Monday June 12, 2023

Nicole Cole Speaks Out | Coming Tuesday | Other Stories We Are Working On | Juneteenth | Share F2S

Jun 12, 2023

Today’s edition is given in its entirety to Spotsylvania School Board Member Nicole Cole. Over the past weeks, Superintendent Mark Taylor has continued to take actions that raise serious questions, but Taylor does little to nothing to answer those questions. In fact, Taylor not only refuses to answer questions from media in a position to challenge his assertions (F2S, the Free Lance-Star), but he stonewalls people who write him directly with a form letter bemoaning the number of emails he gets and suggests answers may come from others. In truth, based upon conversations with parents, teachers, citizens, school board members, fellow members of the media, and my own personal experience, answers from Taylor or anyone else in the Central Office rarely, if ever, come.

In response to Taylor’s stonewalling the public, and school board chair Lisa Phelps’ effectively silencing Cole at meetings, Cole has chosen F2S to bring her concerns with the Superintendent’s actions directly to her constituents.

We at F2S and The New Dominion Podcast have repeatedly asked Taylor for interviews. We continue to ask, and we continue to wait.

GUEST COMMENTARY: A Spotsylvania School Board Member’s Response to Recent “Message from The Superintendent” SCPS Emails

by Nicole Cole

Spotsylvania community, because of the continued attempt to silence my voice as an elected SCPS Board member, I am turning to print to address the recent public SCPS communications from Mark Taylor. Further, we know that even with decreasing Board Comments to only three minutes, Lisa Phelps and other Board members will still interrupt me and dismiss any criticism of Taylor and other Board members.

There’s so much to unpack because there were three communications sent out last week to the SCPS database – and you deserve more than three minutes of my time. [Editor’s Note: The text of all three emails follows this commentary.]

Superintendent’s June 7 Email

The first email sent on June 7 is concerned mostly with safety. (Full disclosure, Dawn Shelley, especially, and I have since January requested reports and additions to our agenda related to several items including school safety related to our facilities directly and our student and staff conduct, social and emotional well-being.)

On school safety, we have tried to get Taylor to provide information to the Board so we can understand and address violent incidents, lack of staffing, facilities exposure, burn-out and other issues. As those of you who have emailed Taylor know, he has an auto-response to all emails that he will respond to you eventually. Know that he mostly does not respond, and he prevents staff who are copied on these requests from responding without his express approval. So, they don’t respond either. Further, the Board Chair has not allowed any new or unfinished business since September 2022.

In my opinion, the safety plan shared reflects the lack of education-related experience and training of existing SCPS central administrative leadership. Please know that safety related to our schools is in the most general terms two-fold: safety of our facilities and student conduct. The latter is broad and the larger part of the job of a Director of Safety to include:

development and implementation of student code of conduct,
acting as a hearing officer,
school based safety audits,
proactive surveying and reporting (eg., threat assessments, climate surveys)
proactive training of staff in many areas (eg., discipline, identifying issues, de-escalation, classroom management, restorative justice, etc.)
implementation of protocols to support the student code of conduct.
communication and training for parents
and many other areas.

School divisions that border Spotsylvania (including the smaller divisions) have safety officer teams with staff dedicated to specific areas of focus (e.g., Hearing, Safety, Restorative Justice, Training). Our last Director of Safety wrote the additional position for Safety Officer to support the Director (the only staff person for safety at the time because of lack of Board of Supervisor funding) whom we hired for 2022. It’s no surprise that under Taylor and Phelps, not a full year later, that position is open again. There is no mention of a focus on hiring into this position or adding other positions in the safety plan.

Even more, there has been no communication of reports, results of assessments, provision of climate survey results to support either list for 2023-2024. Where did these new ideas come from? What is informing them? When was the last climate survey done at each of our schools? If completed, what are the results? When will the survey be done? Where do we fall short on current safety practices and what’s the plan to address those gaps (eg., with high level of resignations and turnover during the school year, I know we do not have mental health professionals at every school – we’ve asked for reports and haven’t received them. Whether, how, and when are new hires, long-term subs, paraeducators receiving the training listed in current practices? How is training tracked to be measured?).

Understanding licensed and administrative staff vacancies per building is critical – the lack of fully staffed schools with trained, experienced educators impacts the ability to maintain a safe environment.

It is very concerning that there’s less focus on professional staff than “community partnerships for enhanced adult supervision.” And the thought of the Superintendent’s plan relying on untrained, unaccountable, unbossed random volunteer community members to supervise in our schools is deeply concerning if not reckless.

We have seen how community members have been allowed to act at school board meetings. As a parent, I would not want certain individuals to be allowed to “supervise” my student. To protect my parental rights, I would want to know the names of each person being allowed to supervise my student. What does “supervision in schools” even mean in this context? What happens when or if certain students feel like they are being profiled? As a parent I have so many questions.

As a Board member, so many of my questions are unanswered. The Board and the public deserve a basis for understanding the current state of safety across our school division based on real information and data and then what and how existing practices, additions and augmentations suggested will address the specific issues identified.

Superintendent’s June 8 Email

The Superintendent’s June 8 email included a link to an interview Taylor did on 105.9 WMAL.

I want to briefly express that it is completely unacceptable for a public-school Superintendent or communications staff to use the database to share clearly partisan views and priorities. I have received multiple emails from parents expressing concern for their students attending Spotsylvania public schools based on his comments in this interview. No Superintendent under the employ of an ethical public-school Board would ever even consider doing such an interview, much less sharing it using the school division’s email database.

Superintendent’s June 9 Email

Finally, there’s the Superintendent’s June 9 email, which states:

“SCPS is getting more new local money…than we have for decades,” I would suggest that the decades part of that email needs to be fact-checked. True of the past decade – because not fully funding the requested SCPS Board budget by the Board of Supervisors can be tracked back to when Taylor was county executive and only suggested level funding. And while it’s more than we’ve received in the last decade, it is not anywhere near needs-based funding for properly staffing and operating our school division.

“…Unadjusted preliminary 2023 student test scores are showing improvement overall” – If this is true (I have not been provided any of the data), it’s a testament to the staff – both those who have decided to leave the division and those who are staying, and to our students. THEY should be shown appreciation and gratitude for doing the work under less-than-ideal conditions. With the number of resignations and the hostile environment – I can’t support the assertion that we are, “heading in the right direction.”

“…we are developing instructional pathways to enhance our vision…” – Who’s vision? What vision? Where and how was this vision communicated? I would like to see a written version of that “vision” as well as a collaboratively developed strategic plan. By collaborative, I mean with input from a diverse group of students, parents, staff, other stakeholders (eg., SROs, community partners) and Board members.

“…this present teacher shortage in Spotsylvania…” – Mr. Taylor and Mrs. Phelps need to stop their attempts to place the reason SCPS is experiencing unprecedented and disproportionate levels of resignations and retirements on the national/state shortages to dismiss any accountability for the hostile environment and underfunding they and the other three Board members have imposed on and support across the division.

And I addressed the concern over “volunteers to provide additional adult presence in our schools” in the safety section.

Closing Thoughts

I ask that if you reach out to our school administration you will copy me and send me whatever follow-up you receive. I hope you will have more success with a response than I do as a School Board member.

I don’t pretend to know everything about anything, to include public education, because that is not my profession. But I do know how to build and implement a successful plan. I know how to rely on people who are experienced, expert, and credible in their roles and how to research, analyze and understand data. I know that to govern over a school division as Board members, at minimum we must be provided credible information to make sure viable plans are in place to protect our students, staff, and SCPS community.

I know Board members have been chosen by the people to be the stewards of this governance and serve for the benefit of the 24,000 students whose education, development, and safety are our first responsibility. This is the job I would like to be able to do for the Spotsylvania community.

And until I can have an actual impact doing that, I will let my voice be heard by whatever means necessary.

ADDENDUM

Read Taylor’s Emails referenced in this commentary.

June 7 Email

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Staff,

As the Superintendent of SCPS, I want to assure you that the safety of students and staff remains our top priority. In preparation for the upcoming school year, our leadership team is reviewing existing protocols and discussing new measures to enhance safety in our schools.

We want to share some key highlights from our discussions so far and invite your input on this important topic as we work together to ensure the well-being of the entire school community.

Best regards,

Mark B. Taylor, Esq.

SCPS Superintendent

[Editor’s Note: We had deleted the link to a feedback form that was originally in this email.]

June 8 Email

Good Morning,

Take a listen to Superintendent Mark Taylor’s interview on 105.9 WMAL this week!

Link to Interview: https://omny.fm/shows/oconnor-and-company/06-06-23-spotsylvania-superintendent-mark-taylor-i

June 9 Email

Dear SCPS Family,
I hope you are having a great summer! We are having an exciting time at SCPS as we look ahead to the upcoming school year. We are working hard to make the 2023-2024 year our best yet!
SCPS is getting more new local money for this upcoming year than we have in decades, and our “unadjusted” preliminary 2023 student test scores are showing improvement overall. Thanks to these encouraging results, we know we are heading in the right direction.
SCPS staff is working hard to prepare for August. In addition to improving safety, we are developing instructional pathways to enhance our vision and make our student experience more purposeful and rewarding. We are also working to clarify and amplify division-wide values and culture while reinforcing individual school spirit.
As always, our recruiting efforts continue in this present teacher shortage in Spotsylvania and across Virginia. Positions are available for anyone with a bachelor’s degree and a heart for kids. Bus drivers are also a regular seasonal need.
SCPS is working with community groups to assemble teams of volunteers to provide additional adult presence in our schools which will increase supervision, enhance safety, affirm students, and build positive morale.
If you have any concerns or questions about the upcoming school year, do not hesitate to reach out to our school administration. We are here to share accurate information and facilitate your participation.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We are looking forward to a successful academic year filled with growth and achievement.
Sincerely,
Mark B. Taylor, Esq.
SCPS Superintendent

Juneteenth in Spotsylvania

Over the past decade, Juneteenth has grown in the public imagination. What was an unknown event even to many Black people 10 years ago, is now growing into a celebration that is rightfully taking its place along July 4 in the pantheon of American celebrations of freedom.

Learn more about Juneteenth and its history from this National Geographic story.

This year, one of the region’s largest celebrations will be held at the John J. Wright Educational and Cultural Center Museum in Spotsylvania County. Scan the QR code in the image above, or visit the website, to learn more and to join in the activities.

Coming Tuesday

Spotsylvania County School Board in a flat spin; First interview in a new section: “The Why Behind the Why.”

A Special Word to Our Readers

Since leaving the Free Lance-Star in January, a great deal has happened not only in my life, but in our region’s media consumption. F2S has made remarkable jumps in readership in a very short time. We’ve begun adding staff. We’ve launched a podcast with our partner Shaun Kenney. And we are playing a major role in our local civic square through debates and promoting events such as Juneteenth.

These changes have created some unique opportunities, and we’ll have much more to say about this in coming months.

As we ramp up our work, help us spread the word about F2S by inviting a friend to join.

Our material is free to any readers who want to access it, so no one has to pay to read what we provide. We are enormously grateful to everyone who does support us, however. (And we have some plans to thank those people this summer - so watch your emails!)

Pass along this link (https://thelocalburg.substack.com/p/welcome-to-f2s), or the following QR code, and ask folks to sign up.