{"id":11109,"date":"2015-08-10T15:23:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-10T19:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=11109"},"modified":"2015-08-11T08:01:03","modified_gmt":"2015-08-11T12:01:03","slug":"the-times-interview-qa-with-dr-cathy-taschner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=11109","title":{"rendered":"The Times’ Interview: Q&A with Dr. Cathy Taschner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: <\/em><\/strong>Dr. Cathy Taschner, Superintendent of the Coatesville Area School District, agreed to a lengthy, sit down question and answer session last week. We present both the questions and answers as transcribed from a recording. We did not clean up language, pauses or grammar, to better reflect the exact words \u2014 and tone \u2014 of the conversation and provide Dr. Taschner with an unfiltered, unedited avenue to answer questions. While the entire interview is lengthy and wide-ranging, we think it is worth the investment in time to read for the entire community. We thank Dr. Taschner for her cooperation and willingness to participate.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Lauren Parker- Gill<\/span>,<\/strong> Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Taschner\"<\/a>

Dr. Cathy Taschner<\/p><\/div>\n

The Times:<\/strong> Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I do have some general questions regarding the future of this district but I\u2019d like to jump right in with some bigger topics. I realize that because the names of the mental health specialists were released, you are limited in what you can say, however, can you give me a general idea of what certifications they were missing?<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> Well unfortunately, you know, when it comes to personnel, I\u2019ve always made it a practice not to talk about people in personnel. But here is what I can talk to you about and this is what I think this is so important. Mental Health Specialists provide a very important service for children. It\u2019s\u2026we are involved in a huge youth mental health, first-aid awareness and training grant that is in conjunction with the county. The Brandywine Health Foundation is also involved. And we have spent much time providing some entry-level awareness of what the state of mental health is for people and what we can be aware of and how we can see the warning signs.<\/p>\n

In schools, typically when people are providing mental health specialist services, they are a licensed school counselor, they are a licensed social worker or they are a school psychologist. And so there\u2019s sometimes confusion about what they are. But that licensure and the training that goes into that is really important because\u2026children and adults who are experiencing mental health needs\u2026with early recognition awareness and with early assistance, can make great strides and that can be something that changes, in a positive way, the outcome of their future forever. So it\u2019s important that we provide for students all the time a level of increased service where we can; always increasing the level of service, always making sure that people have training and licensure to provide that. I have said this before, this is in no way devaluing anyone\u2019s commitment to the district and what people did to give their very best for the training experiences they had. We are always grateful for people who are committed to the district.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> Did you ever consider changing the titles of the effected employees to accommodate the certifications they had and offer them an opportunity to achieve the certifications they need?<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> And again, I\u2019m not\u2026I\u2019m not going to talk about personnel. It\u2019s just\u2026I\u2019m just not going to do that. But what I am going to tell you is I think students with disabilities and students with mental health needs, we have a responsibility to provide them with the highest level of service that we can. That the district is able to do. And that our goal should always be, and we said this, students first; doing the best thing for students all of the time. And increasing the level of service, making sure that we are\u2026that the students are being seen by people who are able to provide the highest level of service possible, is what we are going to continue to do. We owe that to our students and I think every parent wants that for their students and expects the district will do that for their students.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> Honestly, I think the public is wondering if these specialists were given the opportunity to achieve the certifications to keep their jobs.<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> I can\u2019t\u2026you know again\u2026it\u2019s very difficult because\u2026the discussion of personnel\u2026they\u2019re you know\u2026while everyone wants to talk about personnel, it wouldn\u2019t be in the best interest of children, right? And the hardest part about the many decisions that we\u2019re having to make as a district, our decisions that we have made\u2026it\u2019s saying we are now aware of decisions that were made. We know about them. And are we going to do what we need to do to make sure that we are providing the best for students. And that is really hard\u2026and that has been hard for the last year. This board has made really hard decisions that sometimes people don\u2019t understand because they won\u2019t have all of the information that a board has because it\u2019s protected information. But in each instance, those decisions always point back to children. Whether it\u2019s addressing the financial issues of the district so that there can be lower class size, brand new text books, brand new computers, a brand new website, everything they\u2019ve done has pointed back to improving outcomes for students. And that is\u2026that has been our first goal, it has to remain our true north and because it is, it\u2019s going to be really difficult. We\u2019re trying to\u2026change course and that is again not pointed at any people that are here. It\u2019s not pointed at the adults. It\u2019s about doing this for children. And that\u2019s not to say that there aren\u2019t children that don\u2019t benefit from having adults in their lives. Because I believe every child benefits from having a great role model and a mentor and someone to talk to. Every child would be better for that. And I think that our community has risen up to provide mentors and programs that mentor children\u2026and you know, I watch teachers everyday who take on a second role you know outside of school, in terms of after school activities. So I\u2019m not minimizing the importance of the role of a mentor and a strong adult in a child\u2019s life either. But I\u2019m\u2026I\u2019m\u2026I will continue to say that the decisions that are being made are done in the best interest of children and trying to serve them well. And it doesn\u2019t make them any easier but it makes them the right\u2026right decisions.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> Since the mental health specialists were also furloughed for economic reasons and services will now be outsourced to the CCIU, are you able to share approximately how much money will be saved annually?<\/p>\n

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Taschner:<\/strong> Well you know, it\u2019s interesting because you know, people talked about that a lot and in terms of\u2026transparency, we tried to make the motion very transparent. That this was non-certified CATA staff and that there was also an economic benefit to it. And one of the things that happens when\u2026you have licensed to service professionals, you can bill back through medical access for those services. So\u2026you can recuperate the costs for the services. So that\u2019s\u2026quite a savings\u2026for the district. I can get you an accurate number.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> You stated that the employees were non-certified CATA but they were part of the CATA union, correct?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>That is correct, they were in the CATA group.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> If they were part of CATA, where do their union fees go?<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> There was confusion about the union fees being associated with tenure. There is no association of those two things. Tenure is a function of time, and satisfactory performance in the school code provided for certified professionals. People that have a Pennsylvania Department of Education certificate\u2026and are functioning and working in a position\u2026exercising that certificate. So I could be\u2026a person, I could be for an example\u2026and this is not any of the people, but I could be\u2026this could be an example of someone who has an elementary ed. degree so they have a PDE certificate but they can\u2019t find a job and so perhaps another school district says we\u2019re looking for a para-professional. And they go and they start to work as a para-professional. Let\u2019s say they do that for three years and they do fine. They don\u2019t get tenure\u2026because they weren\u2019t working as an elementary teacher. That\u2019s not the job they were hired for. So tenure comes as a function of time and satisfactory evaluation for people who have a PDE certificate and they\u2019re actually\u2026they\u2019ve been hired to function under that certificate.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>What does reversing their tenure statuses really mean?<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> You know\u2026.the board and the administration have tried to do a couple of things consistently. One, is when we find things that we\u2019re able to\u2026that have not been correct and we know about them\u2026is to\u2026and as soon as we\u2019re able, we can\u2019t always say things immediately, but as soon as we\u2019re able, to communicate them. And then to take at least any action we can to try to rectify it. So when we know something\u2019s been done that shouldn\u2019t have been done, we try to go back and say okay, that shouldn\u2019t have been done, we\u2019re going to try to rectify it. And so I think it was an action to try to say that, that this was done mistakenly, it was done before\u2026any of us were here, and I think maybe with the exception of a couple of people, and we know it, we\u2019re being transparent about it and this is what we\u2019re doing\u2026you know to try to change it, to fix it.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> You and the school board have worked together to be transparent regarding decisions being made, yet many parents and taxpayers felt blindsided by the decision to furlough the mental health specialists. This was not discussed in a committee meeting, which is essentially an open work session to discuss matters before an official vote. I understand the employees need to be notified before it becomes public, but how do you respond to that?<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> You know, it\u2019s\u2026you\u2019re right there is a difficulty associated with some of the decision making in schools, right? Because people would like to have all the information in a certain time frame, you know\u2026and to the extent that you can give it and do give it sometimes that\u2019s a really good thing and when you can\u2019t, people always assume that there\u2019s some ulterior motive for not. But I think again, there was a level of transparency in saying, wait a minute. This did make the public agenda, it was done before the vote\u2026it was on a public agenda before the vote and there was discussion and the board even revised their\u2026temporarily suspended their board comment protocol to allow people who wanted to get up and speak on the matter to do so.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> It does seem as though you and the board are more receptive to hearing the public than the previous administration ever was.<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> There are so many\u2026it is our very careful and planned intention to dramatically change the educational outcomes and opportunities for students in this school district. And that means for all of them. We\u2019re not talking about just having academic opportunities, right? It means music, it means band, it means athletics but to dramatically improve our school district. Not just a little bit, but dramatically improve it. There are many great things happening here that people don\u2019t even know about because it\u2019s been clouded over by some of the negativity. And so we\u2019re continuing to point at that and it\u2019s\u2026you know, it\u2019s not going to be easy.<\/p>\n

There was a culture of corruption here that is\u2026we are now trying to walk through. And to say no, we have to change our practice, we have to change what we\u2019re doing and part of that is trying to be very open\u2026and\u2026when we can. We\u2019re not always going to be able to do that. We can\u2019t always give all the notice that people are going to want to have on every issue. I\u2019ll give you an example. One of the things we have tried to do is be very inclusive about the hiring process, right? It would be\u2026it wouldn\u2019t be wrong for any superintendent to go through a process of hiring someone without any large input. But we said wait — let\u2019s try to include a number of people in this process. So you know, for example, we\u2019ve done some interviewing\u2026we took\u2026I took seriously the consideration that I heard from parents\u2026on a couple of the issues and said we\u2019re going to go back out. And we\u2019ve come back and we finished some interviewing and now I have some candidates. So, I sent out an email yesterday to say, we\u2019re going to do some second interviews on Thursday\u2026I would like to give people a week\u2019s notice but I can\u2019t always do that because it spreads the timeline out so much, that I won\u2019t be ready for school! [laughs] You know what I mean? Or that beyond the timeline, we have to get Act 168 forms filled out because all of the hiring laws have changed significantly in the state. And so while we would\u2026we would like to have\u2026the more people we put in the process, the slower it becomes. And sometimes we don\u2019t have that liberty of time. So sometimes, when we\u2019re having to make decisions, we only have a finite window.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s like we started and I said the quicker we make the change, you know, the harder it is for people to understand it. You know, we don\u2019t have enough time to go out in front and say look, this is what we\u2019re going to do and this is why we\u2019re going to do it. And there\u2019s times that we do have that and you can see that\u2026that\u2026you know, that\u2019s\u2026people always would prefer and appreciate that. And we would like to do that too but sometimes we have to say, when we go back to \u2013 what\u2019s the first goal? The first goal is children and so that makes us move at a\u2026quicker pace and people are going\u2026there are going to be times, not just this time but there are going to be future times where we have to move quickly and people aren\u2019t going to have as much information. And it\u2019s going to feel\u2026rushed. And we acknowledge that, we try to avoid that but there\u2019s times that we have to do that because it\u2019s in the best interest of the children.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> That\u2019s actually along the lines of another question I have. Regarding Scott Middle School, Mr. Daney was initially the candidate for the assistant principal there. Parents who were a part of the interview process felt mislead when he was instead placed at the 11\/12 center of the high school. Why the change?<\/p>\n

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Taschner:<\/strong> We posted for a secondary assistant principal\u2026and we did that for a couple or reasons. One, because sometimes we anticipate that there will be openings in the district as people\u2026administrators often transition during the summer months and they do that because they care about kids and it\u2019s a good time to transition, it\u2019s harder\u2026it\u2019s okay in the middle of the school year but it\u2019s harder to do. And so we anticipated doing that. We have been\u2026one of the things that I have been discussing and talking about is I think that\u2026in a school of 1100\u2026students at the high school, having only 2 assistant principals and 1 principal is really a difficult task. And I have listened to teachers this year that have talked about not having enough access to principals or not feeling like their discipline was getting done\u2026in a timely fashion. And if you just do the math on that, if there\u2019s 60 or 70 teachers and more if you add the other professionals in the building that need to talk to a principal and even if they have\u2026you know each of them sends 1 issue a day\u2026to 1 of those principals, that\u2019s 60. And if each of those\u2026if they just spend 10 minutes, look at how much of the day\u2026and somewhere in there, they have to go to lunch duty, they to be able to observe teachers [laughs] they have to do\u2026call parents back, you know? And so it\u2026I said at the beginning, there are 2 important people in schools and I have really, from the beginning, kept on this mantra. Students\u2026which is the first issue we talked about\u2026and teachers. And so as they talk about this and feel like they need more support, and I can see that. There was a time when the district did have a greater level\u2026number of people in the high school buildings than they do now. And because of different decisions that had to be made at different times in the district, that shrunk down. You can see that we have an assistant principal at Rainbow and\u2026so when did the\u2026and I added the assistant principal at Caln. So when we\u2026posted for an assistant\u2026a secondary assistant, that was with the goal of looking for someone for Scott and in the instance that we were going to have the ability to add someone\u2026at the high school. And much of that was dependent on different moves that were happening in the district, you know. So\u2026and we\u2019re still moving through some of those, you know. That is probably not all done yet too.<\/p>\n

Now as far as Mr. Daney goes, what a great\u2026great thing that everyone wants him. [laughs] I think that\u2019s great, right! And he was a great candidate and I think he\u2019s going to be a great administrator here. And the\u2026there were a couple of candidates that were interviewed that night and different groups\u2026remember, I have a parent group interviewing them, I had a teacher group interviewing them and I had a group of administrators interviewing them. And then, you know a first group of administrators as well. So until it\u2019s all said and done, all the administrators on the team get to be a part of it, either at the beginning or the end. Parents, every parent who wants to come, community members and then teachers. And not always do those 3 groups agree. So part of the job then as the administrative team is to come back and say, okay. This is what the parents felt like, they really liked this person. The teachers felt strongly about this person and the administrators felt\u2026you know, strongly about this person. And then from that, take all that input and try to make a decision. So\u2026you know, that was part of the issue. And the search for Scott isn\u2019t done yet. We had some paperwork delays and I put that out in a message that I sent out yesterday. That we had some paperwork delays and so we\u2026because of that, we kept interviewing through the process, just in the event that something wasn\u2019t going to work out, we wanted to make sure that we continued to interview and put people in front of teachers and parents\u2026so that they continue to have choices. But I think that the good news is that parents are coming in, and we\u2019re trying to be very up front with them about\u2026you know\u2026and the parents were really good that night. I think the parents said clearly, look\u2026this is who we prefer but we yield to who the principal feels is going to be the best match for them. I take that seriously, so when they said that to me\u2026I said okay and I took it seriously.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> It seems as though that building needs a strong team in place.<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> They do, it has to be someone the principal can endorse, and the principal gets along with and that the principal\u2026you know, Chemise, she\u2019ll get along with anybody, its not that. But I think in just looking and saying what are the best fits for the district\u2026you know\u2026and certainly Mr. Daney has a skill set that I think is going to be really helpful at planning a STEM school since he came from the STEM high school.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> Was that part of the reasoning behind putting him at the 11\/12 center?<\/p>\n

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Taschner:<\/strong> Oh absolutely. You know, certainly the feedback of everybody in the process and knowing that that\u2019s one of the other things that we are going to be doing and what a great resource to have someone who has been a part of that process and who\u2019s been teaching in that building. And has\u2026and who has such a strong physics and science background. So you know, part of what we\u2019re trying to do\u2026and I guess the good thing is, like I said, everyone wants him. That\u2019s a good thing, right? [laughs] Rather than nobody liking a candidate.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> Will there now be 1 principal and 3 assistant principals at the 11\/12 center?<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> At the 11\/12, yes.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> What about at the 9\/10 building?<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> You know, I think that\u2019s one of the things on my radar for future\u2026is making sure that there\u2019s enough administrators\u2026it\u2019s not about trying to create this large administrative team. I think people can see\u2026and to a fault at some point, people were upset. You know, I\u2019ve tried to really decrease and flatten the central office staff, decrease the number of people at a district level so that the\u2026resources are in the buildings. That has been from the beginning, since I got here and I haven\u2019t strayed from that. We\u2019re going to put the resources in the buildings.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> I remember when the decision to place the directors into the buildings, was made last year.<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> It has been helpful for children, the parents know people more and so\u2026and even as we go through this process of reorganizing\u2026you know, there are districts that are our size that have far more administrators than we do. And someday\u2026and we need those administrators to function effectively. But we\u2019ve tried to say, how can we do this now? Our resources are limited, and we only have so many so what can I do to keep most of the resources in the buildings and supporting students. And in the future it is absolutely my goal to have yet a third person at the 9\/10 building. And if you think about it, our middle schools which are 500 and change, 500 and a little bit of change and 600 and some at south, have 2 people. So when you think about\u2026you take that 500 number and double it\u2026<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> It sounds like there should be an extra person there as well. How many students are enrolled at the 9\/10 center?<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> I think they have\u2026I think they\u2019re both around 1100\u2026they vary a little bit. And the other part of it is the courses they take. So it\u2019s not just total student enrollment, it\u2019s about how many students are in each building at different parts of the day because remember, if students are taking certain classes, they\u2019re\u2026even though they may be a 10th grader, they may be taking a class in the 11\/12 building because the students move back and forth between those buildings. So that creates a different overload on the buildings and in trying to make sure\u2026 that we have those things\u2026now they function as a team very well between those 2 buildings and I\u2019ve seen that\u2026as the administrators move back and forth to help each other out when they can too. But every time we do that, it does take away from the academic part in being able to provide support and classroom support for teachers, which is a really important part of what we do as well.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> My next question is regarding special education; you had stated that principals have been taking courses all year to receive special ed. training but that going forward you would not hire a principal without a special ed. background. Is that true?<\/p>\n

Taschner:<\/strong> Let me back up, that\u2019s not\u2026that\u2019s what I was quoted as saying but that was not quite right. Let me just clarify that\u2026because it was a long conversation that that came out of\u2026in which\u2026it was a long conversation so it was\u2026I appreciated the person who came in but\u2026here\u2019s a couple of things we talked about. People were concerned that principals don\u2019t have any training in special education. That\u2019s not true. Principals, as a part of their coursework to become a principal do have to go through training in special education. And I talked about the fact that that is critically important to me. I said that the district has made a\u2026a commitment to special education in a way that many districts don\u2019t, in that every elementary teacher we hire, we look for dual certification; in general education and special education. And we do that because we are committed to serving students with disabilities, to recognizing\u2026children who may be students with disabilities\u2026so the teachers have that broad base of knowledge that comes from studying special education and general education. And how to be able to serve students in classrooms and to do it very well. So that\u2019s a huge commitment and we\u2019ve been doing great\u2026we got\u2026we have gotten outstanding candidates this year that we are getting ready to bring on. And we\u2019ve made a similar commitment even at the secondary level in saying when we bring special education teachers on, we want them to be highly qualified. We want them to have not only a special education degree but a certification in a content area, such as English, math or science\u2026or social studies. So that, if there is a need where a student needs specially designed instruction that can\u2019t be taught in the classroom, the teacher they\u2019re receiving it from is highly qualified to do it. And the state says in fact, that we have to do that. But we could\u2026you know\u2026some schools do models where they might have 2 people in the classroom, which is great\u2026co-teaching is a great option as well. But we have students that receive instruction specifically from their special education teacher in say, math. Then we want that to be someone who is highly qualified in math and who has training and certification in that.<\/p>\n

So principals, on the backside of that, have training\u2026in special education as well. And the state recognizes that because they say that yes, the person that holds the principal certificate is in fact\u2026able to observe and evaluate special education teachers. And the way they are able to do that is because in fact, they\u2019ve had training on that. And so in addition to that, we\u2019ve spent this year\u2026going through\u2026the principals have gone through a number of different trainings on\u2026not only\u2026I\u2019ll start with generally what is really good classroom practice; that allows students of varied abilities to be in a classroom and to benefit\u2026and to derive meaningful, educational benefit from that experience. And we spent a lot of time training on that, and we\u2019re going to spend\u2026continue to\u2026you know, professional development is ongoing and we\u2019re going to continue to do that over the course of the years. It never stops\u2026we never get to stop learning. And that\u2026part of that is meeting with advocacy groups, part of that is helping develop parent trainings, it\u2019s about learning about IEP writing and how to make goals that really are helpful \u2026and how to assess students in a way that parents can understand it\u2026so it\u2019s not just a probe\u2026you know, \u2018Your student read 26 words out of 30.\u2019 Not that but listen, here\u2019s what we know that they are able to\u2026do and that they understand, and here\u2019s this goal and here\u2019s how I can show you they accomplished it. That\u2019s what we\u2019re working to\u2026so when a principal is sitting in an IEP meeting, they are able to help be a strong advocate for the child. And that they can question and that they can talk about the reading and that they can talk about the math. They have gone through training in Orthography this summer, they\u2019ve gone through math training this summer. So the principals are knowledgeable and\u2026you know, people have said\u2026\u2019Well, they have so much to do.\u2019 And I say the most important thing we have to do, is children. And\u2026you know that\u2019s where we need to spend the most of our time. So if there\u2019s ways\u2026and you have to as a principal\u2026you find ways to get the other things done. [laughs] You know? To get the assembly monitored and to get this done and to\u2026you find other ways and other people who can do those because you know that your background in education\u2026there are children who are counting on you to have the educational expertise to be able to go into a meeting and say, \u2018Wait \u2013 have we tried this in math, have we tried this in classroom practice?\u2019<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> At the last board meeting, you stated that special education needs a dedicated person. Are you actively looking for a candidate specifically to manage special education in the district?<\/p>\n

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Taschner:<\/strong> Well you know, we\u2019re currently\u2026and I think the public can see\u2026 that we\u2019re trying to look at the people that we have right now and trying to reorganize to keep them and to make sure that what they\u2019re doing is pointed specifically toward children. I think that was evidenced with\u2026Mrs. Marcus. She was working between a number of buildings and it was clear that she had a skill set that would be really helpful if it was concentrated in one building. And so we did that. I think Caln will be\u2026much greater for it. The same is true, I think in special education. I think it\u2019s really hard to be a director of\u2026you know, all of the high schools, I\u2019ll use Mr. Krakower\u2026and then 6 \u2013 12 special education, you know? [laughs] I mean just that in and of itself\u2026you know most districts have you know, as I said, a pretty large administrative staff that we\u2019re not in a position to have yet but in the future, we will need to continue to add people so that we can\u2026continue to provide increased services and support for teachers and\u2026and principals. But for now, we\u2019re trying to put that at the building level. So we will be working to dedicate 1 person to special education\u2026just 1 person who will do nothing but look at that overall programming of special education. And I know that there have been people that have said, \u2018This person should be special ed,\u2019 or \u2018That person should be special ed.\u2019 But what I\u2019m certain about is that the certification\u2026again the K \u2013 12 certification provides people an opportunity to be someone who is in charge of special education programming. And I think the people that we have\u2026people in the district that have shown a lot of dedication to special education in helping children and families and I know that\u2019s not going to change. So I\u2019m hoping to, in the next couple of weeks, to be able to say, \u2018Okay now we have this part done. We have these buildings filled.\u2019 And in the meantime Jason Palaia is still the director of elementary education & curriculum instruction 3 \u2013 5 and special education k \u2013 5\u2026he has been doing a dual job.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> Also regarding special education, students who are new to the district who require autistic support, emotional support or life skills are now being placed in their home schools, while students who have been placed in other schools will be given the option to stay where they are or they may return to their home school. Will there be dedicated classrooms for these students to receive the level of support they require and what does a typical day look like for them?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>This is a great question because\u2026a student\u2019s day looks like\u2026whatever their IEP says it should look like. And I just put something on my blog about \u2018I is for Individualized\u2019 you know? The individualized education program is just that \u2013 so even though 2 students may have a similar classification, their educational programming could look very different. So\u2026what it will look like for a student is really dependent upon what the document says and what the IEP team has decided it will look like. And that we don\u2019t know\u2026sitting here with you, without a specific name of a student, which we wouldn\u2019t talk about anyway, it\u2019s dictated by the decisions that a team made for that student. So if a team made a decision\u2026the team makes the decision as to what is the service that is going to be provided, who is going to provide it, how much\u2026how many times is it going to be provided, where is it going to be provided. Those things get decided by a team of people of which the parent is a part. And that\u2019s how it\u2019s supposed to be. And whatever the IEP says, is what\u2019s going to happen. That\u2019s\u2026that\u2019s the law, that\u2019s what we\u2019re supposed to do for children and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to continue to do for our children.<\/p>\n

Children having the opportunity to attend their neighborhood school is a wonderful thing. And we want every child to be able to go to school and to be in class with\u2026and to be in the lunchroom or whatever portions of the day their IEP team says they\u2019re going to be\u2026with the same students that they play after school with. I think it is the\u2026hardest\u2026situation sometimes for students is when they play with a certain group of students after school all day [laughs] right? In the evening and in the summer and then they have to attend a different school with different students\u2026ride a longer bus ride. And we are\u2026what I am committing to parents of students with disabilities is to say, \u2018What are the services that you need and we can provide them in you home school. So that you can be a part of your neighborhood school as well.\u2019 Because it\u2019s not just the students, the parents as well, right?<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>Right. Having said that, are you bringing in more teachers and aides to cover the students in their home schools as well?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>Every student that already\u2026there\u2019s also a misconception about more\u2026but every student that already has aide support, it doesn\u2019t change. [laughs] Because if the student moves to a different location, the support moves.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>Yes, if the student has a one-on-one aide, of course that aide will move.<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>Right, the support moves. Every building\u2026whatever the….if the support is listed in the IEP then that is the support they have to get. It\u2019s going to come because we have to do that. And we want to do that. We want to do more than it says in the IEP but that\u2019s\u2026you know, the services that are outlined in there\u2026we\u2019re going to continue to provide that. And sometimes that means increasing staff. And the district has\u2026the community and the public and parents have watched me increase staff\u2026it has not been without careful consideration, it has not been without difficult choices of having to change this in order to get more teachers\u2026you know because there is only a certain amount of money and we\u2019re trying to balance the best education we can provide for our students\u2026and we\u2019re balancing that with the tax increase and the tax burden for people that are living here. And that is no small task when you look at the financial situation that the school board inherited. It is not one that is\u2026that many people would be excited about jumping onto a school board to handle. [laughs] And so I applaud them for their efforts\u2026and I will\u2026they question things, they\u2019re engaged\u2026they say no to certain things, they say yes to certain things\u2026all of that in trying to say, \u2018Let\u2019s make sure we can provide the best education possible without increasing the tax burden to where people can\u2019t live here anymore.\u2019 So that is one of the things we have taken into consideration. But for students that need more support, we\u2019ll provide more support. And we\u2019ll continue to do that and that is not going to stop, regardless of where they go to school.<\/p>\n

The times: <\/strong>What do you feel an appropriate student to teacher ratio is and how do the students with special needs factor into that?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>I will say already the district has levied a large amount of aide support\u2026for students in the district. Larger than in many districts I\u2019ve been in. So I think the district is to be applauded for the amount of resources that they say we want to provide for our students.<\/p>\n

In terms of what\u2019s the optimal class size ratio, it\u2019s an interesting question because I\u2019ve said this before, not that class size is an indicator of student achievement because we don\u2019t\u2026the research doesn\u2019t necessarily support that. There\u2019s probably one seminal study\u2026one research study that I can think of off the top of my head that was done actually in Tennessee. And it was a longitudinal\u00a0study in which they said, \u2018If in kindergarten\u2026the time that class size really matters is in kindergarten and first grade.\u2019 And I think the number\u2026it was a pretty low number. And if that\u2019s done in kindergarten and first grade, it can have a lasting impact all the way through the high school years. If you don\u2019t do that, it\u2019s less important. Now that\u2019s academically speaking. But there are other considerations in terms of the desks we have [laughs] right? Just fitting 30 of them in a room [laughs] is really prohibitive right? Because what happens to the learning environment is [laughs] nobody can move around because the classrooms are only so big. So\u2026in terms of the physical space, when we can have fewer students in there, it changes a little bit of the physical learning environment. In addition to that, when teachers can say, \u2018Alright, I\u2019m going to be working with four groups in a week, as I rotate through small group work and understanding my students. That is more manageable than if I have six groups.\u2019 And certainly as a teacher if I have 20 \u2013 25 students, I can know them and spend more time with each of them in the course of a year, than if I have 35 students. And I think our students\u2026our teachers have done both. They\u2019ve done 35 and they\u2019ve done 25. My goal is to make sure they stay in the new class size range, where we are\u2026with the exception of Rainbow where we are out of classrooms. So we\u2019re going to be looking at that for next year.<\/p>\n

I think it shows some of the confidence that people are starting to have in this school district because our enrollments are\u2026we\u2019re starting to see people come and say, \u2018Wow, this is a great district, this is great learning, this is a great physical learning environment, this is a great space, we have great teachers.\u2019 So\u2026the number is not as important but in terms of the academic research but in terms of having enough space and teacher contact time with students can increase if the class sizes decrease.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>What safeguards are in place if discipline problems with students occur and impede the learning for the rest of the class?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>Well let me go back a minute because\u2026somewhere the conversation started to change. In terms of programming for next year\u2026other than students being able to attend their home school, there hasn\u2019t been any change\u2026there hasn\u2019t been any significant change in programming. So we have students that are receiving their services with their general education peers and we have students that are not. And we have students that receive services that aren\u2019t even in this district, that go to school outside of this district. So none of that has changed from last year. I think that part of that conversation comes because\u2026you know one of things special education has long been a passion of mine. And it has been my greatest pleasure and my greatest passion to serve parents and students with disabilities. And\u2026and part of that has been, I think\u2026a dedication to\u2026not trying to change students. I believe that classrooms belong to students and that we should change classrooms to fit the needs of students, not try to change students to fit the needs of the classrooms. So people have heard me talk about that on a much broader platform than Coatesville. Which I\u2019m\u2026I\u2019ve been very proud to do. You know, I had the opportunity to sit on the Gaskins Advisory Panel or the Bureau Directors Panel on Least Restrictive Environment is what it was called but it was the Gaskins Advisory\u2026and it was my great pleasure. I met parents who fought so hard to have their children be a part of classes and met roadblocks of people saying, \u2018No you cannot be in school here and no, you cannot come to this class. No, you cannot be in this high level class.\u2019 And I watched parents work so hard for that. And it was always my desire as a principal to..to open up the access to students with disabilities or under-represented students who didn\u2019t have opportunities that, by law, were already afforded to them. And I will continue to fight that fight. Now, I also believe that IEP teams make the decisions based on the information that they have for students. And that is what happens in the district. And parents are an integral part of that decision making. So there are times when parents say, \u2018Ugh, you know, I feel like at this point, my child needs this\u2019 and the team says \u2018We saw that too\u2019 and the team makes the decision. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do for students. That\u2019s how it works out. But I\u2019m never in a position where I think we should deny children access to classrooms when parents are working so hard\u2026to have their children be included. Now that doesn\u2019t come without support so the IEP team has to say, \u2018Wait, if this is going to happen, we need more support.\u2019 And then they write that support into the IEP to make sure that the student has the necessary support. There is a great supplementary aids and supports tool kit that PaTTAN has developed that helps an IEP team go through that process to say, \u2018What about this, have you tried this,\u2019 and here are supports that outlines them and gives them a great basis upon which to make sure students have what they need and the teachers\u2026are able to help service them in the best way. So none of that has changed. The only thing that will change is we will increase the level of service that we provide for students with disabilities. That\u2026that will continue to increase\u2026so that our students are served and served very well.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>Services for speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy have been outsourced for a number of years. This year, RFPs went out early in the summer for quotes for contracts but no company has been hired yet. Is this true?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>Well, there\u2019s a couple of things that have happened\u2026One, the district in the past\u2026as far as I can tell and I\u2019m relatively new but as far as I can tell, there has not been a process by which\u2026in the past few years any additional\u2026opportunities were taken to do a request for proposals. And so when it was brought to my attention that the contract was going to expire this year, I wanted the\u2026the team of people who are working special education and pupil services to do a request for a proposal. For a couple of reasons. One, it\u2019s the level of transparency that we\u2019re trying to promote in the district. Two, it\u2019s fiscally responsible. And three, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s easy for us to make a good recommendation to the board and to explain that recommendation if we haven\u2019t gone out to see what services are available. And so the team worked hard and they did that\u2026and that\u2019s a process, right? Because you leave it out for so many days and it comes back and they called references on each of the\u2026they first had to narrow it down so they had 7 people respond and then they narrowed that down based on the quality of services people put in their proposal that they were going to offer, and the cost of those services\u2026and then started to call references\u2026you know? How has it been going with this person, with this group providing services? Do they staff it all the time? What\u2019s their percentage of staffing? Is everybody they send certified? And they went through that and they are coming back with their recommendation to the board \u2026and asking each of the people, are you prepared to staff us from day 1 of the school year. That\u2019s another thing that you ask when you are going through the process.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>Right, because you have all of the IEPs in the district that have to be honored by state law. With just over 3 weeks before the start of school\u2026<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>Be assured that part of the process they\u2019ve been going through is with each company saying, \u2018Are you prepared from day 1 to be able to staff us?\u2019 To which people have in the affirmative, have said \u2018Absolutely.\u2019 So\u2026and those companies know that they\u2019re in that final round so they\u2019re prepared\u2026and ready to take us on. So they have a presentation that they are going to do at the committee meeting, to explain to the board, \u2018Here are the people that we looked at, here are the costs, here are the benefits, here\u2019s what the references said, and this is why we\u2019re making the recommendation that we\u2019re doing.\u2019 So\u2026that will be on the recommendation for the committee meeting\u2026so what happens is today, when the recording secretary gets back, we\u2019ll continue to work on the agenda items\u2026in conjunction with the board and then that\u2026will\u2026we usually post that Friday in anticipation of the meeting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>So that will be discussed at the committee meeting and then will it go on the agenda for the next board meeting to officially be voted upon or will it be done at the special board meeting, following the committee meeting?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>That\u2019s up to the board. Because we\u2019ve\u2026what we\u2019ve done is also put a board meeting after each meeting so that\u2026for two reasons. One, we did it originally because it was a way to provide additional transparency on the bills list. So that we\u2019re approving bills twice a month\u2026so that there\u2019s not such a long time for vendors and waiting to get paid. So think about it\u2026if I have to cut the bills list and time it to get it to the board, that\u2019s a week before the board meeting. And then if it goes through committee, then it doesn\u2019t go until the next\u2026it could be 5 weeks until someone gets paid\u2026which is a long time. So we started doing the double meeting so that we could approve bills in a more timely fashion, which is good for vendors and it\u2019s good business. And it gives the board the opportunity to review a shorter amount of bills and to be able to ask more in depth questions, which they are doing, about the bills that they see. So they get to choose\u2026on\u2026next week, if they feel they need more information, they may say \u2018We\u2019ll send this through to the committee\u2019 if not, they may say, \u2018You know what, in the purpose of timeliness, we\u2019d like to move this forward now.\u2019 But as you work with vendors and they say \u2018Look, this\u2026the board committee moved this to the board for a full vote,\u2019 usually the people say, \u2018Okay we have a confidence that we believe we\u2019re ready and this is going to happen.\u2019 But that will be up to the board to decide next week.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>I know we\u2019re pressed for time; I just want to ask 2, maybe 3 more questions.<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>Sure, go ahead.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>It has been said\u2026<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>[laughs] A question that starts with it\u2019s been said is never a good one. [laughs]<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>It has been said, that in an effort to lower suspension rates, principals have been told not to suspend students. Is there any truth to that?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>That is not true.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>My question was going to be, does that mean less discipline in the district?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>No, that\u2019s not true\u2026you know the principals, first of all, I think\u2026I have a group of principals that understand that suspension does not address the root cause of behaviors. So I think they understand that\u2026people will see from our suspension rates that clearly, that has not been the case. There have been a number of suspensions this past school year, of which we are neither proud\u2026because that\u2019s not the goal, to have kids out of school. But the goal is to create safe classrooms, to create safe learning environments where students are engaged in what they\u2019re doing. There are different reasons that a student may not be. Some may be due to trauma they experienced outside of school. It may not be in the home, it may be outside the school in general, it may be difficulties they are having in school. And our job is to figure out which it is and then to provide the appropriate services and help to change that. Sometimes\u2026because of a safety issue or whatever, there needs to be an immediate break while the team gets together to say, \u2018Let\u2019s figure out what\u2019s going on.\u2019 And we need a day to convene, to talk to the parents, to figure out what we\u2019re going to do differently.<\/p>\n

The principals are coming\u2026the secondary principals are going to, at the committee meeting, have a presentation for the board on some alternatives to discipline\u2026I think the White House just had a forum on school discipline, interestingly. I think it was on the\u2026on the news. But there are some different alternatives to saying, \u2018How do we really change the behavior and still create a safe learning environment?\u2019 And sometimes, there are things that interfere with learning, that you have to take care of those first and the learning will come after that. But you have to take care of this right now. And some of those are things we can do in school with the personnel we have and sometimes it needs a more critical level of intervention\u2026for a short period of time or for a long period of time. And our job is to\u2026differentiate the difference between the two and say, \u2018What are we going to do, to really get a different\u2026behavioral outcome for students?\u2019 So that school is a good place for everybody to be. So you\u2019re going to hear about that at the committee meeting. And I think the\u2026the principals have done some pretty innovative work in some of the things that they are trying to put together for students and some very different outcomes\u2026you know, the root word of discipline is disciple, which is about teaching and so I think they really tried to look at it. \u2018How can we use\u2026how can we do some teaching to change some of these behaviors?\u2019 And there are some big behaviors that are different, that need a very different intervention\u2026we\u2019re not talking about those. But I think people will see from the suspension numbers that no\u2026[laughs]\u2026it hasn\u2019t been that no one has been suspended this year.<\/p>\n

The Times:<\/strong> It has also been said that you want failure rates to be lowered and of course that should be the goal of every superintendent. Will that be due to a lowering of standards or\u2026<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>Failure rates\u2026the discussion of failure rates was generated at the board meeting, it was not generated\u2026by me. We are focused on student progress. We are focused on student learning and looking at specifically, what do students know when they come, what is it that we\u2019re trying to teach them, have they learned it? If not, we go back and reteach them.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>So not from lowering standards\u2026<\/p>\n

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Taschner: <\/strong>That conversation was generated at the board meeting, I have not had a conversation. Our conversation is not about\u2026let\u2019s have no students fail. Our conversation is let\u2019s have every student succeed at what they\u2019re doing. And there will be some students that will, you know, through different circumstances or different choices\u2026may need additional help at some other time. They may not understand or there may be something that keeps them from being able to focus on that. And I think that happens. But our goal is to make sure that students understand\u2026and we take\u2026we get them, we move them as far as we can in a year, we can demonstrate how far we\u2019ve moved them and then we say, \u2018Okay, now we have to move them this far the next year.\u2019 That\u2019s the goal.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>What is one thing you\u2019d like the parents and taxpayers to know about your long-term intentions for this district?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>One of the most exciting things that\u2019s happening this year is the creation of a steering committee that will include parents, tax payers, community members, people from Chester County, people from industry to build a STEM school. It\u2019s not just the STEM school but the STEM school is, I think, the beginning of a different way of approaching\u2026the greatness that we aspire to be in Coatesville. You know my long-term goal is that when people think about Chester County schools, that we\u2019re at the top of that list. That people want to move here because we have a great STEM school, we have a school\u2026a performing school of the arts. We have things to offer here, our students get picked for great colleges or they go on to great technical careers. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to build in the long term and I think the STEM school\u2026that only happens with the dialogue and the support of a community\u2026it doesn\u2019t happen just from within the school. And what I want them to know is that\u2026this journey is one that we are going to take…continue to take together. And they\u2019re going to be times that [laughs] probably we disagree on different things but if we can agree on the\u2026big things, which are kids and we can agree on the big thing that this district deserves and our children deserve and the community deserves a school district that brings industry, that brings people who want to live here, then I think we\u2019re\u2026that we\u2019re going to be very successful together.<\/p>\n

Due to her schedule, which limited the time available for the face-to-face interview, Dr. Taschner answered the following remaining questions via email:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>Will there be block scheduling in the middle schools and how will the teachers engage their students for that length of time?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>The students will have Math for two periods and Language Arts for two periods. \u00a0Science, Social Studies, World Language and Related Arts classes will be for one period. \u00a0The College Preparatory Math Series is focused on the application of mathematics. \u00a0Students will engage in problem solving, group activities and creative tasks.\u00a0 Completion of these engaging activities in a 40-minute period would be very difficult.\u00a0 In Language Arts, students need time for independent reading, shared reading (modeling\/direct instruction), guided reading, and time for writing.\u00a0 A 40-minute period would be prohibitive in allowing sufficient time to provide instruction in the aforementioned and in allowing time for student practice.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>Will middle school students be leveled to their abilities this school year?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>There will still be different levels of math.\u00a0 Some students will take Course 1, some students will take Course 2, some will take Course 3, others will take Algebra, and others will take Geometry.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>How much does the economic condition of the district drive the decisions you and the board are making?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>The Board and Administration are working to ensure that student needs and services are the first priority in the district. \u00a0We are also listening to the concerns and feedback of taxpayers and continue to work diligently to create fiscally responsible options for creating outstanding educational opportunities for students.<\/p>\n

The Times: <\/strong>How much money will be saved annually by outsourcing mental health services to the CCIU?<\/p>\n

Taschner: <\/strong>The total amount in salaries and benefits was: $625,271.32. The savings would be approximately the same.\u00a0 With services provided from licensed professionals, the district will be able to bill back for services through medical access.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: Dr. Cathy Taschner, Superintendent of the Coatesville Area School District, agreed to a lengthy, sit down question and answer session last week. We present both the questions and answers as transcribed from a recording. We did not clean up language, pauses or grammar, to better reflect the exact words \u2014 and tone \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,1],"tags":[166,29,4041,3011,52],"class_list":["post-11109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","category-uncategorized","tag-board-of-education","tag-coatesville-area-school-district","tag-dr-cathy-taschner","tag-superintendent-of-schools","tag-taxes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11109"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11115,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11109\/revisions\/11115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}