Escuela y economía

There were two somewhat contrasting views of the district leadership depending on who was being asked. Leadership figures, other than the district, such as SF, said district level leadership was, “open and approachable”. According to a school

coordinator, the superintendent of BSD was, “truly one of the best assets that the district has to make fundamental change in Burlington schools”. They saw that the districts approach was inclusive, participatory and democratic. Faculty and parents who were more removed from direct access to speaking with district leadership, felt that the management style was non-inclusive and un-participatory. One teacher said she felt she was given the order “this is going to be a magnet school” and scrambled to try to figure out what that meant. Many parents and teachers also felt that their needs and concerns were not being heard or addressed at the district level. When the staff and parents were evaluated at the beginning and middle of the pilot program they expressed their concerns during their interviews and this information was not something that was synthesized at the district level or necessarily addressed.

The district provided a new position for an enrollment and application coordinator for the magnet schools (the SA and the H.O. Wheeler Academy of Arts). Later the

coordinator came to realize that his job was not only in dealing with enrollment, but also to be a channel between the two magnet schools and the districts. He felt his job in the first pilot year was mostly to deal with district-wide concerns and misconceptions about the magnet schools. The district coordinator worked more as a liaison between interested parties and the district. He would provide district presence at the PTO and staff meetings

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as well as meeting between Shelburne Farms and the SA. Initially the coordinator role was part-time and originally was thought to be sufficient time to coordinate the

application and enrollment for the entire district. He was frequently seen at the SA during meetings and discussions. About half way through the pilot year of the SA his presence became sparse. He had been hired on part-time exclusively to work with the other magnet school, H.O. Wheeler, which dramatically decreased his attendance at SA related matters. However, the coordinator felt he was still able to see what he called, “a systems picture of the magnet schools and the district”. There was a great need to change the enrollment process, not just for the two magnet schools, but also for the entire district. This was a step beyond anything the district had to deal with in terms of enrollment in the past. Criteria were being created in the first pilot year to determine what kind of system was needed. The coordinator felt it was his job to create a process so that if he left his role it would be a seamless transfer to someone else. His main concern at the time was fighting for an enrollment process that displaced as few students as possible with the new magnet model and had this to say of displacement: “this is a social justice issue…this year we had to use public buses for kindergarteners and first grade students. This is not ideal and the district will never have the money to have their own buses. In addition to that we have kids that are high need and from low income areas that had teachers at the SA that could address their needs in a way that some of the others schools in the district who are not familiar with their needs. Racism is going on at schools in the district that is not addressed whereas at the SA it is addressed. These are issues that must be worked on.” The district did not feel that the coordinator role would be needed for more than a year to

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help with the piloting of the magnets, but the coordinator felt the position was necessary to deal with the social justice issues that became unintended consequences of the magnet schools in order to provide a fair and transparent process.

At the time of the pilot year, in 2009, the district also began to develop stronger criteria in their hiring processes to increase the level of diversity represented in jobs across the district. The district also began to implement a district-wide parent engagement policy that had not been fully executed at the time of the pilot program. Although it appeared that the leadership of Jeannie C. was imperative in order for the momentum to continue to move toward supporting and growing the magnet schools post pilot year, it also appeared that the staff at the district level and the people being hired were passionate about the direction. Therefore, many felt confident that BSD would be looking for a subsequent superintendent who would continue to push those efforts in the event that Jeannie C. would no longer be in a position to do so. The ability for the district to provide different time blocks for classes, which the SA was requesting, or to provide different contracting for teachers at the magnet schools was still up in the air, but it was a consistent and sometimes heated part of the discussion. Contracts did not change in the first year of the pilot as many had hoped. The district faced tension from both sides, those that wanted their contracts changed to reflect more accurately what was being required of them and the other staff that worked in other schools in BSD who felt that the SA was getting what one teacher said was, “perks and privileges at the expense of their own budgets or needs”. Teacher contracts were renewed every three years and it was undetermined whether or not they would change in three years time or whether the

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magnet schools might be able to pull out and re-negotiate a contract within the three years if needed. This is a different approach to private or charter schools with a sustainability mission who have the ability to be more open with contracting and can hand select a principal and staff with the goals of sustainability in mind. As a public school system, the BSD and the SA had to find ways to function within contracts and teaching hours in the first pilot year that were not necessarily consistent with the

definition of sustainability in terms of social equity that they were espousing. One thing the district was able to accomplish in the pilot year was to turn over some of the in- service days to be school-based. This allowed schools within BSD to decide what kind of professional development worked best for their needs. This process was going to increase the following year across the entire BSD.