Coeur d’Alene elementary school to undergo major educational, staffing overhaul

Elementary school to undergo major educational, staffing overhaul

COEUR d’ALENE — An era of transformation is about to begin at Borah Elementary School.

On Monday, Borah Principal Kristina Davenport announced plans to design and build a new learning environment at the 70-year-old neighborhood school by recruiting a team of enthusiastic educators who will reimagine the school, giving it a new focus, theme and name. This rebirth will take shape over a five-year period.

"The work ahead will focus on the creation of a transformational community fiercely committed to learning excellence for every student," the announcement states. "Our goal is for Borah to become a school of pervasive hope, contagious joy and academic excellence."

All teaching positions have been opened and all elementary and middle school teachers in the Coeur d'Alene School District are invited to apply. Davenport explained that this does not mean current teachers will lose their jobs. They're invited to apply to build the new Borah if they wish, or they can choose to work at another school in the district.

Because the school is restructuring and roles are changing, even teachers who have been at the school for a while will be required to submit paperwork and undergo an interview process. No one is being fired; district officials said teachers who depart will have jobs waiting for them at other schools.

To select the team for the new school, the district is asking interested teachers to respond to several questions. The questions are designed to identify the qualities and dispositions that are necessary for the additional commitments and teamwork crucial to this new initiative. The selection process is the same for any Coeur d'Alene teacher, including those now at Borah, who are interested in being a part of this new school.

"It’s an opportunity to say, ‘We are doing something, we are resetting, we are doing a fresh start,’" Davenport said Wednesday. "It’s an opportunity for teachers to say, ‘I am passionate about that, yes, I want to be part of that.’”

Those who stay or join the team from another school will be taking on the challenges of revamping a school that has a less than favorable reputation among many in the community. Borah serves about 400 students and has one of the highest free/reduced lunch rates in the district at more than 60 percent.

"This will be a fresh start for Borah, a school which has struggled over many years," said Kate Orozco, assistant superintendent of elementary education and instruction. "Some of the struggle has been about academic growth and some has been about working with a large number of students who have experienced some type of trauma in their lives. On top of that, we see a higher rate of poverty among students attending Borah which adds a whole other layer of pressure on these families."

The educators who are up to this challenge will be rewarded.

A $5,000-per-year stipend will be awarded to teachers who join the 2020-2021 team. This is a five-year stipend that will be funded by Title I federal funds, which are allocated to elevating low-income students to help them reach educational goals.

When asked how, specifically, the new Borah school would be different or better than previous models, organizers said that has not been determined. But they said they will be building something different than what exists now.

Once the team has formed, team members will research programming ideas and school models before establishing what type of school will best suit the Borah community.

"This is probably the boldest, most audacious undertaking our district has committed itself to,” Orozco said. "Our kids deserve this and they need it. We better commit ourselves to creating something worthy of promise of their future."

Lauren Mills is a school counselor at Borah. Counselor positions are among those that qualify for the $5,000-per-year stipend.

"The initial shock is really where everyone is at," Mills said. "I can speak for a lot of my teacher friends — this isn't a bad thing, but a shocking thing. As people learn more facts and talk to those of us involved and that we are OK, hopefully the community will see this as a positive thing and it will be a great thing in the end."

Emma Lindelof, president of the Borah PTO, said one parent messaged her after the announcement went out and said, "Oh my gosh what’s going on?"

"Everybody was blindsided," she said. "I don't think it was the intention, but with everything that's going on right now, it's just one more thing."

Lindelof has two middle-schoolers who spent elementary years and one presently in first grade at Borah. She said it breaks her heart when she hears parents in the community say they don't want their kids to go to there.

"We have a lot of children who come from very rough backgrounds," she said. "Because we have those kids, sometimes we have to focus on them more emotionally. Borah is their safe space and the staff has become their safe space."

She said a rebranding is going to create a new generation for the school, mentally and emotionally.

"We have such special kids," she said. "If somebody falls on the playground, there’s somebody to get them. Their hearts are so big.”

Kim Ziegler, president of the Coeur d'Alene Education Association, said CEA leadership supports positive changes that improve student learning and character development.

"The district is making an investment in this building, in the staff that will work there and the students that will be educated there," she said. "During this fresh start, the teachers that work at Borah, and those that wish to join the Borah team, will be provided with a unique opportunity to design a new school.”

Applications have been sent to eligible Coeur d'Alene teachers and will be accepted through April 23. Finalists will be interviewed the last week of April.