A Mostly New School Board Coming this November

— by Ayn Gailey, Orcas Issues reporter —

In November, there will be three Orcas Island School District (OISD) school board candidates on the ballot, all running unopposed.

The candidates, John Fleming (District 1), Diane Boerstler (District 2) and Josh Culp (District 3) should bring interesting and diverse points of view to the current board. Fleming and Boerstler currently have kids in the Orcas Island School District, but they have also made the decision at one point or another to pull a child out of OISD schools for various reasons. Currently, Fleming (married to Dr. Camille Fleming) has a daughter at Orcas Island High School and a son at Salmonberry School. His eldest daughter graduated this June from Stanford Online High School. Diane Boerstler is PTSA president and mother to three kids currently enrolled in the OISD elementary school. Josh Culp, 27, attended Orcas Island public schools for 12 years.

All three candidates participated in a Q & A with Orcas Issues. Their responses are in their own words and have only been edited for typos or brevity.

QUESTION: Why did you decide to run for school board?

FLEMING: As our youngest child is reaching middle school I was considering how I could increase my involvement in the community. The opening on the school board presents a great opportunity to serve Orcas. I admire the other school board members and it would be great to join them in making the best decisions for our schools. Like other parents, I want the most stable and best educational experience for my children.

CULP: I have decided to run for school board with the hope of giving back to this community what it has given me.

BOERSTLER: I am running for school board because in the next four years I would love to write policies and implement changes that allow us to hear a shift in the conversation surrounding our schools. Instead of hearing people say, “The school isn’t doing something I want them to do,” like I myself was guilty of, I would love to hear people say, “How can I raise my voice, provide resources and get involved so I can help move the school toward the solutions studies show are best for our children?”

QUESTION: How does your background or experience qualify you to help our schools?

FLEMING: I’m going into this realizing that I am not an education expert. I am an architect and before that an engineer. From our previous community, I have experience on a City Planning Commission. I value data, citizen input, and transparent public decision processes.

CULP: I have a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and twenty-seven years of experience as a child of Orcas Island.

BOERSTLER: I’m a mom, ‘serial’ entrepreneur and PTSA President who cares deeply for our students. I’ve sat on the boards of some of the most prominent non-profits in the country, managing multi-million dollar budgets. I wrote my first piece of legislation and spoke in front of the legislature to enact legal and policy change many times, starting at the tender age of 15. I’ve helped transform countless non-profits from treading water to thriving. I’ve been in charge of overseeing the educational and career advancement plans for over 2000 students and adults with cross-categorical disabilities. I’ve filled in as a special education teacher at more than 30 schools so I’ve seen the best of the best and the worst of the worst. Most importantly, I love a good challenge, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty and I believe every decision we make should be backed up by studies. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m as tenacious and driven as they come. If change is needed, and resources are needed to get us there, my track record shows I’ll go to the ends of the earth to make it happen.

QUESTION: What are the top priorities for your term?

FLEMING: My top priority is to understand the needs and desires of our parents and students. Aside from that, my second priority is to learn the mechanisms of becoming the best school board member that I can be.

CULP: Bring down class sizes, bringing teachers better salary packages, and most importantly, giving the community a reason to rally behind the school!

BOERSTLER: One, leverage my experience to acquire untapped resources and write policies that eliminate funding gaps. Two, continue putting funding to best use by integrating what families want, what teachers need, and what scientifically proven education models show us helps kids absorb and retain new skills; even if that means lobbying for better state learning standards. That means eliminating anything currently unsupported by research, like homework in younger grades and excessive desk time, then replacing it with more project-based, movement oriented, VAKOG [Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Olfactory and Gustatory], nurturing assignments. Third, we need to make sure no one feels left behind, and no one feels held back from achieving their fullest potential by integrating more of the technologies and multi-grade classroom models that allow self-paced learning.

QUESTION: What do you see as the greatest strengths of our OISD schools?

FLEMING: OISD provides learning experiences that belie the small size of our community. The passionate and educated community that backs up the schools is a huge asset.

CULP: OISD has a long history in this community. The values that many of our long-time residents hold, align with the values taught in our schools.

BOERSTLER: Our OISD schools have the most important and powerful element anyone could ever wish for; we have staff members who care and work tirelessly to ensure student success. While we are tucked cozily in our beds, many of our staff members are up planning engaging lessons for the following day or grading papers or putting out calls to the community to help students from impoverished families get warm mittens. I can’t even tell you the number of times I’ve seen an email come through from an administrator or teacher after midnight. How many of us are that dedicated?

QUESTION: What do you see as our greatest challenges at OISD?

FLEMING: Certainly the continued underfunding of education at the state level is a major recurring issue. OISD has been fortunate to have amazing financial donors and community involvement working through the OIEF and OICF, to increase opportunities for our children, and improve our facilities.

CULP: The greatest challenge OISD faces is the question of how we will adapt to the changing world. Today’s children are more interested in practicing sustainable lifestyle choices than working 60 hours a week for a large corporation. Understanding what the students need will shape our success moving forward.

BOERSTLER: Primarily, resources. We are expected to compete with school districts 10 times our size, with limited funds and space. While the staff performs amazing feats of magic to overcome these gaps, there is much we can all do to help fill them.

QUESTION: What are your thoughts on the academic curriculum? Are students inspired and excited about being in the classroom? Are students challenged? Are they prepared for the rigorous coursework at top colleges?

FLEMING: Our high school is ranked highly in the state (8th), which includes an above average “college readiness index” computed from AP test rates and scores. I am not yet familiar with data about how OISD students actually fare at college, compared to their academic peers. Anecdotally, we produce some pretty cool kids.

CULP: Students are certainly being challenged. I have noticed homework loads are too high, even when preparing for top colleges. Our teachers are doing their best to keep the curriculum interesting. I wonder sometimes if it is important to be using the same textbooks today as were used ten years ago.

BOERSTLER: College isn’t an end, it’s a beginning. If we’re focusing on preparing for college, we’re not focusing on the right goal. We need to be focusing on helping students develop the resilience, confidence, independence, and knowledge that empowers them to thrive throughout life. While I believe our schools have made huge leaps and bounds towards preparing students for ‘real life’ beyond college, I believe we need to continually ask the question, “How can we do even better?” In terms of curriculum, while I definitely see room for more project-based learning, cross-brain integration learning (visual, auditory and kinesthetic), individualized education and technology integration, I’m already seeing huge changes. For example, instead of having 3rd graders sit inside and read about ecology, the school decided to have a weekly forest style school, so students are out touching things and asking questions and learning through experience. I loved how the 2nd grade breaks students into multiple groups for reading and math, so every child is learning at their capability level; no one is left behind or forced to waste time relearning something they already know. It’s proven efficient, effective and in my opinion, it’s the best way to serve every student.

QUESTION: What are your thoughts on the social-behavioral environment of our elementary, middle and high school?

FLEMING: This seems to vary on a year-by-year basis. As the parent of students, one of the great things about being in a community the size of Orcas is the opportunity to get to know many of the other kids and parents. I think the “it takes a village” aspect can be really positive.

CULP: It would be unjust to say everything behaviorally is sound in our schools. Bullying continues to plague our island, with social networking and material outing causing kids to feel they need more technology, new clothes and a refined knowledge of the current trends to be accepted. The silver lining is that this is Orcas Island, where accountability is much easier to achieve, allowing these troubled kids a place in our community to shine as the young adults that they can become when guided.

BOERSTLER: While socialization and behavior training begins at home I’d like to see every student have a plan that helps them turn their greatest weaknesses into their greatest strengths. If a child’s greatest weakness is that they do not exhibit behavior that benefits everyone in the classroom, then we should put together a punishment-free, ridicule-free plan to help the child adjust that behavior. . . In addition, I’d like to see more people in our community partake in Positive Behavior Support training. PBS or PBIS training changes lives because it helps us understand that every behavior was exhibited for a reason. . . Find the reason, and you find the easiest way to help a child learn to exhibit behaviors that benefit everyone in the classroom.

QUESTION: How would you like to see the level of community engagement with the school board transform?

FLEMING: My indirect answer is that first I would really like to see the Bond and Levy issues passed successfully in the election. After that, I think the board always needs to understand what the community wants and the community needs to know that the board has heard them. I think community surveys would be a valuable way for the board to be confident they understand what the community prioritizes, and to hear from the public at school board meetings.

CULP: I would like to see more community engagement in the entire school, not just with the school board. We all have the highest hopes for our island’s children, and without adults contributing skills and experiences to a child’s life, they are not able to see the potential they possess.

BOERSTLER: I would love to have so many community members show up [to school board meetings] that we have to move the meetings from the library to the biggest space we have! My favorite boss ever used to say, “Show up, raise your voice, lend a hand, get it done!”

QUESTION: What trait of yours will best serve you on the board?

FLEMING: I’m patient, and I try to make rational decisions based on the best available evidence.

CULP: I strive to find common ground with those around me, allowing myself the chance to listen before coming to brash conclusions.

BOERSTLER: A client once said it best, “You’re compassionately tenacious.” Let’s go with that.

QUESTION: What is your ideal vision for our OISD schools at the end of your term?

FLEMING: “Leave it better than you found it.” It works well in the kitchen and with raising families.

CULP: Ideally OISD will be operating as a fluid machine, concerned most with steadily preparing our students from k-12 to be smart, compassionate, and confident community members.

BOERSTLER: I think the most magical change I can see happening is parents and community members all taking as much personal responsibility for our school as our administration, teachers, staff, and students. I’d like to see complaining and complacency transformed into accountability and action for the well-being of every student. [This] requires a shift in mindset; for us to stop asking, “Is this possible?” and instead ask, “How can we work together to make this happen!”

Ayn Gailey is a co-founder of OrcasPact.org and Novel Lab and a board member for the upcoming Orcas Island Literary Festival.