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Make NKSD a great place to live, learn, and work!
5/26/16: 97% Vote of No Confidence in Supt. Page
May 26, 2016 Chris Fraser's Public Comment
The first step to fixing any problem is to admit that the problem exists. We are still waiting for an honest and transparent acknowledgment that the concerns we have been raising since very shortly after Patty Page took the helm are legitimate, even though the data is clear and overwhelmingly indicates that there are problems that must be addressed.
We love this district and our students. It was with a heavy heart that NKEA publicly shared our concerns. Ultimately we felt like we had no choice and hoped that the media spotlight would result in action and positive change. Our number one priority is to ensure that decisions which are made create opportunities for all students to reach for their dreams.
This week NKEA members participated in a vote about our Superintendent. 97% voted “No Confidence” in Superintendent Page. Only 11 NKEA members voted that they have confidence in the Superintendent. In any other organization one would think that results like this from the largest group of employees would create questions about the Superintendent’s performance from the School Board, which is her employer.
The 97% vote of No Confidence shows that things have actually deteriorated since our climate survey last fall. It is past time for concrete steps to be taken to address our concerns. Climate conditions need to improve or leadership needs to change. NKSD’s students, employees, and our community deserve better.
It is extremely disappointing that our grave concerns about a lack of professional respect, top-down leadership style, and related issues stemming from our Superintendent have been mischaracterized and dismissed as one only person's opinion or somehow related to contract negotiations. We have been sharing these concerns since 2012 and have presented overwhelmingly negative data from two comprehensive surveys. We are not alone—other district employees and engaged parents are also frustrated and disappointed.
We are making a direct ask that Board Directors, alone or in pairs, meet with employee groups to have honest conversations about our concerns. The School Board employs the Superintendent and we are counting on you to fulfill your responsibility.
May 26, 2016 NKEA Press Release
Vast majority of North Kitsap teachers say they have no confidence in superintendent
Ninety-seven percent of North Kitsap School District teachers say they have no confidence in Superintendent Patty Page. Eighty-eight percent of NK teachers participated in the No Confidence vote this week.
Among the many major concerns about Page’s tenure in North Kitsap has been her top-down leadership style which teachers state has created a working climate fraught with fear, intimidation, and retribution at the district level and a consistent and significant disconnect between the district office and employees in our schools. An overwhelming number of teachers say that the concerns they raise are mischaracterized, minimized, discounted, and dismissed.
Along with continuous micromanaging from the Superintendent, Fraser says, members are questioning the unusually high budget reserves which were built by shortchanging students and the community. Fraser says the teachers’ concerns are shared by a large number of NKSD employees in other unions as well as parents who are aware of the day-to day working environment in our schools.
The No Confidence vote is the next step in what has been an ongoing discussion of the deterioration of district leadership. NKEA has shared concerns with district administration since 2012. The results of the first comprehensive climate survey, completed in 2013, were shared privately with district administration and the School Board. After talking with NKSD School Board President Beth Worthington in the fall of 2015, NKEA asked members to complete another comprehensive survey to gather fresh data. The impetus for the second survey was to get a pulse check from teachers and to have updated data for the Board.
“The No Confidence vote points to the fact that the situation is deteriorating for our teachers and other school employees,” Fraser says. “It’s long past time for the NKSD School Board to take concrete steps to address our concerns as it is becoming more and more difficult to provide our students with the quality education they deserve.”
Fraser says that NKEA members are troubled because, “We do our best work in a collaborative environment where we use our collective expertise to provide our students the opportunity to achieve in an academically challenging and supportive program. We firmly believe in our shared mission and our number one priority is our students’ well-being and growth. Sadly, the environment in our schools is wreaking havoc on morale and getting in the way of allowing us to do our best work supporting students.”
“We are still waiting for an honest and transparent acknowledgement from the district that the concerns we have been raising since very shortly after Patty Page took the helm are legitimate,” Fraser says. “Our data points out how critical the situation is and that it continues to get worse. Climate conditions need to improve or leadership needs to change. NKSD’s students, employees, and our community deserve better.”
Fraser says NKEA members expect the Board Directors, alone or in pairs, to take time to meet with employee groups to discuss serious concerns. “The School Board employs the superintendent and we are counting on them to fulfill their responsibility.”
NKEA President Chris Fraser shared concerns in public comments to the School Board and in a press release on April 28, 2016.
April 28, 2016 Press Release
NORTH KITSAP EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PRESS RELEASE April 28, 2016
Contact: Chris Fraser, (360) 271-6644, cfraser@washingtonea.org
North Kitsap teacher morale low due to major frustration with superintendent
New survey results show North Kitsap teachers and other educators are very concerned about the high level of micromanaging coming from the superintendent’s office, a culture fraught with fear, intimidation and retribution at the District level, a major disconnect between the district office and employees in North Kitsap’s schools and unusually high budget reserves built by shortchanging students and the community.
The climate survey, conducted by North Kitsap Education Association last fall, had very high response rates across the district. In sharp contrast to the toxic environment educators say is consistently being created by the superintendent, NKEA members reported that most school principals are demonstrating strong instructional leadership, respecting the professional judgement of staff in areas of expertise, communicating information honestly, effectively and in a timely manner, trying to include input from staff before school decisions are made, valuing and utilizing collaboration with staff in place of “top down” decision making and advocating for decisions that both support staff effectiveness and are in the best interest of students.
“Most of our principals are the only administrators who have any understanding of our issues and our concerns,” NKEA President Chris Fraser says. “We’re worried about the pressure they are under and we plan to stand with them and for them to advocate for positive changes at the district level.”
More than 80 percent of participants say the superintendent is failing to demonstrate strong instructional leadership; failing to communicate information in an honest, effective and timely manner; failing to advocate for decisions that are in the best interest of students or that support staff effectiveness; failing to seek input from stakeholders before decisions are made and is not open to the ideas of others; failing to value and utilize collaboration with staff and uses “top down” decision making; and failing to respect the professional judgement of staff in their areas of expertise. 79 percent said the superintendent fails to hire, build and support an effective central office team.
One of the most disturbing findings is that while teachers feel safe speaking up about concerns at the building level, he or she does not feel comfortable making those concerns known at the district level. While 85 percent of the survey participants said they felt their work was understood and valued by the principal, 79 percent said there was a huge disconnect with the district and felt their work is not understood by the district.
A similar survey, conducted in 2013, shows that the level of frustration and low morale has not improved over the last few years and has actually gotten worse.
“We are deeply committed to our students, their families and to our own colleagues,” Fraser says. We’ve not seen any concrete improvement in our concerns, which we’ve brought up for years. The superintendent is under contract through the summer of 2017. We expect the district to publically address our concerns and, as we begin the search for a new superintendent, we must look for a leader who understands and advocates to improve learning conditions for students as they deserve a high quality education. Our goal continues to be to make North Kitsap schools a great place to learn, live and work.
Fall 2015 Climate Survey Results
NKEA Fall 2015 Climate Survey Results—299 responses (Out of about 360 members)
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