Potential Changes in Education Could Impact Santa Maria Students & Teachers

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - Unexpected restructuring is on the horizon for support and intervention teachers at Santa Maria Bonita School District.

The announcement just before Thanksgiving caught teachers by surprise.

“On November 21st, we were called into about 15 minute zoom meetings, letting us know that new job descriptions had been written and that the positions as they are stand now will be dissolved and restructured,” says Jennifer Danowitz, S.M.E.E.A. Support Services Director.

The school district is changing the job descriptions and thus the duties for teachers who work with students needing help in english.

“They have been giving out news that has not been the very best received,” says Darren McDuffie, Santa Maria-Bonita’s Superintendent. “It's emotional.”

The process includes dissolving more than 60 positions where instructors work closely with small groups of students.

Those jobs would be re-instated, but with new guidelines and duties working with larger groups of students.

“No one disagrees with that we need to do better for our students and that our students need services,” says Danowitz. “We just disagree with how we were let know and not included what those services look like.”

District officials say these changes are actually being considered in order to expand access to more students based on site needs.

“I would like to see examples of the new model being implemented,” says Martha Rodriguez, a Sanchez Elementary E.L.D. (English Language Development) coach. “What districts and schools have been successful with the elimination of Tier three?”

District administrators acknowledge the abrupt nature of the announcement.

While some support positions at smaller schools may be consolidated, the goal is to hire more coaches at larger schools with bigger needs.

“As far as creating conditions, ‘Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.’ It’s a quote from Robin Sharma,” says superintendent McDuffie. “And, It is messy, but we are doing something for our students. It's going to be gorgeous at the end.”

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