By Michael Beeli
Staff Writer
Mira Costa administration established a subcommittee of teachers and staff on the school’s Ed Council to outline a variety of possible solutions to reduce student stress as an extension of Manhattan Beach Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews’s Nov. 18 stress relief workshop.
According to Matthews, the primary goal of the district is to reduce stress on students without compromising academic rigor; however, Vice Principal Deborah Hofreiter indicated that another purpose of the plan is to encourage students to be more mindful about choosing their classes in the future to ensure students do not sign up for schedules that are too overwhelming.
“The administration has put the solution in the hands of the faculty, they only initiated the conversation and are willing to implement solutions that are viable,” Hofreiter said. “I think all the suggestions above are good ones. The discussion continues until we have a solution that works.”
School Principal Dr. Ben Dale stated that any meaningful approach to reduce students stress will require individualized efforts from each of the teachers on campus, he therefore proposed a framework in which administrators collaborate with teachers to create more uniform teaching standards across departments and faculty.
“The teachers told me that when making changes we should start at individual classes and then work our way up to campus-wide policies,” Dale said. “So I met with a variety of different teachers and worked with them on ways we can help to reduce stress specific to how their classroom is run.”
According to Dale, once a select number of teachers agree on a list of proposals themselves, they will then be sent to him for review. If he approves the proposals, he would then present them to the MBUSD Board of Trustees for authorization.
“If the teachers do their homework I’m confident the board will approve it and eliminate the need for a subcommittee,” Dale said. “That would be the best outcome in the situation.”
According to Dale, one primary area of focus in the stress relief plan is student homework. Dale said that one proposal is to standardize homework in every class as assignments that reinforce learning and all fall under the homework grade section of a teacher’s gradebook, which can be worth no more than 25% of a student’s grade. Dale also said that if homework is properly standardized, it would be easier to potentially implement homework-free weekends, meaning that no homework could be due on Mondays.
“Homework-free weekends means you spend your weekend looking ahead in the week, gearing up for for whatever tests and projects you have, instead of filling out a worksheet for your homework,” Dale said.
Other proposals include delegating two days each week in which teachers from specified departments can set due dates for homework and projects and setting limits on the amounts of time advisors and coaches can require from their students outside of school on a weekly basis to a cap of 15 hours. According to the proposal, advisors can waiver to Dr. Dale increase the limit on a weekly basis in special circumstances.
“Instead of just asking for more than 15 hours each week, advisors will need to say exactly how many hours they need per week,” Dale said. “There’s an accountability to that, accountability that causes advisors to determine how much time they actually need.
According to Dale, beginning with teachers ensures that the changes will work for each individual classroom and although it needs to be approved by administration as well, he stressed that all parties are eager to take affirmative action on the issue.
“It has been terrific that Costa teachers have been eager to get together and craft solutions specifically for our students,” Vice Principal Kristin Wolberg said. “They have been progressive and proactive. I think the approach we are taking in making this a teacher-driven process is a great one.”
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