State of the Schools

by Christy Lozano

Santa Barbara Superintendent of Schools Hilda Maldonado gave her “State of the Schools” address Thursday October 10th at the Carrillo Recreation Center to a room full of Politicians, Non-profit organizations, School Board members, administrators, staff, parents, and maybe even some consultants.  

The “State of the Schools” address she gave and the phrases she used made us question what the heck she’s been doing since she was hired in 2020. I, for one, can’t tell but she did give everyone lots of insight into what she hasn’t done.

For example (the following are taken from my notes as I listened to her presentation):

1. “It would be wrong to test an EL learner on an English test if they can’t speak English because they would fail.”  The statement  makes me wonder if she currently does that to English Language Learners before they are ready? Is she testing for evidence of progress? Why would she test any student In English or any language  if they were not ready?

2. “We are not only worried about students going to college, we are also worried about how students will pay for it.”  Shouldn’t “paying for college” be  something parents should worry about? Why is the Superintendent of schools taking on that responsibility and what does that mean? 

3. “The days of putting the special education students in the back of the classroom are over…” Is she suggesting special education teachers in Santa Barbara Unified School District have done that or are currently doing that?  

4. “There hasn't been a coherent reading system since 2007.”  What has Hilda and the rest of her administration been doing for the past 4 years?  Why has Santa Barbara Unified School District been doing a poor job teaching reading since 2007?  What about all the Board Members? If true, this suggests we need new leadership, perhaps at every level.  

5. “Students spend time Googling ‘What is the price of rice’?”  Do students really spend their time Googling “What is the price of rice?” 

6. “She talked about the importance of solar panels on our campuses and then followed up by stating “and when we start collecting solar electricity.”  What have the solar panels been doing for the last few years if not producing electricity? Are solar panels harmful to children that sit beneath them? 

7. Hilda said something like “As teachers, What assumption do I make when I see a child that looks (disheveled)? Do I blame the child?” Is she suggesting that teachers in Santa Barbara Unified don’t pay attention now to children that come to school “disheveled”? Is she only now going to do something about it? Why hasn’t she done something about it already? 

8. She stated that “We need to design a system ‘with students at the center’” Huh? What is the alternative system in use currently? Is it designed for teachers? Administrators? Is it designed for nothing at all? The School district motto is “Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day.” So the district has not been doing that?  

9. Hilda apparently believes that we need to invest in two specific dilapidated buildings: the Health and Wellness building at San Marcos, and the Armory. She gave no specifics as to what those buildings would be used for and where the money would come from. 

10.  Last week, Bill Banning emphatically denied that Critical Race Theory (CRT) was being taught in schools. Well, he’s wrong. It is being taught in Santa Barbara schools. They just don’t call it that; they call it “Socratic Seminars.” In Hilda’s words, “Kindergartners are doing Socratic seminars.  I will leave it at that, look it up.” Here is a perfect explanation by the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education about how they are training Kindergarteners to be activists.  Socratic seminars are conditioning these Kindergarteners’ minds. 

11. “We are focusing on those most in need.” What she meant to say was they are focusing on obtaining money for the students that are most in need. “We are focusing on this group and then we can help the rest as well.” So currently she is not helping the rest, just the failing students?  

12. “We Asked counselors to track the clubs that students are in.”

Why?  Why are they tracking kids at all?  

Questions at the end were allowed, but were vetted first.  All four questions that were asked had to do with Hilda’s equity decisions and she did not really answer any of them. She called the equity questions “assumptions” and said she would answer by speaking to other people about it or put the question on somebody else to answer, specifically Bill Woodard.  

It seemed as though the entire Santa Barbara Democrat Establishment was present, including politicians Gregg Hart, Laura Capps, Eric Friedman, Byron, a rep  for Salud Carbajal, and Zarate representing Monique Limon.  Non-profits represented were Michael Baker for United Boys and Girls Club, Rachel for The Fund of Santa Barbara, and the host, Santa Barbara Education Foundation. School Board Members present included Wendy Sims-Moten, Bill Banning, and Sunita Beall. Administrators present were Dare Holdren of San Marcos High School, Fred Razo of Santa Barbara High School, and presenter, Bill Woodard of Dos Pueblos High School, along with  Elementary Superintendent Denice Alvarado, and John Shetler director of Special Education for the district.  

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