Read Transcript:

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Jeff Kubiak: Jeff Kubiak here for the Better Learning Podcast, and I am so excited to have an old friend and a current amazing human, Amy Alzina.

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Amy is the superintendent principal of the Cold Spring School District down in Santa Barbara County.

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She’s also currently the, a board member for ACSA, the Association for California School Administrators, and she’s the vice president of the Small School
District Association in California, an amazing grassroots organization that really helps rural and small school districts get what they need and deserve.

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Amy, thanks for being here.

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Amy Alzina: Thanks for being here.

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It’s always great to connect with you

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Jeff Kubiak: Oh, totally.

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And the work you do is amazing.

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And, I’d, I’d like to maybe start with, uh, a little bit of, uh, love for the SSDA because I don’t think a lot of our lear- listeners on the Better Learning Podcast really know about it.

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Maybe you could share a little bit

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Amy Alzina: Well, the Small School, uh, Districts Association, SSDA, represents, uh, 60% of school districts in the state of California.

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So, uh, there are about 1,100 school districts, and 60, uh, percent of them are considered small.

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When we say small, that’s 2,500 students or less.

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Cold Spring is really small, right?

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So it varies in that space.

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And, uh, just really, the great, the great part about being in a small school district is, uh, the ability to pivot quickly But the resources and the needs that we have are so different than a large school district.

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And so it’s really making sure that our legislature, our, um, really understands the needs of smalls and is really advocating for local control and making sure that there’s equity in education

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Jeff Kubiak: Oh, that’s fantastic.

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Thank you.

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Thank you for that.

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what do you think is something that students experience every day in a school building or campus that most adults overlook?

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. Amy Alzina: You know, every student wants to feel seen and a sense of belonging.

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And I feel like classroom teachers do a great job in trying to connect with their students.

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Um, but sometimes we get in this tunnel vision of just my class and my s- group of students instead of everyone in the school as all of my students.

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And so sometimes we overlook that, the power that we have as educators and staff to connect with students that maybe we don’t normally connect with on a day-to-day
basis, and making sure that every student has at least three advocates, and there are three people that they can go to throughout the day at any time of the day.

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And I think one of the joys of being the superintendent and principal, I get the opportunity to do that.

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And I’ll try to rack my brain, like, “Is there someone I haven’t connected with lately?” And making sure that they feel connected, and that goes for teachers and students.

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But, maybe that’s something, something that we sometimes overlook, is that the influence that we have, um, not just, um, with our students in our classroom, but all students

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Jeff Kubiak: Yeah.

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Yeah, that’s a great point.

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And, you know, that kind of leads to teaching, right?

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And if, if great teaching is, if not the most important, one of the most important variables, right, in education, what should a building do to elevate teacher practice?

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Amy Alzina: your environment can make it, make a warm place where you want it to work and to be engaged, or it can make you not want to be engaged.

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And how you set up your, your desks, your table groups, indoor/outdoor learning.

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When we designed our new building, it was important for me to have barn doors, um, that open to outside for both classrooms so that there could be indoor/outdoor learning.

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We live in Santa Barbara, and so let’s take advantage of the space that we have, so, and make that flexible.

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I know in my upper grade classrooms, teachers have couches in their classrooms, and so students can work on the couch, they can work at their desk, they can work on the floor.

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They also have rugs.

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So, nobody wants to be confined to a desk where they’re sitting all day, as I’m at my standup desk right now talking to you, right?

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And our kids are the same way.

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and so having the ability to choose and choice, um, gives students a lot more connection, I think, to the engagement of whatever they’re working on

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Jeff Kubiak: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So I think that’s a great point, and you’re talking about a, a new project.

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So let’s look at the, you know, the, the viewpoint from taxpayers.

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So how d- how do you as the superintendent principal help taxpayers understand the connection between the quality of the physical learning environment and the outcomes for the care about the children they have in the schools, perhaps?

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Amy Alzina: Well, I think actions speak louder than words, right?

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And so, you know, for the taxpayers, they wanna know that every dollar that they’re investing in public education produces, students that are college and career-ready.

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A- and what does that look like?

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And so, you know, Cold Spring, as you know, our test scores are off, literally off the charts according to the most recent “New York Times,” right?

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And so that’s one measure.

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Another measure is our chronic attendance, um, absenteeism rate, right?

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And so we look at that and making sure, you know, we’re below 6% right now.

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I think we’re at 5%.

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And so the state average, I think is in the 20s,

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Jeff Kubiak: Yes.

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Amy Alzina: right?

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And our k- and literally our kids want to come to school.

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I have a waiting list for summer school.

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and so making sure– And then also I pay my teachers really well.

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Um, a prime example of that is we’re not in negotiations right now, but, uh, health and medical benefits went way up.

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And so I went to my board in, in closed session and I said, “Look, we don’t need to give our teachers more money right now in the health and medical benefits piece of this, but, they’re gonna have to pay another $250 out of pocket a month.”

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That’s a lot.

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and I think we can swing it in our budget for not only next year, but make it ongoing.

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And so we committed to giving, um, another, $1,200 per employee towards benefits for next year.

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And that’s just good f- that’s not, we’re not in negotiations, like I said.

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That’s just, like, good, I feel like, collective leadership from, like, me and the board of what is it, what is it that we can do so that we can take care of our people so our people can take care of our kids.

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Jeff Kubiak: Yeah, I think that, you know, budget constraint’s always such an issue, right?

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And having been a, an educator in California, you know, for a long time as well, it’s just something we always have to have in the back of our mind.

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So how do you weigh those community expectations, those educational goals, and the budget constraints in the work that you’re doing?

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So you gave us a great example of, you know, helping teachers in a time that they weren’t asking for, but you just did the right thing.

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So what about all those other expectations and, and things?

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Amy Alzina: Well, people like to invest, um, in success, right?

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And so, um,

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we wouldn’t be able to have a robust specialist program, what I say by that, music, art, PE, um, garden, if it wasn’t for the donations that we get from our parents.

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So we fundraise, and we get about, um, 200 to $250,000 a year that our parents donate to help offset those costs.

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So that community support is essential.

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when it came to things like we needed new picnic tables, um, and those were a paddle raise for our foundation fundraiser.

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I said, “Well, let’s put a plaque that you donated.” You know, people like their names on things, right?

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So there’s a lot of plaques everywhere, right?

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Um, to help offset costs for things.

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you know, the community, like, like you said, wants to make sure that we’re delivering a quality product, which, which we do.

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And I think because we have over time, there’s trust, right?

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And, um, Stephen Covey talks about, you know, the speed of trust and transparency as everything.

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And our strategic plan has not changed much over the year because why break something that is not broken, right?

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And so let’s just continue, um, with the work that we’re doing at Coldspring, um, and just continue to make sure that everybody has a personalized learning experience.

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And so it isn’t one size fits all approach to education.

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Um, what you get and what you get are all different according to your unique needs and talents.

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Yeah.

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Jeff Kubiak: on with that, the student focus.

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So you got students.

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What advice would you give someone who’s thinking about a career in school finance or business management?

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So maybe, you know, they’re kind of looking to do the CBO thing or something that’s in that realm

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Amy Alzina: You know, if people are looking at that space, there is a huge need.

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Um, my current CBO that I just hired, who’s phenomenal, Maureen Fitzgerald, uh, I went out when I needed, um, to hire her, and I had Two applicants, I would say, that were qualified for the position, right?

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And so it is, there, there is a need, and AASA has an academy that people can, you know, attend, right?

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CASBO does as well, um, and that people can attend, so you can still be working and work on, getting certified at, to be a school CBO.

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Um, but if somebody, like I said, is, is interested in that space and they’re worried about, “Oh, if I do all this work, am I gonna get hired?”

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Um, you will.

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Jeff Kubiak: Do you see that being as a, a, a needed niche in like a CTE program going, um, from high school to post?

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Amy Alzina: I mean, that’s a great creative thought, Jeff, is that, yeah, you create a CTE pathway that goes into school finance and that, that would be really fun to see.

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You know, when we work with schools at K12, it’s not just about furniture or design, it’s about impact.

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Our radically student-centered approach puts students at the center of every decision.

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From that first conversation to the final walkthrough, we’re focused on creating spaces that actually work for the kids, the teachers, and the community.

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So if you’re looking to do more than just check a box on your next project, let’s talk.

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Visit k12.com, that’s K-A-Y-T-W-E-L-V-E.com, and see how we’re helping schools transform learning one student at a time.

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Because at K12, it’s not just about projects and furniture, it’s about purpose

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Jeff Kubiak: you know, you, you, uh, obviously traveled down the road of design for your, your new, um, building.

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So what do you see as trends, in school design now that you’ve through it?

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And maybe what would you say that’s being overused or misunderstood in school design?

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Amy Alzina: Well, pre-COVID, the hot trend was let’s get away from individual desks to cooperative groups.

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And people were, you know, there was a lot of professional training and group, group work, um, students sitting around in tables, not in desks.

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Then COVID

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Jeff Kubiak: Yeah.

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Amy Alzina: happened, and everybody had to sit six feet apart.

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And then everyone went back to s- like sitting in rows and sitting in desks.

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It was pretty comical.

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and then, I think what we see now is probably a combination of the two, and I think that’s healthy.

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I think there’s times when students need to work independently like I do, like, and right, we do as an adults, and give me my space.

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And then there’s times when students need to work in cooperative groups.

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And so, um, you know, in our classrooms, you’ll see st- individual desks for those times when students just need to like, “Hey, let– I just need to get my work
done uninterrupted.” But then you’ll also see, like I just shared earlier, you’ll see table groups, you’ll see couches, you know, you’ll see wobble seats, right?

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You’ll see, all different types of ways that students, can feel comfortable in their learning environment, um, according to their projects, and even working outside.

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I think taking advantage of our outside learning spaces was great.

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COVID did that for us, was like, okay, you don’t have to sit, you know, six feet apart if you’re outside or, you know, or wear a mask.

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And so more and more people, I think, are taking advantage of the learning spaces that they have outside and, and being mindful of when
they do build a building, um, let’s build an outside courtyard that’s adjacent to that building as well, so students can work in that space.

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Jeff Kubiak: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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keeping your SSDA hat on, what would you say are the emerging trends in school funding or financing that are either the most exciting or the most concerning right now?

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Amy Alzina: Well, y- you know, the governors may revise, right?

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The, the budget that’s coming out right now.

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Um, you know, a lot’s happening right now.

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But what we’re seeing is, you know, the e- expanded learning opportunity grant funds, they came out, um, a couple years ago, and we thought, “Are these just gonna be one-year funds to support kids after school?

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Are they gonna be ongoing?” Um, it looks like they are now ongoing.

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For small school districts, our initial pot of funding was 50,000, and now we have $100,000 as a base grant, um, which is huge, right?

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And so making sure that we have those funds so that we can have after-school programs, that we can have summer school.

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Um, I think the part of that still frustrates me a little bit is that nine-hour day fix that you have to have to that.

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And, um, what I have told my board is that this doesn’t work for our population, and we know that our academic program is off the charts, and what we’re doing does work.

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So we’re gonna, um, take an audit finding, which we do every year, and I have to give back about 10% of those funds to the state because I don’t fit their bubble.

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Jeff Kubiak: Right

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Amy Alzina: um, but, uh, it is also a creative workaround.

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So what I see a lot of small school districts do, unfortunately, they’re like, “Well, we can’t meet the nine-hour day, so we’re not gonna take the funds.”
So they don’t get the money at all, not realizing you can take the money, but you’re gonna have an audit finding, and you’re gonna give some back, right?

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And so I’ve shared that concern with, um, Department of Finance, and, you know, making sure that there’s flexibility within that, and hopefully that will change down the road.

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Other funding that’s coming down, we’re seeing a discretionary block fu- grant that’s coming, which could give districts a lot more freedom, um, It’s like, I think it’s $946 per student, to spend on, programs that they need, right?

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Um, and so there’s, it’s discretionary.

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So I think that is great.

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um, the legislation that does make me a little bit nervous is the 14-week, um, pregnancy leave, and hey, I’m all for pregnancy leave, but the financial constraint on that is paying for a long-term substitute.

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And then also what we see in public education is you can only have the same long-term sub for 30 days, and so h- that’s just like four to five weeks, right?

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And so now I’m gonna have a revolving door of substitutes for those kids, which is not good for kids as we know, especially if you’re teaching first grade.

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That’s the foundation for reading.

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So now they’ve had, you know, maybe four teachers that don’t know how to teach reading, ’cause I’ve taught first grade and let me just tell you, I did not know how to teach fir- reading and I had to go back and I had to learn the foundation.

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There’s 44 sounds.

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I thought there was 26 sounds, right?

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Like, okay, what are the other sounds?

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And, and then my, my argument is with that, that 14-week pregnancy leave is it’s not good for kids because now I’m gonna have a group cohort of students that I’m gonna have to spend a ton of money for intervention for, right?

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Because they have lost instruction.

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And so, um, I think there’s things that we can do to, um, make win-win situations and one of them is to ex- extend the long-term sub leave, right?

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Like, so instead of it being 30 days, right, for the durat- the 14 weeks, make it for the duration why, they’re out on maternity leave so it can be, same teacher.

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So, those are the ones that are like fresh in my mind right now that I’m thinking about, um, and, and ones to watch.

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Jeff Kubiak: Yeah.

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It, it’s interesting, you know, you bring up that, like, that’s so great, the, the good of the teacher, the 14-week sub, right, for, for pregnancy leave.

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But then wait, we’re, we’re not thinking about the students at the same time, and that’s where our work revolves around.

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And so that, that to me, that should be an easy fix.

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Okay, let, let’s do a six, you know, six-month, uh, long-term, you know, ’cause I– that’s how I started out.

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I was a long-term sub and substitute teacher, um, and that gives the stability for what the kids need.

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Yeah.

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So Amy, we have, um, we have a s- a, a, a phrase with K12, it’s called radically student-centered, and that’s everything that we do revolves around, right?

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And on the Better Learning Podcast, we, we like to ask our wonderful guests, what does that mean to you, radically student-centered?

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And kind of what pops up for you when you, you hear that phrase?

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Amy Alzina: What pops up in my head is doing whatever it takes to make sure everyone feels seen and a sense of belonging and connected, not in school, but just in life.

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And so it’s showing up to their events outside of school and inside of school

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Jeff Kubiak: I love that.

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I love that.

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As, as we wrap up here, what, what’s one thing, Amy, that gives you hope about our future of education?

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Amy Alzina: You know, being in con- on conversations like, like this with you, Jeff, in that there are people that just really care and just wanna learn and grow and, best practices.

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And you and I both have that appetite for learning and growing and, and it’s exciting.

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I think the space, you know, with peop- some people are scared about artificial intelligence, AI.

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But what makes me excited about that is, um, a student’s learning is no longer dependent upon their area code or, you know, their zip code, you know, where they live.

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Um, now everyone can have an A+ education with adaptive learning.

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Um, now not everyone learns that way, right?

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But it now can give, kids actually resources to great tutors, uh, you know, and if used, if used well, right?

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And then I’m just being on the positive side of it and, and creative.

00:19:53.156 –> 00:20:09.026
And I think it also frees up time for teachers in the classroom, you know, to work one-on-one with students and to give them the extra support that they need, um, especially those kids that just, that, that need that relationship component like we all do.

00:20:09.476 –> 00:20:15.836
So I’m just excited about where we’re going and where the future is going of education and,

00:20:17.946 –> 00:20:22.726
um, all the people that are excited along the way that are just supporting, and we’re learning and growing together in this new space.

00:20:23.076 –> 00:20:24.156
Jeff Kubiak: Yeah, totally.

00:20:24.236 –> 00:20:24.706
Totally.

00:20:25.066 –> 00:20:26.376
Uh, thank you, Amy.

00:20:26.496 –> 00:20:32.646
for those of you, uh, first-time listeners, share the podcast if you liked it, and follow Amy Alzina.

00:20:32.646 –> 00:20:37.486
She’s all over social, and she does amazing work at the Coldstring School District.

00:20:38.106 –> 00:20:40.356
We thank you so much for your time today, my friend.

00:20:40.416 –> 00:20:41.276
It’s great to see you

00:20:42.078 –> 00:20:43.088
Amy Alzina: Always good to see you too.

00:20:43.098 –> 00:20:43.858
Thanks, Jeff

00:20:47.464 –> 00:20:51.924
The Better Learning Podcast is produced by Matt Rogers and edited by Kelly Jones.

00:20:52.604 –> 00:21:01.974
The views and opinions shared on this podcast are those of the individuals speaking and do not necessarily represent the perspectives of their affiliated companies, organizations, or associations