Thread by @DataInsightPart

WARNING: Long Thread

We’ve shared a lot of data about Supt Jara's leadership of CCSD regarding:

1. Broken Trust
2. Teacher Exodus

This thread attempts to address the context some have said we’re missing

Let's add some context...

1/?
#NVed #CCSD

2/?
TRUST

The community has not trusted CCSD for years, well before Jara became Supt.

Trust was so bad in 2015, Gov. Sandoval signed legislation to break up CCSD.

This ultimately became what is now called the Reorg Law (NRS 388G.500)

3/?
In June-October 2018 Superintendent Jara did a listening tour throughout our community.

We were impressed at how well he inserted himself into our community so quickly.

A key takeaway he had from 5 months of listening:

- We must build public trust

4/?
The question is not whether trust has always been a problem for the District.

The question is has the Superintendent built trust with the community?

Let’s review the evidence…

5/?
The community has seen the headlines.

The governor accusing Jara of “misleading the communities he represents”

We don’t think this builds trust in the community

6/?
Assemblywoman Carlton & Speaker Frierson chastised CCSD for lack of communication & transparency during the last legislative session.

We do not believe this builds trust in the community.

7/?
Despite all the lack of trust CCSD has had in the past,

Superintendent Jara managed to get the 1st ever vote of no confidence from the principals of CCSD

This does not build trust in the community.

8/?
Jara’s Chief of Staff said of getting public feedback on ESSER spending:

"We heard throughout the entire process…the lack of trust people feel towards the District"

He said this just over a month ago.
Jara has been Superintendent for 3.5 years.

9/?
COVID made things hard, Jara made them worse.

Parent distrust has grown during the pandemic as CCSD has neglected simple transparency other districts have provided.

10/?
The president of the Nevada PTA hit the nail on the head:

“And w/ CCSD already having such significantly low trust levels, that makes parents feel like somebody doesn’t know what’s going on”

Instead of taking action to build trust, Jara's actions are eroding parents’ trust

11/?

And according to CCSD’s districtwide survey from 2019-2020, parents and school staff love their schools but don’t trust the District.

12/?
We’d show you what parents & staff thought last year, but CCSD hasn’t posted results

Even though posting those results is required by law, the Reorg Law.

The very law that was created because the community doesn’t trust CCSD.

COVID made things hard, Jara made them worse

13/?
Recap: Topic 1 – Trust

Here is the historical context & the evidence.

Yes, trust in CCSD was bad before Jara came

But, overwhelming evidence shows the actions of Jara and his administration have continuously undermined public trust

Now let's look at the teacher exodus...

14/?
TEACHER EXODUS

CCSD has had teacher vacancy and class size issues for years.

These headlines are from: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

The teacher shortage problem in Nevada is real.

15/?
US teacher preparation program graduates have dropped by over 30% over the last decade.

Nationally, teacher preparation program completers dropped from 216,913 in 2009 to 150,258 by 2018.

16/?
You don’t have to point out to us that Nevada needs more teachers.

We were the first ones to point out that if NV wanted to meet national student-teacher ratio we would need to hire ~10,000 more teachers.

17/?

The question is not, has CCSD always needed teachers

The question is not, do other districts in the country need teachers

The question is, have the actions & policies of Superintendent Jara exacerbated a teacher exodus from the classroom?

18/?
Jara rolled out a new grading policy impacting every teacher in CCSD

During a pandemic, while stressed to the max, Jara put more on teachers’ plates

Notice, "Support Teachers & Schools" is not part of the timeline

19/?
The question is not, is the grading reform a good policy?

The questions are:

- Was the central office prepared to offer the needed support?

- Were teachers given the resources & time to be successful?

- Did Jara effectively communicate this change to parents?

20/?
CCEA has shared the problems teachers have experienced with the grading policy:

- They didn’t have the training

-They didn’t have time for the work required

- Teachers didn’t have multiple assessments ready for students

21/?
Jara’s communication of the grading policy was so bad the RJ has cited the grading policy as a major reason he should be fired

If Jara couldn’t effectively communicate the policy imagine how teachers, without the needed support, feel trying to explain it to parents

22/?
We have testimonials of teachers saying Jara’s new grading policy is contributing to their decision to leave CCSD

Jara put more on teachers’ plates w/out needed support & resources during a pandemic

The pandemic made things hard, Jara made them worse

23/?
Our report that pointed out NV needed 10k teachers to meet national student-teacher ratios,

Also pointed out that administration was the largest draw on classroom teachers.

The more demand you create for administration, the more you exacerbate the teacher shortage.

24/?
During the 2020-21 school year, CCSD offered to pay for administrators to retire early.

It contributed to the largest exodus of administrators in CCSD history.

During a pandemic & a teacher shortage, Jara paid to have the largest admin exodus in CCSD history.

25/?

A week before school started, 8/2/2021, the School Directory on CCSD’s website showed that there were still 77 Principal and Assistant Principal vacancies.

And remember, demand for administrators exacerbates the teacher shortage.

26/?
A week before school started, CCSD had 797 teacher/licensed staff vacancies.

It continued to climb into the school year as administrator vacancies were filled

Aware of a national teacher shortage, Jara paid to push people out early & exacerbate the teacher shortage 🤯

27/?
The actions & policies of Supt Jara have exacerbated the teacher exodus from the classroom

We’re in the 3rd month of the school year & 664 teachers/licensed staff have announced they're leaving CCSD.

- 66% more than a typical year
- 31% more than the next highest year

28/?
Remember, teacher vacancies have been an issue in CCSD

In 2016-2017, CCSD needed to hire 2,950 teachers.

Partially created by teaches leaving in 2015-2016

Let’s put the current situation in context…

29/?
How crazy are 664 teacher/licensed staff separations in the first 3 months?

It’s almost double the amount from the 2015-2016 school year.

Yes, we’ve had high vacancies before, but we’ve never had a teacher exodus like this before.

30/?
There is no Superintendent who will completely solve the teacher shortage in CCSD.

But there are leaders who won’t actively make the problem worse.

COVID made things hard, Jara made them worse.

31/?
Recap: Topic 2 – Teacher Exodus

Here is the historical context & the evidence.

Yes, CCSD has had issues w/ teacher staffing

But, overwhelming evidence shows the actions of Supt. Jara have continuously exacerbated the problem

32/?
Not every student who has left CCSD is because of the Superintendent.

But you cannot wave away the loss of +20k students

You need to ask is leadership making it better or worse.

33/33

If the data we’ve shared matters, then it’s time for new leadership.

Our community deserves better.
Our teachers deserve better.
Our children deserve better.