Contrary to what you may have read, not everybody in San Diego wanted Superintendent Alan Bersin gone (see http://www.edexcellence.net/gadfly/issue.cfm?issue=179#2143). Less than a day after the school board bought out his contract, administrators and teachers praised the "courage and guts" of his reform efforts. Bersin's training, they said, "created a culture where teachers frequently have conversations about what works and what doesn't." Principal Robin Stern vowed, "We have to be sure this work continues and that will be my work." Unfortunately, the victorious school board is already rolling back Bersin-era reforms. First on the agenda, they lowered academic expectations for kindergarten students because, as teacher Cathy Perry explained, the demands placed on children have forced teachers into "limiting the use of Play Dough, crayons, and coloring." What a tragedy! The board didn't stop there. The next day, a board member proposed eliminating the peer coaches who act as mentors to classroom teachers, and teacher supervisors, who evaluate and guide teacher planning, because the board should "send the most experienced teachers into the classroom to work with the lowest-achieving kids, not have them supervise teachers." Larry Mikulanis, another district teacher, pled for mercy on the program's behalf. "Give us the chance to have that retraining from qualified professionals that we respect." No luck there either, however - the program has been axed. Expect other Bersin reforms to come onto the chopping block.
"Bersin given emotional ovation," by Helen Gao, San Diego Union-Tribune, January 29, 2005
"S.D. trustees ease up on kindergarten expectations," by Helen Gao, San Diego Union-Tribune, February 9, 2005
"San Diego schools scrap teacher-leader policy for coming year," by Helen Gao, San Diego Union-Tribune, February 10, 2005