Embedded Files
District: Costco vs Walmart SystemCostco: High quality at best cost with low turn over and focus on customer needs.Walmart: Low Quality, high staff turnover, focus on money
Future Structure (Costco)Student is customer served by Teacher who is served by District. Focus on student performance measured on key outcomes like Reading/Math.Focus on retention of high quality teachers with low turn over.District staff replaced first if low performance or poor evaluation by teachers.
All detailed Accounts payable line items reviewable online monthly in google spreadsheet.District staff placed inside schools to directly feel consequences of their decisions.District staff should not be insulated and more comfortable than teachers
Current Structure (Walmart)District is customer served by Teacher who is expendable FTE with student as funding source.District staff remains while teachers are burned out and Alaska students rank 49th worst in USA.Large Top Down Bureaucracy where district costs are hidden inside large shared cost line items.Schools merged and cramped while District has comfortable office space and stable employment.Parent and Tax payers have no real ability to see costs or create positive change
Community SupportDo not wait while good teachers burn out and Alaska students rank 49th worst in nation.Do not use Federal, State, or District system as excuse to avoid local action.Acknowledge and reward excellence at a local level where community has control.Become actively involved with implementing solutions at a local level.Share ideas and resources locally to support teachers and students.
All detailed Accounts payable line items reviewable online monthly in google spreadsheet.District staff placed inside schools to directly feel consequences of their decisions.District staff should not be insulated and more comfortable than teachers
Current Structure (Walmart)District is customer served by Teacher who is expendable FTE with student as funding source.District staff remains while teachers are burned out and Alaska students rank 49th worst in USA.Large Top Down Bureaucracy where district costs are hidden inside large shared cost line items.Schools merged and cramped while District has comfortable office space and stable employment.Parent and Tax payers have no real ability to see costs or create positive change
Community SupportDo not wait while good teachers burn out and Alaska students rank 49th worst in nation.Do not use Federal, State, or District system as excuse to avoid local action.Acknowledge and reward excellence at a local level where community has control.Become actively involved with implementing solutions at a local level.Share ideas and resources locally to support teachers and students.
Email sent to every School Board Member on Wed, Mar 5, 2025Member List = https://kpbsd.org/board/board-members/
Greetings [School Board Member],
Investing 12 hours in School District meetings with you Monday helped me better understand our education system. I stood up at the end around 10:30pm to share my thoughts that we might be solving the wrong problem using the wrong assumptions and that we might be trapped in a comfort zone requiring us to think outside the box. There seems to be a top down multi decade pattern of cutting resources and creating chaos for teachers and front-line staff delivering direct student services.
I believe we would benefit from new strategies and alternative solutions that are not trapped inside the current frame of thought. My motivation comes from working in 3 elementary schools this year focused on special/intensive needs children. I watched the current system burning out the best most compassionate patient teachers I know and pulling the light out of their beautiful souls. It felt like watching psychological torture in slow motion. I started working backwards to find the cause moving up through principals, district staff, and the school board which brought me to our 12+ hours together.
It feels like teachers are trapped in an institutional abusive relationship where they are told they are respected, valued, and loved, but then they get slapped repeatedly. Next, comes the apology - I love you - forgive me phase before the same abuse returns. My psychology background would label the effect “learned helplessness” (a state where someone believes they are powerless to change their situation). The root cause seems to come from distant detached people who will never sit in a special needs classroom and feel what pain they have caused to ripple through the school. It is the same pattern for all school staff.
This system is the current comfort zone that we considered normal. It is intentionally triggered by a yearly finance budget crisis which focuses top-down attention and resources on reactive financial cutting of FTEs or aids providing critical support. The system does not seem to be focused in a bottom-up direction with the student as the customer served by the teacher who is served by the district and served by your Board.
The outcome measurement system does not seem to be based on effectively educating a child or on positive evaluation by teachers of district support. Teaching excellence and student outcome measures have no apparent value, but the exact cost of a bus can be the deciding factor in determining if a community school is closed. What is currently easy to measure is being used for decisions instead of quality of education measures like retention rate, or student improvement/ability, or customer satisfaction (difference between Costco vs Walmart model). Numbers of FTE, student ratios, para teacher aids, library/counselor staff are easy to cut in annual reactive crisis mode using math equations and line items in a spreadsheet. But, this is a mismatched reality to the compassionate teacher burning out trying to educate a special needs child where she feels intentionally set up to fail by distant detached outside forces.
When I teach chess to children, I first have them learn how the pieces move, what are the rules/boundaries, then think ahead without immediately reacting for short term satisfaction. If their past strategy fails repeatedly then it is best to adapt and change or lose again. I think the Boad and district can help change the rules for teachers to empower students to win if we think outside the current comfort zones. We could lead and find solutions for others to copy and follow (including the other 50+ school districts trapped inside the same box thinking)
My engineering degree in computer science taught me it is critical to clearly define the problem being solved, state the givens/assumptions, and then work backwards breaking the solution into independent modules. My team sports background taught me that winning teams are not focused on cost cutting, but instead on empowering players, good coaching, and focus on personal excellence. My decades of volunteering teaching with Tibetan refugees in India and other poor schools in Ethiopia/Kenya has taught me 80 kids in a classroom with a dirt floor and a broken piece of chalk can outperform our students who each cost more than the poor kids entire school budget. So money is not the only solution.
Here are some ideas to build upon and improve if desired (in no order). Creative problem-solving works best if one’s immediate negative/no response is modified to Yes/and…1) Do not assume a decades long top-down crisis funding pattern will change, instead empower the diversity of potential funding sources matching shared missions to reduce the annual reactive crisis. Ex: Local 501(c)3 groups like Homer Foundation can enable community donations directly to schools based on local connections/relationships; Chamber Commerce benefits for strong schools and can raise funds/resources; local tourist tax could be targeted with 50% to local schools and 50% return to citizens (so they vote for it);
2) Teachers and staff use salary to cover costs of living. If you can not improve salary, then find creative ways to lower their living costs and provide critical moral support: pay-it-forward boards at coffee shops/restaurants sponsored by locals; 10% shop discount to teachers; space available tickets for events; stipends for gas, heating fuel, housing, transportation costs, and food funded via local raffles and fundraising; Anything to offset salary costs could be initiated at a Board level but funding might be delivered from alternative sources to avoid cap restrictions. For example, affordable housing for teachers (or funds used as stipends) by leasing out unused Borough or State land to developers who keep a % of profits and the rest helps teachers/schools.
3) Expand In-Kind partnerships with local business, clubs, government: Send direct requests to groups like Rotary, Lions, Elks asking for support including supplies to teacher staff rooms, mentoring/volunteering, building repairs, reduced materials costs, coupons and gift certificates for teachers, etc… Many communities have a public transportation issue and summer parking problem. Maybe share costs with a partner using school buses to supplement a public transportation system or maybe rent out parking areas during summer linked to a bus system. Try to remove District rules locking funds raised into a restricted account only usable for sports/maintenance. Also, consider shared staff or insurance plans with local businesses that might help cover OT, PT, nursing, library, secretarial costs, etc…
4) Empower more bottom-up solutions that are community based with direct personal connections and relationships with the children, parents, and teachers. Actively solicit feedback and implement ideas: children might know why utility costs are high; parents might know what a teacher needs but will not request; teachers might have great ways to reduce paper work interfering with educating children…
5) Expand school model to include school as a community resource where everyone visits and establishes a direct personal relationship (not only parent of student). Transform school from a vague cinder block building you drive by in the background to a resource you connect with and value. Ex: community gardens; open public gym; art class; shared exercise equipment; day care centers with funds supporting school; computer/IT classes for adults; workshops for online fraud/scams protecting elderly; how to use AI options; library of things for checkout; donate food waste to local farms; anything that helps directly connect community to school. Many towns would love a community center but can not find a location or afford to build one. Maybe share costs and space for a school building that is not used 24/7. Maybe split insurance costs or have city council help.
6) Copy outside examples that work including other countries or states. Many wonderful proven effective solutions already exist. We could make it a quarterly school assignment using the labor of 1000s of students to collect solutions as an educational endeavor. Maybe target the best ideas from the other 50+ Alaska School Districts (ex Anchorage programs: School Business Partnerships allowing donations via 501(c)3 & Community Volunteers Coordination). Consider using smaller cost-effective van transportation instead of busses or even private taxi (vetted or hired via parent reducing liability)
7) Empower community collaboration and involvement with better online resources: provide detailed list of all PTO/PTA organizations; online list all service organizations and clubs (who might collaborate); collect/share best education resources for all to use/evaluate; place all teaching material developed into the public domain for any teacher to use (not-redevelop)
8) More effectively use technology: to reduce single use student paper-based projects; focus on developing free online resource (like online google quizzes developed by students to create free future learning platforms where anyone in district can learn at own pace/level); reduce teacher paper work and time not teaching; utilize interactive free fun educational software to teach topics like math/reading (ex high score for defending earth from asteroids based on solving math equations, etc); use AI to reduce paperwork.
9) Implement transparent spending system where entire community acts as a team to help reduce costs and understands where funds are spent while building trust. For example, every month export Accounts Payable data and post for online review in google spreadsheet. As soon as full daylight hits system, all types of hidden waste and inefficiencies stop happening. Of course, no confidential info, but detailed line items on the rest. Also, post key figures monthly like utility/heating costs (maybe students can target reductions).
These are just a few examples of possible out of the box solutions. There will always be reasons to say NO and stay inside a comfort zone to avoid criticism or change. But there are consequences for refusing to grow and adapt which are directly felt by students and teachers. We have the power to reduce burn out in compassionate teachers and to more effectively educate our children if we wish. The current system is causing unnecessary pain and loss of potential to many people on multiple levels.
I will close with the words on the website www.HomerSchoolHelp.comIf not now? If not you? Carpe Diem!"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."Find a way to show the community cares. Show teachers there is a team supporting them. Show teachers they are not aloneThank you for serving on the School Board. I appreciate all your hard work. It is individuals like you that empower our children and teachers to achieve their potential. I hope we will focus on building a winning team where each player is reaching for personal excellence instead of going for the cheapest FTE/PTR ratio.
Sincerely,homerschoolhelp@gmail.com
-------------Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. --- Margaret Mead-All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right-about-face which turns us from failure towards success. --- Dorothea Brande-Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. --- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Greetings [School Board Member],
Investing 12 hours in School District meetings with you Monday helped me better understand our education system. I stood up at the end around 10:30pm to share my thoughts that we might be solving the wrong problem using the wrong assumptions and that we might be trapped in a comfort zone requiring us to think outside the box. There seems to be a top down multi decade pattern of cutting resources and creating chaos for teachers and front-line staff delivering direct student services.
I believe we would benefit from new strategies and alternative solutions that are not trapped inside the current frame of thought. My motivation comes from working in 3 elementary schools this year focused on special/intensive needs children. I watched the current system burning out the best most compassionate patient teachers I know and pulling the light out of their beautiful souls. It felt like watching psychological torture in slow motion. I started working backwards to find the cause moving up through principals, district staff, and the school board which brought me to our 12+ hours together.
It feels like teachers are trapped in an institutional abusive relationship where they are told they are respected, valued, and loved, but then they get slapped repeatedly. Next, comes the apology - I love you - forgive me phase before the same abuse returns. My psychology background would label the effect “learned helplessness” (a state where someone believes they are powerless to change their situation). The root cause seems to come from distant detached people who will never sit in a special needs classroom and feel what pain they have caused to ripple through the school. It is the same pattern for all school staff.
This system is the current comfort zone that we considered normal. It is intentionally triggered by a yearly finance budget crisis which focuses top-down attention and resources on reactive financial cutting of FTEs or aids providing critical support. The system does not seem to be focused in a bottom-up direction with the student as the customer served by the teacher who is served by the district and served by your Board.
The outcome measurement system does not seem to be based on effectively educating a child or on positive evaluation by teachers of district support. Teaching excellence and student outcome measures have no apparent value, but the exact cost of a bus can be the deciding factor in determining if a community school is closed. What is currently easy to measure is being used for decisions instead of quality of education measures like retention rate, or student improvement/ability, or customer satisfaction (difference between Costco vs Walmart model). Numbers of FTE, student ratios, para teacher aids, library/counselor staff are easy to cut in annual reactive crisis mode using math equations and line items in a spreadsheet. But, this is a mismatched reality to the compassionate teacher burning out trying to educate a special needs child where she feels intentionally set up to fail by distant detached outside forces.
When I teach chess to children, I first have them learn how the pieces move, what are the rules/boundaries, then think ahead without immediately reacting for short term satisfaction. If their past strategy fails repeatedly then it is best to adapt and change or lose again. I think the Boad and district can help change the rules for teachers to empower students to win if we think outside the current comfort zones. We could lead and find solutions for others to copy and follow (including the other 50+ school districts trapped inside the same box thinking)
My engineering degree in computer science taught me it is critical to clearly define the problem being solved, state the givens/assumptions, and then work backwards breaking the solution into independent modules. My team sports background taught me that winning teams are not focused on cost cutting, but instead on empowering players, good coaching, and focus on personal excellence. My decades of volunteering teaching with Tibetan refugees in India and other poor schools in Ethiopia/Kenya has taught me 80 kids in a classroom with a dirt floor and a broken piece of chalk can outperform our students who each cost more than the poor kids entire school budget. So money is not the only solution.
Here are some ideas to build upon and improve if desired (in no order). Creative problem-solving works best if one’s immediate negative/no response is modified to Yes/and…1) Do not assume a decades long top-down crisis funding pattern will change, instead empower the diversity of potential funding sources matching shared missions to reduce the annual reactive crisis. Ex: Local 501(c)3 groups like Homer Foundation can enable community donations directly to schools based on local connections/relationships; Chamber Commerce benefits for strong schools and can raise funds/resources; local tourist tax could be targeted with 50% to local schools and 50% return to citizens (so they vote for it);
2) Teachers and staff use salary to cover costs of living. If you can not improve salary, then find creative ways to lower their living costs and provide critical moral support: pay-it-forward boards at coffee shops/restaurants sponsored by locals; 10% shop discount to teachers; space available tickets for events; stipends for gas, heating fuel, housing, transportation costs, and food funded via local raffles and fundraising; Anything to offset salary costs could be initiated at a Board level but funding might be delivered from alternative sources to avoid cap restrictions. For example, affordable housing for teachers (or funds used as stipends) by leasing out unused Borough or State land to developers who keep a % of profits and the rest helps teachers/schools.
3) Expand In-Kind partnerships with local business, clubs, government: Send direct requests to groups like Rotary, Lions, Elks asking for support including supplies to teacher staff rooms, mentoring/volunteering, building repairs, reduced materials costs, coupons and gift certificates for teachers, etc… Many communities have a public transportation issue and summer parking problem. Maybe share costs with a partner using school buses to supplement a public transportation system or maybe rent out parking areas during summer linked to a bus system. Try to remove District rules locking funds raised into a restricted account only usable for sports/maintenance. Also, consider shared staff or insurance plans with local businesses that might help cover OT, PT, nursing, library, secretarial costs, etc…
4) Empower more bottom-up solutions that are community based with direct personal connections and relationships with the children, parents, and teachers. Actively solicit feedback and implement ideas: children might know why utility costs are high; parents might know what a teacher needs but will not request; teachers might have great ways to reduce paper work interfering with educating children…
5) Expand school model to include school as a community resource where everyone visits and establishes a direct personal relationship (not only parent of student). Transform school from a vague cinder block building you drive by in the background to a resource you connect with and value. Ex: community gardens; open public gym; art class; shared exercise equipment; day care centers with funds supporting school; computer/IT classes for adults; workshops for online fraud/scams protecting elderly; how to use AI options; library of things for checkout; donate food waste to local farms; anything that helps directly connect community to school. Many towns would love a community center but can not find a location or afford to build one. Maybe share costs and space for a school building that is not used 24/7. Maybe split insurance costs or have city council help.
6) Copy outside examples that work including other countries or states. Many wonderful proven effective solutions already exist. We could make it a quarterly school assignment using the labor of 1000s of students to collect solutions as an educational endeavor. Maybe target the best ideas from the other 50+ Alaska School Districts (ex Anchorage programs: School Business Partnerships allowing donations via 501(c)3 & Community Volunteers Coordination). Consider using smaller cost-effective van transportation instead of busses or even private taxi (vetted or hired via parent reducing liability)
7) Empower community collaboration and involvement with better online resources: provide detailed list of all PTO/PTA organizations; online list all service organizations and clubs (who might collaborate); collect/share best education resources for all to use/evaluate; place all teaching material developed into the public domain for any teacher to use (not-redevelop)
8) More effectively use technology: to reduce single use student paper-based projects; focus on developing free online resource (like online google quizzes developed by students to create free future learning platforms where anyone in district can learn at own pace/level); reduce teacher paper work and time not teaching; utilize interactive free fun educational software to teach topics like math/reading (ex high score for defending earth from asteroids based on solving math equations, etc); use AI to reduce paperwork.
9) Implement transparent spending system where entire community acts as a team to help reduce costs and understands where funds are spent while building trust. For example, every month export Accounts Payable data and post for online review in google spreadsheet. As soon as full daylight hits system, all types of hidden waste and inefficiencies stop happening. Of course, no confidential info, but detailed line items on the rest. Also, post key figures monthly like utility/heating costs (maybe students can target reductions).
These are just a few examples of possible out of the box solutions. There will always be reasons to say NO and stay inside a comfort zone to avoid criticism or change. But there are consequences for refusing to grow and adapt which are directly felt by students and teachers. We have the power to reduce burn out in compassionate teachers and to more effectively educate our children if we wish. The current system is causing unnecessary pain and loss of potential to many people on multiple levels.
I will close with the words on the website www.HomerSchoolHelp.comIf not now? If not you? Carpe Diem!"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."Find a way to show the community cares. Show teachers there is a team supporting them. Show teachers they are not aloneThank you for serving on the School Board. I appreciate all your hard work. It is individuals like you that empower our children and teachers to achieve their potential. I hope we will focus on building a winning team where each player is reaching for personal excellence instead of going for the cheapest FTE/PTR ratio.
Sincerely,homerschoolhelp@gmail.com
-------------Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. --- Margaret Mead-All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right-about-face which turns us from failure towards success. --- Dorothea Brande-Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. --- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse