Deann Bucher

Education (Formal Programs)

 

  • 2007-2009 Leaders for Colorado Parker, Colorado School Leadership, Principals’ License
  • 1999-2000 University of Colorado Denver, Colorado Master of Arts, Information and Learning Technologies
  • 1988 – 1990 University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado Certificate of Education
  • 1982 – 1986 University of Denver Denver, Colorado BA-Music History
  • In addition I have 60 hours of graduate credit in education related courses. When I retired I had accumulated 1000 hour of professional development time in BVSD.

Relevant Job titles:

  • Brightmont Academy, Broomfield 2020-present, Part-time Instructor
  • Jones International University, Curriculum Development, Instructor 2014
  • Instructor, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2009, Nature of Social Studies
  • 2007-2010 Boulder Valley School District Boulder, Curriculum Coordinator, Social Studies
  • 1998-2007, 2010-2020 Monarch High School Louisville, Colorado, Social Studies
  • Teacher/Internet Specialist, Monarch High School, 2010-2011
  • 1992 – 1998 Angevine Middle School Lafayette, Integrated Team Teacher

Website: https://deannbucher.com/

THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Q: Why are you running, and why do you deserve a seat on the BVSD Board?

I have been interested in serving on the Board Of Education (BOE) for many years, and although I am a recent retiree, I have entered this election as a representative of the Louisville community (District E) and a long-time educator in the eastern county. I am deserving of this role because I can represent the teacher’s interest, parent interest and have experience in the work in the Education Center. In my career I had tremendous opportunities to learn, travel, create and inspire students, and other teachers across the country. I would like to be able to use these skills on the BOE.

BVSD District E

Q – You are running to represent a geographic district, though you would be part of a board that oversees the entire BVSD district if you win. What are some top concerns or needs in your specific district?

There are some districting issues that have affected schools and representation of the Louisville community on the BOE. Almost all districts radiate out from the city of Boulder. This has created a system where Louisville has not been represented on the Board for at least 12 years. Louisville and the whole Eastern part of the district face some different problems today.

While Boulder’s student population is decreasing, the Eastern part of the district is still growing. This growth has happened in areas that used to be open or used for agriculture. Now these areas are populated with homes and apartments. There needs to be some new boundaries drawn, as the old school boundaries leave students in new housing in the awkward position of bussing to a school that is further away. Additionally, these schools are sharing the costs of a declining enrollment in Boulder. This may be the biggest issue of the next 4 years.

Q – COVID-19 has been an all-consuming challenge for schools in general. In your opinion, is the current “Back Together BVSD Reintroduction Plan” sufficient to provide the greatest level of safety for all at this time? Should parents, students, faculty and staff feel reasonably confident about COVID-19 safety within BVSD?

I still teach a few days per week. The masks are uncomfortable, hot and interrupt our communication. I teach my students to know when I am smiling by the crinkles around my eyes, and there is always laughter. Many people have joined in the public commentary about masks at school, and never addressed what it might be like for teachers. Imagine, if you will, that you are a teacher. Whatever grade you wish. Students enter the classroom humming like a swarm of bees and settle into their seats. You look out on a sea of masks, and this is hard. You will learn which kinds of masks each student wears. You will learn who cannot leave the mask alone. You will learn who hates them most.

Now imagine, your classroom has been deemed ‘Mask Optional.” How will you ever know who is supposed to wear a mask and who isn’t? How will you manage the masks off/masks on? How will you possibly protect yourself and your family? This kind of chaos would certainly keep our students and teachers from being able to focus on the lessons planned. I support the safety of the whole community. Our students will adapt! Let’s wear masks!

But–it would be so helpful to students if each teacher had access and were encouraged to utilize a mask designed to help the hearing impaired, or allowed to wear a face shield instead. Then the teacher’s mouth would be visible and students would get clues about what is being said, the tone of the message and the intent of the teacher by visual clues. This adjustment would cost the district a minimal amount, and I believe it would increase communication between teachers and students.

Q – What are your top priority strategies to boost or maintain BVSD’s educational performance levels?

Part of my campaign (Equity, Literacy and Integrity) is a commitment to increasing literacy across the district. Our students do not spend enough time reading. If students could increase the amount they read independently, they could increase their individual performance by grade levels. Given that the ability to read, analyze and solve thinking problems will be the skills that are most valuable in the future, it is imperative that we ask our students and our communities to do more.

Q – Do you believe BVSD has done a good job managing educational achievement gaps? What can BVSD do to narrow the gaps?

My definition and my goal would be to push the school system to a position that has outcome equity for all students. My vision of this kind of school district would be one that defies prediction of a student’s success by factors like race, gender, socioeconomic status, or home language. Unfortunately, the gap in achievement has been stubborn and not truly narrowed in the last 30 years. What we are doing as a district is not working to close this gap. The details of what needs to be done are lengthy, but one idea that could help would be to make sure students in diverse groups all have access to our AP/IB, Engineering and Dual Enrollment Programs with intentional extra support. And, even better to have access in your own community/neighborhood school. Having the ability to enroll alone, will never create equitable outcomes. For more specific information, please see https://DeannBucher.com.

Q: What is your take on the use of or reliance on standardized testing in today’s educational environment, and would you favor changes?

Standardized tests were very important in bringing about a focus on achievement disparities, but they have become very burdensome to our teachers, students, and school administrators. Unfortunately, the amount of students who opt out of testing has created even more division. I think that the tests need to be closer to the classroom for students and teachers to feel their value. The standardized tests never give teachers or students specific attainable goals in a timely manner, therefore, even attempts to assist students who test “behind” or “partially proficient” can be very late in the learning process and feels punitive to students. Yet, we live in a world where even traditional achievement tests like the ACT/SAT are no longer required for college admission. It will be very important to help students begin to recognize, measure and discuss their own learning, as well as having a test that measures learning outcomes on a large scale to inform decision makers about programming.

Q – Students may have suffered learning losses due to the pandemic. How can BVSD help prevent these losses from getting worse, and/or help affected students catch back up?

There have been some documented learning losses based on standardized testing, but we do not know anything about the long term effects of the last year. Teachers, as the true experts, will have to evaluate each student’s progress and ability to focus, their emotional well being and even whether some students gained from the experience. Students learned, and matured a year. We may not know what and how they learned, but creative teachers will be able to tease out the subtleties. I talk to BVSD teachers regularly and what these teachers are concerned with the most is the students who
literally vanished last year. Some might have been caring for parents, working, or taking care of young relatives. These students will desperately need to be back in school regularly. These teachers have observed that this was a trend in students lower on the socio-economic scale. During my 30 year career as a teacher I have seen many students rebound from extended absences due to illness, travel, competitive hockey, or institutionalization, and they all have the ability to recover. Care and flexibility in each student’s journey will be required.

Q – Do BVSD students have access to the best educational resources when it comes to understanding race relations in the United States? This question is not necessarily about Critical Race Theory, but would you favor taking a fresh look at BVSD’s curriculum or approach to race education, and why or why not?

As a Social Studies teacher, and as a Curriculum Coordinator, I have spent my years in the education field attempting to focus curriculum on the inclusion of groups not always, and sometimes inaccurately portrayed in the school curriculum. The reality of the history curriculum specifically, is that the amount of information and the thinking processes we want students to engage in is too large to be taught in one school year. Educators refer to this fact as a “lack of viability.”. Because of the mismatch, teachers are making instructional decisions about what to teach, what to gloss over and what to leave out completely.

The opponents of what has been labeled CRT want to make these decisions as policy. I have learned from experience that there is no great policy switch that will make speedy changes to what happens in the classroom. Much of this comes down to the decisions of teachers as well as what engages students. The existence of social inequality resonates with our students as an important topic. These students, especially teens, are already seeing messages about civil rights, race and systemic oppression on social media and the news. They already know this topic and the disagreements about it exist out in the real world. Furthermore, the Colorado Academic Standards require that schools teach about race, gender, disability, social inequality and what has been done to advance the movement toward equality in the state and the country. Our history cannot be accurately taught without acknowledging these conflicts. It would be inaccurate as well as demotivating for students to be left to understanding these complex issues through social media rather than having the space to grapple with these very complex issues in their own school . Labeling all discussion about race as CRT will only exacerbate the divide between the “real world” and what happens in the classroom. The reality of our world at this moment is that banning CRT will not be a salve that will sooth the conflict.

The availability of this information via technology has created a new curriculum. We can choose to engage with it, analyze it, and wrestle with the complexity of it or we can continue on the path of making schools irrelevant to students.

Q: BVSD is a big organization, with lots of people involved, lots of transportation needs, and many facilities. What are a few strategies you’d support to reduce BVSD’s carbon footprint? 

I think BVSD has done a good job in updating buildings. A recent BVSD board meeting reported that they have successfully reduced the carbon footprint by 21%. One problem we have is the many ways that students move around the district to participate in open enrollment opportunities. Open enrollment is a requirement of the state, but could we reduce our need for each student to be driven to the other side of the district by creating a system where less open enrollment is happening? Would it be possible for schools to stop spending money on advertisement and self-promotion and spread the best practices around the district, lowering the need for travel? This is a monumental
challenge that could also be addressed by more effective, timely public transportation.

As we learn more, and the prices for technologies and equipment become available, BVSD will need to budget for continued investment in this area. This can be a vulnerable area of the budget, because it doesn’t impact students directly, so these investments must be protected for the future.