Read the East Valley School District's mostly dire teacher survey on the K-8 transition

I am so thankful you published these results; although, I don´t know that it will make any difference. Our school board and Mr. Glenewinkel are determined to push this through, whether it is the right thing to do or not. I read their studies showing the K-8 model is what appears to be best for the children. I could support it, had it been implemented correctly. The way it is being implmented, does not even meet the goals and vision statements the board set out at the beginning of this process. http://www.evsd.org/news.php?id=153 The teachers are being spread too thin. If it were not for the extra effort our teachers are expending to make things work for our children, you WOULD have seen a drop in the test scores. We have no ability to provide the wide range of math levels our children need. One math teacher has to handle an entire class at their home school, whether those children are needing extra help, or are the children that should be taking advanced math. We are creating a culture where mediocrity is our goal- lets just make everyone the same. The kids that could be moving on to a higher level of learning, will not have those opportunities. The affects on the music programs this year will be devastating. Currently, the 7th and 8th grade students have daily music instruction. Their advancement was evident at the concert last Thursday. It was the best band concert I had heard in years. The new model, the students who want to participate in music will go in on late start days and have music for the two hours they would usually have late start. Then, if they are lucky, they will get music maybe one or two days per week at their home school. This will be devestating to their development. The poor kids at Trent currently have one Flute and one Percussion player, how will they have their "class" at their home school. I could have been supportive it the plan had been thought out, and we used the funds we have available. The bond did not pass, so the school board took out a loan for $6.2million dollars! - despite the fact that the community said "no". I believe that had they presented a more modest bond measure, to use money wisely for repairs, rather than grandiose auditoriums or turf football fields, maybe the bond would have past. The community has no confidence in the school board or Mr. Glenewinkel to handle our money responsibly. Using $6.2 million we should have been able to make a lot of improvements, instead, we have 8, maybe 9 modular buildings that are too small for our kids; one has no bathroom; the others have two single bathrooms, the kids have no place to put their books so have to carry them all day until they get to EVMS where they currently have band and PE, and lockers. This will be taken away, when they remain at their "home school". Maybe we should have used that money to build a new gym, or two or three! That is a huge amount of money, and I know from my own building experiences, we could have built some buildings large enough to have gyms at the home schools. They might not have been the most elaborate and fancy buildings, but kids don´t need fancy buildings, they need a good solid program the provides education. How are we going to do PE? Kids need that physical exercise in these formative years. Our nation is full of obese kids- maybe if they exercised at school a little like the 7th and 8th graders are currently doing, it will help them avoid a life of obesity? As for the plan for continuity for the children K-8, how does opening a Kindergarten center fit that model? The kids have the transistion from home to all day Pre-School and/or Kindergarten, and just when they may have gotten used to it we will change their situation again, but moving them to a "home school". They will loose friends they have bonded with in the Kindergarten center, as well as that continuity that is supposed to be so important. We will have to spend more money to retrofit EVMS to have little toilets and little desks, and be appropriate for kindergarten. They are not even reallly implementing a K-8 Plan. We are shuffling kids from one school that is built for them, to antoehr one that does not fit. The Middleshool has appropriate facilities for our 7th and 8th grade level studesnt; gyms, music room, science labs, and full size toilets. What do kinderagren chidren need with those facilities? The "home schools" DO NOT have facilities the 7th and 8th grades need. They are already over croweded- waht is goign to happen when we don´t move the kids going from 7th to 8th grade to EVMS? Where will we put them? The modulars have no room for lockers. Are we goign to make them use the little bathrooms set up for kindergarten children? What is the cost going to be to retrofit EVMS and the Home schools, to basically swap what they are used for? It makes no sense. I am totally disgusted with how this process has gone. The school board has "asked" for input, but they fail to listen to it. It is evident to me, it has gotten to be an issue of "wills" not what is best for our children. They are feeling pressure from the community and rather than humble themselves and listen, they are hardening their hearts and determined to make this happen. It is not what is best for our children and our community. The thing that is most frustrating, is there is nothing we can do to help our kids other than maybe uproot them from their community and send them to a different district? Their should be some form of recourse and accountability. If the community feels the school board and our superintendent are acting irresponsibly we should be able to have some sort of recourse process. They have failed to communicate with the community. They have not posted important information. Even the minutes from our school board minutes lack so much information, one would have a hard time following what is going on. The plan changes from week to week as Mr. Glenewinkel continues to push his agenda. If you took a vote in the community to impeach Mr. Glenewinkel, I am sure that the community would do such a thing. We have lost all confidence in his ability to determine what is best for our children, by putting his own agenda and pride aside. I am very heartbroken that our school disctrict has come to this. Mar 23, 2013 | Reply to this comment