October 13, 2015 Testimony - Angie Hancock

My name is Angie Hancock and I have 2 kids in the District.

I recently sat in on District’s Middle School Grade Reconfiguration Task Force’s Academic Subcommittee meetings.

My impression is that the Subcommittee is woefully unprepared to make a recommendation on the Challenge program. Surprisingly, the district has given the subcommittee only one model -- the heterogeneous classroom model -- to consider for how the middle school classrooms should be managed starting in 2017. How can the subcommittee make an informed recommendation based on facts when they haven’t seen any other options? Will the subcommittee have the opportunity to see balanced and fair research, or has the district already made up its mind?

Also, the round table format of the Subcommittee has to make it difficult for teachers to honestly state opinions in support of the existing Challenge program without fear of retaliation. How can teachers who are sitting in the same room with their district and union leaders feel free to state an opinion that differs from that of the people who hold sway over their jobs? At the very least, voting at meetings should be anonymous to ensure honest input from everyone at the table. 

Although the NSD community has much to say on this subject, the Academic Subcommittee has not asked students or parents if the current Challenge Program model needs to be changed. The Task Force has been meeting for more than two years and the subcommittee has been meeting for several months, but during this time the subcommittee has asked for no community input at all outside of the three parents who are on the subcommittee. They have not even discussed the Save Our Challenge petition, which now has nearly 1000 signatures, nor have they read the multitude of public comments in support of the Challenge program. With a deadline to give a recommendation fast approaching, the Subcommittee has admitted that they now have no time to ask for community input. In addition, the Task Force declined to have their meetings recorded for public access, and the Subcommittee’s meeting notes do not appear on the district’s website. In effect, they have made it nearly impossible for the community to participate in these decisions.

So I would like to urge the School Board to listen to the community, listen to the parents and especially listen to the students who have signed the petition and left a mountain of supportive comments. Please listen to your stakeholders and Save Our Challenge Program.