Q. Our school has had ukulele taught for the past 5 years in 4th and 5th grade district music class. My youngest son has waited for the past 5 years so that he could learn the ukulele like his older brother did in 4th grade. Last week, he found out he would not learn the ukulele and his music teacher said he was not allowed to teach it. Can you please elaborate about this decision? Also, if our school hired a teaching artist to teach it outside of district music class, would that be okay since the no new programming resolution sunsetted last summer?
A. Please contact your principal to find out more about the change at your school. Per the last update to the Arts Master Plan, any school that had already been providing ukuleles were permitted to continue to teach ukuleles, but no new ukulele programs will be added until the District could afford to provide ukuleles for every school.
Q. How do you evaluate the Elementary Music program? What goals do you have for the students and how do you determine if they have met these goals?
A. Elementary music teachers are evaluated per BTA Contract. Elementary principals also provide a level of evaluation.
The goals for the elementary music program are outlined in both the Arts for All Plan – Focus Area 1. Standards-Based Curriculum, Student Assessment & Professional Development and implementation priorities can be found in (Appendix D) and Board 3 Year Priority Plan under Elementary Music Instruction
The goals include:
- Ensure access to standards-based general music instruction
- Align TK-12 music programs to ensure sequential instruction
The Elementary Music Curriculum is sequential and aligned with the California State Music Standards.
Currently, elementary students are not formally assessed in music. It is included as a portion of Performing Arts participation on the elementary progress report. Currently, students in grade 4 receive 30 minutes and grade 5 receive 40 minutes of general music instruction per week. Formative assessments occur throughout each class meeting to check for understanding and determine appropriate next instruction.
Q. Can the elementary music program use xylophones which are melodic instruments to teach the students to read music? Then when they go to middle school and want to join band or orchestra, they will have more confidence because they won’t be so far behind the kids who could afford private lessons in elementary school.
A. The district provides each of the 11 elementary schools with a set of Orff instruments, a keyboard, rhythm instruments, shakers, and various other percussion instruments.
Q. Does the district keep data on how many students endure severe enough injuries to miss a month or more of PE? Do you know the number of students who were injured per year for the 3 or 4 years before Covid?
A. The District doesn’t track this data.
Q. Why does the district not have district-wide policies about when parents can and can not be on campus — during school, after school events? Why is this left up to the principal when it is a health issue?
A. We follow the health guidelines to determine the district standard for allowing visitors on campus. Given the unique circumstances at each school site we have decided to allow each school to determine when they will have visitors on campus during COVID.
Q. An 8th grader taking geometry will have it appear on their transcript looking like the same class that a 10th grader takes. But the 8th-grade geometry class is more rigorous and has a more rigorous final. Why do you do that? If it is a more rigorous class, why don’t you call it geometry honors on the transcript? You are not telling the students it is a more rigorous class and some of them end up doubting their math skills because they struggle to get an A. We want to encourage students to think about careers in STEM but we put them in situations where they are losing confidence in their abilities. What is the motivation to do this?
A. The Geometry class at both levels covers the same standards and both are a rigorous course. The teachers modify the course according to their students’ abilities. If your child is having challenges, please contact your teacher.
Q. Now that the County Covid guidelines are changing, can the Open Houses take place?
A. No. Even with the post surge protocols, we are limited to 1,000 attendees and still have a lot of restrictions. Instead of a limited and scaled-down open house, we have decided to focus our efforts on other activities, athletics, and end-of-year events.
Q. The state’s food waste mandate, Senate Bill 1383, went into effect January 1st. I recently proposed an idea (to Assistant Superintendent Debbie Kukta) that would help prepare BUSD to meet these new regulations. Initiated by her response, I am concerned that the District doesn’t understand the pressing timeframe of this mandate. Moreover, the urgency with which we, as a society, need to be acting to mitigate the sources of human-caused climate change.
My two-part question:
a) Aside from the recent creation of the District’s Sustainability Committee, what is the District doing to prepare the school sites and its various stakeholders (principals, students, etc.) to meet the requirements of SB 1383?
b) Speaking to the spirit of the mandate, which is enacting measures that will preserve the planet for future generations- what is the District doing to educate the students about climate change and its implications, and to prepare them with skills, such as collaboration, problem-solving, and empathy that will help them “develop a sense of personal responsibility and political agency to take action” (Kwuak and Winthrop).
The above quote is from the following link- https://www.brookings.edu/research/unleashing-the-creativity-of-teachers-and-students-to-combat-climate-change-an-opportunity-for-global-leadership/
Below is info I’ve compiled about the mandate and its importance. Please confirm with Amy Hammes, from the Burbank Recycling Center, as the content is my own personal understanding.
SB 1383 is a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP), e.g. methane. Organic waste in landfills emits 20% of the state’s methane, a climate super pollutant 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Specifically, the law sets the following targets: reduce statewide disposal of organic waste by 75% by January 1, 2025, and rescue at least 20% of currently disposed of edible food for human consumption by 2025. Reducing Short-Lived Climate Super Pollutants, like organic waste, will have the fastest impact on the climate crisis. (Source: https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/slcp)
- Timeline of SB 1383
- 2016- law signed by Governor Brown
- January 2022 – regulations went into effect
- August 2022- The City is requesting that BUSD be ready to implement its programs by the Fall semester
- January 2023- the City of Burbank will be holding entities accountable for non compliance
A.
a) The Burbank Unified School District is fully committed to complying with SB 1383. We have collected resources on which to base our implementation plan on and will adopt the parts which make sense for BUSD. Ron Young, principal at Jefferson Elementary, has program and curriculum resources from the school in Oregon he worked at and is willing to share as well. The Sustainability Committee, along with City of Burbank Recycling Specialist, Amy Hammes, with whom we’ve met with and have been exchanging emails on this and other topics, will review the plan to critique and offer suggestions.
b) There are components of climate change and green efforts in our science curriculum, but it’s not enough. We are looking to identify an existing curriculum that will fit in with our instructional program. Coupled with the creation of the Sustainability Committee, we are looking to partner with other agencies, like TreePeople, the Eco Council, and the City of Burbank Recycling Center, to leverage our resources and provide school and extracurricular activities to teach our students about climate change, its effects, and instill a drive in our students toward solving local environmental and climate problems. This is Step 1 in the Brookings article, Develop a coalition for action. Steps 2 and 3, Supporting teacher and student creativity and Capturing learnings to advance impact, are challenges left to be done. The District is hoping to accomplish these objectives together with the Sustainability Committee and District partners.
Q. Please could we have clarity from the district level on events. What are the district requirements for in-person on-campus events? Some schools are doing events, some schools say they cannot because of district restrictions. Parents with kids at multiple schools are getting very different information.
For non-school hours events:
- Are vaccines required for students/volunteers?
- Are covid tests required for students/volunteers?
- Does it matter whether the event is school site sponsored or parent group sponsored?
- Are indoor events allowed at all?
- Are requirements different for outdoor events?
- Is there a difference between what is allowed for elementary, middle, and high school events?
- Can there be food & drinks (inside or outside)?
A. Vaccines are required for parent volunteers, just as they are required for employees. Currently, covid tests are not required. We follow public health guidelines for events. LADPH does not have specific guidelines for school events, so we follow guidelines for mega-events if more than 1,000 people are expected. Indoor events are currently allowed but masks are required and if more than 1,000 people are expected then event organizers must follow public health requirements. Food and drink are allowed (we encourage outside when possible) as long as health and safety measures are followed. Here is a link to the current guidelines http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/ncorona2019/bestpractices/largeevents/
*Please note that guidelines are changing frequently so we will continue to keep parents and staff updated
Q. When will there be an instructional calendar for the next school year? What is the earliest start date being considered?
A. The calendar committee is still working on the calendar. They are considering an 8/11, 8/15 or 8/29 start date. Please be sure to complete the calendar survey, coming soon.
Q. Will the district be providing music class weekly?
A. Currently, students in grade 4 receive 30 minutes and grade 5 receive 40 minutes of general music instruction per week.
Q. Will the district restore PE teachers for 3th – 5th grade?
A. We currently do not have the funding to restore PE teachers.
Q. Parents of students receiving special education and related services have to sign a settlement agreement waiving services if they want to put their students in Independent Study. How can the district require this in light of AB 130 which requires districts to provide to IS special ed students “substantially equivalent” instruction to what they would receive under their IEPs? Does BUSD’s IS program comply with AB 130? If the district could provide virtual related services (i.e., OT, Speech, APE) last year during distance learning, why can’t it at least provide virtual services for sped students in IS?
A. BUSD’s program does comply with AB 130, we also work with families to meet federal requirements. We work with each student and family to determine appropriate services.
Q. In the “Changes to Independent Study Requirements” issued by the CDE on July 15, 2021, districts were told to update the “written agreements” used by districts for parents wanting to move their student to Independent Study to include the “level of satisfactory educational progress that would trigger an evaluation of whether or not the pupil should be allowed to continue in IS” and to include a “detailed statement of academic and other supports provided to address the needs of pupils not performing at grade level, or needed support in other areas such as English learners, individuals with exceptional needs in order to be consistent with the pupil’s individualized education program or 504 plan, pupils in foster care, pupils experiencing homelessness, and pupils requiring mental health supports.” Does the district’s settlement agreements comply with these requirements?
A. Yes.
Q. Following the CDE’s “Changes to Independent Study Requirements” issued on July 15, 2021, did the district contact the CDE to inquire whether the use of settlement agreements requiring parents to waive special education and related services while their children are in IS complies with AB 130?
A. No, we did not consult with CDE, we worked directly with our legal counsel.
Q. Some of the HS sports teams that do not have bus transportation and depend on the parents to get their students to events are not permitted to carpool. Is this a district policy and if so — can this be reviewed? Many matches and games happen in the afternoon and it can be very difficult for parents to get their students to the event.
A. Because of COVID, it is not our recommendation that students carpool based on health guidelines. However, we can keep revising our protocols based on the data and county recommendations.
Q. Can you please talk about the classes that are offered for summer school this year? Are there fewer offerings than in years past? And if so is this due to a teacher shortage or other reasons? Would it be possible to add classes such as language classes or art appreciation? Also, will there be any classes offered at Woodbury University? Students participating in sports, choir, and NAF academies often rely on summer school to fulfill all of their requirements.
A. Summer School will include credit recovery classes, initial credit classes, and grade improvement.
CREDIT RECOVERY – In-Person High School course instruction
- Algebra 1A & 1B Geometry A & B
- Earth and Space Science A & B Biology A & 1B
- US History A & B English 9A, 9B, 10A, 10B, 11A & 11B
- World History A & B Senior Non Grad
- Physical Education A & B ELD
INITIAL CREDIT – Online High School course instruction
- Health
- World History
- Physical Education
- US History
- ELD Initial Credit
GRADE IMPROVEMENT – Online High School course instruction
- English
- Social Studies
- Math
- World Language
- Science
No, there are no classes being offered at Woodbury. Students can petition to take a class outside the BUSD through their counselor.