Elijah's Speech at the Prairie Phoenix Academy

Prairie Phoenix Academy (PPA) is a collection of alternative education programs through the Sun Prairie Area School District serving students in need of an alternative to the traditional high school to meet their educational and career goals. Wendi Tavs is the Principal.  School of Alternative Resources (SOAR) is a day high school program at PPA.    Students who meet requirements graduate with a Sun Prairie High School diploma.  You may meet and hear from PPA students by watching this video:  School Views: PPA  Below is the speech made by Elijah Kellum to his SOAR peers and families the day before regular high school graduation.  I found it quite moving and wanted to share his perspective.

Elijah and Wendi

"The Prairie Phoenix Academy, I can say, really changed my life, never have I ever seen teachers go out of their way to see their students achieve their goals and dreams. Everyone here has their own life struggles whether its your personal life, or school life, we all fight for what we want. And to have that support system behind you if you fall is a great feeling, the PPA is my support system they’re here when I need them or even when I don't need them. I will never forget all the times life threw curves at me, when I didn't have anyone to run to, SOAR  was here, WHEN I GAVE UP ON MYSELF SOAR WAS HERE TO PUT ME BACK TOGETHER when I was lost and needed to see the light again SOAR was right there guiding me to the light and for that I have nothing but love for everyone here at SOAR. And to all the teachers that stayed on top of me (Joe, Ray, Jerry, Pat, Ann, Anna, Travor, Wendi, Tobi, Kathy, Sue, Nan, Cindy, Ms. G) I thank you, even though I know I'm a social butterfly and need to be guided back to the right tack sometime but still I thank you. Saying goodbye to this wonderful place is going to be the hardest thing for me, to my peers all I ask is never let anyone tell you what you can't do, as PPA students we all know what people think of us, “they’re dumb” or “they're  just taking the easy way out” but as I stand before you today, I see a group of smart, beautiful people, people that at times weren't doing their best, or on the edge  of just giving up but still you fought to see this day and I know that has to feel great! ... congrats PPA class of 2013.  WE DID IT ! !"
 

Dr. C congratulates Elijah at graduation

Indeed you did.   Best wishes to Elijah and all others whose journey to graduation was impeded by more than a few obstacles  to overcome to achieve this accomplishment.  Much gratitude to those educators who went above and beyond to support these students' accomplishments.

Tim Culver

To the Class of 2013

Remarks at the Sun Prairie High School Graduation Ceremony on June 7,  2013 upon the Acceptance of the Class of 2013:

Last week I was picking out my annual batch of graduation cards and kept noticing ones that say something like, “Congratulations…You made it.”  This seemed a like a mixed message…like perhaps “WHEW” there was some doubt you would make it,  or perhaps this has been some kind of  ordeal to get through.  Perhaps for some of you or at some moments it did seem this way.

But it caused me to reflect on what it means to have "made it."  The next day I visited the Home Construction Program Open House:  a concrete example for some of you who "made it": a beautiful home.  I was so impressed with the students who showed us around, especially with their pride in craftsmanship.  I asked to take pictures of them with parts of the home they were most proud of...their personal trademark left for some future family's benefit.

If I asked you for a picture of yourself with some thing you made during your education thus far, what would it be?  A championship? A project? An obstacle overcome? A relationship?  You have made your marks on our community in many ways.  Which ones represent you best?

I hope you are proud of the things you made during this educational journey we began together 13 years ago. I suggest one thing you have made is the foundation for your future. The pyramid of your education is not finished; you've finished building the first few layers.  I hope your foundation is strong and wide; upon which to build a great and happy future:  making friends, making discoveries, making homes, making business, making a life, and making your family and your community even prouder of you than we are tonight.

Congratulations.  You have indeed made it.  At this time, will the class of 2013, please come forward to get what you deserve.

Best wishes to all members of the Class of 2013 and congratulations to the families who support them.

Tim Culver

We can do better...an update on the March 20 incident at the district pool

Dear Sun Prairie Families and Community,

As I reported to you on March 23 (see here), we had a very serious accident at the district pool when a middle school student was rescued after a near-drowning during a March 20 physical education (P.E.) class.  The ending to this nightmarish story is a good one.  The student involved in the accident has recovered, is back in school, and I have been told he has been running on the track team this spring.  This potentially tragic incident provided opportunity to analyze in detail what we need to do to make the pool the safest educational environment it can be.

Since then, we have done a full internal review to determine what could have been done differently to prevent such a horrific accident.  While there have been more than 600 hours of P.E. instruction in the pool to date without incident, the accident means whatever we are doing is not good enough.  Therefore, an administrative team has interviewed the 6 staff members who were present, reviewed student statements, discussed standards with Dane County Public Health and analyzed the security videos from four different cameras in the pool area. While a lot of good intentions and good practices have been in effect to ensure the safety of students, based on what we’ve learned, we decided to adopt written Administrative Guidelines to provide clear and consistent direction to all principals, teachers, and pool staff with regard to future physical education classes held in the district pool.  These Administrative Guidelines are currently in draft form and are being distributed to our teachers, principals, and staff for review and comment.  You may review the draft document here.  Questions and feedback on these guidelines may be addressed to Deputy District Administrator Phil Frei at pfrei@spasd.k12.wi.us.

This work has been ongoing since the March 20 incident.  Focus on the severity of this incident was never lost during the internal investigation and subsequent development of the guidelines.  The fact that we might have lost a student in our care was horrifying and devastating beyond comprehension, most terrifyingly to the family of this student and traumatically to the 5 teachers and Pool Manager with the class at the pool that day.  It has also affected all the staff members of Patrick Marsh Middle School who consider this student part of their family, and all of us who care about children.

This past week, we were reminded that we haven’t yet shared with other parents of the district or the community the work we’ve been doing to prevent such an accident in the future.  Channel 3 asked to interview me to discuss the security video tapes of the class. The station obtained a copy of the video from the Sun Prairie Police Department through a public records request and wanted to talk with me about what they had seen.  After an interview that lasted almost an hour, I maintain a great deal of respect for Channel 3 Investigative Reporter Adam Schrager for the background work he did. He reviewed the video tapes in great detail, he’d spoken with the family of the student, and he even had a draft copy of yet unpublished administrative guidelines obtained from the parent.  His questions were well researched.  He asked them fairly and persistently in the manner of a reporter who wanted to know what everyone else wanted to know:  What went wrong?

While many things were “right” (e.g. presence of trained lifeguards in zones, instruction of students at the school and the first day, provision of life jackets) some things could be improved – and not all of them occurred on that day in the pool.  For example, all parents were notified that students would be going to the pool via email, but some families do not have an email account on file.   Lifeguards were appropriately trained, but the paperwork for certification was not properly filed.  Another example, lifeguards were trained to watch the water surface for signs of a struggling swimmer, but in this situation, there were no signs that the student struggled on the surface of the water.  He was not seen on the videotape after removing his life jacket and jumping into the water. While there were 3 designated lifeguards and 3 additional teacher observers, the nature of the swim as primarily recreational (i.e. there was no direct instruction on the second day) required lots of attention to many student needs. (The complete report on the incident is here.)  I’m not certain any of these examples or other variables you’ll read about in the report alone are “the wrong” but collectively they were not good enough practice to prevent such an accident.  We must do better. Therefore, new written guidelines will give our teachers, pool staff, and principals consistent guidance to better ensure students are safe.

As District Administrator for the school district, I accept responsibility for this horrific accident. I have apologized in writing to the parent and now extend my apology to all parents if this has caused you to doubt our interest in safety at our pool.   It is my responsibility to make sure that our organization, teachers, staff have the clarity and direction needed to make sure our students are safe when they are in our care.  They will have this in the future and our students will be even safer in the pool as a result.

Thank you for your kind encouragement and generous support of the student and his family in response to my last message.  Thank you for sending words of encouragement to Patrick Marsh staff members as they work through this trauma.  Finally, thank you for expecting the best from your public schools.  We will do our best to live up to that expectation.

Sincerely,

Tim Culver

Accident at the Sun Prairie High School Pool

Dear Sun Prairie School District Families and Community Members,

As we begin Spring Break, I want to share an update and some thoughts on the accident that happened at the high school pool on Wednesday March 20.  If you do not have children at Patrick Marsh or have not seen or read the news this week, one of our 7^th grade students needed to be rescued from the pool during a PE class that was part of the school’s unit on swimming.

First and foremost, the parent has shared with the school that the student involved is communicating and progressing well.  He is still being monitored in the hospital. His family has requested no visitors at this time, but wants to express how thankful they are for your continued support and prayers.  

I am very proud of the emergency response our pool staff and teachers had during this very serious situation.   I am also proud of how our Patrick Marsh House 7B students responded to the direction of their teachers and immediately evacuated the pool and cleared the area.

Along with other agencies, we are reviewing the incident to determine whether there may be further precautions that could be taken in the future to ensure an accident like this does not occur again.   It’s important to note that this was an accident --  a horrific accident that deeply affected  all those who were involved, but nonetheless an accident.  The supervision at the pool by three certified lifeguards went beyond what is required. Three additional adults from Patrick Marsh were also supervising students.  It seems incredible that something like this could happen with six adults monitoring the pool, but  sadly it did.  Those who were there find it the most inexplicable.  It was an accident.  Thankfully, the  emergency training of those present helped to save the boy’s life. 

The media has covered  this matter aggressively.  I wanted to share the following excerpt from the Wisconsin State Journal: 

“With the number of swimmers Wednesday significantly below the pool's 248 capacity, the three lifeguards on duty exceeded the minimum requirement, said Doug Voegeli, environmental health director for Public Health Madison and Dane County. Incidents involving fatalities or serious injuries must be reported to the health department. Voegeli said there have been no major problems involving the Sun Prairie High School pool before and called the facility "very well run." The department last inspected the pool facility on Feb. 5 and found no violations — a feat that Voegeli said was "almost unheard of." 

The full article can be found here. 

We’ve heard from many of you in this very caring community and we appreciate your supportive, kind words and requests for ways to let the boy and his family know you are thinking of them.  You may send cards or other well wishes to the  family via the school social worker at Patrick Marsh.   If you'd like to drop something off at the school over Spring Break, you may bring it to Patrick Marsh Middle School main office on Tuesday, March 26 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. (Please, only nonperishable items.)  Kelly Schmelzer, the school social worker, will arrange for them to get to the family.  Kelly's contact information is: 

Kelly Schmelzer, School Social Worker
Patrick Marsh Middle School
1351 Columbus Street
Sun Prairie, WI 53590

Or via email to kmschme@spasd.k12.wi.us

I wish you a safe and relaxing Spring Break.  I look forward to a great fourth quarter together with our students, staff, and Sun Prairie community.

My best,

Tim Culver

Messages about Friday's Tragic Events

The following message was sent via phone and email to parents, guardians, and staff on Sunday afternoon, December 16th.

Good afternoon Sun Prairie Families,

It’s been a sad weekend as we learned more about the tragic events in Newtown last Friday. 

As we prepare for school tomorrow, I want you to know that school safety is always a priority.  Each school in our district has clear and updated crisis plans in place for various situations. These can range from a student or staff member needing medical attention to the most serious of situations, like what happened in Connecticut on Friday.  

These various situations all have what we call a “code color”.  If a specific "Code" is called within a building, the staff immediately knows what to do.   Each building – staff and students –  practice their response to these codes.  One code used is for the most serious of situations and each school practices their response to this code annually under the direction of the Sun Prairie Police Department.   We cannot describe here how we respond to each situation as that could jeopardize the safety of our students if seen by someone who wanted to cause harm.  But, please ask your children or principals about the “Codes” they practice and what they do. 

When students arrive tomorrow, our teachers and support staff members at each building will be prepared to help those who may be struggling or need extra care and support.   If you know your child is having a difficult time, please contact his or her teacher or counselor so we can be ready to help them on Monday.

Lastly, as I read the stories of heroism among the teachers and building staff of Sandy Hook Elementary, it made me proud to be an educator and to lead the teachers and staff of Sun Prairie schools.  Our schools are filled with people who care deeply about your children and would be equally as protective.  They do so much more than educate and I want to take this opportunity to thank our school staff members for always putting Sun Prairie kids first. 

Have a good evening and we look forward to seeing your children tomorrow.

Tim Culver
District Administrator

More:
Click here to read message sent to school families and staff on Friday, December 14th

Resources on how to talk with students about violence.
Talking to Children about Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers

Talking to Children about Violence: Conversando con Niños Sobre la Violencia:Sugerencias para Padres y Maestros (Spanish Version)

A National Tragedy:  Helping Children Cope

Miss a day of school: Lose $594 or drop a scale score point in Math?

Some charter schools experiment with paying students to attend school.  Reality is that in the long run, arguably each day a student attends school increases his or her earning power.  Here’s how:  According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for a person without a High School Diploma is $20,070 while a person with a high school diploma earns $34,180.  One way to look at it is that each of the 712 days of high school may be worth $19.81 in future earnings.  Planning to get an Associates (2 year) degree?  The median wage rises to $61,590 so each day of high school may be worth $58.31.  Planning on getting a Bachelor’s degree ($63,430)?  Each day may be worth $60.89.  This is not just a one-time payment…it’s your child’s salary for the rest of their working life of say 30 years.  Arguably, each day attending school could  increase lifetime earnings between $594 and $1826.

I’ve been reflecting on the critical value of school attendance after reading a stunning new report, “The Importance of Being in School” (Available here ).  With excellent data, the report challenges an assumption of American education that, barring illness or an extraordinary event, students are in class every school day.  It introduces a new school measurement used only by a few states:  "chronic absenteeism". Chronic absenteeism is not the same as truancy or average daily attendance – the most common attendance metrics schools use for state report cards and federal accountability. Chronic absenteeism means missing 10 percent of a school year for any reason. A school might have average daily attendance of 90 percent and still have 40 percent of its students chronically absent, because on different days, different students make up that 90 percent.

In Sun Prairie, last year 424 students were habitually truant.  This is defined by the state as missing more than 5 days  semester without an excuse.  After reading this report, I asked our staff to calculate how many students were “chronically absent".  Last year 969  students were chronically absent, missing more than 10% of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

These are alarming numbers because students need to attend school daily to succeed. The good news of the report is that being in school leads to succeeding in school. Achievement, especially in math, is very sensitive to attendance.  Attendance also strongly affects standardized test scores, graduation rates, and dropout rates. Some specific examples: 

•  In a nationally representative data set, chronic absence in kindergarten was associated with lower academic performance in first grade.
•  A Baltimore study found a strong relationship between sixth-grade attendance and the percentage of students graduating on time or within a year of their expected high school graduation.
• The following chart from the national study shows the impact of missing more than 10 days of school in 10^th grade, for any reason.  Of those with chronic absenteeism, only 53% compared with 74% ever attend post-secondary education (Associate or Bachelor's programs).  Only 64% compare to 88% actually graduate high school while 11% get a GED and 23% drop out.

The most stunning piece of data to me was the following chart demonstrating an alarming 1 to 1 correlation between days of school missed, for any reason (the numbers across the bottom) and scale scores on the Florida state test (FCAT which is Florida's version of  WKCE).  For math, each day of school missed results in a drop of one scale score point!  For reading, one day missed results in about ¾ of a point drop in reading achievement scale score.
 

Given how critical attendance is, both for your child’s current achievement, not to mention his or her potential future earnings power, what can you as a parent do?  Here are some excellent resources:

For Parents of Pre-School & Elementary students :

Help Your Child Succeed in School: Build the Habit of Good Attendance 

In Spanish: Help Your Child Succeed in School: Build the Habit of Good Attendance 

For Parents of Secondary Students:

Pay Attention to Attendance: Keep Your Child On Track in Middle and High School

In Spanish: Pay Attention to Attendance: Keep Your Child On Track in Middle and High School

We have to work together if we are to help every child and every student find success in school.  There is an old saying that 'showing up is half the battle'.  When it comes to attending school, showing up may be more than half.

Stay InspirED,

Tim Culver