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Agenda Item
Q.-13 24-0837 Approval by the Board of Education of a Services Agreement 2023-2024 by and between the District and Sown to Grow, Inc., Oakland, CA, for the latter to provide its proprietary platform licenses and support for teachers, students, and Administrator staff that allows students to do a weekly social-emotional check-in, and pre and post survey to measure wellness; provide trainings for teachers and principals through-out the year and roll out in all schools TK-12; assist with the District implementation of its Comprehensive Program, which includes core modules (emotional check-in, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), and academic), SEL screener, SEL curriculum, software licenses for teachers, students, and admin, PD/training, ongoing coaching, and administrator data reports to measure growth in student well-being, SEL skills, and technical support, via the Chief Academic Officer (Multi-Tiered Support Systems Department), for the period of December 1, 2023 through June 30, 2026, in an amount not to exceed $748,000.00.
While Sown to Grow and some questions that were thoughtful and potentially helpful to my students most of them viewed Sown to Grow as a chore, something they had to do, not something they wanted/needed to do.
This program is extraneous and duplicates two other SEL programs (Caring Schools Community and Toolbox) that we are also using. However, the program is also online and requires students to login and write online and then the teacher responds at a later time. Kids need less time online, the research shows this and the kids are spending so much time on screen that over 70% of my students needed optometry visits when checked by our school nurse. I see kids squinting all day long which is a newer phenomena that is being reported nationally as a result of too much screen time.
Sometimes the kids are frustrated and just write a brief sentence and sometimes kids share something that is sensitive and we don’t see it for a few days.
I feel that this takes time away from checking in with students in our other ways that we are trying to manage. Please don’t buy Sown to Grow.
Sown to grow is fine, but it is not my preferred way to check in with students. It feels impersonal and it takes a long time to do - plus that is a crazy amount of money we could be spending on better things
I'm a third grade teacher who has been attempting to use Sown to Grow this year. While I understand the purpose behind its implementation, I feel that there are far more economical and relational ways to support the mental health of our students. The provided comments are shallow and don't build relationships. To write meaningful & thoughtful comments takes time, which we don't have. I also wonder how using a screen for this is assisting students in building the skills needed for healthy interpersonal relationships. Personally, I'd rather have more time & / or a counselor available to assist me in building my students' social emotional health.
As a third grade teacher my students could access Sown to Grow independently but it was certainly not worth the $800,000 price tag. If the goal is to truly support students' mental health, then those funds should be used to fund counselors, social workers, etc. A once weekly survey isn't going to do the trick.
HS teacher here at a newcomer program. Sown to Grow basically accomplishes what a Google form can. In any case, if the goal is social-emotional check-in, a computer-based check-in platform is not the way to go.
District 1 teacher, district 2 resident. I have used sown to grow for a year and while my third graders could use the platform independently, it was mostly a time filler. I never learned anything about my students that I didn’t already know or would learn by speaking to them. It does not replace meaningful one on one relationships, and we shouldn’t rely on edtech to support our students mental health. What’s more, the 800,000 price tag for this program is way too high. We need to invest that money into counselors, RJ facilitators, STIP subs, people who can actually build relationships with our students and support their mental health & growth.
Sown to Grow is yet another tool handed down by the district without any real thought about the demands of a classroom teacher. In addition, it removes the personal element of SEL, which is vital.
Spend the 800,000 on meaningful trainings or benefits to keep good educators in Oakland.
This program is not friendly for Grades K-1. Giving chromebooks to each student, Loading up the program, and then having kids take a 20-25 minute survey takes up a whole hour. This wastes a whole class period when we could do reading, math, writing, or other fun and engaging activities. We do not need Sown-To-Grow. We already incorporate SEL check-ins during morning meetings and closing circles. Kids at this developmental stage do not need this. Please, only give this program to 4th and 5th graders, middle and high schoolers.
I have used Sown to Grow for two years. The check-ins were a valuable way to keep me connected to students and allowed me to build individual rapport with them through the comment cycles. I feel like I learned a lot and it was great to have a platform to connect with students on that related to social emotional learning. I’d vote for it if it didn’t cost so much. I think OUSD could create a similar curriculum that was more culturally in tune with what our youth is going through. Do we not have central admin that could work on creating something like this? It seems that the 800k could be better invested into allowing our community to create a similarly structured curriculum that allows for more cultural reciprocity.
This is not a program that we successfully use in our classrooms. It is not user friendly for students. It is not helpful information for teachers. It provides no real benefit and does not serve as a resource. Invest in a real SEL support and services and make it a priority for students well being, not just another app for data
In addition, Sown to Grow brings up many privacy concerns for parents. Sown to Grow has access to their most intimate and private information. Families are asking me to represent them and ask that you maintain student and family privacy out of the hands of strangers (even though you may see them as program administrators). We are all also concerned about data breaches. Please do not use valuable funding on Sown to Grow.
Sown to Grow is added screen time to my students and a complete misuse of funding. We already had the equivalent of sown to grow in the use of 'interactive journals.' Educators of all backgrounds are familiar with interactive journals, and it costs next to nothing compared to the 800,000 dollar contract. Interactive Journals are where students can write and journal their thoughts and feelings to educators, and we can write back. I had been using them for years until Sown to Grow came along, where/when it became mandatory for my students to spend more time behind a screen and less time using a pencil.
While I believe the intention behind Sown To Grow was a good one, the company and their platform are not well developed enough to use TK-12. As a kindergarten teacher the platform is 100% not developmental appropriate and takes way longer to complete than other in class methods while providing me less information than I am able to get from a simple door check routine. While I appreciate that OUSD is trying to find a way to support student’s mental health I do not believe this is it. Young students can’t access it and high school students don’t necessarily feel comfortable being honest on it. I think the $800,000 should be used for direct student mental health support not screeners with limited data and no student support that can even be offered at most sites.
While Sown to Grow and some questions that were thoughtful and potentially helpful to my students most of them viewed Sown to Grow as a chore, something they had to do, not something they wanted/needed to do.
Our students need connections with people, not with screens. These funds can be used in a different way.
This program is extraneous and duplicates two other SEL programs (Caring Schools Community and Toolbox) that we are also using. However, the program is also online and requires students to login and write online and then the teacher responds at a later time. Kids need less time online, the research shows this and the kids are spending so much time on screen that over 70% of my students needed optometry visits when checked by our school nurse. I see kids squinting all day long which is a newer phenomena that is being reported nationally as a result of too much screen time.
Sometimes the kids are frustrated and just write a brief sentence and sometimes kids share something that is sensitive and we don’t see it for a few days.
I feel that this takes time away from checking in with students in our other ways that we are trying to manage. Please don’t buy Sown to Grow.
Too much money. Not applicable to our younger students. Need computer skills to use.
Sown to grow is fine, but it is not my preferred way to check in with students. It feels impersonal and it takes a long time to do - plus that is a crazy amount of money we could be spending on better things
I'm a third grade teacher who has been attempting to use Sown to Grow this year. While I understand the purpose behind its implementation, I feel that there are far more economical and relational ways to support the mental health of our students. The provided comments are shallow and don't build relationships. To write meaningful & thoughtful comments takes time, which we don't have. I also wonder how using a screen for this is assisting students in building the skills needed for healthy interpersonal relationships. Personally, I'd rather have more time & / or a counselor available to assist me in building my students' social emotional health.
As a third grade teacher my students could access Sown to Grow independently but it was certainly not worth the $800,000 price tag. If the goal is to truly support students' mental health, then those funds should be used to fund counselors, social workers, etc. A once weekly survey isn't going to do the trick.
HS teacher here at a newcomer program. Sown to Grow basically accomplishes what a Google form can. In any case, if the goal is social-emotional check-in, a computer-based check-in platform is not the way to go.
District 1 teacher, district 2 resident. I have used sown to grow for a year and while my third graders could use the platform independently, it was mostly a time filler. I never learned anything about my students that I didn’t already know or would learn by speaking to them. It does not replace meaningful one on one relationships, and we shouldn’t rely on edtech to support our students mental health. What’s more, the 800,000 price tag for this program is way too high. We need to invest that money into counselors, RJ facilitators, STIP subs, people who can actually build relationships with our students and support their mental health & growth.
Sown to Grow is yet another tool handed down by the district without any real thought about the demands of a classroom teacher. In addition, it removes the personal element of SEL, which is vital.
Spend the 800,000 on meaningful trainings or benefits to keep good educators in Oakland.
It is a waste of time.
This program is not friendly for Grades K-1. Giving chromebooks to each student, Loading up the program, and then having kids take a 20-25 minute survey takes up a whole hour. This wastes a whole class period when we could do reading, math, writing, or other fun and engaging activities. We do not need Sown-To-Grow. We already incorporate SEL check-ins during morning meetings and closing circles. Kids at this developmental stage do not need this. Please, only give this program to 4th and 5th graders, middle and high schoolers.
I have used Sown to Grow for two years. The check-ins were a valuable way to keep me connected to students and allowed me to build individual rapport with them through the comment cycles. I feel like I learned a lot and it was great to have a platform to connect with students on that related to social emotional learning. I’d vote for it if it didn’t cost so much. I think OUSD could create a similar curriculum that was more culturally in tune with what our youth is going through. Do we not have central admin that could work on creating something like this? It seems that the 800k could be better invested into allowing our community to create a similarly structured curriculum that allows for more cultural reciprocity.
This is not a program that we successfully use in our classrooms. It is not user friendly for students. It is not helpful information for teachers. It provides no real benefit and does not serve as a resource. Invest in a real SEL support and services and make it a priority for students well being, not just another app for data
In addition, Sown to Grow brings up many privacy concerns for parents. Sown to Grow has access to their most intimate and private information. Families are asking me to represent them and ask that you maintain student and family privacy out of the hands of strangers (even though you may see them as program administrators). We are all also concerned about data breaches. Please do not use valuable funding on Sown to Grow.
Sown to Grow is added screen time to my students and a complete misuse of funding. We already had the equivalent of sown to grow in the use of 'interactive journals.' Educators of all backgrounds are familiar with interactive journals, and it costs next to nothing compared to the 800,000 dollar contract. Interactive Journals are where students can write and journal their thoughts and feelings to educators, and we can write back. I had been using them for years until Sown to Grow came along, where/when it became mandatory for my students to spend more time behind a screen and less time using a pencil.
While I believe the intention behind Sown To Grow was a good one, the company and their platform are not well developed enough to use TK-12. As a kindergarten teacher the platform is 100% not developmental appropriate and takes way longer to complete than other in class methods while providing me less information than I am able to get from a simple door check routine. While I appreciate that OUSD is trying to find a way to support student’s mental health I do not believe this is it. Young students can’t access it and high school students don’t necessarily feel comfortable being honest on it. I think the $800,000 should be used for direct student mental health support not screeners with limited data and no student support that can even be offered at most sites.