Beaverton School District Superintendent talks about levy, his pay, music, technology and more

Source: The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.存倉Sept. 02--This school year will be tough for everyone in the Beaverton School District as it recovers from last year's hit to its budget and faces a slew of new education requirements.But it could be worse.Voters passed a local option levy in May, which allowed the district to add back nearly half of the 344 teaching positions it cut last year, instead of laying off more teachers.Most of the 365 teachers who were sent to classrooms in which they had little or no instructional experience have since been transferred into classrooms in which they have expertise. Class sizes are expected to stabilize if not slightly improve, and a surprise contribution of $2.3 million in Gain Share funds will add back one of four days cut from the school calendar.The district may be far from whole, but Superintendent Jeff Rose said the energy is much more positive than last fall."As opposed to entering the year in a cloud, we're entering with sun and hope," he said.The Beaverton Leader asked community members to chime in with questions for Rose, and here are some of the responses by topic.LOCAL OPTION LEVY: The levy will bring in $15 million a year for five years, which district leaders promised to spend on 151 teachers. As of Aug. 26, the district had hired 164 full and part-time teachers.Readers asked if the district will track the levy funds and Rose said yes. The district will keep tabs on whereteachers go and the effect on class sizes.SUPERINTENDENT PAY: A few readers asked why Rose accepted a pay raise, given the district's continued financial struggles.In June, the school board offered Rose an $8,000 increase to his salary, moving it from $185,000 to $193,000, and he accepted.Rose's response: "I'm not going to address it. People were upset with me for a board decision."Rose froze his salary last school year.SYNERGY: The district has struggled with the move from its old online eSIS grading system to the new Edupoint Synergy system, which allows teachers to enter grades online and, ultimately, give parents and students secure access to grades, attendance and other information.As the summer began, some teachers reported that the screens would randomly flip from one student to another as they entered grades."I have been promised that it will be ... 100 times better," Rose said.Parents and students can already access some student information, such as class schedules and attendance. Grades and homework are expected to be available this fall.TECHNOLOGY: Middle and high schools will offer students and parents "guest" wireless access. It's part of the district's plan to encourage students to bring their own devices to school, such as iPads and smartphones, to use for class. It's also valuable for guest speakers who need to tap into the Internet.The district hoped to kick off a new user-friendly website on the first day of school after years of complaints about the difficulty of finding information on its site, .beaverton.k12.or迷你倉us.The site will be less cluttered and more intuitive and have a better search engine, said Steve Langford, chief information officer. But he said it might take a few days past the start of school to get it working smoothly.The district is also developing a computer application so parents can get district news, alerts and announcements immediately.Meanwhile, Rose has started using Twitter to keep the school district community in the loop, but he's a little nervous."I want to do it well and I've never done it," he said. "Everybody will be exposed to my learning."A couple of times a day, he'll let his followers know about the schools he visits, what he sees and when he meets with legislators, among other daily events.Follow him at @JeffRoseSupt or visit twitter.com/JeffRoseSupt.COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS: A reader asked why the district spent money on a public relations firm last year. Answer: To help the district build a program called Community Conversations, which is one of Rose's initiatives.The goal is to ensure everyone in the school district community knows what it takes for students to be Beaverton School District graduates.The district signed a five-month, $58,000 contract last February with Weinstein PR for "Future Focus: Community Conversations About Hope and Excellence."This year, armed with information from parents, district staff and students, the district developed a theme around "WE," complete with pins and a brochure. "The focus is creating ownership of schools," Rose said.The brochure, available on the district website, simplifies the district's goals for graduates -- Think, Know, Act and Go. It also identifies the four pillars of learning."Six to nine months from now, this will not be a piece of paper," he said, referring to actions replacing the words.MUSIC: After Aloha High School struggled to field a marching band for this year, a reader asked what the future holds for music in the district.The district is seeking applications for a music task force that will start the process to bring music back into Beaverton schools, Rose said.The group will identify the costs and steps and produce a plan for returning music, which will be built into the annual budget."It feels like a very productive way to address what is a very important issue," Rose said.COMMON CORE: Beaverton has been training teachers and mapping strategies over the last couple of years to incorporate the national Common Core standards in writing, math and reading. Teachers began phasing in K-12 lessons last year.Noting the national controversy around the federal government's involvement in Common Core, a reader asked what analysis Beaverton had done of the standards.Rose said Common Core standards have "ended up as a political discussion and our goal should be that it is an educational discussion."-- Wendy OwenCopyright: ___ (c)2013 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) Visit The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) at .oregonian.com Distributed by MCT Information Services自存倉