myBurbank Talks
myBurbank Talks
Meet the Candidate: Dr. Tom Crowther, School Board, Trustee Area 1 Candidate
Can a strong leader with deep roots in the community turn the tide for Burbank schools? In this compelling episode of Meet the Candidate, we sit down with Dr. Tom Crowther, who brings decades of educational experience and a personal connection to Burbank. Tom shares his journey from a young boy moving to Burbank through his local education and on to earning a doctorate in educational leadership from USC. His extensive background includes teaching special education and honors English at Burroughs and holding principal positions in both Glendale and Burbank Unified Districts. Currently, as the Senior Vice President of Leadership Development at Bright Star Schools, Tom reflects on his passion for education and how his professional journey has prepared him to serve on the Burbank Board of Education Trustee Area 1.
Tom doesn't shy away from discussing the significant leadership challenges Burbank schools have faced. He sheds light on the impacts of mass principal departures, inconsistent district support, and the controversial decisions around superintendent hires and firings. Tom advocates for cohesive teamwork among teachers, site leaders, and the union to foster a supportive school culture. He also examines the district's transition to district-based elections and its broader implications for the community. Through this candid conversation, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in maintaining and improving educational standards in Burbank.
In addition to tackling leadership issues, Tom outlines his vision for preparing Burbank students for future success. He emphasizes the importance of California Distinguished School recognition, AP classes, dual enrollment, and special education to cater to diverse student aspirations. Tom passionately argues for the urgent need for a school bond to address deteriorating facilities, highlighting the necessity of transparent communication and accountability to restore community trust. Whether you're a parent, educator, or concerned citizen, this episode is essential listening for anyone invested in the future of Burbank's education system.
My Burbank Talks presents another episode of Meet the Candidate, the show where we invite anyone appearing on the Burbank ballot in the 2024 election to join us here and give our listeners a chance to learn about their background and the issues important to them. Now let's join our podcast.
Speaker 2:Hello, burbank, craig Short here with you once again and it's time for another Meet the Candidate episode. Today we go into the school board race and we have ourselves Tom Crowther with us, who's going to be a candidate in the trustee division, trustee area one. I'm sorry, you have to get used to this nonsense that school board's given us to worry about. So Tom is lifelong Burbank resident Well, just about a lifelong Burbank resident.
Speaker 2:He actually moved here when he was eight years old. He went through the Burbank school system and graduated from Burroughs and at that time he actually went on and got a social science degree from Cal State, la Went later on to get a master's from Azusa Pacific and then he went on to get a master's from azusa pacific and then, and then he went on to get a doctorate in educational leadership uh, from usc. So I guess, go trojans and all that stuff for you right on there. You go for all you people out there like that um, he's taught uh, he didn't, he was uh taught. He taught at Burroughs. He taught special education and honors English and AP English too.
Speaker 3:No, just honors. Okay, honors English and English 11 for you.
Speaker 2:He's then moved up the ranks. After being a vice principal, he became a principal both in the Glendale Unified District and in the Burbank Unified District. He then left that job and he is currently the Senior Vice President of Leadership Development. For what company?
Speaker 3:It's a nine-charter school network, nine-school charter network called Bright Star Schools.
Speaker 2:Bright Star Schools.
Speaker 3:Okay so they've got schools in like Baldwin Village, West Adams area, a cluster in the valley and then three schools in Koreatown, so it's nine total. Excellent.
Speaker 2:He's married with two kids. They're in the Burbank school system now too and, like I say, he's running for the Board of Education Trustee, area 1. So that's enough of the written down stuff we have for you. You covered it, we tried to. So you moved here at eight years old. Where did you move here from?
Speaker 3:I'm originally from Washington DC. You can say it Go ahead Redskins. I was a lifelong Redskins fan, yeah, and now Commanders, how do you feel the name changed? I'm not a fan of the name, so I usually say Washington football team. But yeah, originally from DC. My dad moved us out here in 1986. Uh, I always tell people he was going to sell the million dollar screenplay, recently retired from selling insurance. So that didn't work out. But it did bring me to Burbank and, as you mentioned, I'm a by-product of, uh, burbank unified, bret Hart, luther. Burroughs was my pathway and um, and, ironically, after I did 10 years in the classroom at Burroughs, I wound up doing most of my administration on the other side of Burbank Unified. I was at Mirror and then Burbank High before going over to Glendale.
Speaker 2:I always believe in the transparency stuff. So, people, you know, I've known Tom for a very long time. In fact. He played left field for us at burroughs when I was coaching there, correct, and uh did a very good job. He actually made the position his, he took a lot of pride in the position and, uh, we did very well with him as a, uh, our left fielder. So, um, um, I I can't remember what his batting average was, of course, but uh, uh, I know that you know that I still remember went under 400 at the end of the season.
Speaker 3:The very last game I ended up at 391s.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay.
Speaker 3:Well, there you go In the 9-hole you saw a lot of fastballs, which is always a good thing. I appreciated that. Yeah, I could never hit a breaking ball.
Speaker 2:I tell my kids that now, on the travel team, my coach so when you left Burroughs and you went to, uh, now you, you, you first started off at USC and because of conflicts and just time constraints, you decided and of course, financially you found it was better to go to Cal state, la. But why did you want to get into education?
Speaker 3:Well, honestly, and I don't know if you remember this, but when I was graduated uh, when I graduated from Burroughs, teaching was like the furthest thing from my mind. If you can find an old yearbook senior plans I'm supposed to be working alongside Chris Berman at ESPN. I thought I was going to do sports journalism. I think you remember I used to work for Eric Sondheimer Daily News, then the LA Times, so I thought that was going to be my pathway.
Speaker 2:I wanted to stay around sports, as I've learned, I can tell you. But there's no money in journalism whatsoever.
Speaker 3:That's true. It wasn't about that though. I wanted to stay around sports and at the end of my senior year my parents were going through a separation. I decided to be at USC and close to home, and that got me on the field. Still at Burroughs, I was the freshman baseball coach for Coach Vi and yourself, and I loved it, and that remained my family, my other family, and I kind of threw myself into that. And at the end of the first year of undergrad I had some panicky. I was panicking about how I was going to afford USC, decided to go over to Cal State, la. It was cheaper, so I could literally charge a quarter. It was a quarter system. So after I paid off the fall, I go to the winter, go to the spring, still able to finish in four years. And by that time I go to the winter, go to the spring, still able to finish in four years.
Speaker 3:And at that time, by that time, I knew I wanted to, you know, teach and coach. And my former Spanish teacher, emilio Uriosti, was the co-principal at Burroughs at the time. He wound up offering me a position in special education. Didn't know it at the time, but that certainly made me a better teacher, a better coach, later a better parent and, I'd like to think, a better person.
Speaker 3:So I did that for 10 years and also had the opportunity to run the school newspaper, which was the other thing I liked to do when I was a high school student. So I ran the Smoke Signal and taught the journalism class for five years and just a lot of experiences that, looking back on, I'm better for. And when I eventually decided to do school administration, I think those experiences helped me be a better administrator. So I feel fortunate that things just kind of fell into place, lined up the way that it did. As you know, I spent 13 years with the bros baseball program, seven as the head coach, and those were fun times as well. And now I just got back from Cooperstown with my son's 12U team that I coach and we're onto the 13U season now.
Speaker 2:So again, things just kind of cycle and in a good cycle right now, with a middle schooler in the middle of middle school and my daughter a high schooler. Now, I don't know how that happened. Oh, you blinked, I blinked, Um. Then now, how does your uh, your son or daughter share the uh, um, the love for?
Speaker 3:the Washington football team. Um, my son is willing. They haven't been very good in his lifetime.
Speaker 2:In fact, they've been terrible they haven't been very good in your lifetime lately either.
Speaker 3:The last time they were great was when I was his age. But yeah, he's willing and the rest of the family tolerates it. But they do follow my love of sports. Both are very active both in sports and in the arts, so it's fun to do the kid things through the parent lens.
Speaker 2:Let's stay on the sports subject for a little bit here, because of course that's near and dear to my heart and I think many others. And the Burbank schools have really cut any kind of financial support for extra clicker activities, you know, for drama, for performing arts and sports. I know in baseball that all they pay for is they pay a coach and they don't pay very much. A coach makes around $16 an hour. Compared to McDonald's that pays $20 an hour but regardless. But all they pay for is really a coach and they give you a facility to play on. They do not pay for uniforms, for equipment, for anything whatsoever. And they're asking all these different groups to go out and fundraise and they fundraise.
Speaker 2:But the problem is, how many places are they ready to fundraise in Burbank, with all these different students and all these different programs? They all wind up going to the same places and draining to individuals who don't want to give anymore. So what are you going to do? To look at that and you know I get it we have no money. We have no money, but yet other places do have money and other places have, you know, building new pools or building, you know, new tracks or building all sorts of stuff, but in Burbank we seem to have no money for anything. So how do you feel about the extra? We'll get into all the other things in a second, but let's just start on extracurriculars. How would you fix that problem so we can be more inclusive to all the students and make it easier on the families to you know, to pay for things?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so there was a lot to your question there, right, a lot of layers, if I keep it with extracurriculars, the reality is that by high school you know parents sort of specialize. Whatever their kids are doing they're doing. So if your kid's thing is choir, then you're a choir booster. If your kid's thing is a sport, then you are a supporter of that program. The PTSA does a lot of great advocacy work and that is a connection to the campus, but the reality is the parents do specialize and then, as you said, there's a lot of fundraising involved when you decide to do one of the great programs and we do have some great programs but they are literally on the backs of talented kids, hardworking, uh, teachers who are their directors, um, or their coaches, and, uh, it is a big lift. It is a big lift what you mentioned, baseball, because we've got that in common and a portion of the transportation budget. Otherwise it's a contribution expectation for the players.
Speaker 2:That's 100%. The program has to pay for buses now, yeah.
Speaker 3:Some umpires, but not all of them, Just at all levels and league games only and whatnot. So, yeah, there's not a lot of support for the athletics right now. So parents fundraise, kids fundraise. Same thing with visual and performing arts. There's not a lot of support for the athletics right now, Um, so parents fundraise, kids fundraise uh, same thing with, uh, uh, vigilant performing arts. So it is a constant and you're right, we're not a big enough town and the same people get asked again and again and again. So you know that is the reality Most places. I think, um, you know, part with the Burbank community. We could do better, we need to do better. I think the district's at its best when it's working hand-in-hand with the city and I don't know if that's happening right now. So when we're engaged and on the same page, I think there will be support for those programs. I think the schools have to continue to celebrate and recognize those programs. I'm sure we'll get into declining enrollment and what that's forecast for the next 10 years and all that.
Speaker 3:So you, you have to have these programs and you have to celebrate them to, to maintain enrollment, to bring people in the the. You know the truth is everything's expensive and so fund some fundraising. That's every high school you're going to come into, um you're. You're accurate that other places find ways to, you know, get bonds through and have facilities for their programs. Like that accurate that other places find ways to get bonds through and have facilities for their programs. That's happened other places. That's going to need to happen here. That's another conversation, but that's a piece of the puzzle.
Speaker 3:Fundraising piece of the puzzle. Keeping engaged with the community so that you have business partners piece of the puzzle, and you got to put it all together and make it whole. It is it's. It's complicated in terms of our facilities. The reality is that the high schools are not that old, but they weren't constructed all well, all that well in some cases, and there was maintenance that was preventive maintenance that was not done, and so their things are deteriorating much quicker than they should and we've got a, you know, a very expensive problem on our hands. So I don't know that you, you can't fundraise your way out of those realities well, the problem is also the city can't give you money, correct?
Speaker 2:we can't. You can't get tax money from the city right to help the schools. They're independent entities, correct? So while the city can give you some supports type things, they they can't yeah, I'm not speaking specifically of the city.
Speaker 3:I mean the community at large. Right, there are business partners that the schools need to be able to continue to rely on, things such as that. And again, I believe Burbank's at its best when we're working together to solve some of the problems that you've already mentioned.
Speaker 2:You were a principal in Burbank. In fact you were at Burbank High School and I thought you were doing a good job and enjoyed your job and you were one of like I don't know over a dozen principals to quit in like an 18-month period. What went wrong so badly that all these principals bailed out? Because in the past, in this space, we've lived in burbank our whole lives and once in a while you, our principal, would leave every year or two maybe from one school, right, but to have the amount of principals leaving the district there's that it's not just financial, sure.
Speaker 3:if there's something else going on, what do you think is going on that all these principals couldn't take it anymore right well, so a lot of it did start post-pandemic right and so once in a lifetime pandemic, and that made a hard job harder.
Speaker 3:Um, so I do think that that was a part of it, and there's truth that in the field right now, education's seeing a lot of turnover in teaching positions and in leadership positions, and it's unfortunate. I think Burbank is hopefully back on the up, but definitely had a moment where, you know people, there was mass exodus, there was the departure of folks who probably should have been lifers and you know, and it's complex, but at the end of the day, what I shared to people is that, in my opinion, you know, I was the second principal to leave out of more than 10 in a 15 month window, like you said, and I think we were in the midst of a leadership crisis where, you know, we were coming off a pandemic, doing our best to run our schools and not always feeling supported from above, and that's you know.
Speaker 2:So what would you do to change that?
Speaker 3:Well, as, again, hopefully, we're back on the up a little bit. Some of the some of the folks who were not feeling supported have moved on and some of the folks who could have supported those folks more have also moved on. And you know, hopefully, where it's. It's the start of a new era, I think. In terms of what I would want to do as a school board member if I'm fortunate enough to get the opportunity is I would want to make sure, again, we work together. You need everybody in. You need everybody on the same page. You need to support your teachers and work with the union. You need to support your site-level leaders and balance. That. This is the district must do. We're all on the same page and we're doing this together.
Speaker 3:Here's what you have autonomy of at your site and we want to support those endeavors and the things that you want to do that make John Murray Middle School unique or Luther Burbank middle school unique or Dolores Horton middle school unique.
Speaker 3:And you've got to let the leaders in the building, you know, uh, swing big, miss small and, and you know, make their school special. The school culture is important. And then at the district level, um, you know, I think it's perfectly understandable that there's disagreements behind a closed door, but out in the public, you got to be on the same page and the board and the cabinet need to work together and find solutions to big issues. And we've got a lot of big issues right now. You take your pick funding, enrollment, student achievement, data, wellness. I could go on right. So there's a lot of big picture items that need to be tackled and we got to tackle them together and I think that's what we weren't doing. You know, at our low point, you know 20, 21, 22 school years and hopefully we're on the back up, back on the up.
Speaker 2:Our natural responsibility has been a lot of people's minds with the, with the board, and they went through a stretch where they actually gave superintendent Matt Hill. They ripped up his contract in September, gave him a brand new contract. All his contracts had not expired until June of next year and by June next year. Then they fired him after giving him a raise and because of giving him a new contract, they then had to pay him for another additional year. They had to also get a new superintendent, so they brought in John Paramo, who's actually done a very good job. Very happy with John Paramo, but what I don't understand is they then gave him $50,000 more than they had just given Matt Hill and to me, especially in a district that has financial trouble and there's been other cases of that, with other administrators having their contracts grouped up midway through and given raises also. So how do you tell people we're going to be more? How do you get them on board? You wouldn't be more financially responsible when there's a budget crisis going on.
Speaker 3:I don't know if there was a question in there. I would agree with you that the optics of that are terrible. Ideally, if you're renewing a superintendent second, third, fourth contract you've got a five oh board because that means that person's doing a good job. Um, and they did not have that right. It was three, two after a delay and, yes, you're right to renew somebody, give them a contract extension and then terminate less than a year later and have to pay for that. Um, not, not ideal, not a good thing, and have to pay for that Not ideal, not a good thing and should not have happened.
Speaker 3:And then you know, with Dr Pramo, I've known him a very long time. 95% of my experience with him are nothing but positive. I don't know that the board set up. My only issue is that I don't know that the current board set him up for success by having no process in selecting him as superintendent. He went from acting to interim to appointment, and you've got to have a process when you hire a classroom teacher. You have to have a process when you hire an assistant principal or principal.
Speaker 3:Why should the leader be any different? And I agree with you, I think he's doing some good things. However, you're not setting someone up for success when you have a process for everything but that position, and I wish they had thought through that a little more. At the end of the day, in an interim role, he might have wound up being the guy, or through a thorough process, like the board president at the time, steve Ferguson, had promised. Like a thorough process, you might have wound up having him be the guy because he knows the community, he knows the schools, he knows the issues. But it never hurts to go through that process and I think that's the one thing I would question not knowing all the facts.
Speaker 2:Let's also look at the decision they've now made to break the school district up into districts. I think it's. You know, both the school district and the city got a letter and the letter wasn't exactly, it was kind of a form letter and said if you don't do this we're going to sue you unless you pay us money. And the city said let's go after it. You know, I mean, we're not going to do that. The school district immediately kind of caved in. They've gone to districts. You go to the school district website. I can't find maps or anything about which district is where. I think 90% of the people in Burbank do not know anything about districts. They don't know what district they live in, how the districts were drawn and the fact they're not able to right now. Two-fifths of the city cannot even vote for a school board member in this election. So how would you get? When you get back? You may get to the board. Would you try to change this back to our old system or how do you feel about this?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, I feel like at the moment it is what it is right. This is what we have for 2024. Um, I find it a little odd that the school didn't wait, the school district didn't wait for some direction from how the city was going to go about it and that now we have, you know, one that's still nine candidates at large and and then one that's district right. I think that's a little peculiar and again, that speaks to my need to see the school re-engage with the community and the city at large. So I'll say that I think at this point you know the map. I found it, you're right. I had to look for it when they were discussing potential boundaries and what it might look like.
Speaker 3:I went to a virtual meeting. I think I was one of two guests that day. So the messaging on that could have been better, communication on that could have been better. The map's there, but it's not readily available and you're right, I run into people every single day. They go hey, you got my vote and I said, actually you don't live in my district, so you can't in my trusty area, so you know you can't vote for me, but I'd love your support in other ways. We can talk about that and a lot of people don't know that we're districts. So I've learned that just in the first month or so of officially being a candidate and you know that's something that's going to be important in the next few months is making sure people are aware of that.
Speaker 2:School board members is running unopposed, and I'm just thinking because nobody knows in that area to run against her and can't do anything about that. Let's move on a little bit to right now. In the our schools used to, routinely elementary, middle and high schools were recognized as blue ribbon schools California distinguished schools. You can go drive by any school and you see on the wall it's nice painted up there. But the years are now all past years. We're not getting any of that lately now. What would you do to try to bring that back, that prestige back to our school system? I mean, is it an internal thing? Is it something? Is it financial? Is it? I mean, what's the reason that Burbank is now being overlooked for these honors?
Speaker 3:It's not necessarily overlooked. So again, we have some great leaders, we have some great teachers, we have amazing kids. So there's still a lot of good happening in Burbank in terms of getting recognized as a California distinguished school or blue ribbon school. You know there's a, there's a process uh, when and when your site's up, you're eligible to apply and you work together with your school or your school leader and your teacher leaders, and you and you put together an application and then you wait and you find out if you got it or not. And you know it's an. It's not a perfect process, but it gives you the opportunity to reflect on what you're doing well, you know, and apply for those distinctions.
Speaker 2:It's not that we're not. Do you think every school is applying for that? Or some are just not even bothering, and maybe that's one of the problems.
Speaker 3:If it's important to the district and it's an expectation for the school leaders to do, then I know most will take the time to do it, but it's a, it's a time commitment in a process and, um, you know, I don't know. I still very friendly with recent principals and current principals in Burbank and I know that they're good for it in terms of writing the report and celebrating their kids and celebrating their programs, and so you, burbank, has some elite programs that you can certainly write California distinguished school applications for and get recognized, if that's the priority, I think, for me. You know those things look good on a mural, like you said, and those things look good when someone's considering buying a home in your community. But the most important thing is that we're aiming for a hundred percent of our high school senior classes graduating on time and that all or most of them are able to meet A through G requirements to be eligible for a four-year college and identified as college and or career ready by the California dashboard. Again, ed data, it is what it is. We're data rich and analysis poor in a lot of ways, and the California dashboard is not a perfect reflection of what's working and what's not working in your schools, but it is the report card. If someone's thinking of buying a home in Burbank, that's something they may look at, and when they see that only 49% of the recent seniors who graduated were identified as prepared for college and career on the California dashboard, that's a concern.
Speaker 3:There's no reason that we can't be right there with like crescent valley high school, which is a like school over in glendale. Right like. We can be right there and the state the state achievement data for english and math scores are much higher at a place like cv or a la canada than they are in burbank right now, so that's something worth unpacking. Um, the same thing with like. Again, our grad rates are good, but we should be going for 100. That was one thing that dr hill and I agreed on, and we should be getting a higher percentage of our kids A through G and eligible for four-year college and we should be getting certainly more than half college and career ready, just based on all the good things that are happening at the high schools with the NAF Academy programs, the number of kids that do take AP and honors courses and the fact that we have some really great pathways at both high schools.
Speaker 2:I'm going to push back a little on you, okay, because you were a 4.0 and I was a 2.8. And I agree that the goal should always be to get every kid graduating, every kid four-year college ready. I get all that, but what about the kid who wants to just get his diploma? He's the 2.0 to 2.5 kid, but he wants to go on into an industry. He wants to be a car mechanic. He wants to be a car mechanic, he wants to be a plumber, he wants to be an electrician, he wants to go work in our studios. Very good opportunities. And those are jobs that we need in our society. Because you know, let's face it, if your plumbing goes out, who are you going to call? Are you going to call a… no, absolutely.
Speaker 3:I don't disagree with you.
Speaker 2:So we've lost all of our or not all, but we've lost many of our quote shop classes, our industrial classes. So do you think we should bring some of those back and try to prepare some of those students who have those interests so they have a better learning situation to graduate with?
Speaker 3:Well, you're right, I have friends that I went to high school with. I got one who sold doors and windows and he's out on me several years. I've got others who are mechanics or electricians and they do quite well and they are industries where there's great opportunities, absolutely For sure. So I agree with you, you don't necessarily find that pathway in high school. For me, I think today's high schools do need to prepare kids for some college, because they're behind the kids that start in a four-year school right away or even a junior college, which is a good opportunity.
Speaker 3:California community colleges can be free now, you know, for most kids, even the kids that don't jump right to those opportunities. There are a lot of kids that go out in the real world for a little bit and then try some schooling or they get into a trade tech, and those programs have changed a little bit and while they still remain hands-on and whatnot, there's still the need to be able to function like in a school environment, right, a formal learning environment. So the high school's job is to prepare kids for all pathways and at the end of the day, if you're getting them for your college ready, they're likely to be more successful in the workforce. They're likely to be more successful at a community college. They're likely to be more successful at a four-year school. Whatever they choose.
Speaker 3:I think the reality is today's teens and then today's college graduates they're far more likely they don't settle into a job and then do it until retirement. They're going to explore, they're going to probably have a very windy path to whatever they wind up ultimately doing. Some of what they do will require a degree, some will not. But those skills what Common Core is supposed to do is develop skills right those skills that they should be learning and mastering in high school will transfer to whatever they do next Workforce, college, apprentice program, whatever and I think that we're saying the same thing.
Speaker 2:We just see it a little bit differently in terms of what the school's role is, and all of that Understandable?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you are. When I was at, I used to teach at Crespi Right we had the rule of school was get every kid into four year school and I found over the years that the pressure then for the kids to get in, you know they would get four year ready but they would go there for half a semester or they're out, they're back here. And one of two reasons One is they didn't want to move to some other state to go to school. They love California. But two is financial. And what they don't tell you, I think, is that JUCOs, junior colleges have the same exact class structure for the first two years that a four-year school does.
Speaker 2:It's the same exact class structure for the first two years that a four-year school does. It's the same classes. So do you think that one of the things that the Burbank school should do is when the counselors and I'm not sure how the counselors work and you know more about administration than I do but they should look at the economic structure that each student has and say, yeah, we can get him four-year ready, but I think a two-year college would be best for him right now, financially, for his family. So how?
Speaker 3:do you feel about that? So two things. One is counselor caseloads are too large and we need to bring them down a little bit if they're expected to do the kind of work that you just described, because they do do a four-year plan. My daughters will be coming up soon because she's a ninth grader and they'll look, revisit it once each year. But in terms of really digging down and having kids look at what might be the best pathway for them, when you have caseloads that are twice what the recommended average is for a counseling caseload, you're not going to get that attention as a student that you need and that the counselor wants to give each student right kids are going to under the cracks in a way.
Speaker 3:Well, and, yeah, that's what I would say it's like again. My first class at Burbank High as principal during that virtual graduation, was 661 students, and they're smaller right now. The, the. When I graduated from Burroughs in 1996, it was 400 something, and the typical classes right now are somewhere in between.
Speaker 3:And when you have a class, a senior class, of more than 500 students, both high schools are going to have over a hundred kids with 4.0s. Those kids are hard to screw up. They're going to take AP and honors classes and they're going to ace them all the way through. And that's your cohort of kids who are likely to go to a four-year school right away Not all, but most. And then you have students with known barriers English language learners, students with special needs, students with other challenges like maybe low socioeconomic realities. They're going to get support through traditional schools, through special education, through ELD programs etc.
Speaker 3:And then there's this big chunk of kids in the middle, and I think that what you just said I do agree with. I think we need to serve that big chunk of kids in the middle better. It is not difficult to walk through high school with your head down in the hall, eke out somewhere between a 2.0 and a 3.3, and just be there right and put your four years in. But ideally every kid would connect each year with several adults on campus, have a program that they're passionate about and have some goals at the end of graduation of what they want to do next. And that could include many things.
Speaker 3:And I think the other part to your question that I want to address is I do think AP honors classes are good for GPA bump purposes and whatnot, and they do their part in preparing kids for college.
Speaker 3:But I'm happy that the district's explored more dual enrollment opportunities last few years in partnerships with local junior colleges and kids are able to get college credits earlier. I'd love for our schools to take a look at early college programs like what they have happening at Hoover high right now, where kids are sometimes graduating not just with a high school diploma but with an AA. So those are some things I'd love to see work with the district on if I'm fortunate to get the opportunity to be a board member, cause I think those are. I think that's going to be the new normal in the years ahead and things that we have to look at. So I also agree with you that junior college is a great pathway for a lot of folks the potential to be free now and something you can start on much earlier, and we just want to make sure we give kids that information so that they can make that decision for them.
Speaker 2:You taught what seven or eight years in special education Almost 10. Yeah, almost 10 actually and my hat's off to you that's got to be a very difficult at times. You know it's not easy at times because sometimes emotional needs or physical needs, whatever it could be, how did you first, how did you navigate through that? What did you find and how do you think we're doing now with that? And would you, if you had a chance, to change anything in that whole area, what would you do?
Speaker 3:Questions aren't easy here by the way, it's a great question.
Speaker 2:Knowledge of each other or not.
Speaker 3:I'm still after you? Yeah, I got you.
Speaker 3:So you know, yes, a good special educator is truly special and I think you have a shelf life, unless you're an extraordinary individual, because it is hard. The model that I taught in is very different than what's considered best practice today and I, like I said, I look back on my 10 years doing special education and most of it was in a special education classroom with occasional opportunities to be included fully included in the JETA environment. And now we know best practice is to try to get students with IEP, students with learning disabilities, into general education. You know, at least more than half their day, if not more, when possible, provided that you can support them with the accommodations in their IEP Right? So I just said a lot, but breaking it down easier, you know how do I think we're doing?
Speaker 3:I think we're, like most districts, trying to figure special education out. Co-teaching, where a special educator works with a gen ed teacher in a gen ed classroom and supports the students, like that is best practice. That's what the research says. The reality is our class sizes are too large, our clusters of students with IEPs are too large to really do it. Well, you have to be fortunate. Remember when we were talking about athletic programs or a thriving arts program. Those programs are special, built on the special adults results. The co-teaching that we do in most districts is totally reliant on having a great gender teacher willing and wanting those kids in class and a great special educator willing to work together like co-teachings of marriage. Those are the ones where they thrive, but they're few and far between right.
Speaker 3:So I think to your question, burbanks, like most districts, we know we're supposed to be giving inclusive opportunities to all students and we're trying. But we're working with, you know, a broken model and we're not there yet and I hope that we will be because it can be. It can change outcomes, it can change lives. So I'm a huge champion and advocate for inclusive education. I used to teach a class at CSUN as an adjunct to credential candidates. It was literally called co-teaching, differentiated instruction and collaboration. That works and it does work, but it needs a lot of support.
Speaker 3:And what I would say about special education? There's also a budget reality Like it encroaches quite a bit on the general fund and it's because a lot of special education services are reactive instead of proactive. So in a perfect world, any district, and especially a mid-sized district like Burbank, would be more proactive in its approach to special education, so that we're not spending so much on the back end playing defense. I think we could do more to support teachers who want to help these kids. Help these kids. And that's like much longer than this interview, but we could get into it another time.
Speaker 2:So you use the magic letter B for budget and I'll give you another B, which is bond. What are you going to do? How do you feel about the bond measure that they're proposing? But when people are saying we don't think the Board of Education is very financially responsible, they're going to take all this money and who knows what they're going to do with it. One of the things most students have is an independent board. But if they don't have an oversight board, if they appoint all their friends to the oversight board, you know, then all of a sudden it's their friends on it who will do what they want them to do. How do you tell people, number one, how is your position on the bond? And number two, how do you feel about an oversight board for the money?
Speaker 3:Right. So one of the things I'm promising is try to restore trust right, and what you just spoke to is the fact that you're right. There's a lot of distrust or mistrust of, you know, the current board and how they've been stewards of the taxpayers money or not and I think, yeah, I support the bond. I think we need the bond and, if people aren't aware, there is a bond on the ballot in November and we need to vote for it. I've worked in the buildings and you know Burbank High with the leaky library, and you know my kids are in auditoriums right now with air conditioners that aren't functioning. I'll be back to school night in a few minutes and you know I'm hoping they're working for the adults Right, so we need to pass it.
Speaker 3:I don't think we've done a great job of communicating the need or the why on that, but we do, and I don't know that the messaging has been great and I've spoken to some folks and I'm not going to name drop, but some pretty in the know, influential people in Burbank, optimistic that the bond's going to pass, because they don't think we've done a good job of communicating or showing that we for lack of a better word deserve their trust again and I hope that folks will look past that and give BUSD the opportunity to do better this go round. Some of the folks who I've spoken to since deciding to run for this seat have said there is supposed to be community oversight. I'm not offering my services anymore because the last time I did I was dismissed. I wasn't listened to. We've got to re-engage with those folks. There's some experts who know a lot more about how those things operate than educators or board members and we do need to have oversight and community committees that hold the board and the district accountable for being stewards of the taxpayers' money.
Speaker 3:So all we can do is try to pass the bond and move it forward and have a very open, transparent and communicative process as to what that's going to look like if someone's willing to volunteer their time in providing that oversight and I would want to see us do that so that we do a better job this go-round. Because, again, my understanding is that there were promises made with the last bond about having preventative maintenance schedule, allocating money for preventative maintenance, and somehow that didn't happen. As leadership positions turned over and whatnot, these things were forgotten about. These promises were forgotten about. And now the buildings. You know there are things failing that should last much longer than they've lasted. So we just have to learn from that and move it forward and get this bond passed for the students because that's what it's all about and then be the adults in the room who work together on protecting the buildings, the fields and everything else the infrastructure and everything else that goes into it.
Speaker 2:I agree on what you're saying and I think I just wonder if one of the things that needs to be done is they need to have somebody in the district who is good on structures and buildings and codes and all that, because I think they, you know, I know the things that boroughs are falling apart and that's a very, that's a new school, basically in you know what, within 20 years, and I just don't know if anybody was the oversight, was any good during the construction, and if that's the district that's not paying attention and saying you know that's, you know shortcuts were taken and nobody in the district knew it. So I think that's one of the things you'd have to, as a board, would have to consider.
Speaker 3:If not on payroll for the district. Like you know, there are consultants who you need to listen to or community members with expertise who you need to listen to, and you know I don't know that it has to be an employee per se, and you know I don't know that it has to be an employee per se, but just very transparent oversight as to how we're doing it and how we're going to do it better this time.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you've got a heck of a background and all the stuff you're doing. You're still not that old I used to be younger. We all did. What got you motivated to run for this seat? What got you into? You know, because you're not a political guy basically I'm not. What got you motivated to do this and why are you running?
Speaker 3:So, honestly, I was not going to run if I'm being fully transparent because once it was district I felt like the map was drawn up pretty favorable to the incumbent and it just didn't look like it was lining up for me this election. And then there was an unexpected resignation in trustee area one and it coincided with an opportunity. I changed jobs. I went from being in downtown LA every day from 7, 7.30 AM to about 5 PM to having a job with a little bit more flexibility, including being remote, and I thought these things happen within a week of each other. I still have a little window here where I can decide to do this and it's something that I wanted to do and to try, and so I am. So you know I'm not a huge person of faith, but I'm a big believer in fate and I think sometimes fate fit and timing just line up. So I'm hoping that this just one of those things that lined up.
Speaker 3:I still care deeply about the Burbank community. My kids are in this district and you know I'm telling people I'm like I'm running for my kids, your kids are kids, like it's just I. You know it's. It's a district that I'm not done serving and this seems like the possible next step. Another way to do so and again I mentioned, I coach a team of 13 new ballplayers and at this point, 12 of the 14 kids on the roster I go to Luther or Huerta and I want to make sure that when they hit high school they're able to be on a baseball field that you know still has sprinklers operating, that they're able to be in classrooms, that the air condition works when it's what is it 108 according to your thermometer, like these are important things, and so you know just running to try to continue. You know, serving our city, you and I have been here your lifelong, I'm almost, although there's some people that say, well, you moved here in eight years old. You're not a Burbankian, right, but I I am. I am right.
Speaker 2:A proud one, and I just want at the end of the show is you know, you know where your camera is, and I always give the candidate as much time as he wants to address the voter directly. Tell them why they should vote for you, why it's an important vote and why they should vote for you and what you're going to do for them.
Speaker 3:So it's all yours, Okay. Well, I don't have a stump speech prepared or anything like that. What I would just say is I love talking about education, Um, and I will be transparent about the problems, but also want to talk solutions with you If I'm able to get the opportunity. I think I'm a good communicator. I what I keep hearing is that communication has been lacking in recent years, and so I want to see us do that re-engage with our town, with our community, with our city, and I think I can help do that.
Speaker 3:I have 25 years in education on all levels Taught K-12, led schools for more than a decade so I think I have a resume and a background in education that could serve these conversations well, and I'm not one that's trying to use this position as a stepping stone or anything like that. This is something I want to try for the betterment of BUSD. Uh, my kids experience, your kids experience, all kids experience, and so, um, you know, when they're mailing in their ballot or when they show up the vote on November 5th, I hope that they'll, uh, remember my name for trustee area one and give me the opportunity to you know, re-engage our great city and BUSD and restore trust.
Speaker 3:Simple as that.
Speaker 2:Well, excellent. Like I said, you know I have a good familiarity with each other and, like I said, I was going to be tough on you. I wasn't going to give you the free pass today, and I think people want to hear who you are and what you are. That's what's important, because you know the free pass today and I think I, like people, want to hear who you are and what you are and I. That's what's important because you know I think you do a. I think you have some good, good ideas.
Speaker 2:Anyhow, that's it for another episode. I want to remind any candidate that appears on the ballot If your name is on a Burbank ballot, you can come in and do a podcast with us and get your name and word out. Also, just send me an email at news at myberbinkcom and we will set up a time for you to come in and get your message out there, because I think this is a very important thing. Everything we do. You know elections are important. Your votes are important, so it's good to know who you're voting for and why you're voting for them. So, once again, this is Craig Sherwood. Thank you very much.