Ellis, Todd - Kalamazoo Public Schools
Are you an incumbent?
No
Brief Intro of Candidate
My name is Dr. Todd Ellis, and I feel that my skills and experience make me ideally suited to serve on the KPS School Board. I grew up in a family of teachers, so I have seen all the weekend and evening hours and the personal sacrifices asked of our teachers. I myself have taught for 26 years, mainly at the collegiate level. My degrees are in physics and atmospheric science. As a professor, I modeled my introductory classes in ways that would help future teachers be able to effectively model inquiry in their own classrooms. I also used to be a teacher professional developer with NASA over my career. I came to Kalamazoo to focus specifically on earth science education. When a disability made it impossible for me to continue to work even part-time, I studied to become a Registered Parliamentarian to learn how to run meetings effectively using Robert's Rules of Order. I became interested in running for the school board as a way to use all of these skills to help stem the tide of losing good teachers, provide better support for our classroom, and bring more transparency to the board's actions.
Endorsements
Received: 314Action (promoting scientists in office), Alonzo Wilson II (city councilperson), Kalamazoo County Democratic Party. Seeking: Kalamazoo Education Association, Kalamazoo Support Professionals, UAW Local 2150 (Principals and Administrators), SEIU Local 517M Region 2 (custodial and maintenance workers), Michigan Education Association
Top financials Contributors
Website and social media links
Christopher Bovid, Todd Ellis, Linda Ellis
How would you engage and include parents, caregivers, community members and students in decision-making in your district around things like curriculum, budgeting and district policy?
Based on my observations of the past curricular cycle and after informal discussions with teachers and parents, I would strive to make sure that when teachers are piloting new curricula in their classrooms, their observations are given much greater weight than they are currently. Several teachers felt that their input was outright ignored, and that can't happen if we are to show our educators proper respect for their expertise and the feedback students offer to them. When it comes to budgeting and district policy, too much of the work is being done with no official record of the discussions. Committee reports are not published prior to board meetings, so there is no way to know what discussions are in the works. Committee of the Whole meetings over dinner, while listed as open to the public, are difficult to join in the meeting space, and no minutes are ever kept and published. The process has to be more transparent to the community stakeholders for them to have an opportunity to provide input.
What are your thoughts on school discipline and the way it is exercised in your school district? What are your thoughts on restorative practices?
School discipline is indeed a severe and ongoing problem that mirrors an upsurge in violence in our city. I believe that Dr. Slade has brought new energy to begin to deal with in-classroom behavior, and his regular visits to the schools are undoubtedly welcomed by many stakeholders. I believe we need more support staff and better training for our building administrators on how to handle students who have been referred to the office. Anecdotally, some schools will keep a referred student for a few minutes, give them a snack, and return them to the classroom within five minutes. That is not restorative to the student or supportive to the teacher. And metal detectors are a topic of discussion for the upcoming year. There are pros and cons, supported by research, that must be considered before a final decision is made, and community input will be vital.
What are your thoughts on how to improve student mental health
Ideally, we would have mental health resource personnel on staff in every building, though I don't see this happening. Continued inclusion of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) throughout the curriculum is vital. While current board policy explicitly mentions a prohibition on discrimination against LGBTQ+ students, I also think we need to make sure that we explicitly include LGBTQ+ students in our anti-bullying statements and provide teachers with any support they might need to protect and promote those students' identities. The same goes for any differently-abled child in our district.
What are your thoughts on ways to improve Black student achievement in your district and in Michigan schools overall?
Young black men and women certainly face a lot more challenges than many of their counterparts in our schools. I think we're on the right track on some issues in this district. Dr. Slade's attendance policy, along with better funding for fully staffed bussing, has reduced chronic absenteeism from the 50% rate we held two years ago. As he has said, you can't learn if you're not in school. But there are other challenges that we have to address as a district and as a community. These young people may be faced with additional family burdens at home, leaving them less time for the independent learning homework helps to provide. Students who are unhoused may not even have the power to do their at-home work. Community organizations have been and must continue to step in to help some of the chronic problems that prevent these young men and women. As a district, I believe we should be more proactive and creative about finding solutions that allow our Black students a chance to learn on an even footing with other students in their classes.
What are your thoughts on how to ensure that all students and their families, regardless of race, gender identity, sexuality, disability, religion, income status, etc., feel safe and included in your district?
I mentioned earlier that board policy already prohibits discrimination against all of these protected groups and more, consistent with state law. As a disabled person myself, I can tell you that many of the buildings do have issues with accessibility. As an example, the Loy Norrix High School swimming pool has no disability access to seating to watch meets. Other buildings with multiple floors may have a single elevator, which can make it a challenge for a mobility-disabled student to change classes in time. I've also discovered that training for supporting some students with chronic illnesses (Type I Diabetes, for example) is inconsistent and leaves some students facing real health crises. Having concrete, uniform policies for what to do in specific health emergencies is something that must be addressed across the district. Finally, while I know that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training are frowned upon by some in our country, they are so vital to helping teachers, staff, and other students understand implicit bias and learn anti-discriminatory behaviors.
What are your thoughts on how to recruit and retain staff, particularly staff of color, in your district with regard to pay, benefits, and working conditions?
Our district actually pays reasonably well and offers decent benefits, although they could be improved, as they could across our country. In my daughter's six years in KPS, three of her former teachers resigned to move to other districts. I reached out to some of them and others whom I had heard were similarly departing, and there was a single common theme: lack of respect. They felt their expertise was ignored in selecting curricula or testing methods, they felt completely unrewarded for putting in extra effort to secure grants for special projects, and their class sizes were far too large for them to be effective and differentiating instruction among students. They were leaving for jobs with longer commutes and lower pay because those positions were rewarding them as master teachers mentoring young, new teachers as they learn vital lessons during their first years.
So, we need to lower class sizes. The target maximum must be thirty at the higher grade levels, and it should be smaller as the children get younger. We should not tolerate a class size of 42, which has been reported for the sixth-grade advanced math class at one of our middle schools. We also need to provide more paraprofessional support to our teachers, especially when there are exceptional learners in those classes. Working with our communities to strengthen parent involvement in the classrooms makes a world of difference, and as a district, we should be looking for best practices in increasing that involvement. Meaningful professional development that allows teachers to get their "hands dirty" by learning new techniques or labs can help keep their skills fresh and sharp. Making sure facilities are being maintained properly is vital. Reports of classrooms with leaky ceilings and technology that are out of date come up frequently in discussions with teachers. And finally, as I've learned from many of my former students who went into teaching, there must be better mentorship. There are things that come up in a classroom that no course in classroom management can prepare you for. Having a mentor available to offer advice and encouragement can go a long way to helping retain young teachers to become successful veterans.