Jeff Burgess
Reflection: ISLLC VI
Internship 6062/6072
Dr. Michael Arnold
Spring 2004

ISLLC 6 Summary and Reflection

Expectations:

6. 1 Promotes open and ongoing communication with community types concerning trends, issues, and potential changes.
6.2 Develops school policies and regulations consistent with local, state, and federal laws.

	I attended the Greenfield R-IV District School Board Meeting on November 19, 2003.  Among those in attendance were patrons, board members, and administrators, teachers, school counselors, and a representative for a lighting company.  The artifact of the School Board Meeting Reflection describes the interactions of the board with those present.  This interaction is an example of promotion of open and ongoing communication with community types concerning trends, issues, and potential changes (6.1).  One major topic of the meeting was the budget and finances.  Uncertainty and potential budget shortfalls were discussed at length.  Mention was made of legislators who say, “there is no revenue problem, but a spending problem.”  The superintendent identified one local legislator who commented that public education has “needed to trim the fat for some time.”   The budget concerns represent communication about issues and possible changes (6.1).   Each of the following is a communication concerning  trends, issues, and potential changes (6.1): 
•	A $10,800 technology upgrade was approved 
•	The elementary and high school counseling programs gave program updates.
•	Math and science department presented curriculum updates.
•	Facility updates were given by the superintendent and the high school principal.
•	The high school principal also gave a report for the elementary campus.  He stated that he believed work in the garden had been done by the elementary student council, which was “started recently by Mr. Burgess”.  
•	After an invitation I commented that the elementary counselor and I had started the student council in October. 
•	Other elementary activities mentioned were the Veteran’s Day assembly, Grandparents Day activities, and the need for sewer repairs at the elementary campus.  
	
	Other actions concerned the development of policies and regulations consistent with local, state, and federal laws (6.2):
•	Board policy amendments 
•	Set filing dates for board elections
•	The meeting adjourned to executive session at about 9:10 (by state law, executive session concerning personnel issues is done with only the administration and board present). 
	
	I wrote a letter to Senator Bill Foster concerning Senate Bill No. 1135, relating to bullying in public schools.	This bill would require:
 “each public school district to promulgate and implement a bully-free school plan.  The plan shall state specific policies in effect designed to prevent bullying from occurring… contain procedures for disciplining students who bully… submit annually a written report to the superintendent of its respective school district concerning the learning environment in the school for the previous year… superintendent shall… submit the compiled report submit annually, in a manner and by a date determined by the department of elementary and secondary education…. report shall include, but not be limited to, the bully-free school plan in effect in the school district, the number of bullying incidents reported at each school, and the total number of incidents reported in the district.  The reports shall be made available to the public annually.”
	The letter to Senator Foster is an open communication with community types about trends, issues, and potential changes (6.1). I shared with the senator comments that teachers had made concerning this bill:
“Bullying is a problem.  We know how to identify it, but don’t know what to do about it.”
“It is a problem and should be addressed.”
“Will having a written policy change anything?”
“Is there funding for this?”  
“Are there training sessions or programs available for teachers?”
“Specific guidelines on how to address bullying would be helpful.”
“Making schools do mandatory reports on a yearly basis will not necessarily reduce the incidents of bullying.”
Senator Foster replied to my email the following day commenting that he was doing everything he could to get the bill passed, and shared that his daughter was a fourth grade teacher.  
	If this bill passes, our school will be ready to implement a bully-free plan, and develop related school policies consistent with state laws (6.2).  I have already recommended to our school counselor a program for a bully-free plan that has already been implemented in area schools and my wife will be implementing the same plan next year at Republic Elementary II.  Bully Proofing Your School provides a blueprint for implementing a program to meet one criterion: to make the school environment safe for children both physically and psychologically.  The book presents a process and all the materials necessary for adoption of a school-wide plan against bullying.  Bully Proofing Your School is a comprehensive program with five equally important components: (from http://www.creatingcaringcommunities.com/train.html): staff training, student instruction, intervention with the bullies and the victims parent involvement,  provides strategies for collaborative relationships, and developing the caring community. 
	I conducted an Evaluation of the Community Power Structure in the local community in which I teach.  A short, anonymous (self-stamped, self addressed envelopes were provided) survey was delivered to 11 influential people in the community.  Shortly after sending out the survey, I realized that I had made an error.  I neglected to include any females in this survey.  I had started the list of people to survey with some names provided by the principal and added a few I thought would be important. While it is likely that most of the influential people in this rural, agricultural  community are males, the survey concerned voting issues, of which women would compose a large percentage of voters.  After realizing my mistake, I spoke to our counselor about it.   She suggested a few possibilities: the county clerk, the local senior women’s group, and the head of family services.  
	The community members surveyed included real estate agents, former state representatives, the sheriff, mayor, county commissioners, county commissioners, and local pastors. Those surveyed were asked to rate each other on their level of influence in the community.  The top three individuals in the ratings were:
1.	A real estate agent and former state representative
2.	A manager of a local plant
3.	A president of a local bank

These results suggest that the business community has a strong influence in the community. This information is a communication with community types concerning trends, issues, and potential changes (6.1).  
	The survey also reiterates results of the staff survey discussed under ISLLC V:  The community does not provide the funds necessary to maintain quality educational problems.  All respondents agreed that teachers should be paid more money, but only one suggested that the community would vote for a tax levy to support teacher raises.  The average percentage of voters that the respondents indicated would vote for a tax increase levy was 36%.  This information is also is a communication with community types concerning trends, issues, and potential changes (6.1).  
	In a rural farming community such as Greenfield and many others in Southwest Missouri, teachers leave the profession because of lack of opportunities and small salaries.  It is my theory that most members in such communities feel that teachers are already some of the highest paid individuals in the community, making more than they are, and they will not consider sacrificing higher tax rates to support better educational resources in their community. In such cases, I believe that the only hope for such communities is that the state will provide more equitable funding statewide in the future.
Besides the fact that I drive 50 miles a day to work and 50 miles a day home for work, the fact that the district I currently teach in has had a frozen salary schedule for 4 years and there is not much hope of seeing that change in the near future, has contributed to my decision to resign and hope to find something closer to home and a more equitable salary.  I have had three successful years at Greenfield and have no regrets.  I hope to remain friends with people I have met here and wish the best for this community.