Teaching is the #1 career path for Bluffton graduates. But many Bluffton alumni in the education profession discover that their passion for teaching and learning must include wrestling with challenging issues that extend from classrooms to living rooms and to the halls of government.
| Five Bluffton alumni experts share their perspectives on a few of the complex challenges facing the U.S. public education system. | ||||
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Special needsJaime (Spann '98) Stewart
Special education teacher
Central Crossing High School
Grove City, Ohio
“The number of students with special needs is on the rise across the nation,” says Jaime Stewart, special education teacher in Grove City, Ohio. But the public education system lacks qualified teachers and available resources to meet the increasing demand.
Jaime discovered a passion for working with special education students while in high school when she volunteered her time in the classroom and for Special Olympics. “I knew then that if I was going to teach, it was going to be special education,” she said. “I declared my major right away at Bluffton and never second guessed my decision.” Jaime began her teaching career at an inner-city elementary school in Springfield, Ohio. She then moved to Columbus and began teaching at a middle school in the South-Western City School District—the sixth largest district in Ohio. “I learned quickly that it takes a special person to teach middle school,” she says of the experience. She then transferred to a new high school in the district when it opened in 2002. She currently teaches special education English, coaches varsity softball and serves as the special education department designee. As designee, she is responsible for the budget, class scheduling and meetings. “I love teaching high school. It is great to be able to have good conversations with the students … I have very busy days with six English classes and then the department duties.” Jaime received her master’s degree in education leadership from the University of Dayton in 2002 and her principal license for PreK-12 in 2003.
From her vantage point, Jaime identifies two reasons for the increasing number of students with special needs across the country. First, proficiency testing and the corresponding pressure to “pass” was a catalyst for testing more students to see if they had special health, physical or learning disabilities which qualified them for either an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 plan—both of which require alternative testing or modifications to the proficiency testing. Second, the stigma of special education has decreased in recent years through public awareness and education. “The negative conotation of special education is going by the wayside with the positive press that it has received,” says Jaime. “Also, more colleges and universities are advertising that they have programs for special needs students. I think that this has eased parents’ minds when deciding whether to request testing and/or accept services.”
At Jaime’s high school, the special education department has grown from five teachers and one tutor in 2002 to nine teachers, four tutors and two aides this school year. She acknowledges she is lucky to teach at a school that has the means to provide the necessary special education teachers, space and resource materials because this isn’t the case at most schools. “There is a nationwide shortage of special education teachers and I fear it will only get worse with the additional education requirements recently implemented for these teachers,” she said. Also, adequate space is a concern. “Some schools don’t have enough classrooms so closets are converted and stage space is used. Other districts purchase modular classrooms.” Although there are laws on the books that dictate class size, programs offered and other specifics for special education—many schools, especially those in “poorer” districts are unable to provide what is needed.
Jaime urges anyone who is concerned about special education to “donate, donate, donate” to their local school. Volunteers are needed to tutor students and help in the classrooms. Used books and magazines and incentive prizes for students are also appreciated. Finally, Jaime says, it is important to let your congressional representatives know how you feel about the issue of funding and special education. “I have taught special education using the newest programs, books, and computers, etc., and I have taught it with no textbooks or materials. The objective is the same—meeting the needs of the students—but that becomes much easier when every school has the appropriate resources.”
Dr. Ivan Dangler ‘61
Retired school administrator
Columbus, Ohio
With a career in public education spanning more than 40 years, Dr. Ivan Dangler still vividly remembers one local Chamber of Commerce meeting which he attended to ask for support for a local school levy. The announcer offhandedly introduced him, a school superintendent, as the “community beggar.” “It was meant as a joke, but it also brought to light my role in local school funding problems,” he said.
Ohio isn’t the only state with funding problems—it’s a national issue that requires more attention, according to Ivan. “During my years as a school superintendent, I spent much of my time working on levies, including nights and weekends. It becomes a formable task to keep schools operating on lean budgets.”
Ivan graduated from Bluffton in 1961. After receiving an M.A. in education from Bowling Green State University, he began his career as a high school teacher, but within a few years found himself in administration. He served as a high school principal, elementary school principal and superintendent for several schools in Ohio, including the Genoa School District and Clyde-Green Spring Schools. “Undoubtedly, the most satisfaction I received was in helping make sure the students got a good education. I was always working to improve the curriculum and hiring the best teachers possible,” he said. From 2003 to 2004, he mentored 21 new principals across the state of Ohio through a special program for the Ohio Association of Elementary Principals. “Much time was spent encouraging them, helping them with their problems and assuring them of the need to keep a positive attitude,” he said.
Unfortunately, many of the principals Ivan mentored were struggling with funding issues. Disparity between “rich” and “poor” school districts is a particular problem in Ohio where state funding is allocated on a per-pupil basis. This inequality has social ramifications, contributing to further division between “haves” and ‘have-nots.” “So-called rich districts have more money to spend. They generally have better facilities, better maintenance, stronger curriculums and better working conditions, including higher pay for staff,” said Ivan. As a result, students in wealthier districts have more opportunities available to them and receive a higher quality education.
In addition, garnering support for local school levies is a constant burden for Ohio teachers and administrators. Currently, Ivan lives in the Olentangy School District—the fastest growing district in the state of Ohio. If growth and operating costs continue at the expected rate, a new levy will have to be added to the ballot each year. He anticipates that it will become harder and harder to pass each levy. “In some districts, two, three or even four times is common to get a levy passed,” he says.
Lawmakers in Ohio are aware of the state education funding problem. In fact, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that the funding process is unconstitutional and needs to be fixed. However, since it is such a complicated and politicized issue, a long-term solution has been hard to come by, says Ivan. “The average, concerned citizen needs to get involved and they can, at the local, state or federal level. Most people are not concerned enough to get involved except at the voting booth. We need people with solutions, preferably those who do not represent special interest groups. While school funding is a complicated issue, most people can soon learn enough to effectively participate in the discussion.”
Health/fitnessCarrie (Ream '85, MAOM '02) Woodruff
Food service director
Lima City Schools
Lima, Ohio
There’s a growing health concern about children and young adults in the U.S. for which there is no easy solution, according to Carrie Woodruff, food service director for Lima City Schools. “Obesity and wellness are the latest buzzwords in school education,” she said. “The issue is the alarming increase in the number of students who are considered obese or overweight.”
Statistics tell the story. The percentage of overweight children and teens has doubled and tripled respectfully in the last 30 years. Only two percent of children ages 2-19 meet the recommendations for a healthy diet from the Food Guide Pyramid produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More than 51 million school hours are lost each year due to dental-related illness, largely as a result of diet. Ohio’s situation is particularly dire—a 2004 national study revealed that Ohio’s overweight high school population ranked fourth in the nation. *
According to Carrie, societal factors are at the root of the health crisis. “We have too many choices of fast food and junk food, portion sizes have increased, family meal time has disappeared, and children spend more time playing video games and watching TV and less time engaged in physical activity,” she explained.
In her position at Lima City Schools, Carrie is responsible for the nutrition needs of more than 5,000 students in one of the lowest wealth districts in the state. She oversees a food staff of 75 people and manages a $2.2 million food budget. She says her biggest challenge is keeping up with changing federal regulations. “The Surgeon General has identified schools as a key setting for public health strategies to prevent and decrease the prevalence of obese and overweight individuals.” Most recently, a new law mandates that all school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program have a local wellness policy in place by July 2006.
While she insists there are no fast fixes, Carrie has led her school district in taking a proactive approach to addressing the health concern. She identifies three steps schools can take: improve the quality and amount of nutritious food offered; increase school breakfast participation; and offer more physical activity options. Lima’s distinctive breakfast program has received national attention. Approximately 85 percent of students in the school district receive a nutritious breakfast at school. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and studies show it helps with obesity,” said Carrie. The school system also has nutritional guidelines in place and each school nurse has access to a computer program called “Snackwise” from the Columbus Children’s Hospital. The program evaluates snack food and assigns easy-to-understand color codes indicating “best” choices to “worst” choices based on nutritional value.
Not all schools are this far along in addressing the need for change. Parents might be surprised by what is being served to their children in school, says Carrie. She encourages everyone to become involved in this issue. “Now is the perfect time to get involved … schools are looking for volunteers for wellness committees … families can pay attention to what they eat at home and the amount of time they spend doing physical activity. I don’t think the average person understands the state we and our young people are in. The government thinks the schools are the answer. But parents and others need to be involved, too. This problem did not happen overnight and it will not be fixed overnight.”
* Source: Ohio Action for Healthy Kids Web site
Youth cultureJeff Vincent ‘03
Eighth grade math teacher
Host of “Math Extra” TV show
Northeast Middle School
Charlotte, N.C.
One day a student strolled into Jeff Vincent’s eighth grade classroom singing praises about the new NBA Street video game that had just been released. “Mr. Vincent, did you get it yet?” he asked. “It’s crunk! I played it last night for five hours.” When he was grading homework papers a few minutes later, Jeff wasn’t too surprised to discover that this student hadn’t turned in his work. “Every night students have to make decisions about video games, TV and sports,” he said. “More and more students are choosing to spend time on these pursuits instead of doing school work.”
Jeff teaches 8th grade math at Northeast Middle School in Charlotte, N.C. The Charlotte Mecklenburg School system is growing at a rapid rate—adding thousands of students each year. In the past three years, the system has added four elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. Jeff ’s math classes range in size from 15 to 35 students. He teaches students who have tested as performing at “below grade level” standards in math. In the past few years, only two of his students have failed to jump to a higher level under his tutelage. His outstanding teaching led to him being named First Year Teacher-of-the-Year at his school in 2003. His name was one of 1,100 submitted for the North Carolina state award for new teachers, and he placed first runner-up. In addition, Jeff hosts a live weekly TV show called “Math Extra” where students can “call-in” and receive help with solving math problems.
Jeff loves what he does and says no other job could “provide so much control of the environment, new challenges every day and more personal reward than one could imagine.” But while his teaching is having an impact, he says each day he fights a losing battle against a popular culture that places less and less value on education.
The problem, he claims, is that there are too many “distractions” out there—from video games, to sports, to television. These activities are hyped and glamorized by mass media and students have a hard time sorting out priorities. He recalls overhearing one student in class rationalize the “C” grade he received compared to a friend’s “A” by saying, “It’s O.K., because I can still beat you in Madden (video game).” Some students believe that school doesn’t matter because they are going to become a sports star and make millions of dollars. Others glean from popular TV shows and movies that it isn’t “cool” to be smart. “Student achievement is in the national spotlight,” said Jeff. “But with all these distractions that students face, it gets harder and harder to meet learning goals each year. In my school, it seems the students who need the most help are the ones who face the most distractions.”
Competing against popular culture for students’ time and passion is a no-win situation for parents and teachers. He says his school system has attempted to deal with the problem by setting up after-school programs that keep students away from frivolous pursuits by offering a positive environment for concentrating on school work.
According to Jeff, school systems shouldn’t have to face this issue alone; everyone can make a difference by placing a higher value on education. He recommends that parents shut off televisions and video game systems at home and in the car and encourage their children to read or work on homework instead. Individuals can also support education by volunteering in the schools or voting for additional funding for schools. “It all comes back to time and money,” he said. “If people show young students that they care about their education, the students will care also … many schools just need support from everyone involved.”
FundingJeri (Harlow '77) Fox
Guidance counselor
Author of Read on Target
Esther Dennis Middle School
Dayton, Ohio
The U.S. public education system is facing a crisis in funding. The problem stems from a “seriously diminished public value for education” in our society, says Jeri Fox, guidance counselor at Esther Dennis Middle School in Ohio. “It is through public education available to all children that each generation has the opportunity to exceed the accomplishments of the last,” she said. “The persons elected to state and national legislatures and the Americans that send them there need to renew their commitment to education. We need to be an informed electorate. Our national dialogue needs to value achievement in the content areas, critical thinking and written communication more than NASCAR and the latest episode of Survivor.”
Jeri’s passion for teaching became manifest at an early age. “My mother tells folks that before I ever went to school, I would line up all the dolls and stuffed animals in our home and ‘play school’ with them,” she says, with a laugh. She completed her undergraduate work at Bluffton, earned a vocational teaching certificate from The Ohio State University and completed her master’s degree from the University of Dayton. She has worked in the education field for 30 years; serving the last 14 years as guidance counselor at Esther Dennis Middle School where she is responsible for guidance programming for approximately 400 students. Five years ago, she added an ongoing project by co-authoring a series of books titled Read on Target, which help students, parents and teachers with issues of reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. When asked what she likes best about her job, Jeri exclaims, “That’s easy, the students!”
Although she is soon eligible for retirement, Jeri feels she has much work left to do. She is increasingly concerned about the issue she believes is undermining quality education—lack of funds. It’s a problem across the country, and in the state of Ohio in particular, she says. In Ohio, sources of state funding have slowly disappeared in recent years, forcing schools to rely on the local level. “It puts teachers and administrators in adversarial positions in their communities. Public schools often find themselves spending great amounts of time and energy in the role of beggars when it comes time to go to the voters for the next levy,” she said. Most recently a new Ohio budget that phases out personal tangible property tax for businesses threatens more than 80 percent of her school districts funding. Charter schools are one more factor diverting funds from public schools. “My school system cut $1.3 million dollars from its budget this year,” she said. “Another million in cuts is projected for next year.”
When funding is cut, teachers are the first to go, according to Jeri. She laments the number of highly-qualified new teachers who have become discouraged by the situation: “One talented young teacher who left education said to me, ‘I just got tired of being non-renewed every April and called back every July. My family deserves more stability than that.’” The teachers left behind struggle with burnout; they are expected to meet the needs of more students and have fewer resources with which to work. Jeri’s school could not afford to replace the choir teacher and computer teacher when they retired—so two computer labs sit empty and the band director struggles with an unrealistic schedule that includes band and choir instruction.
It may be easy to point the finger at elected officials—but the people who vote for them need to be accountable, too, says Jeri. “My hope for education really comes from parents and other concerned citizens. We need to be familiar with our schools so that we can know the needs and be informed when we speak about education … Voters need to question beyond dollars and cents to see how cuts in spending will impact their schools and they need to be unyielding in their pursuit of legislators who would evade the tough issues facing education with hollow platitudes.”
While it may be fashionable to criticize public education, or easy to stand by quietly while others criticize, it is much more productive to become involved, Jeri claims. She insists the public education system is still full of promise—from the students to the teachers to the administrators. “I am most impressed with the young people today that dare to risk their talents and energies on a career in education. They are the real heroes in our society.”
