Pueblo High students left to their own devices
“Of course I see issues like this as a consequence of social promotion. We are so desperate for a solution to the number of students that can’t function on grade level that we come up with crazy ideas like this,” said one long time TUSD teacher of the Zero Hour at Pueblo High School. “Then, we don’t evaluate the effectiveness of the idea over time.”
And time is the issue for parents and teachers at Pueblo High School. The students at Pueblo are receiving the lowest number of instructional minutes in the district, and are some of the students most in need of those precious minutes.
According to a recent study, the students at Pueblo High School can receive a total of 230 minutes per week of instructional time per class as opposed to the 290 available minutes at Sabino High School, 264 at Rincon, 243 at Tucson, and 237 minutes at Cholla. Other districts offer more instructional time; Amphi offers 300 instructional minutes and Flowing Wells offers 275 to their high school students.
Last year the district was ordered to pay approximately $1.9 million back to the state for failing to offer enough instructional minutes. This year they celebrated the fact that they negotiated the fine down to $1 million. No one, other than Governing Board member Mark Stegeman, addressed the fact that kids had been cheated of the time.
TUSD’s middle schools have been failing most of their students for the past few years, and are the greatest source of student flight from the district. The former administrator in charge of middle schools Jim Fish, called them the “arm pit” of the district at the Board’s at a Board retreat last winter. Fish is now the district’s Equity Director.
In a Saturday night email Dr. Pedicone, the district’s superintendent, wrote of Zero Hour, “It actually provides addiitonal (sic) support for students and appears to be effective (sic), while not being counted as instrucional (sic) time, unless a student enrolls in a class that is offered for credit during that period.”
However, according to one school insider, of their 150+ students, they might see 4 during Zero hour. So, if in fact it is effective, which has yet to be measurably determined, it is only effective for the smallest fraction of Pueblo students.
Abel Morado, now assistant superintendent and former principle of Tucson High and master mind behind removing Mexican American Studies materials from classrooms in front of students for maximum dramatic effect, calls the bell schedule “unique.” He writes to Pedicone in an email, “Zero Period was developed to provide time for intervention for students and collaboration for teachers. A large number of students at Pueblo are credit deficient and have scored lower than their grade level for Reading and Math.”
As a result, the district decided to eliminate more opportunities for students to remediate that credit deficiency.
Morado admits in his email response, that during Zero Period, the district only offers “2 sections of RTI math and one section of RTI Reading for 10th graders,” and “a section of Health is offered during Zero as well.”
Pueblo principal Vivi Watt, who came under criticism this year for her No Fail” policy, also admits that students, only have “access to half the faculty on any given day.” This is due to the fact that teachers, who do not have the required planning time built into their daily class schedules because of Zero Hour, are told to lock their doors during Zero Hour.
The first bell rings at Pueblo at 7:30, but for the vast majority of the students classes don’t begin until 9:00. For that one hour and a half, the kids are left to their own devices.
Parents for the most part, are unaware that when they drop their children off at 7:30 no one knows where they are or what they are doing. The basic assumption is that they are sitting in class learning something. According to multiple sources, parents received a letter but it advised them that the classes were mandatory. It did not make clear for whom the classes were mandatory.
Working parents say that it is mandatory one way or another because they have to get their kids to school now that busses have been cut, “the facts is that the classes are mandatory for parents who must get their kids to school before they head off to work,” said one district source.
Because TUSD cut back on its bus schedule, many parents drop their kids off at school rather than have them take Sun Tran. For working parents, it is especially frustrating. For the taxpayer it is inexplicable in light of the fact that TUSD receives more money per student than any other school district in the state.
More than the money, it is the students’ safety and academic welfare that are at the heart of the concerns.
One source asked what happens “if a bad person got in the school? How would they ever know where the kids are? What about in the case of a fire, we don’t know which kids should and should not be in a building” They also pointed out the increase in drug busts this year on campus.
When Pedicone was asked about parents’ concerns for their kids and the increase in reported drug busts, he wrote, “If the individuals who allegedly informed you that kids are “doing drugs at the Cirlcle (sic) K” would like to notify the school when that occurs, I am sure they will respond accordingly.” However, the matter was discussed with Watt and Watt admitted that busts are up, but claimed that they no one could prove a tie to Zero Hour.
One of the reasons parents and teachers would not go to Watt, is the notorious witch hunt she conducted when the news broke about her “No Fail’ policy. KGUN 9 News reported, “Also notable in Watt’s emails is a concern about who leaked info to the media.” She sought advice from Morado, “Any suggestions on how to handle this?” A witch hunt ensued that has created a pall around the school.
KGUN reported that Watt’s witch hunt “isn’t the only time TUSD has come under scrutiny. A psychologist told KGUN9 News that the district fired her because she was calling attention to the mistreatment of special needs kids. And Board Member Dr. Mark Stegeman said in an interview that he was concerned about the “culture of retaliation” at Pueblo, adding “we really have to change that culture.”
Morado told KGUN that “We do not want a culture of retaliation. That is not something that we tolerate. If people want to come forward and express concerns about issues, then that is fair.”
Contrary to claims of openness, in his weekend night email, Pedicone questioned the “agenda” of those even asking about the Zero Hour.
In the end though, the concerned individuals say that the “biggest issue is that Pueblo students have low test scores and low grades.”
And it should be for the rest of the district and the community. The agenda of those concerned about the Zero Hour is varied. Parents want for their children what other children get in other schools, and at the very least what is required by law. Teachers want to teach when they are at school. The public wants to make sure their tax dollars go where they are supposed to go. They do have one agenda in common; to get the best education for the kids they love.
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