EdCal EdCal v48.21 3/5/18

Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators Volume 47 | Number 21 | March 5, 2018 Women’s history month excellent time to look at implicit bias Women in the workplace contend with more than the direct, obvious sexism of decades past. But just as poisonous, gender- based and culturally instilled bias still qui- etly holds back millions of women from achieving their full potential or overcoming a skewed perception of self. Confronting these mental setbacks is just as important as protesting the fact that American women still receive 80 cents on the dollar. Find out more at https:// goo.gl/LgKwGv. You can also see the lat- est Department of Labor data on women workers at https://goo.gl/I3m9Iz, and take implicit bias tests at https://www.aauw. org/?p=49178. March is Women’s History Month and a good time to really look at “internalized oppression,” or implicit bias, the shadowy, partly unconscious process of an oppressed group coming to believe that the prejudices and stereotypes about them are true. These individuals end up putting this bias back out into the world by means of their speech, their treatment of other peo- ple, their own lowered self-confidence, and the way they raise their children. This com- mon phenomenon occurs in part because the human brain seeks to assimilate to the dominant culture while also categorizing, validating, and rationalizing its own experi- ences. Without realizing it, you might be assuming that your male co-workers are more objective, strong-willed, decisive, prac- tical and assertive than women. Too often, when women display these same charac- teristics, they are viewed as angry, bossy or worse, even by their female colleagues. And when colleagues disagree or are upset with female employees or administra- tors, they tend to bring their gender into their critique of the person, unconsciously punishing women for not being warm, accommodating, submissive or unobtrusive. This type of bias can begin even before you meet a person. In a controlled study, See BIAS, page 2 Task force formed on school violence Jennifer Rowe Gonzales of Fagen Friedman and Fulfrost and ACSA Legislative Advocate Laura Preston make a co-presentation to administrators during a marijuana summit at Vacaville USD. Guidance offered on new marijuana rules Vacaville Unified School District, like many districts statewide, is facing challenges with the implementation of Proposition 64 and the impact of new marijuana laws in California. “Districts are really looking at three different angles on the marijuana law,” said ACSA Legislative Advocate Laura Preston. “How do the new laws impact students, employees, and facilities.” VUSD has taken a proactive step by holding a marijuana summit for secondary school administrators, coun- selors and psychologists. The summit included law enforcement, legal teams, and ACSA answering questions on new laws. The goal was to review the state Education Code and board poli- cies, as well as how police officers are responding to the new regulations. “We’ve been struggling with stu- dents bringing and selling marijuana and marijuana products on our cam- puses,” said Kimberly Forrest, VUSD assistant superintendent of Student Services. “Right now there is a lot of concern for districts – how do we go about enforcing laws and policies that are new and unclear.” Jennifer Rowe Gonzales of the law firm Fagen Friedman and Fulfrost gave a presentation on the California Education Code, which dictates that students are automatically expelled if they are caught selling marijuana on a school campus. Despite changes to the legalization of marijuana in California, the Education Code has remained unchanged. Several districts statewide are work- ing with their boards to determine how See MARIJUANA, page 4 ACSA has announced the formation of a task force in response to the growing num- ber of school violence situations. The task force will be led by ACSA President-elect Holly Edds. A joint email signed by Edds, ACSA President Lisa Gonzales and Executive Director Wes Smith announced the task force being formed, and immediately the association was deluged with ACSA members volun- teering and wanting to be involved. “The safety and well-being of students is an educational leader’s utmost priority,” the email stated. “We are horrified and outraged once again, by another school shooting and outraged by the senseless loss of life and the devastating impact on the lives of our stu- dents, faculties, parents and communities.” The task force will reach out to all stakeholder groups for participation, not just K-12 school leaders, and hopes to include representatives from law enforce- ment, social workers, medical professionals, industry experts and students to address the critical issues related to mental health, school climate, and gun violence on campus. “We believe there is a need to have seri- ous discussions about these issues, and we will be assembling resources for educators and a plan of action for ACSA, as well as our state and federal partners,” Edds said. As the task force works to improve school safety, ACSA is asking members to share any of the best practices currently in use to prevent and respond to violence on campus. Please send your thoughts, ideas and best practices to Naj Alikhan, ACSA senior director of Communications, at [email protected]. ACSA resources. With California students preparing to participate in actions and protests related to the Florida school shooting, ACSA has pop- ulated the Student Protests section of our new Resource Hub with first-per- son content and experiences that have come from colleagues and partners, with a focus on how districts confront these events. This content features resources on student safety, listen- ing to your students, using student acti