SUHSD responds to backlash over potential removal of IB coordinator position

The room was filled to its maximum occupancy of 111 people and the attentive eyes of Bonita Vista High’s (BVH) very own students, staff, alumni, teachers and parents gathered together in the Sweetwater Union High School District’s (SUHSD) board room.

On Jan. 27, 2020 the SUHSD Board of Trustees began their meeting routinely by addressing the agenda. In superintendent Karen Janney’s, Ed.D, superintendent’s message on the state of the budget, she announced that the funding for the International Baccalaureate (IB) coordinator position was not being eliminated from BVH, as well as the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program at Chula Vista High.

“The board meeting tonight was one of the widest-ranging shows of support that I have ever seen for the IB program,” IB coordinator and IB diploma graduate at BVH Jared Phelps said.

Earlier in the year, announcements made on Jan.13, 2020 revealed that the SUHSD planned to completely eliminate funding for resource positions at BVH. The news about complete elimination of funding for resource positions was then misinterpreted into the belief that the IB coordinator position would be completely eliminated since the IB coordinator position is considered as a resource position. This misinterpretation sparked concern among Phelps and the IB community.

“I think something really important for people to know is that this is not the first time that this has happened. Years ago, there was one of these big budget crises’ and there was talk of the IB program being cut,” Phelps said.

The total cost to fund the IB program is 180,000 dollars, and since 2015, funding for the IB program had covered all that was needed for the program to function. However, previous cuts in allocations made in the 2018-2019 school year threatened to eliminate Phelp’s position and the IB program. News that funding was in consideration for complete elimination encouraged Phelps to defend his position and the program.

“When I put the campaign together, I don’t know if I expected that [so many people would] show up. I expected a lot of people to write letters and a lot of people did. I think at my last count it was 77, and those are just ones that went through me when I put the post out,” Phelps said

Without the funding for the IB coordinator position, it would prove to be difficult for Phelps to find the funds to organize required IB tests and labs. Without funding, Phelps would have to teach additional math classes to fulfill his precious paycheck. But, after SUHSD’s claim that the IB coordinator position would not be cut, Phelps’s concerns about the position have been eased. Though, he foresees problems in the futur

“My fear is that [the district] would say, ‘One way to be more efficient is you could just be a teacher all day and [coordinate] after school or on the side,” Phelps said. “I don’t know if that’s what they are thinking. They might try and find a more efficient solution without giving us the ability to respond to whether or not it’s a serviceable solution.”

On Jan. 16, 2020 Phelps sent a letter to SUHSD board members to emphasize the importance of the IB program at BVH and share his concerns about eliminating funding for the IB full-time coordinator position. Throughout the letter, Phelps mentioned that without funding BVH would lose a valuable program that has defined the education of many students.

“An IB Diploma Program literally cannot exist without a trained, knowledgeable coordinator at its head. A school without a coordinator would be in violation of the requirements to be an IB World School,” Phelps wrote. “Eliminating funding for a full-time coordinator will destroy the excellence of the IB Program and its capacity to serve a greater community at [BVH].”

Among the statements made in the letter, Phelps added a list of his responsibilities “as stated in [BVH’s] 2017 IB Self-Study.” Moreover, Phelps added a list of “roles that the IB Coordinator has come to assume and are implied in the job.”

“The letter is really a defense of the coordinator position [and] why we need to have a coordinator at our site. I try to write it in such a way that it would make sense to educational professionals, superintendent, teachers, budget analysts and a Board of Trustees,” Phelps said “But also something understood by students, parents [and] community members, so that everyone is able to read the same letter and get the same sense of what’s happening, and the urgency of our action on that matter.”

Phelps set up a social media campaign ranging across multiple platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, to allow students and teachers to be aware of this new issue. On the “Save IB at BVHS” Facebook page, Phelps encouraged viewers to S.A.V.E: Share his page, Attend the board meeting, Voice your support, and Educate others about the IB program. As a result, Phelps rallied many members of the IB community to come speak on behalf of the meeting.

“Two or three primary reasons [I attended the meeting was] to support the IB program, [support] the students and support Phelps, who is a current IB coordinator,” English IB Literature HL 1 and English 9 Accelerated teacher Raymond Chann said.

Chann has taught English IB Literature HL 1 for a total of one year but has recognized that the IB program has largely influenced the lives of students who are or were formerly involved in the program.

“I think a lot of what I do as an English 9 [Accelerated] teacher is I try to prepare students for the IB program. I think it’d be really sad [to lose the IB coordinator position], [and] I would be devastated, students would be devastated [and] other staff members, too,” Chann said.

Among the many current IB students that contacted Phelps, alumni also showed their support by commenting on Phelps’ social media campaign and sending him letters. Phelps presented these personal letters to the Board of Trustees to highlight the IB program’s positive impact.

“The IB program was one of, if not my absolute favorite, things about attending BVH. So much work went into making it a good program, and I fully believe that the work deserves to be funded so students can continue to get the full aid they need to grow,” BVH alumni Emma Rand commented on the “Save IB at BVHS” Facebook Page.

Rand graduated from BVH in the 2017-2018 school year after successfully earning her IB Diploma. Rand also sent the district members a letter about her experiences in the IB program, as well as her beliefs as to why the program should remain, to help advocate for it.

“High school is a tough time, especially when you’re in a program as rigorous as IB,” Rand wrote in her letter. “As I mentioned above, my friends and I felt comfortable talking to Mr. Phelps about our anxieties and so on, [and] having an adult to vent to when we were worried about where we were going in life, or scared that we didn’t know how we were going to keep up with everything, or whatever other issues arose was really validating and comforting.”

Like others among the BVH community, senior and IB President Timothy Tucker found the situation “unfortunate” and “sad.” In order to help support Phelps and the program, Turner participated in a student outreach and gathered more people involved with the campaign.

“I think it’s unfortunate that they proposed these budget cuts, and they don’t really understand the repercussions of those actions,” Tucker said. “We can play a part in supporting the district and understanding the repercussions by showing our support [for the IB program] and by coming together as a community.”

At the SUHSD board meeting Janney announced that the IB coordinator would not be cut, though, BVH students, teachers, alumni and parents still stood at the podium and shared their experiences within the allotted three minutes. The IB community shared the positive effects of IB and the need for not only an IB coordinator but Phelps specifically.

“Because I’m here every day, [I] have a deep appreciation of the work that Phelps does, and I have an understanding of what it takes to have a superb IB program I’m very much advocating for a solution where Phelps continues to have time built in to do that important work of coordination,” BVH Principal Roman Del Rosario, Ed.D, said.

In his letter, Phelps mentions that eliminating the IB coordinator position would destroy many components of the IB program, as well as “destroy authentic learning and holistic growth opportunities afforded to students.” Similarly, Del Rosario said the IB Coordinator position is an important asset to the BVH community due to the amount of responsibilities and time it takes to run the IB program and ensure its success.

“I think there’s very few people, myself included, that fully understands the whole scope of what Phelps does, and I’m in his list of many duties. I do understand—more than most—the volume of work that he does, and I just feel tragic that we’re in this situation because this program is a legacy [at BVH],” Del Rosario said.

Del Rosario is working towards a solution to subsidize the program in order for more money to be allocated to Phelps. One of the solutions Del Rosario is working on is filling classes to their maximum in order to clear classes and use those allocations for Phelps.

“I think [the IB program is] something that the district really needs to think about [in terms of] this expression: ‘Sometimes it’s penny wise and pound foolish.’ What seems like a good idea in the long run is not really a good idea,” Del Rosario said.

In agreement with Del Rosario’s statement, Chann has shared his opinion on how SUHSD could better handle the budget and how students are taken into consideration.

“They didn’t realize how much responsibility Phelps has for the school, for the students, for everyone. I don’t know if that same sort of logic applies to the other positions but I just feel compelled to believe that they don’t know what exactly the IB coordinator position stands for,” Chhan said.

What once used to be a 1.2 allocation—a full-time paying job—has now diminished to 0.6 in the 2018-2019 school year by the district. The district now only pays half the amount it takes to fund the IB program and its resources as a way to save money for the district’s budget. As a result of this, Phelps must teach two IB math classes in order to make up for the salary that was cut.

The IB program at BVH is one of two IB schools in SUHSD. After the district board meeting, Phelps has directed most of his focus in recruiting and promoting the IB program in classrooms around BVH.

Area 2 Trustee—the board member who oversees the BVH area—Kevin J. Pike was unavailable to comment on the IB. Nonetheless, Phelps wishes for a return to “business as usual” for IB students.

“I need to get my students back to learning math. I need to get all of our students back to getting home with the right time to do their homework and get their assignments in so that they keep working through the [IB] Diploma program,” Phelps said.