Elect David Berg
State Representative, 25th LD, Pos. 1
What Size Shoe Does Your Student Wear?
What size shoe does your student wear? I’m sure it seems like an odd question from someone seeking to be an advocate for you and your child as a member of the Puyallup School Board.
When your child turned eight years old, they weren’t automatically given a pair of size eight shoes. They might not have needed new shoes yet, or they might have been overdue for a new pair. When the time was right and they actually needed new shoes, you probably took them somewhere to have their feet measured, or used what you knew about them to find the size that seemed most likely to fit. They tried them on and you then had a chance to see if the new shoes fit, or if you needed to try something a little different. Knowing their age might have given you a small clue about where to start, but finding the right fit was much more complicated than that. Even if you could find the right size, there was still no guarantee that you’d find the right style or color, or that what they picked would fit into your budget. Our kids are more complicated than that.
Our schools generally operate under the idea that if your child is eight years old, they should be in the third grade. For some students, that’s likely to be a good fit. Some students might not quite be ready for it. Others might be ready for more. We do have standards that our educators can use to evaluate whether a student has mastered the concepts expected of that grade level and is ready to move on, but mastering math skills and mastering reading skills can happen at different times. Our teachers differentiate instruction to try to ensure that each student gets what they need to progress. A student who starts the year needing a little more help in one area might make more than a year’s worth of progress in that area by the end of the year. Maybe they’ll match that level of growth across several areas of learning. Maybe they won’t.
I’m an advocate for each child.
I’m an advocate for each child. One size fits all solutions are a compromise. I appreciate the plan that the Puyallup School District is making right now to address the issue commonly known as “learning loss” as they prepare for the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. They plan to have additional staff in place and additional attention paid to ensuring that each student gets what they need to succeed going forward. Our students experienced the end of the 2019-2020 school year and the whole of the 2020-2021 school year in different ways. Some did well with remote learning. Others did not. I don’t like the phrase “learning loss,” as it implies that once missed, that opportunity is gone forever. Our schools are teaching our children to be life-long learners, and learning doesn’t follow a predetermined calendar any more than does the growth of a student’s foot.
It’s going to take more than a year to make up for eighteen months of disruption. It’s going to take additional support from counselors, and in the area of social-emotional learning. It’s going to take additional differentiation in the classroom to make sure that each child gets what they need. It’s going to take creativity. It’s not going to be easy for our students. It’s not going to be easy for parents. It’s not going to be easy for teachers, staff, and administrators. Some of those additional supports will come with a price tag, and we’ll need to decide how to allocate our scarce resources. It will be even more important that we can all work together to find solutions that fit each student. I want to hear from you, too, because it will be my role to be your voice on the School Board. I’m excited for the opportunity to be a part of that conversation.
Teacher Appreciation Week
I have loved seeing all the different, amazingly creative, ways that PTAs and Booster Clubs have found to show their appreciation for teachers this week. I’ve also loved the notes from teachers asking parents to update them on how the kids they taught in past years are doing today, or to share a special memory from the time the student was in their class. If you haven’t had a chance to share a note of thanks to the teachers in your kids’ lives, or even to the teachers in your life who made a difference, it’s never too late. I’m still connected to my middle school math teacher and my high school humanities teacher, and it’s a joy to see them still celebrated all these years later.
Teacher appreciation is more than just a week of treats. Teacher appreciation is paying them fairly for the skills they’ve dedicated years to develop, Teacher appreciation is ensuring that the facilities that house our students and educators are safe and conducive to learning. This year, more than ever, we’ve been reminded that teacher appreciation is providing them access to affordable health insurance so they can get the healthcare they need. It’s ensuring that there is access to childcare for their own kids while the teachers are devoting their attention to ours. In some communities, it’s supporting affordable housing so that teachers can afford to live in the communities they serve.
Teacher appreciation can also point out some of the issues we face in our schools today. When parents and PTAs step up to provide teachers with materials and classroom supplies, it points out the inequities of a system that too often forces teachers to fund some of those items out of their own pockets, or to make do without them. I have mixed emotions about how many options have been created to allow crowdfunding support for teachers. I’m glad those options exist to connect donors to those who need the support, while bothered that there are so many teachers that needed the support that an entire industry developed around connecting private donors to learning about and paying for those needs.
When Teacher Appreciation week ends, let’s pledge to continue to support our educators by listening to them when they tell us what they need. Let’s pledge to give honest consideration to the school bond and levy measures that pay for our facilities and pay for those elements of a basic education that are not funded adequately by state and federal funds. Let’s find ways to work together. Decisions on education issues are not two sides of a zero sum game. Supporting our students and schools, and showing real appreciation for our teachers, results in better outcomes for our entire school community.
Puyallup School District by the Numbers
We like to think about Puyallup as a small town, right up until the time that we’re stuck in traffic on Meridian, on 94th, or on Shaw Road. We also like to think about our school district as being small, though that’s also something that we’re more likely to see in our rear view mirror, and not looking forward. Before we can talk about where our district can go next, we have to have an understanding of who we are.
The Puyallup School District is the 8th largest district in the state. At the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year we had an enrollment of 22,488 students. That’s more students than are enrolled in the Vancouver, Federal Way, Everett, Bellevue, or Issaquah school districts. Enrollment this school year did dip from last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but districts across the state all saw similar temporary decreases. We’ve seen enrollment start to rebound as this school year has progressed. From the beginning of 2010 through the beginning of 2020, our enrollment increased by 12.4%. District projections suggest that we could see increases of 8% per year for the next three years. Even with numbers depressed by the pandemic, we’re looking at our already large district getting even larger.
Our enrollment growth hasn’t been equal across all student populations. The Puyallup School District has grown much more diverse in recent years. Students who identify as Asian and students who identify as being Two or More Races grew by about a third over the decade. Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latino populations by grew by two-thirds during the same period. Enrollment of Black/African American students increased 40%. Current trends indicate that we will soon be a majority minority district.
We’ve also seen significant changes in the number of students in particular categories. Our low-income student population, as measured by students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, increased by 33% from 2010 to 2020 and now comprise nearly 39% of all enrolled students. The number of students who are English language learners has more than doubled from 632 students in 2010 to 1,376 in 2020. Combine our enrollment growth with the additional need for services that fit the changing demographics of our district and it’s obvious why we’ve needed to change which services are provided to our students, the way those educational services are provided, and why we need to continue to make changes to ensure that the needs of each of our students is met.
Allow Me to Introduce Myself
The past few years have been challenging for our school community and it’s time to rebuild the relationships that allow us to work together to best serve each of our kids. I want to hear what you want to see from our schools, and to talk with you about what our School Board can do to support that.
Through all of the things I’ve been involved with, I’ve always been driven by the belief that our kids are capable of doing amazing things when they’re given the right opportunities. It’s our job as a community to help provide those opportunities, and to eliminate the barriers that are keeping each kid from developing to their full potential.
We might have met while I was coaching our kids’ YMCA T-Ball or soccer teams, trying to teach them about working together as teammates, believing they could do things they had never tried before, and that if they kept trying they could do even better the next time.
We might have met while I was volunteering in my sons’ schools, helping with a field trip, or cooking hot dogs for the back to school meet and greet. We might have met during the District Science Fair, waiting and watching as our kids shared their experiments, inventions, and creations with the judges.
We might have met at a performance of the Kalles band, hearing our kids improving from one concert to the next. We might have met at a performance of the Puyallup High School Band, or loading the moving van with each student’s instruments before chaperoning their trip to Disneyland.
The past few years have been challenging for our school community and it’s time to rebuild the relationships that allow us to work together to best serve each of our kids.
We might have met at a PTA meeting, while I was helping shape the State PTA’s policy agenda at Legislative Assembly, or while I taught classes on Advocacy during training at the State PTA Convention.
We might have met at the Academic Booster Club’s Ice Cream Social or end of the year Open House, during my time serving on the ABC board, or while I was the ABC President.
We might have met at a Northwest Gifted Child Association event, or at one of the talks I gave on advocating for kids who sometimes can fall through the cracks in our school systems.
We might have met in Olympia on a PTA Focus Day, or on Gifted Education Day. We might have met in a legislative hearing on a bill addressing school funding, or equitable access to basic education. We might have been testifying together to our State Senators or Representatives asking for their support of policies to better serve all the students in our state. We might have served together on the Washington State Advisory Committee for Gifted Education, making recommendations to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction on improving services to students and families.
We might have met during my service as President of the Washington Coalition for Gifted Education, working to expand highly capable services statewide as a part of our state’s definition of basic education and building a collection of voices who helped pass the largest increase in highly capable program funding in state history.
We might not have met yet, but I hope we will be able to meet soon. Until then, I’ll use this website, my Facebook Page, and my Twitter account to share with you what I think the School Board can do, and how I can contribute to the team of leaders who serve the students of Puyallup. Contact me through any of those resources, and look for more opportunities in the future.