Sonoma Valley High School teachers demonstrate over safety concerns

Some 60 teachers demonstrated in front of Sonoma Valley High School on Tuesday morning to call attention to concerns about student and staff safety, working conditions, behavior expectations and other issues on campus.

“SVHS teachers want school and district administration to listen to their concerns about safety, respect and a positive environment in our schools,” said Janet Hansen, an English teacher and librarian at the school who participated in the demonstration. “We want positions related to student discipline and safety restored, a clear and effective student behavior program, and teacher access to important safety information.

“We want our campus to be welcoming and supportive for all students and teachers, and because we have so many solutions to find, we want to restore scheduled staff discussions of major campus issues.”

The demonstration lasted from 7 to 8 a.m. and included about two-thirds of SVHS teachers. No classes were interrupted or delayed. The decision to demonstrate was made by the Valley of the Moon Teachers Association (VMTA) members as a group at the school. Sonoma Valley Union School District administrators and board members—as well as SVHS administrators—were told in advance about the demonstration.

Hansen, who serves as one of the school’s four union representatives as well as the grievance co-chair for the VMTA, emphasized that the demonstration was not a strike.

“This was a demonstration about school conditions, unrelated to salary,” she said. “All of the teachers went to classes when the school day began. We will not be refusing to work.”

Social sciences teacher Bernadette Weissmann, who helped organize and participated in the demonstration, stressed that the student and staff safety concerns are not related to COVID-19.

“They are the direct result of inconsistent expectations regarding student behavior and lack of administrative intervention,” she said. “We made the conscious decision this morning to not air all of the specific issues on big posters in front of the school. We [VMTA members at SVHS] decided as a group that airing the specifics of all our ‘dirty laundry’ in front of the school would not be the best thing for our students or our community.

“We want to keep this positive and proactive. At the same time, we can’t ignore what is going on. We have made it clear to administrators what the issues are, and now we need to see action to resolve them.”

Peter Hansen, who oversees the Media Arts department, said that SVHS teachers feel that they are not being heard.

“Teachers stand in solidarity out of frustration over not being listened to by district leadership for over a year,” he said. “We look to address issues involving student and staff safety, curriculum and building positive culture.

“Teachers want partners in curricular decisions, not top-down programs that are not vetted with teacher input. Who knows better than teachers in classrooms? We seek dialogue, partnership, a positive working relationship and a seat at the decision-making table regarding all of these items.”

Dennis Housman, head of the physical education department at SVHS, also attended the demonstration. He prioritized several major “wants”:

• Know what the district matrix policy is and have it followed.

• Provide for special education students who have been mainstreamed into general education.

• Address the needs of social emotional students “with someone other than a video with an accused rapist as the spokesperson.”

• Discuss the lack of a living skills curriculum.

• Inform teachers of possible discipline situations and allow them to speak with each other without being told they are breaching confidentiality.

• Enable students to feel safe when they go to the bathroom and to stop having to skip eating or drinking throughout the day to avoid the bathroom.

• Help students feel like they are in a safe learning environment where they can learn without numerous distractions, by enforcing discipline when necessary.

• Know there is more to Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support than “We hear you.”

Weissmann says that many California School Employees Association [CSEA] staff members at the high school share the VMTA members’ concerns. She noted that many CSEA staff wore red today to support the demonstration.

“The solidarity has been inspiring,” she said. “The staff at this site is incredible and has made Herculean efforts to keep the school running smoothly this year. We need the administration to act on our concerns. The amazing students and staff at SVHS deserve better than what is going on right now.”

She says that no other demonstrations are planned.

Hansen says that more productive meetings to resolve teachers’ concerns could be on the horizon.

“It appears now that more serious talks are soon to take place—ones that involve all teachers, and then all of our input and concerns can be addressed,” he said. “Our site administrators and the district office are working with union leadership for future meetings and dates.”

SVUSD Superintendent Dr. Adrian Palazuelos said that he is aware of the teachers’ concerns and as a result, supervision staffing has been increased by 2.0 full-time employees at SVHS.

“These positions are campus supervisors who have the responsibility of being a positive presence on campus, connecting with students and supporting the overall safety and supervision needs of the school,” he said.

Palazuelos said that the school district’s highest priority is to make all of its school campuses welcoming and supportive for all students and teachers, and safe places to learn.

“We will be meeting to discuss how to appropriately and effectively address the concerns,” he said. “We are also reviewing our protocols and procedures to ensure that all safety and discipline concerns are addressed by administrators in a timely manner, but also in ways that respect students and their individual needs.

“I am not only optimistic, I am confident that these concerns will be addressed. COVID has hit schools very hard in many ways and from different angles. Having students back on campus, in-person again, has been a welcome sight. But is has also been an adjustment for everyone. Sometimes, things need to actually be ‘re-learned,’ and that includes processes and procedures around behavior and responsibility.”

Reach the reporter, Dan Johnson, at daniel.johnson@sonomanews.com.