators of Educational Equity: 2 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation
Curriculum: 1 time during Ms. Parham’s presentation, 6 times in Board Member comments in defense that IUSD remains focused on academics
Evidence: 1 time during Ms. Parham’s presentation
Grades: 0 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation
Academics: 0 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation, 8 times in Board Member comments in defense of IUSD remaining focused on academics
Indicators of Progress: 0 times during Ms. Parham’s presentation