In a swift, stern and stunning rebuke, parents of GATE students Tuesday night slammed a Santa Barbara Unified School District proposal to dramatically overhaul the program.
Raul Ramirez, assistant superintendent of education, proposed replacing SBUSD’s GATE, self-contained magnet class at Washington Elementary School with a cluster model beginning in third grade, starting in the next school year.
Rather than having all GATE students in a single class, cluster models typically place about six gifted students within a non-GATE-program classroom. The proposal was met with such overwhelming opposition from the 27 speakers and nearly 100 people in the room at Tuesday night’s meeting that the district leaders immediately dropped the plan.
“The board was caught off guard with this,” said Laura Capps, a school board member and parent of a child in the District. “I, for one, believe we should be expanding GATE. We should be looking for more opportunities.”
The Santa Barbara Unified School District has about 190 students in cluster models, including charter schools, from grades 3-6, and a District GATE Magnet program at Washington Elementary School with about 118 students.
Parents received a letter about a week ago, and then notice of a town hall-style meeting this week at Washington Elementary, about the change.
“By transitioning to the cluster model, we can ensure that all qualified students receive the benefit of GATE approaches,” the letter stated.
The school board meeting was awkward, and at times uncomfortable.
Some parents in the room snickered or laughed out loud while Ramirez attempted to explain his reasoning for making the GATE switch. Ramirez made his best effort to justify the switch, but he was all alone in his pitch.
It is rare for a high-level, controversial proposal to get all the way to the school board without vetting — or direction — from the superintendent; SBUSD Superintendent Cary Matsuoka said nothing during the meeting to defend or criticize the proposal.
But parents who spoke Tuesday had a lot to say.
They explained how they decided to move into Washington Elementary’s attendance boundaries so their kids could attend the school’s magnet class. They chose to rent or buy homes, or take jobs, in Santa Barbara to be near Washington at 290 Lighthouse Road. Some parents already received acceptance contracts for next school year.
They also questioned whether cluster models work as well as magnet classes, and demanded to see the research or examples at other districts to prove it.
“I am in favor of the District doing everything it can to maintain the program,” said Kim Kotnick, parent of a second-grade, GATE-identified student. “There are no problems with the GATE program.”
Erin Muslera, a parent of a third-grade GATE student, told the school board to get it right.
“Do your job as leaders and come up with a solution to a problem that is not difficult to fix,” she said.
Collin Greene, a father of an incoming third-grade GATE student, said the district should “keep the program in place,” and do a better job communicating with famiies.
“A mini-crisis has been created here that easily could have been avoided,” Greene said.
Ramirez explained Tuesday night that it is the district’s job to “serve a wide continuum of learners” and that there are “challenges and opportunities in appropriately addressing the needs of all students.”
Santa Barbara Unified needs to focus and explore “promoting models that support inclusivity, while providing rigorous learning opportunities,” he said during the meeting.
School board members were not happy that the proposal was sprung on them.
“We need a much more detailed explanation,” school board member Kate Ford said.
She said she would need to see a rationale and data before she could support any changes to the GATE program, and would also want to see comparisons between the cluster and magnet model.
Ford taught students for 15 years and said, “nothing is more difficult than the cluster model.”
Board member Jacqueline Reid said she needs to see “evidence-based proof” for making a change. She also was disappointed with Ramirez’s process.
“I believe strongly that when change happens, there should be a process and opportunities for discussion,” Reid said.
By then end of the meeting, Ramirez realized he was defeated, changed his tone and said he was sorry.
“My apologies to the board for placing you in this position,” Ramirez said. “I will walk the decision back myself. I will take ownership of this.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.