New agency proposed to help school youth

A potential new government agency, Tacoma 360, has been proposed to address social problems facing students in Tacoma Public Schools (TPS) and help non-profit organizations more effectively deliver services that could help youth to succeed in school and life.

Tacoma City Council, Metro Parks Commission and Tacoma School Board held a joint study session on June 16 to discuss the proposal.

Board member Kurt Miller said efforts to create Tacoma 360 stemmed from Get Smart Tacoma, a conference held in May 2007 and subsequent follow-up meetings.

Five vision elements emerged, which were narrowed to two for now – school/community partnerships and creating a flexible environment that fosters learning.

Meetings were held with 10 civic leaders to gain their input.

“We wanted to engage the community in a dialogue about education and lifelong learning,” Miller remarked.

A major priority will be addressing the achievement gap. This refers to white, middle class youth performing better in classes and on tests than minority and poor students.

Tacoma 360 will have “a very clear focus on closing the achievement gap,” said Michael Power, assistant superintendent of TPS.

A steering committee was created with elected officials and staff from the city, Metro Parks and TPS. Recently a representative of United Way of Pierce County was added because of that organization’s mission. “We are real excited to add them to the team,” Miller said.

Subcommittees have been meeting to examine specific components of Tacoma 360.

There are many social services available to youth and their families, yet many still face struggles finding adequate housing, health care and other basic needs, according to Power, who is chair of the programming subcommittee. “There is such a wealth of resources in this city yet there remains so much need.”

Too many minority and poor children are not prepared to learn because of poverty and less than ideal situations in their homes, he noted.

Tacoma 360 could be a central location that grant providers could contact about providing funds and students and parents could contact about accessing services.

Parks Commissioner Victoria Woodards said a governance model for Tacoma 360 is Crystal Judson Family Justice Center. As it gets a majority of funding from the county and city, two members each from Tacoma City Council and Pierce County Council sit on its board.

A board of 10 people is envisioned for Tacoma 360. It would have two elected officials from the three government agencies, one from a youth/family advocacy group, one representing business, another representing the community, and one last member, who would not have voting rights, selected by the others. Mayor Bill Baarsma suggested having a member of Tacoma Library Board fill this last spot.

The board’s duties would include setting budgets, making policy and hiring and firing the executive director.

Karyn Clarke, an administrator with TPS, said the executive director’s duties would include establishing agreements with partner organizations and representing Tacoma 360 to the media, the community and local governments. Grant writing could be added in the future, she noted.

The timeline is for the three governments to approve an interlocal agreement spelling out their responsibilities and appoint the board in July and hire the director soon after.

Councilmember Julie Anderson wants a process in place to review the effectiveness of the agency. “I want a real and perceived independence from the school district,” she added.

Councilmember Marilyn Strickland envisions the director visiting schools and helping various non-profit organizations and individuals more effectively deliver services to youth.

“One person is not going to solve every problem of every student in the school district.”

Miller stressed the director will not create new programs, but rather evaluate existing ones.

Board member Debbie Winskill pointed out an ongoing problem. One school can have 15 organizations that want to work with students, while another school has no such attention.

Clarke touched on another common concern that groups that wish to work with schools find it difficult to do so. “This has been a challenge to many groups outside the district, frankly,” she said. “We want to change that culture in the district.”

Councilmember Mike Lonergan rattled off a list of social problems many youth face. He expressed doubt one person could deal with such a huge scale of issues. “We are whistling in the dark if we think that is going to happen.”

Lonergan said the description of Tacoma 360 is almost identical to the school board. If additional support is needed, he suggested contracting with United Way may be better than forming Tacoma 360. “I am not convinced this is going to help.”

“I know what the challenges are. They are immense,” Miller responded.

Superintendent Art Jarvis said the district cannot tackle all the social ills on its own. He pointed out efforts similar to Tacoma 360 have been successful in other cities around the nation.

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