Burbank educators make suggestions for district’s goals next school year

Burbank educators and school board members combed through eight districtwide goals and many more subgoals during a lengthy meeting last week, and offered up suggestions to make progress on new and existing targets during the 2016-17 school year.

Burbank Unified, like all California school districts, is required to outline several goals each year as part of a requirement by state education officials who want teachers and parents to work together to create objectives fitting to their district.

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Burbank Unified Supt. Matt Hill moderated the meeting last Thursday where Burbank High English teacher Diana Abasta suggested the district create specific meanings attached to grades to better explain to parents and students the grades earned on any one assignment or class.

“Parents should know exactly what we’re trying to cover in class and the grades should also reflect that,” she said, adding that other school districts have adopted uniform language to explain all the skills — such as critical thinking — that a student uses to deserve an ‘A’ grade, and other letter grades.

“It’s hard when your child may be getting A’s all along...and [then] they don’t get that ‘A’. Why? It’s difficult, after the fact, but if our district says, ‘Here’s what an ‘A’ looks like,’ ‘Here’s what a ‘D’ looks like. Right now, the way we have it, ‘C’ is average. And no one wants to be average.”

Other suggestions among the participants included school board member Larry Applebaum proposing that all three of Burbank’s middle schools offer drama programs, instead of only John Muir Middle School, and board President Charlene Tabet pushing for additional music class offerings.

School board member Armond Aghakhanian recommended better training for teachers using technology in the classroom, and fellow participants acknowledged that some teachers are much more savvy with technology in the classroom than others.

“The goal needs to support the rationale for putting money there,” Applebaum said.

Beyond technology training, professional development for teachers emerged as a key focus, including in addressing students’ social and emotional needs as well as in teaching writing.

“I think writing is a huge deficit in this district across every student group that I come across and a lot of that has to do with teacher time to work with students. I’d like to see us talk about what we’re actually doing with this,” Applebaum said, adding that as a student himself, he once struggled with writing.

However, Sharon Cuseo, assistant superintendent for Burbank Unified, said teachers are still being trained in teaching writing after the district adopted new California State Standards last year.

“I think we’re right where we should be,” she said. “We’re in process.”

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan

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