Tab
Logo
A test for
School
Reopening
Spring 2021
Tab
Logo
A test for
School
Reopening
Spring 2021
California Schools Logo
Volume 79, Number 3
Spring 2021
The California School Boards Association is the essential voice for public education. We inspire our members to be knowledgeable leaders, extraordinary governance practitioners and ardent advocates for all students.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
features
A test for school reopening featured image

Proposed guidance on COVID-19 testing presents major hurdle

by Alisha Kirby and Kimberly Sellery

School choice is here to stay featured image

Marketing schools in a competitive environment

by Kimberly Sellery

Silver linings for the CTE playbook featured image

Lessons learned in the virtual environment

by Alisha Kirby

departments
CEO’s note
by Vernon M. Billy
5
Legal insights
by Keith Bray
7
BoardWise
by Angelena Pride, Amy Christianson and Teri Vigil
9
From the field
By Maureen O’Leary Burness
17
Member profile
Interview with Chris Norwood
19
A conversation with…
Dave Gordon, Sacramento COE
Superintendent and commission member
43
Bill Vernon headshot
CEO’s note
by Vernon M. Billy
Discrimination, lynchings, bullying and internment
The Asian American experiences that deserve the attention of our schools
C

alifornia is home to the nation’s largest Asian American population, totaling 14 percent of its residents. Yet, while our state enjoys a reputation for embracing diversity, the reality of the current Asian American experience paints a different picture.

In a study released in April by the Public Policy Institute of California, Asian Americans were found to be the most likely of all ethnic groups to say that race relations have worsened in the past year, with nearly half of all Asian American residents feeling that way compared to 43 percent of Californians overall. That makes sense as the news has been filled with incidents of verbal harassment, intimidation and physical attacks against people of Asian descent.

From March 2020 to May 2020, the Asian Pacific Policy Planning Council documented more than 800 COVID-related hate incidents against Californians of Asian heritage, and the pace has not slowed even as California has made progress against the virus.

CSBA 2021 board of directors
Frank Magarino
Region 1, Del Norte County USD
Sherry Crawford
Region 2, Siskiyou COE
A.C. “Tony” Ubalde, Jr.
Region 3, Vallejo City USD
Renee Nash
Region 4, Eureka Union SD
Alisa MacAvoy
Region 5, Redwood City ESD
Darrel Woo
Region 6, Sacramento City USD
Yolanda Peña Mendrek
Region 7, Liberty Union HSD
Stephen J. Schluer
Region 8, Manteca USD
Tami Gunther
Region 9, Atascadero USD
Kathy Spate
Region 10, Caruthers USD
Sabrena Rodriguez
Region 11, Ventura USD
William Farris
Region 12, Sierra Sands USD
Meg Cutuli
Region 15, Los Alamitos USD
Karen Gray
Region 16, Silver Valley USD
Debra Schade
Region 17, Solana Beach SD
Wendy Jonathan
Region 18, Desert Sands USD
Albert Gonzalez
Region 20, Santa Clara USD
Scott Schmerelson
Region 21, Los Angeles USD
Nancy Smith
Region 22, Palmdale SD
Helen Hall
Region 23, Walnut Valley USD
Leighton Anderson
Region 24, Whittier Union HSD
Bettye Lusk
Director-at-Large African American,
Monterey Peninsula USD
Crystal Martinez-Alire
Director-at-Large American Indian,
Elk Grove USD
Amy Koo
Director-at-Large Asian/Pacific Islander,
Belmont-Redwood Shores SD
Bruce Dennis
Director-at-Large County, Riverside COE
Joaquín Rivera
Director-at-Large Hispanic, Alameda COE
Rick Shea
CCBE President, San Diego COE
Frank Magarino
Region 1, Del Norte County USD
Sherry Crawford
Region 2, Siskiyou COE
A.C. “Tony” Ubalde, Jr.
Region 3, Vallejo City USD
Renee Nash
Region 4, Eureka Union SD
Alisa MacAvoy
Region 5, Redwood City ESD
Darrel Woo
Region 6, Sacramento City USD
Yolanda Peña Mendrek
Region 7, Liberty Union HSD
Stephen J. Schluer
Region 8, Manteca USD
Tami Gunther
Region 9, Atascadero USD
Kathy Spate
Region 10, Caruthers USD
Sabrena Rodriguez
Region 11, Ventura USD
William Farris
Region 12, Sierra Sands USD
Meg Cutuli
Region 15, Los Alamitos USD
Karen Gray
Region 16, Silver Valley USD
Debra Schade
Region 17, Solana Beach SD
Wendy Jonathan
Region 18, Desert Sands USD
Albert Gonzalez
Region 20, Santa Clara USD
Scott Schmerelson
Region 21, Los Angeles USD
Nancy Smith
Region 22, Palmdale SD
Helen Hall
Region 23, Walnut Valley USD
Leighton Anderson
Region 24, Whittier Union HSD
Bettye Lusk
Director-at-Large African American,
Monterey Peninsula USD
Crystal Martinez-Alire
Director-at-Large American Indian,
Elk Grove USD
Amy Koo
Director-at-Large Asian/Pacific Islander,
Belmont-Redwood Shores SD
Bruce Dennis
Director-at-Large County, Riverside COE
Joaquín Rivera
Director-at-Large Hispanic, Alameda COE
Rick Shea
CCBE President, San Diego COE
Keith Bray Portrait

legal insights

by Keith Bray

California’s labor relations laws need flexibility during the state of emergency

T

he beat goes on for district and county board members and superintendents. For more than a year, they have been caught in a cycle of proposals, plans, guidance, orders and legislation aimed at safely reopening schools. Increasing the challenge faced by local educational agencies in complying with this ever-changing backdrop, and explaining the changes to stakeholders, is the fact that each change may trigger another round of collective bargaining. Unfortunately, in many cases, this cycle of constant change has worked to impede the reopening of schools.

A recent attempt to legislate through this crisis was Assembly Bill 86, introduced on Feb. 18 and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on March 5. This “grand bargain” was reached two months after Gov. Newsom’s Safe Schools for All plan to reopen schools by Feb. 1 got little traction. Shortly after the Governor released his plan, another guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health made it possible for schools that had opened in the red tier and elementary schools that had obtained a waiver to open in the purple tier to stay open. CDPH also introduced a new color, deep purple, which helped ease up on the requirements to reopen schools in counties where the virus was still considered “widespread.” All of this took place in a span of two months, which in COVID time, seemed like six. And yet, the logjam to reopen schools for all students willing to attend continued.
California Schools logo

Chief Information Officer
Troy Flint, tflint@csba.org

Managing Editor
Kimberly Sellery, ksellery@csba.org

Marketing Director
Serina Pruitt, spruitt@csba.org

Staff Writers
Andrew Cummins, acummins@csba.org
Alisha Kirby, akirby@csba.org

Graphic Design Manager
Kerry Macklin, kmacklin@csba.org

Senior Graphic Designer
Mauricio Miranda, mmiranda@csba.org

Circulation and Advertising
csba@csba.org

CSBA OFFICERS

President
Suzanne Kitchens, Pleasant Valley SD

President-elect
Dr. Susan Heredia, Natomas USD

Vice President
Susan Markarian, Pacific Union ESD

Immediate Past President
Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, Azusa USD

CEO & Executive Director
Vernon M. Billy

California Schools (ISSN 1081-8936) is published quarterly by the California School Boards Association, Inc., 3251 Beacon Boulevard, West Sacramento, CA 95691, (916) 371-4691. $2 of CSBA membership dues goes toward the subscription to California Schools magazine for each board member and superintendent. The subscription rate for each CSBA nonmember is $20. Periodicals postage paid at West Sacramento, CA and at additional mailing office. Postmaster: Send address changes to California Schools, 3251 Beacon Blvd., West Sacramento, CA 95691.

Articles submitted to California Schools are edited for style, content and space prior to publication. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent CSBA policies or positions. Articles may not be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. Endorsement by CSBA of products and services advertised in California Schools is not implied or expressed.

CSBA and NSPRA logos
Angelena Pride smiling in a pink suit
Amy Christianson smiling
Teri Vigil headshot
BoardWise
by Angelena Pride, Amy Christianson and Teri Vigil
Boardwise is a forum for board members and superintendents across the state to share questions about governance and board–superintendent relations. Send your questions to boardwise@csba.org. In addition to our column regulars, Deb Dudley; Steve Ladd, Ed.D; Arati Nagaraj; Luan Burman Rivera; Teri Vigil and Sepideh Yeoh, we periodically welcome new consultants to the column. This issue introduces two new consultants. Angelena Pride has been serving on the board of Rowland Unified School District since 2013, and is an active member of the Los Angeles County School Trustees Association, an organization of school board members that provides training and information to Los Angeles County trustees. Amy Christianson has worked in education since 1994, most recently as executive director of the California Community Colleges Association for Occupational Education, and is currently the co-owner of Beacon Results, a management consulting firm that specializes in strategic planning, leadership development and community engagement/relations. She is entering her third four-year term as a trustee in the Butte County Board of Trustees and joined CSBA’s Masters in Governance faculty in 2020 for its new county office program.
Communication during the pandemic

Dear Boardwise,

What are the best ways to communicate with our community during this pandemic?

Angelena: As school board members, this time of year is typically filled with a bustle of activities. Your calendar is usually packed with events you plan to attend in support of students, staff and community. Yet here we are, almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to find ways to maintain contact with community members while adhering to COVID restrictions. How do we do it? Here are a few tips.

class act Best practices in action

class act
Best practices in action
CSBA's Golden Bell Awards Winner logo
class act
Best practices in action
CSBA's Golden Bell Awards Winner logo
San Bernardino City USD is adapting student SEL supports for the virtual world
San Bernardino City Unified School District’s willingness to think outside of the box is one trait that has helped it aid students and staff throughout the pandemic.
Its Golden Bell Award-winning Student Wellness and Support Services Department (SWSS) hit the ground running in March 2020, adapting and improving its offerings for the digital landscape. Colleen Williams, director of SWSS, and her team haven’t slowed down since. Until all students have the support needed to achieve their potential, Williams said their work will never be done.

Serving the district’s 72 schools, SWSS’ mission is to provide resources to build the social-emotional and relational capacity of students so they can be successful in their academic careers and personal lives.

csba at issue
By Alisha Kirby
State and local groups push for a return of student athletics
I

n Februarys past, high school stadiums would be awash with the flood of lights, the crack of helmets and the resounding cheers; gymnasiums pierced by the squeak of tennis shoes and the thud of a volleyball hitting the wood after a solid spike.

At the time of this writing, however, the majority of students remain in online learning, and those who are in a classroom are required as part of California’s reopening guidance to remain socially distanced. It makes sense then that, as of now, only outdoor, non-contact sports such as cross-country, track, swimming, golf and tennis are open for participation.

But coaches, parents and student-athletes are pushing to get back into competition and start the high school sports season. A grassroots movement that originated on Facebook called “Let Them Play CA,” has organizing rallies across the state to advocate health officials to let kids play organized sports. And the Golden State HS Football Coaches Community met with officials from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office on Feb. 2 to lobby for the California Department of Public Health to ease guidelines currently barring high-contact sports like football.

Maureen O’Leary
from the field
By Maureen O’Leary Burness
Upcoming changes in credentials for special education
T

he California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (www.ctc.ca.gov) has worked diligently over the last five years to update its teacher credentialing system, following multiple recommendations from the California Statewide Special Education Task Force.

The task force made recommendations to address several issues that were uncovered during its work. Reflecting on the recognition that changes throughout the credentialing system would benefit all teacher candidates, the “Teacher Preparation” subcommittee of the task force transformed into an “Educator Credentials and Preparation” subcommittee.
Member Profile Chris Norwood - Trustee, Milpitas USD and CSBA’s 2020 Board Member of the Year
CSBA's Golden Gavel Awards logo

What inspired you to become a school board member?
I love Milpitas. I grew up in Milpitas. It’s helped raise me. I wanted to pay it forward. I had been involved in tutoring, coaching and volunteering in the community for over 20 years. Word of my leadership and passion for kids and education reached the ears of the school board president at the time, Mrs. Marsha Grilli. She asked me to run and I said no about five times. She said she wouldn’t stop calling me until I said yes. I also wanted to make my mom and wife proud. I wanted to set a unique example for my kids. I know it sounds cliche: we strive to be what we see.

What do you see as the role of public education?
The role of public education is to develop, inspire and challenge the minds of the learners it serves in their discovery of purpose and passion in the pursuit of happiness. It is also to serve our individual and collective societies greatest needs, common needs and economic investments needs for national longevity and prosperity. Public education should ensure its participants have the choice to become culturally and globally aware, anti-racist, empathetic to others and participate in the success of both local and national economic success. The last 12 months have provided opportunities to redesign the systems that can instead propel us forward in realizing our collective vision on education in a democracy.

Who or what inspires you as an adult?
I am inspired by faith. I am inspired by the potential of children. I am inspired by the adults who accepted the challenge of living outside of the normal boundaries of life and their comfort zones. I am inspired by the pursuit of purpose. A few people and organizations that have touched my heart profoundly include my mom, Zenobia Norwood; my wife, Arzee Norwood; the Greene Scholars Program and The Hidden Genius Project, among so many more.

What are the biggest issues you see facing our schools today?
The biggest issues I see preventing our schools from accelerating learning gains, creating new pathways and inspiring all learners are deep rooted in the comforts of tradition, antiquated systemic practices, policies, the equity versus equality debate and the ever-evolving funding formula. We are in the midst of the greatest opportunities for the advancement of California’s public education system in its history. We are experiencing multifaceted, multibillion dollar investments into modernizing our digital infrastructure; witnessing unprecedented levels of collaborative teacher professional development; and watching a new federal administration revisit racial equity with unprecedented intention. I believe our global academic ranking can match our global economic ranking if we took a regional approach.

What advice do you have for new or aspiring school board members?
Elected school board officials are part-time fiscal managers, community liaisons, representatives of the non-voters, voters and taxpayers of the district. Within a four-year term there are roughly 100 and 120 meetings. Often, the decisions made in these meetings immediately impact lives and livelihoods for years. It is an amazing opportunity to listen, learn and lead. At the beginning of my CSBA Board Member Golden Gavel Award acceptance speech during the CSBA 2020 virtual Annual Education conference I said, “Be the work. Do the work. Love the work. See the results.”

Would you like to participate in an upcoming Member Profile? Contact us at editor@csba.org.
Member Profile Chris Norwood - Trustee, Milpitas USD and CSBA’s 2020 Board Member of the Year
CSBA's Golden Gavel Awards logo
Chris Norwood - Trustee, Milpitas USD and CSBA’s 2020 Board Member of the Year

What inspired you to become a school board member?
I love Milpitas. I grew up in Milpitas. It’s helped raise me. I wanted to pay it forward. I had been involved in tutoring, coaching and volunteering in the community for over 20 years. Word of my leadership and passion for kids and education reached the ears of the school board president at the time, Mrs. Marsha Grilli. She asked me to run and I said no about five times. She said she wouldn’t stop calling me until I said yes. I also wanted to make my mom and wife proud. I wanted to set a unique example for my kids. I know it sounds cliche: we strive to be what we see.

What do you see as the role of public education?
The role of public education is to develop, inspire and challenge the minds of the learners it serves in their discovery of purpose and passion in the pursuit of happiness. It is also to serve our individual and collective societies greatest needs, common needs and economic investments needs for national longevity and prosperity. Public education should ensure its participants have the choice to become culturally and globally aware, anti-racist, empathetic to others and participate in the success of both local and national economic success. The last 12 months have provided opportunities to redesign the systems that can instead propel us forward in realizing our collective vision on education in a democracy.

Who or what inspires you as an adult?
I am inspired by faith. I am inspired by the potential of children. I am inspired by the adults who accepted the challenge of living outside of the normal boundaries of life and their comfort zones. I am inspired by the pursuit of purpose. A few people and organizations that have touched my heart profoundly include my mom, Zenobia Norwood; my wife, Arzee Norwood; the Greene Scholars Program and The Hidden Genius Project, among so many more.

What are the biggest issues you see facing our schools today?
The biggest issues I see preventing our schools from accelerating learning gains, creating new pathways and inspiring all learners are deep rooted in the comforts of tradition, antiquated systemic practices, policies, the equity versus equality debate and the ever-evolving funding formula. We are in the midst of the greatest opportunities for the advancement of California’s public education system in its history. We are experiencing multifaceted, multibillion dollar investments into modernizing our digital infrastructure; witnessing unprecedented levels of collaborative teacher professional development; and watching a new federal administration revisit racial equity with unprecedented intention. I believe our global academic ranking can match our global economic ranking if we took a regional approach.

What advice do you have for new or aspiring school board members?
Elected school board officials are part-time fiscal managers, community liaisons, representatives of the non-voters, voters and taxpayers of the district. Within a four-year term there are roughly 100 and 120 meetings. Often, the decisions made in these meetings immediately impact lives and livelihoods for years. It is an amazing opportunity to listen, learn and lead. At the beginning of my CSBA Board Member Golden Gavel Award acceptance speech during the CSBA 2020 virtual Annual Education conference I said, “Be the work. Do the work. Love the work. See the results.”

Would you like to participate in an upcoming Member Profile? Contact us at editor@csba.org.
A test for
School
Reopening
by Alisha Kirby and Kimberly Sellery
Proposed guidance on COVID-19 testing presents major hurdle
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine back in December, there was a sudden and palpable sense of relief from parents, educators and education officials that the reopening of school sites was forthcoming.

The reality on the ground is much more complicated, however. Due to a shortage of available vaccines and often-fumbled distribution, it will be a while before all teachers, school staff and other essential workers are fully vaccinated — let alone students under the age of 16, for whom a vaccine has not even been approved for use.

For now, local educational agencies that reopen campus for small cohorts of higher-needs students or in a hybrid learning model must continue to rely on mitigation strategies that dictate good hygiene practices, social distancing, the proper use of personal protective equipment and regular testing.

nurse testing
A test for
School
Reopening
by Alisha Kirby and Kimberly Sellery
Proposed guidance on COVID-19 testing presents major hurdle
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine back in December, there was a sudden and palpable sense of relief from parents, educators and education officials that the reopening of school sites was forthcoming.

The reality on the ground is much more complicated, however. Due to a shortage of available vaccines and often-fumbled distribution, it will be a while before all teachers, school staff and other essential workers are fully vaccinated — let alone students under the age of 16, for whom a vaccine has not even been approved for use.

For now, local educational agencies that reopen campus for small cohorts of higher-needs students or in a hybrid learning model must continue to rely on mitigation strategies that dictate good hygiene practices, social distancing, the proper use of personal protective equipment and regular testing.

IT

is that last, critical factor that has proven to be a significant challenge for districts. Currently, most LEAs are providing surveillance testing for staff only, typically once every two months, and are doing so based on the July 17, 2020, guidance from the California Department of Public Health.

COVID-19 testing for students and staff is central to the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed Safe Schools for All reopening plan and is likely to be a factor in any widescale reopening plan introduced by lawmakers and CDPH officials. Ramping up testing to cover all staff and students will require an unrealistic amount of infrastructure, staffing, new billing operations, private and state lab capacity, testing contracts, collection and transportation of tests, and additional employee negotiations due to changes in working conditions. In addition, the use of Proposition 98 funds for public health initiatives is inappropriate and would detract from much-needed resources for student social-emotional health and accelerated learning.

homeschool, charter, public, private typography
School choice is here to stay typography
Marketing schools in a competitive environment
By: Kimberly Sellery
Late in 2008, in the midst of the Great Recession, a building moratorium was implemented in Natomas, a suburb of Sacramento that sits on a floodplain. Prior to the economic downturn and moratorium, the Natomas Unified School District had been building new schools to keep up with the influx of families moving in.
Silver linings for
the cte playbook:
Lessons learned in the virtual environment typography
By Alisha Kirby
The transition to virtual education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has not been a simple task for anyone — but whereas many core subjects can be adjusted with the help of a textbook, a digital workbook and a Zoom discussion, the hands-on nature of career technical education presents a slew of different challenges.
man on computer vector illustration
Silver linings for the cte playbook:
Lessons learned in the virtual environment typography
By Alisha Kirby
The transition to virtual education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has not been a simple task for anyone — but whereas many core subjects can be adjusted with the help of a textbook, a digital workbook and a Zoom discussion, the hands-on nature of career technical education presents a slew of different challenges.
H dropcap letterow many children have immediate access to a 3-D printer? Or a spare car engine and the tools needed to restore it? How do courses in biomedical technology, engineering or robotics, which require significant work with resources and supplies that are not common household items, translate to an online setting?

In some districts, the transition has gone better than could have perhaps been expected — though not without challenges.

“Sometimes I think it takes something significant to really shake things up,” said MJ Cooke, Anaheim Innovative Mentoring Experience program director for the Anaheim Union High School District. The program — a 2020 Golden Bell recipient — prepares students for college and career by providing mentoring opportunities across four tiers that include career exploration, guest speakers, field trips, a mentoring series and internships.

Congratulations

to CSBA’s Masters in Governance® Class of 2020!*
More than 2,000 board members and superintendents have participated in CSBA’s highly acclaimed Masters in Governance® program.
CSBA’s Masters in Governance (MIG)® program equips board members and superintendents with the knowledge and skills to build and support an effective governance structure.

The following graduates have successfully completed the 2020 virtual MIG program, gaining essential knowledge for being an effective governance team member.

a conversation with…
dave gordon, Sacramento COE Superintendent and commission member
Sacramento County Superintendent and State Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission member Dave Gordon said the pandemic and continued school closures have only heightened the need to support students whose mental health is suffering as a result of seclusion, loneliness or from being stuck in a toxic living environment. CSBA spoke to Gordon about the challenges youth are facing, what Sacramento County is currently doing to help students and expand on next steps.
Dave Gordon headshot
What are some of the reoccurring mental health challenges students are currently facing?
It’s a time of great difficulty for all of our kids — it was even before the pandemic, but it’s made more severe by the pandemic. One in three of our high school kids reports feeling chronically sad and hopeless, and more than half of our LGBT kids report feeling the same way. And the suicide ideation rates are off the charts now. One in six high school students report having considered suicide in the past year and it goes to one in three of our LGBT kids, and that’s undoubtedly made worse by the pandemic.

I give a lot of credit to the school districts that really stepped up and made it their business to do what they can to keep in touch with kids. We got approval from (Sacramento County Public Health) to allow for emergency in-person counseling as needed in severe cases where students could do one-on-one counseling after school. It’s got to be based on the judgment of the personnel who’ve been in touch with the child and, if appropriate, the family.

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Thanks for reading our Spring 2021 issue!