EP Schools: Safety is ‘top priority’ as long-delayed task force convenes

Nine months after Eden Prairie Schools promised during teacher contract negotiations to establish a safety task force to address the root causes of student behavior issues, the group was set to have its first full meeting on Oct. 30.

About 30 district administrators, site leaders, and teachers across building sites were scheduled to discuss task force parameters, goals, and initial actions, as well as share feedback, according to Charles Cooper, the Eden Prairie Education Association (EPEA) president.

With initial planning already done at an inaugural smaller group meeting in mid-August, Cooper said, “I think that we’ve got a really solid plan in place to reflect on what’s already changed this year in our schools.”

He noted that two months into the school year, there has already been a “significant shift” in student behavior and school atmosphere, due to various district efforts. “There has been reinforcement and clarification around policies that have gone into place, which has made meaningful changes for our teachers,” he said.

Robb Virgin, the district’s assistant superintendent of secondary education, said that the safety task force is also scheduled to meet once after winter break and once in the spring.

The safety task force had been proposed by the district last January during teacher contract negotiations after the EPEA demanded a number of contract protections for teachers who experienced violence and harassment from students.

The district said it could not agree to these requests because it felt they did not address the root causes of safety issues. Instead, Superintendent Josh Swanson proposed establishing a safety task force in partnership with the EPEA to identify and address these root causes. This was offered in return for the union reducing its demands, including the number of days of hazard pay requested.

The district also promised that this task force would be established immediately after the contract was signed. During final negotiation meetings on Jan. 31, the EPEA accepted that promise along with the tentative agreement, which its members then voted to accept. The contract was then ratified by the school board on Feb. 26.

However, the task force was delayed for several months, according to both the district and the EPEA. Many community members and teachers expressed frustration at the delay, privately and publicly questioning why no progress had been reported.

Virgin stressed that although forming the safety task force took longer than initially anticipated due to major administrative staffing changes and some organizational delays, he wanted the community to know that this was not because the district does not prioritize safety.

On the contrary, he said, significant work was already underway without waiting for the group to be formed. He said administrators have worked hard and consulted teachers, staff, and community members over the past several months to make substantive and palpable improvements in the district, including through handbook changes, hiring decisions, and implementation changes.

Virgin cited a roughly 50% drop in student absences, fewer disciplinary incidents, and improved early-grade data as encouraging results of this work since the start of the school year.

Although these efforts could not be credited to the then-unformed safety task force, Virgin said the current results were what ultimately mattered: “If you walked through the two buildings (Central Middle School and Eden Prairie High School) where we heard those (problems) come from the most last year, I think you would feel a profound change.”

The safety task force began to coalesce in July, Virgin said, through email exchanges and small-group conversations. He said these early conversations also helped guide changes in the handbooks and enforcement policies.

When the task force held its inaugural meeting with administrators and teachers in mid-August, it was decided that more voices were needed in the group. Additional invites were extended to include principals and teachers from across the district, so that each school was represented.

Felicia Thames, assistant superintendent of elementary education, said the task force will take a proactive approach to student behavior, reassessing progress frequently with teachers, principals, and other key staff. “We recognize that there’s more going on with our students than there has been in the past, and we are continuing to make changes,” Thames said.

Cooper, who as EPEA president is on sabbatical from his social studies teaching job at Eden Prairie High School, also served as the EPEA’s lead negotiator during teacher contract talks. He said that the safety task force was an important part of the final agreement.

“When we settled our contract, when we were promised the safety task force, when we were told that these concerns were going to be addressed and that teacher voice was going to play a role in addressing these concerns, we wanted to make sure that it wasn’t meaningless,” he said.

He added that while the delays in establishing it were not ideal, he was happy with the collaborative and constructive approach that was now taking place. He said he felt optimistic about getting accountability from the district and measurable results through a partnership effort.

Cooper said that, in addition to identifying safety concerns and root causes of behavioral issues, he wanted the task force to develop supports and resources for staff dealing with the impacts of student behavioral challenges. He said it had the potential to be an important forum for teachers to provide honest input to site and district leaders “for something that is foundational for our jobs, for our students, for our families.”

Cooper indicated that while he would have preferred the district had formed and mobilized the safety task force sooner, so it would have had a more direct role in developing safety policy over the past several months, he was satisfied with progress being made so far.

“Do we still have issues? Yes,” he said. “Do we still have challenges around safety? Absolutely. Do we still have students striking teachers? (Yes).” However, he said, “It’s something that we’re going to continue to work on fixing, and it’s something that I think we’ve made movement towards addressing.”