Quick Take
Pajaro Valley Unified School District agreed last week with an Iowa university to pair one of its teachers-in-training with a MacQuiddy Elementary School teacher for the remainder of the year. In a Jan. 15 vote, the governing board failed to pass the agreement.
Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s governing board unanimously approved an agreement last week with a Christian, Iowa-based university to have one of its student teachers work at MacQuiddy Elementary School for the rest of the school year.
On Jan. 15, the governing board failed to approve it the first time around as it didn’t get enough trustees’ votes to pass after trustee Gabe Medina expressed concerns that the agreement would bring student teachers to the district’s public schools who might emphasize Christianity in the classroom.
Medina said had since learned more about the agreement – and the college – and last Thursday he joined the other board members and apologized for rejecting it initially.
“I made a mistake,” said Medina. “I got more information before [Thursday morning’s] meeting.”
During the Jan. 15 board meeting, Medina said he refused to approve the agreement because of the history of religious institutions imposing their religion on Native people and he was concerned the agreement would bring student teachers into classrooms to emphasize their religion. After that meeting, Medina learned more about the agreement and how the student teacher wouldn’t be teaching anything religious.
“I am fully OK with moving forward now that those issues are cleared up for me,” he said Thursday.
The agreement with Dubuque’s Emmaus University comes at no cost to the district. The university will pay the student a weekly stipend of between $150 and $300. The student will work with second grade teacher Debbie White-Stefanko at MacQuiddy Elementary.
The teaching experience helps the student fulfill requirements for their college program. During the Jan. 15 meeting, Brian Saxton, human resources director for certificated employees at the district, told the trustees that the district has a number of agreements like this with local universities, like UC Santa Cruz, and with others across the country with student teachers at several of the district’s schools.
Superintendent Heather Contreras said the district has not been served with any lawsuits related to discrimination based on religion due to Medina’s comments at the Jan. 15 meeting. She added the district will continue using “constructive dialogue” to resolve concerns.
“After further discussion and reflection, the board unanimously approved the agreement, demonstrating a willingness to learn and correct any misunderstandings made in the prior decision,” she said. “We are proud of the board’s commitment to ensuring decisions are made in the best interest of the district and the students we serve.”
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