European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 10, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday March 10, 1sb8 the stars and stripes Page 9 Dodds hoping for More teachers budget plan includes hiring 755 new employees by William j. Bartman Washington Bureau Washington the military s overseas school system after several years of increasing enrolment Hopes to add several Hundred teachers if Congress approves an 8.3 percent budget increase for fiscal l k. The proposed increase pan of the Overall Pentagon budget request would Lead 10 the hiring of 755 new employees most of them teachers and also would cover an anticipated teacher pay raise of about 8 percent. Over inc last few years we be had an increase of several thousand students said Frances Hammond budget officer for the department of defense dependents schools. But we Haven t been Given More teachers Over the years the first thing is to Lake care of your employees Dodds director John l. Str Mali said tuesday we want to sus Tain our Clasi size average. Teacher salaries arc important. You have to compete in the Dodds sucks a ratio of one teacher to every 23. S students. Stremple who expressed optimism that his budget re. Quest would be approved said the ratios running slightly higher than that. The school system had hoped to oper ate with 14,Ono employees in the current fiscal year. Dut Federal budget cutbacks Breed it to accept a staff level of 13,224. We want 755 of those Back Strum pc said of the 755 proposed new employees 357 would be regular classroom teachers. Is hot Dodds director John l. A rumple. The first thing is to take care of your another 14d leathers would be hired for the talented and gifted program and 124 compensatory education teachers who provide instruction for Disalv Amagid children would be added. The rest of the increase would be made up of 49 English language teachers 35 Driver s education instructors 20 elementary language intercultural teachers and 10 Roth instructors. Also proposed arc 20 additional Custo dial employees la Lake care of school buildings that Stremple said will get Nec Essary improvements despite budget constraints. Are they adequate Strum pc asked of the Dodds facilities. They never Are nowhere i be Strum pc on leave u superintendent of the Fri Snow calif., school system to run Dodds through july Taid that while needed maintenance and repairs arc provided for in his budget Requel he had to scale Back his request for new schools. The Dodds budget request seeks 160.52 million in military construction js15.78 for operations and maintenance and More than $400,000 for procure ment. The budget request faces scrutiny in the Pentagon As Well As Congress. Bui Stremple based his optimism that inc re quest will be accepted on support from the individual services. He said inc serv ices have petitioned the Secretary of de sense not o Cui the schools budget. This year he pointed out inc defense department absorbed a budget Cut of 10.7 percent but Dodds Only had to take a 4.1 percent Cut. The system Stremple said is not adequate in terms of doing the very Best for every kid possible. But considering what s happening Vilh school districts in the slates we re reasonably Well for example on such things As computers Dodds has Mare computers per child than the average school system in the United slates he said. Communications problem closely studied b William j. Bartman Washington Bureau Washington Ai Congress con siders investigating the Quality of Educa Tion in the military s overseas schools and the schools responsiveness to Stu Dent and Parent concerns defense officials arc looking for ways to improve an admitted communication problem in the system. We Are looking at some Type of major Oao general accounting office re View of the department of defense de Pendents schools said a staff member of the House armed services manpower and personnel subcommittee. We plan. A comprehensive review of Dodds inc Quality of education the Organiza Tion Structure to to parental the congressional concerns Are the re sult of complaints inc subcommittee heard from parents and students during a tour of the Pacific Region late last year. The criticisms entered around the Quality of education and Lack of communication. I think the parents Are right in that criticism Dodds director John Stremple said tuesday. There s a communication problem in every school District i know of particularly Large ones and one As spread out As this Strum pc and Dodds administrative consultant Nick fice said experimental efforts Are under Way in Europe and the Pacific to improve communications. In a District with 19 schools divided into five groups the Sti Crin pendent and assistant hold informal meetings to discuss issues of concern to inc parents. The parents arc identified by the principals As representatives of the Community said Frederick j. Killian District superintendent. They re usually the movers and shakers the people with a network both up and Down. We the invite i Csc folks to a Coffee or Tea to discuss anything they choose relative to school with the exclusion of personnel matters or specific the meetings Are no holds barred confrontations Killian said. Some of the things they bring Forth Are within our control. We discuss our position and How we can Correct it if it needs correcting. We can l address things out of our control but do advise How they can be the District has held ii sessions this school year. The congressional staffer said inc subcommittee was concerned because inc Dodds Issue came up during its our More than we expected it to. And that makes you wonder if there is ,1 the parents fell an inability to have any Impact on he schools said rep. Beverly Byron d-md., chairman of the subcommittee. They saw Dodds As bureaucracy managed out of Alexan Dria Virginia As one they can t gel any feedback fice noted that Dodds does have educational advisory committees and councils made up of elected teacher and Parent representatives. But school sys tem officials concede that these Are not the same As a school Board Back in the states which runs a school is governed by the Pentagon and Congress. We want 10 focus on the Quality of education. As Well As the concerns we seem to hear not Jusi in the Pacific but in other said the subcommittee staff member. The staffer said judging Dodds educational Quality will prove difficult. A lot of it is anecdotal information. Some parents thought it was wonderful. Some not. We know the students have High sat Scholastic aptitude test scores. But what exactly docs Liat mean determining the Quality of education is a very major Lousy is How Battaya Luenburg or Mother of a Sophomore attending Frank fun american High school describes the Quality of education and the communication Between schools and parents. Teachers Don t teach there arc no lectures in class she said. All the Stu dents have to do is written assignments when such concerns Are raised by parents they receive no response Luck Borg or said. She feels this is in keeping with the poor communications maintained by parents and teachers. At the subcommittee s request the Oao has begun a preliminary review of the Dodds system beginning with the complaints out of the Pacific. New evaluation of teachers called top priority Washington is is the neatness of a teacher s classroom and his or her punctuality a major Wayto evaluate that instructor s effectiveness or Are there better factors Many teachers in the department of defense de Pendents schools think their current evaluation pro Cess which considers such factors is silly and their director wants to do something about it. John Stremple Dodds director said tuesday one of his lop priorities in his proposed fiscal 1989 budget request is the implementation Ofa new teacher evaluation process. Estimated at a Cost of 1500,000, the new system would be aimed at alleviating teachers complaints thai the current review process is often irrelevant. The current evaluation system Rales silly stuff in the eyes of teachers Stremple said. They feel As Hough the standards thai have to be met get out of the Purview of the act of the current system Rales such things As whether teachers Are on time for work when icy Check in and out and How nicely their classroom is organized meaning such things As furniture decorations and so new system would take a harder look at the educational program the teacher is offering. Implementing it hrs Wever requires a heavy obligation to train people such As current Dodds administrators and teacher Stremple s goals Are not spelled out m his budget request. It he gels the Overall 8.3 percent budget in crease he s seeking Over last year his next Job win be to fit the new evaluation system into the program
