Jan Levy introduced Trish Millines Dziko who co-founded the Technology Access Foundation (TAF) in 1996 after spending 17 years in the tech industry. She said COVID opened a window but “how can we keep it open now and create the needed education system for our students and families?”.
Trish’s presentation focused on what it takes to truly transform our education system and how to be a leader in doing that as we reimagine education post COVID. She started by walking through four key education milestones: School Segregation (1849-1955), School Integration (1960-Present), No Child Left Behind (2002-2015) - when a national test was implemented that tried to address the inequities present in schools – and finally, Common Core (2010- Present) - where there has been an attempt to create national standards and tests.
She walked us through the current public education ecosystem:
· Ineffective academic models
· Inequitable system
· Curriculum delivery lacks relevance
· Lack of capacity and resources
Then on top of this she said we had COVID where we learned this about families:
No computers (46% of students are from low-income families and did not have access to a computer at home), no connectivity (and for many that did have a computer or ended up receiving one, there was limited or no connectivity at home), state testing (Many affluent families pushed for continuation of state testing (to measure learning gaps) while others focused on wellness of their children), and some students (especially minority students) felt safer at home. Most families – particularly low-income and immigrant families – were not prepared for online learning. Low-income families were led by adults who worked through the pandemic, leaving students on their own.
Here is what Dziko said we learned about schools: they took on public health duties (the state demanded that schools play the role of public health officials), focused on adult needs First (too much time was spent on negotiating how teachers will work/return to the school building), teachers lacked technical skills, principals were caught in the middle, struggled with human resources, and there was a lack of vision for the future.
She reiterated what she started with: “The window has not closed yet so we need to make that first step now”. She shared TAF’s Key School Transformation Components: philosophy, culture, pedagogy, diverse staff, content, and expanded community. She highlighted what needs to be done to address these components in the short term, long term and then what needs to be true for each one. She said TAF is working on all these components.
Their action agenda is to: Partner with Districts to Improve Schools
- Create academic environments that eliminate race-based disparity in academic achievement
- Promote the highest level of student learning and teacher development
Socially conscious and self-aware
Armed with the 21st century skills needed to succeed
Positioned to create the world they envision, personally, communally, nationally and globally
She concluded by asking: “Do we have the political will to do something big?”. There are two big efforts that can make a huge impact nationwide: authentic assessments and normalize racial equity. President Jimmy opened the meeting with the announcement of Seattle’s Day of Service on May 21st and our Club’s involvement in this citywide event that will focus on the great work of Bloodworks NW and Wellspring; look for more details and how to get involved in this issue of the club newsletter.
Linda Rough and Don Murphy led us in song with “Finlandia (Song of Peace)”, that is now being used to reflect what is taking place in Ukraine, which was followed by Joel Paget’s Inspiration that suggested we use newspapers as a prayer list: include prayers for those in need locally and nationally that are in need, including those in government service.
Caroline put together another fun video to celebrate our fellow member’s anniversaries, this time set to “What a Wonderful World” with Ralph Munro having the oldest anniversary in April, 45 years as a member of our Club!
David Bobanick who is chairing the campaign for the Rotary Foundation gave a two-part presentation on the Foundation with a call to action: he reported on Rotary’s support for Ukraine that is being implemented right away for storage of medical supplies. He mentioned we can still give to support this effort and Caroline reminded us that our Club is providing each member who donates to the Ukraine Crisis fund Paul Harris points for each dollar donated. He then updated us on our obligation to support the Foundation as part of our Club membership: 35% of members have contributed so far to the Annual Fund (against a goal of 62%. He thanked those that have donated and reiterated our goal of participation from all members: www.rotary.org/en/donate
He concluded with two examples of how the Foundation is using our funds: a picture of smiling children in Cambodia that have benefited from the introduction of fresh water in their community by Rotary where it was previously limited, and people standing outside a portable cooler in Covington that ensures that food gets out to where it’s needed in South King County, which will triple the amount of produce that can now be distributed.
