Let’s get the collaborative model right the first time

Hardly an hour goes by in our office without one of us receiving a phone call from a teacher or classified staff member complaining that they had no input into proposed changes in how our school district functions.

There is a general sense among staff that the district is hurtling too quickly to implement major changes without proper input from the front-line practitioners. There is a sense that our years of being an “A” district are taken for granted, and that staff have taken that as a sign of disrespect.

This is a district that has always operated on a consensual/collaborative model. This is a district that made ample use of committees and ad hoc focus groups before moving forward on any issue of common interest. Now, the district seems to be in an all-fired rush to remake itself without hearing from the very people that made our district one of the finest in the state of Florida for 20 years running.

Every time we deal with one of these issues, we contact Superintendent Terry Connor directly, who in all cases has remedied the situation. He has always been very cooperative and attentive to our concerns.

Our point is, we shouldn’t have to continuously fix something that could have and should have been avoided. Why scare our staff unnecessarily, only to have the superintendent intervene and fix it retroactively? Let’s get it right the first time!

All of us want this to be the Number One school district in the state of Florida. The only way for us to do that is to work together, and to respect the feelings and thoughts of those who work directly with the students. Let’s do that from the start, and not have to always fix things after feelings have been hurt and professional staff are feeling undervalued.

— Barry Dubin, Executive Director of the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association