by Kurt Rohrs | Sep 7, 2022 | Opinion
By Kurt Rohrs |
In the ongoing struggle between academic and social instruction in schools, perhaps we are leaving out the most practical instruction of all—job skills training.
As our local economy continues to develop, there has been a shortage of both skilled and non-skilled workers who can take jobs that are available. This has frustrated business owners and slowed economic growth. A prime example is Intel, which is building two world class wafer fabrication facilities here in Chandler. These projects will employ thousands of workers in high-paying jobs during their construction and once it is completed. We should be preparing our local Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) kids to fill those jobs. That requires a plan.
What Would It Take to Get There?
An education plan that incorporates job skills training could take the following form:
- Elementary School (PreK – 6th grade). Provide a firm foundation in reading and math skills that prepare students for the next steps in their education. In fifth and sixth grade, introduce general career choices for students to consider.
- Middle School (7th and 8th Grade). Broaden curriculum into other education areas such as science and history, and also introduce specific career path opportunities to students to form a basis for potential career choices.
- High School (9th and 10th grade). Students should start making choices on specific career paths and learning the details about these choices.
- High School (11th and 12th grade). Involve students in off-campus work/study programs, internships, and job training programs in addition to classroom learning programs in their specific fields of interest.
Present a Broad Array of Choices
One criticism of CUSD is that they are too narrowly focused on a university education as the preferred, if not only, goal of a graduate. Career counselors typically do not present other options as equally beneficial to students. This ignores the reality that not all students are suited for a university education and not all good-paying jobs require a university degree. There are also some university degree options that have rather doubtful economic value to students. They can then become saddled with excessive student debt and little opportunity for reasonable job prospects.
In addition to a university education, other suitable options that should be presented to students are:
- Trade Schools. There is a significant shortage of skilled trade workers. These are often well-paying jobs with detailed training programs. Students typically complete these programs with no debt and have a good job waiting for them.
- Technical Certificate Programs. The technology field moves very quickly. In order to keep pace, many technology companies often offer their own certificate programs specific to their technology, such as application development, database management, cybersecurity, and network management. These are the jobs of the future.
- Military Enlistment. Some of the best technical skills training is provided by the military. They are very proficient at taking young people from all types of backgrounds and training them in complex operations.
Keeping Students Engaged and Motivated
One of the common complaints heard from parents and teachers is the challenge to keep their kids engaged and motivated. Igniting a student’s interest in a career path early on in their education may help them be more keenly aware of their purpose for being in school. Students who typically ask the question “Why am I here?” or say things like “This is boring” would have a clear and immediate reference to the purpose of being in school and participating. The goal changes from just merely “graduating” to “I have a plan after graduation, and I know what I need to do to realize it.”
K-12 education is sometimes regarded as a monolithic entity unto itself with tenuous connections to continuing activity after graduation. Perhaps it should be regarded as just one part of a journey of a student’s development into a productive adult.
Partnering with Other Education Entities
Effective cooperation with other educational entities, such as the East Valley Institute of Technology, Trade Schools, and Community Colleges that offer critical opportunities is the key to developing the pathway to successful careers for our students. However this can be hampered by interagency squabbles, mostly about control and funding since there is a lot of money involved here. Which entity “owns” the kid and the funding that comes with that kid is often a serious point of contention. These obstacles need to be removed for there to be effective cooperation between these entities. This may require some legislative fixes since funding rules and regulations come primarily from State statutes. But when it’s all said and done, these fixes shouldn’t be about the institution’s best interests. They should be about the student’s best interests.
Partnering with City Government and Local Businesses
The City of Chandler also has a keen interest in the availability of a skilled workforce as an integral part of their economic development plans. Companies will be reluctant to locate here if they cannot hire the employees they need to operate their facilities. The City should be sharing critical information on projected workforce needs to help CUSD develop useful programs and for students to better understand what opportunities are available to them. Local business hiring managers should frequent the schools to talk to students and explain the expectations for when they eventually enter the workforce. This should also help connect students to the business community outside the classroom and expand their perception of the very real world that awaits them after they graduate.
So, What Is the Purpose of Education?
Schools should be more than just “babysitting” duty or fulfilling a state-mandated curriculum. There must be tangible and well-defined goals that engage our students and develop a sense of purpose in them. Teachers may find it useful to help motivate students if those students more clearly understand why they are in school and what the intended result of their education is. It’s time to redefine the purpose of public education as the process of producing capable adults who can effectively participate in the economic activity of the community.
Kurt Rohrs is a candidate for the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board. You can find out more about his campaign here.
by Kurt Rohrs | Aug 15, 2022 | Opinion
By Kurt Rohrs |
Just what exactly are the priorities of the Chandler Unified School District (CUSD)?
Every parent and taxpayer would love to know. But unfortunately, these priorities do not seem to be clearly presented in any readily available public communication. This makes it difficult to understand what the district is doing, why they are doing it, or hold them accountable for their performance. It’s time for the district to be much more transparent with the public.
That’s why I would like to suggest these five priorities for CUSD, which should be communicated clearly and made readily available to the taxpaying public that supports them.
- Catch up on learning loss from recent school closures. Some information indicates that our students are up to two years behind on their academic achievement. Many are falling behind, and CUSD must take this seriously.
- Ensure that Reading and Math proficiency is greater than 50% at every school. CUSD should direct massive amounts of resources to any school that falls far below this standard.
- Increase student retention. The district must compete effectively to increase their headcount by better satisfying the demands of parents who will ultimately make the decisions on which schools their children attend.
- Increase staff retention. It is critical to reduce the turnover rate for Certified (Teaching) Staff and Classified (non-Teaching) Staff. But CUSD must remember that issues with staffing aren’t always about money. While that is certainly something that needs to be examined, staff working conditions should be carefully considered as well. And the district should ultimately work to determine the primary reasons that staff leave their positions and take appropriate corrective actions.
- Improve career and technical education. CUSD should refocus attention back to developing practical knowledge instead of social conditioning. The primary mission should be to develop functional adults capable of supporting themselves and contributing economically to the community.
If CUSD is serious about the future of its students, it must refocus its priorities. And it should take a much more pragmatic approach to its communication. This will not only make the district more relevant, but it will improve engagement with the community, especially the parents who have the ultimate say in how their children are educated.
Kurt Rohrs is a candidate for the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board. You can find out more about his campaign here.
by Corinne Murdock | Jun 27, 2022 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Tensions escalated during the Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) regular meeting on Wednesday over discussions of funding school resource officers (SROs).
Governing Board member Lindsay Love exhibited signs of a meltdown after fellow board member Joel Wirth expressed discomfort over her opposition to SROs. Love wanted the board to present more metrics and plans to the public for SROs before adding more of them on campuses. She cited the recent mass shootings in schools, namely Uvalde, Texas, to bolster her point for additional meetings on the subject.
“I don’t necessarily feel comfortable with cops on campus, right? I’m that person who doesn’t necessarily feel comfortable with cops around kids, right? But no matter how you feel about that, I think that there needs to be some transparency and I think that people need to know what the plan is,” said Love.
Wirth responded that he was uncomfortable with Love’s opposition to SROs. He saw the issue behind the Uvalde tragedy differently, arguing that more armed officers on campus would prevent similar tragedies from befalling CUSD. Wirth said that no SROs at all was not the right choice.
“Considering what’s going on in the world, that seems like the worst decision we can make — ” began Wirth.
At that point, Love interrupted Wirth to argue that there were CUSD members who didn’t want SROs. She claimed that SROs impacted certain categories of students to a greater negative degree than others. Love didn’t elaborate on what motives could drive that claimed impact.
“You may be comfortable with cops on campus but there are parents in this audience and students in this audience who may not, right? Because what we know is that we have cops on campus and they disproportionately impact BIPOC students and SPED students,” said Love. “I will not be silenced about this. We just had parents and students get up and address this. So you not feeling comfortable does not negate people in this audience and in our community who do not feel comfortable.”
Board President Barb Mozdzen instructed Love to give Wirth the floor to speak. Love interrupted Mozdzen instead.
“You know what Barb, I interrupted because I overheard him say over there, ‘Let somebody else speak,’ and I let everybody on this board speak,” said Love.
When Wirth tried to respond, Love shouted him down.
“No, I’m not letting you speak. I’m not letting you speak. I polled this myself, I had questions and I won’t be silenced,” said Love. “You can speak but I will not sit up here for a lecture.”
Mozdzen intervened to inform Love that she was out of order for breaking away from the agenda. Love refused to allow Mozdzen to continue speaking. Love asserted that if she was out of line, then Wirth was out of line for “lecturing” her in his response.
At that point, Mozdzen repeated to Love that Wirth was going to speak and that Love should remain silent.
Wirth concluded by reiterating his belief that SROs were necessary for school safety.
“My point is, I believe it’s important to have officers on the campus based on what’s going on in the world right now. That’s all I have to say,” said Wirth.
In a later post on Twitter, Love insisted that police intimidated minority and LGBTQ+ students.
Love, a controversial member, decided last November that she wouldn’t seek reelection.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Nov 30, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) Governing Board member Lindsay Love won’t be seeking re-election this coming year. The freshman board member decided one term was enough after what will be four years of escalating tensions between the board and parents. During her tenure, Love was integral to mounting divisiveness and controversy between parents and the board with her advocacy for social justice agendas such as comprehensive sex education and equity initiatives aligned with Critical Race Theory.
In a Halloween interview with 12 News to explain why her first term at CUSD will be her last, Love remarked on the tensions between her and the community. She followed that observation with a comment that she was the first woman of color and Democrat to join the board, though CUSD Board members are presented as nonpartisan.
Love claimed that she arrived as an answer to the “high profile” incidents of racism in CUSD when she ran in 2018. In January of that year, a Snapchat video of San Tan Junior High students chanting a song that included racial slurs circulated. Along with that controversial Snapchat video, CUSD parents alleged that their students were experiencing racist bullying.
Upon Love’s arrival to the board in 2019, her social justice agendas incited controversies of their own. Concerned parents and community members such as Not In Our Schools began documenting Love’s policy approaches – especially her connection to Planned Parenthood. Love’s sister, Chris Love, chairs the board of Planned Parenthood Advocates Arizona, the advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood Arizona.
Love has advocated for more expansive K-12 sex education, pushing back against CUSD’s leading with an abstinence-focused approach. Her sister also disagrees with abstinence. In a profile with Emerge America, Love explained that her sister urged her to run for the CUSD board and emphasized the importance of swapping abstinence-only education for a “comprehensive” sex education.
“Our children deserve medically-accurate and age appropriate comprehensive sex education because abstinence-only education has done little to reduce the teen pregnancy rate in Arizona which is higher than the national average,” said Love.
Love has received help from her sister in other ways. During a board meeting last January, her sister led a group that shouted down the board for not allowing more public comment on the topic of revising sex education.
The Love sisters are similar in many regards, including their predilection for embracing controversy. Chris Love made light of her use of dismembered baby doll parts for her “spooky” Christmas tree. She later tweeted that she appreciated the work of the Texas Satanic Temple for their activism to reverse Texas’s abortion law.
“A tribute to the other Love sister – Courtney Love – or the anti-abortion trolls. You pick. Still, these are getting spooked up and placed on the Halloween tree! I’ll write the headline for you. ‘Chandler School Board member dismembers Black babies for Satanic abortion tree,’” wrote Chris. “The white dolls will be ready tomorrow. I’m equal opportunity for #SpookySzn.”
“Before the antis get their panties in a bunch, I absolutely appreciate the abortion rights work of @satanic_temple_ . Have y’all even seen my #TrickOrTree?” wrote Chris.
Even with parental pushback on certain subjects, Lindsay Love has consistently doubled down throughout her tenure. In terms of her equity initiatives harmonious with Critical Race Theory concepts, Love has insisted that schools have been “built off of white supremacy” and that not seeing students for their color harms students. She’s also supported efforts to have teachers acknowledge their “unconscious bias” while students explore their racial and ethnic identities.
In an argument for a revised history that would offer a purportedly more accurate account of the harms done to minorities and oppressed groups, Love claimed that Critical Race Theory isn’t being taught in schools and that the concern for it was manufactured by parents wanting to protect white children.
“These school board meeting takeovers are manufactured by people who are afraid of the impact of our full and accurate history on white children,” wrote Love.
A little over a year ago, Love deleted a controversial Twitter account after tweeting that good manners were white supremacy.
“Hey guys! Politeness is white supremacy. Every time you prioritize politeness and civility over everything in a conversation, you are complicit in upholding white supremacy. All that to say, DISRUPT,” wrote Love.
As reported by Arizona Daily Independent, Love also likened conservative black radio host James T. Harris to a “house slave” and insisted he suffered from “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” for his differing political views. These remarks also appeared in the “Community Love” group.
Amid the surge of parent demands for curriculum reform and transparency, as well as ending mask mandates, Love shared a controversial Politico opinion piece in September titled, “The Dangerous Legal Illusion of ‘Parental Rights.’” Love posted that in her community group page for CUSD community members and affiliates, “Community Love.” In her post, Love quoted the following from the opinion piece:
“When it comes to society’s interest in protecting children, the legal precedent is unambiguous: The rights of their parents come second. Parents do have the freedom to direct the health care and education of their children, but these rights are not unlimited. As the Supreme Court said in Prince v. Massachusetts, parents are not free ‘to make martyrs of their children’ by putting them in harm’s way. Governments can and do limit parents’ discretion with the goal of protecting the health, safety and welfare of children. One example is child car seat requirements, which exist in all 50 states. Every state also has a law authorizing the government to intervene when parents abuse or neglect their children.
All 50 states also have the power to limit parental discretion to protect other children. For instance, schools and day care facilities are heavily regulated by local, state and federal laws to make sure that they are safe. Children who attend school are required to be immunized in all 50 states. These requirements have been upheld by numerous courts, including the Supreme Court. Schools also prohibit parents from sending children to school when they are sick, and a federal appeals court held that unimmunized children could be excluded from school during “an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease.” Given these legal precedents, it is clear that schools and day care facilities can require masks as a condition of attendance.” (emphasis added)
Love’s approach to governance hasn’t been complemented by the district’s efforts, either. CUSD made national news last month after it was discovered that the district coordinated with Chandler Police Department (CPD) to surveil and act against parents who protested masking requirements.
Love’s decision to leave after only one term is unusual. Former Arizona Superintendent Diane Douglas told AZ Free News that she’s observed many school board members staying on for three or more terms, because the first term is more of a learning curve.
“The first term is generally a learning curve. It needs to be a pretty quick one. At eight years you really hit your stride and get good at understanding. After twelve years – anyone that stays any longer it becomes more about the person than the community. It’s really for the wrong reasons after that,” stated Douglas.
Douglas added that she hopes Love’s replacement would better represent constituent interests.
“I would hope that the community would consider candidates that would be more reflective of the community itself. It doesn’t seem like she has been,” remarked Douglas.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Nov 12, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Chandler Police Department (CPD) appeared to coordinate with Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) in surveilling and acting against parents that protested masking. The coordination was evident as far back as April, according to emails between CUSD Director of Safety and Security Tanya Smith and CPD Sergeant Greg Howarth. In the series of emails published by the blog site Not In Our Schools, Howarth passed on information about the parents’ activities and plans, gathered from posts made in private Facebook groups and other, unspecified sites.
In one of the earliest obtained emails from April, Howarth offers suggestions to Smith for how CUSD should handle parents opposed to masks.
Tanya, Hello. I am anticipating based off my Intel from various social media platforms that we will have a group again of protestors (anti-mask). I found what I call there [sic] game plan where they are talking about walking into the lobby with the mask on then they want to remove it. If told to put it back on, some will and some will force you to have them leave. The other chatter is they will put the mask back on but as they are lead into the board room they will take it off and talk at the podium. With that being said, have 4 additional officers we need to use besides […] who comes in at 6:30 p.m. The 4 SRO’s and myself with start at 5:00 p.m. and remain until they have cleared out to 8:00 to 8:30ish. We modify that time period as needed since this is a fluid and evolving situation.
These are my suggestions only and more food for thought as you get the [sic] make the final call on this:
- One (1) Security Officer and two SRO’s at the north gate.
- The security officer at the north gate will have to call the person to the gate who wants to speak and has filled out the blue card.
- The security officer will instruct the person that they must have a mask on and put it on as they are walking through the gate and into the lobby area. In addition, they must be told the mask has to be worn at all times.
- If they claim they have a medical condition, according to ADA rules and your attorneys, they can wear a mask and be brought inside straight to the podium where if you allow them to lower their mouth, speak, and then once done pull the mask up and be escorted out of the back like we talked about.
- I will put (1) SRO by the double doors leading into the lobby area.
- I will put (1) SRO inside the board room to ensure everything goes smooth. [sic] This is an option if you want but recommended.
NOTE: You might want to consider attaching a document (stapled) to the blue card with instructions about masks being required at all times. In addition, masks will not be provided to anyone. If they do not have a mask they can fill out a blue card and a staff member will read it to the board, but they will not be allowed in since they have no mask. If someone claims they have a medical condition, pull them off to the side and have them fill out a blue card, take the blue card and then when you ready for them to speak, you must have them walk from the gate directly inside and be the next person to speak so they are not waiting in the lobby pulling the mask down on us. The goal is to do our best to meet their needs if we can and again this is based off of what you want. We are only assisting to keep the peace and not enforce the mask issue. The mask issue as you know has to be addressed by you and your staff. If someone doesn’t comply and you want them removed from the property let us know. If they fail to leave let us know that you want them trespassed and we can do that.… I believe this is an excellent action plan and will result in a successful outcome for all. (emphasis added)
At least one parent was arrested at a June meeting.
Smith revealed in another email that CPD’s intelligence officers had a dossier of sorts on certain parent groups protesting CUSD. According to available email records, Smith and Howarth coordinated to address two separate meetings: one in May, and one in June.
“[Howarth and I] spoke yesterday against after he sent the email. CPD Intel is relaying details on methods the group will be using tonight. They do plan to disrupt. Please review [and] forward for more suggestions and information from CPD,” wrote Smith. “We also discussed that Ms. Mozden may want to be prepared to cut the mic for anybody that follows through with removing their mask. Do we want to offer for a masked person to read the public comment for the people that refuse or claim a medical exemption?”
Email records also reveal that the Howarth’s dossier on the parents consisted of information from the left-leaning nonprofit legal advocacy organization Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), as well as mainstream news coverage. SPLC’s largest shareholders are Vanguard followed by BlackRock. AZ Central was cited the most: they are owned by Gannett, whose greatest owners are also BlackRock and VanGuard. BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, while Vanguard is one of the world’s largest.
Howarth also acknowledged that they were coordinating with Smith, and that CPD’s intelligence would allow CUSD to respond accordingly to parents.
“Here are some sites for you to pass along to the Intel Unit and Lt. Salazar so whomever is coordinating and running this opp. [sic] can continue to monitor and prepare for this one. I included Tanya on this email so she can coordinate with you,” wrote Howarth. “This info will provide her the resources to review and access the situation.”
We asked CUSD why they worked with CPD to shape board policy and track parents’ online activities to premeditatively remove them or arrest them at school board meetings. In a statement to AZ Free News, CUSD asserted that our question assumed inaccurate facts and couldn’t be answered.
“We are not authorized to speak for the Chandler Police Department,” stated CUSD spokesman Terry Locke. “However, we can say that the District has not engaged in any unlawful or inappropriate activities, in collaboration with the Chandler Police Department or on its own.”
Judicial Watch, a conservative group that files and investigates open records requests, originally sued CUSD on September 14 to obtain access to these email records and others. CUSD never responded to three requests issued June 17, June 18, and August 5. According to the lawsuit, CUSD reportedly didn’t acknowledge receipt of any of those requests. The last action in that case occurred September 16, in which court records reflect that CUSD received the summons.
June 17 Records
Judicial Watch requested records on CUSD’s documents on policies, rules, directives, memos, emails, and texts addressing: compliance with public meetings proceedings, implementation of the CDC’s “limited in-person attendance,” enforcement actions regarding trespassing and assault statutes on district office property. They also requested many items related to CUSD’s June 9, 2021 governing board meeting: any attendance rosters, criteria for who would be allowed inside, and any records kept.
On June 9, the CUSD governing board opened its regular meeting with an announcement that CUSD wasn’t exploring, adapting, or implementing Critical Race Theory (CRT).
Additionally, Judicial Watch asked for a specific set of CUSD documents ranging from June 17 2019 to June 17 2021 related to contracts, policies, rules, directives, employee evaluations, memos, emails, and texts addressing wages or salaries and/or conduct standards or expectations of Smith and James. Lastly, the group requested all employment, vendor, and security contracts; memorandums of understanding; and agreements and/or authorizations pertaining to an individual named Shelby Smith and an unknown male identified using the inclusion of a picture in the court filing.
June 18 Records
A day later, Judicial Watch submitted another records request concerning a specific date range: May 1, 2020 and June 18, 2021. They requested policies, rules, directives, memos, emails, board minutes, teaching curriculum, and employee training outlines/guidelines and/or texts that included the words “CRT” and “critical race theory,” as well as its related terms: “equity,” “diversity,” “inclusion,” “inherent,” “implied,” “racism,” “reparations,” “systemic,” “bias,” “1619,” “discrimination,” “equality,” “white,” and “privilege.”
August 5 Records
Several months later, Judicial Watch followed up with another records request – a much briefer one, this time. They requested documents from January 1, 2019 to that day, August 5, 2021, concerning any trespass orders sent or served to individuals, entities, and/or groups.
That last request was accompanied with a copy of a trespass order served to a community member named Stephen Daniels. According to the order, Daniels attended the June 9, 2021 governing board meeting discussing how CUSD didn’t implement CRT. He was accused of “unsafe and disorderly conduct” such as blocking the entrance to the meeting while attempting to enter. At that time, CUSD reportedly had capacity limitations and couldn’t admit Daniels into the meeting. Daniels was removed from the meeting by CPD after refusing a request to do so from Smith.
We requested follow-up on Judicial Watch’s records request lawsuit. They didn’t respond by press time.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
