FAQs
Lorraine’s Responses in the League of Women Voters 2010 Election Guide can be found at :
http://www.omahalwv.org/HTMPages/VotersGuide-2010.htm
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Lorraine’s Responses to Questions provided by the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA):
1. Describe the events, issues, or concerns that prompted you to seek election or re-election to the Learning Community Coordinating Council.
After serving for 2 years on the LCCC, I am more committed than ever to the Learning Community’s mission of improving student achievement, increasing socio-economic diversity and creating fiscal equity across the 11 school districts in our 2-county area. While we have made progress, there is much more that needs to be done. I am seeking re-election to continue to play a leadership role in ensuring that all children succeed.
2. Describe your qualifications to be a member of the Learning Community Coordinating Council.
My background as an attorney, business leader and public sector consultant are assets that have served me well on the LCCC. I bring strengths in collaborative leadership, strategic thinking and a focus on results. When my children were in school, I was an active parent volunteer in both the Omaha and Westside school districts. I remain passionate about education and believe that a quality education system lies at the heart of a vibrant community. As a member of the Learning Community’s Executive Committee, I played an instrumental leadership role in the start-up of this new entity. I also helped guide the development of Elementary Learning Centers as co-chair of that Learning Community task force.
3. Describe the single most important issue you want the LCCC to address.
The single most important issue that the LCCC needs to address, year after year, is enhancing student achievement while reducing disparities among diverse student groups. We must work closely with the school districts to develop measures for meaningfully measuring our progress in this regard.
4. Describe the actions you would take to strengthen the quality of schools in the Learning Community.
I believe that strengthening the quality of schools requires the Learning Community to work in close collaboration with its 11 school districts. We need to build on the strengths of the 11 school districts as well as encourage and incent them to propose innovative approaches to improving student achievement and maximizing student potential. Best practices from within and outside of the Learning Community should be highlighted and studied. Inter-district cooperation aimed at boosting student achievement should be encouraged and rewarded.
5. Do you support the current law that created the LC, yes or no. If no, how would you change it?
Yes, I support most aspects of the current LC law. However, there are a few provisions that I would change. I believe that multi-district, collaborative focus schools, such as the Underwood Hills Focus School, should be allowed. Also, I think there should be more explicit data sharing and reporting requirements so that accountability for improved results can be assessed.
6. Identify one strength in the Diversity Plan and additional considerations that you feel could be implemented.
An important strength of the Diversity Plan is that it offers students and families more school choices without making movement mandatory. I would like to see districts developing focus schools that offer innovative programming, especially at the middle and high school levels. Multi-district, collaborative focus schools, such as the successful Underwood Hills Focus School, should be allowed. The use of zones should be explored as a way to minimize transportation costs.
7. Describe your vision of what an Elementary Learning Center will look like and be able to do.
As co-chair of the Council’s task force on elementary learning centers, my vision has been to create a system of resource centers that supports the academic achievement of elementary students, particularly those challenged by poverty, limited English skills and mobility. Priority objectives include: ensuring all third graders are proficient in reading at the third grade level; ensuring all fourth graders are proficient in writing and math at the fourth grade level; improving student attendance, and increasing parental and/or community involvement. Because the barriers to student achievement are related to the needs of the whole child, including those of the parents, academic, family support and health and wellness issues need to be examined and addressed.
Each center may operate out of a central hub location and/or through satellite locations, including school buildings to facilitate access. The nature of the programs and services offered may vary from location to location, depending on the needs of the particular population to be served. A Family Support Liaison at each location will ensure that each child or family member is connected to the programs and services that best meet their needs. Every elementary learning center must be accessible to children and their families, be welcoming and attractive, provide quality programs and services that meet students’ and their families’ needs, and be able to demonstrate positive results.
8. What is your plan to work with patrons who have opposed the common levy and the formation of the LC?
My approach to working with those who oppose the Learning Community is to first seek to understand the nature of their concerns, to clarify our shared understanding of the underlying facts, and to look for common ground upon which we might work together. Opening lines of communication and framing the issues in the broader context of creating improved educational opportunities for children across the Learning Community are strategies I have found helpful. In response to critics who claim that the Learning Community has not yet demonstrated results, I would say that the Learning Community has established a framework and organizational capacity to accomplish its statutory objectives, but that more time is needed to effectuate results.
9. Describe your vision of how contract negotiations for school employees of the 11 member school districts will take place.
I envision that contract negotiations with school employees will be handled by their individual school districts.
10. Describe how you will seek input on the issues you will be asked to vote on as a member of the LCCC.
As a Council member, I have consistently sought input from a broad range of stakeholders, including superintendents, school board members, teachers, students, families, and others, depending on the issue at hand. I have taken the opportunity as a Council member to visit schools across the Learning Community to observe first hand what is happening in the classroom and to listen to administrators, principals, teachers and staff about what is working well and what could work better. I also make it my priority to be accessible and responsive to parents and taxpayers, paying attention to their concerns and desires. I have advocated for the Council’s business to be handled with transparency, so that the public has multiple avenues for staying informed and providing input, including meetings, phone and on-line access.
11. What data do you believe should be used to indicate that the LC is making a difference in student achievement for all students?
The LCCC has engaged a consortium of university experts to select appropriate and meaningful measures of student progress and achievement and assist in the evaluation process. School districts, educational service units and the Nebraska Department of Education are all collaborators with the LC in this process. Personally, I would like to see elementary learning centers having a positive impact on student proficiency in reading at third grade, and proficiency in writing and math at fourth grade, as measured by the state-wide tests in each subject area. I would like to see a growth model being adopted for measuring student progress. The LCCC will also want to look at attendance, parental involvement (e.g., parent-teacher conference attendance), graduation/drop-out rates, and surveys such as the Gallup Poll of student hope, engagement and well-being to better understand and address student achievement issues.
12. How do you envision the reporting of academic achievement of students under NCLB impacting the LC schools, teaching and learning?
I think it is important to set high standards of academic achievement and excellence for students and our public school systems. The challenge lies in creating more meaningful measures of student progress and achievement than what NCLB currently provides. The right measures should focus teachers on advancing their students’ learning, not cause then to teach to the test.
13. Describe a quality summer school program, a quality early education program, and a quality after school program.
All three types of programs should be results-focused, student-centered, and use innovative approaches to engage students in learning and boost student achievement. Summer school programs should help students stay on track toward meeting academic milestones by reducing the summer learning gap. Early education programs should ensure that every child is ready and eager to learn and focus on early literacy. After school and other out-of-school time programs should offer integrated enrichment opportunities that support a child’s success in the classroom, address the “whole child,” and extend learning time in meaningful ways. The LCCC has provided funding for the inclusion of certified teachers so that enrichment programs are curriculum-based.
14. Describe the relationship the LCCC should have with the following groups:
- District Superintendents
- District School Boards
- Local Education Associations (Teacher/Employee Unions)
- Bright Futures
- Elected Officials of Cities and Counties
- State Board of Education
- State Legislature
- Nebraska Department of Education
- Chambers of Commerce
- Business and Industry
The relationship between the LCCC and each of the above-listed stakeholders should be one of mutual respect, collaboration and information sharing. Specifically, the LCCC meets at least four times per year with the District Superintendents in their capacity as the LCCC’s Advisory Committee. Superintendents or their representatives are regular participants in the Achievement Subcouncil meetings in District 3 and on both the Diversity Plan and Elementary Learning Center Task Forces. Six District School Board members serve on the LCCC and improved lines of communication have been opened with District School Boards Presidents. Representatives from Local Education Associations regularly attend LCCC and Subcouncil meetings and LC members have spoken at association meetings. The voices of teachers need to be heard and thoughtfully considered. A huge opportunity still exists for a partnership between the LCCC and Building Bright Futures that aligns public and private resource investments to boost student achievement. The LCCC should be working closely with elected City and County Officials and the State Board of Education to align public resources around shared education-related objectives. The LCCC is accountable to the State Legislature for fulfilling its mandate under state law, and is required to submit reports on a regular basis. The LCCC is working closely with the Nebraska Department of Education on data collection and reporting issues and on the process for approval of Districts’ Limited English Proficiency and Poverty Plans. Business/Industry and the Chambers of Commerce are important stakeholders to be consulted as focus schools are being developed as they can help drive student motivation and workforce preparedness.
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Lorraine’s Responses to Questions provided by the Omaha World Herald:
1) Some school districts are dissatisfied with the governance structure of the Learning Community, saying the 18-member board is inefficient, unresponsive to local districts and duplicates local efforts. Do you believe the governance structure should be changed? If so, how? Do you see other ways to increase efficiency?
I agree that the Learning Community Coordinating Council could operate more efficiently and effectively, but I don’t think the answer is changing the governance structure as proposed by some school districts. I think we must be more intentional about how we structure the way the Learning Community and its eleven districts communicate and operate in order to act more collaboratively and strategically to achieve our common goal of raising student achievement for all students across the two-county area. Much more needs to be done to break down the walls of distrust, of which the governance proposals are a reflection. Key steps would be to reach agreement on a common set of measurable goals and objectives to which we would commit our best efforts and hold ourselves collectively accountable by sharing data on our progress and sharing our best practices.
2) Districts will pay an average of $4,291 per student this year to transport children transferring between districts under open enrollment — that’s nearly enough to educate a child for one semester. Is that transportation money well spent? How would you reduce open-enrollment transportation costs next year?
The cost of transportation should be viewed in the context of the purpose of open enrollment, which is to increase socio-economic diversity over time through expanded school choice. This, in turn, is designed to close the student achievement gap which is an important goal. Given the disproportionate poverty that exists in certain parts of the Learning Community, it is inevitable that some transportation costs will be incurred. I believe that the formation of clusters or zones would be a reasonable way to minimize transportation costs while still preserving school choice and promoting socio-economic diversity.
3) The Learning Community council set aside $750,000 in its 2010-11 budget for Learning Center programs to serve students throughout the Learning Community who were not directly served by the initial two centers in Omaha and Bellevue. Some council members oppose that idea, saying the Learning Community should keep the focus on the highest poverty areas of Omaha. Do you favor spending money right now in other subcouncil districts? If so, how would you divide and distribute the money? Would you automatically give school districts a share, based on their number of poverty students, for instance, or would you have them submit grant proposals and compete with non-profit organizations for a share of the money?
I am in favor of extending to Subcouncils 1, 3, 4 and 6 the opportunity to establish pilot programs for disadvantaged students and their families in their respective areas. Our budget decisions reflect the priority importance of supporting children and families in the highest poverty areas. However, we should not ignore those children and families facing challenges in other parts of the Learning Community. Each Subcouncil will be allocated their fair share of the $750,000 based on a formula that is under development. That formula will likely take into account the number of children in each sub-district who are on free or reduced lunch or have limited English-speaking skills, as well as the number of elementary buildings with highly mobile populations and lower student achievement. Once a school district identifies the elementary buildings whose populations could benefit the most from a pilot project, building-specific proposals may be submitted that are designed to address the barriers to student achievement based on data specific to that building’s population. Rather than competing with non-profit organizations, each school building’s proposal should be encouraged to include collaborative partnerships with non-profit organizations and other community stakeholders. Those proposals that are the most innovative and demonstrate the greatest likelihood of improving student achievement would be funded, rather than monies being allocated by district.
4) The Learning Community council wrote a set of rules last year to govern open enrollment. The rules govern everything from how a school building’s capacity is determined to when parents had to submit applications. Would you change any of those rules? Do you support the current rule that allows resident students to transfer between schools in a district before open-enrollment students are allowed in from outside?
I would make two changes to last year’s rules governing maximum capacity and open enrollment. First, I would move up the timeline. The open enrollment form and information related to school choices need to be available for parents earlier this year (by November 1 instead of January 15) so that parents have more time to become informed and make more informed choices. Second, I believe open enrollment zones or clusters should be explored as a way to minimize transportation costs while still preserving school choice and promoting socio-economic diversity. I do support the current rule that allows intra-district transfers to occur before open-enrollment students are admitted to a school building. However, I would encourage districts to take socio-economic diversity into account as they manage their intra-district transfers, as the Omaha Public Schools did last year.
5) South Sarpy School District proposes to build a $12 million “green” environmental focus school with financial help from the Learning Community. State law allows the Learning Community to pay for up to half the construction cost of focus schools. Would you support the Learning Community paying half the cost? What criteria would guide your decision?
For the Learning Community to support South Sarpy’s green environmental focus school, the district’s proposal will have to meet the requirements set forth in the Learning Community’s Diversity Plan. It will have to demonstrate strong community, including business, support and interest in its focus school proposal, including the school’s appeal to a socio-economically diverse student population, and how it will contribute to increasing socio-economic diversity and closing the student achievement gap. In addition, the proposal will need to offer a challenging and engaging curriculum, and be supported by a five-year budget and ten-year operating plan that establishes an economically viable and sustainable school, including educational pathways, as appropriate.
