Healthy relationships build on climate of mutual respect

It sounds like something you might find in a personal ad: Teachers seek Relationship By Objective with willing administrators. Must be able to communicate openly and honestly, and enjoy long talks in Huntington Beach. Sense of humor a plus!

The culture of Fountain Valley High School is governed by a philosophy known as Relationship By Objective (RBO). It is designed to bring teachers and administrators together for shared decision-making — and in the process improve relationships and school culture. In place throughout the Huntington Beach Union High School District, it works better at some sites than others. At Fountain Valley High School, it works extremely well.

RBO is not a new phenomenon; it has been in effect for over a decade. Even though teachers and administrators at Fountain Valley are no longer in the honeymoon phase, they are still passionate about the process, saying it provides a healthy school culture based on mutual respect.

An important part of the process is the monthly open forum, which is attended by administrators, classified staff and the 125 teachers who belong to the Huntington Beach Union High School District Educators Association. The idea is to give everyone a chance to speak frankly without fear of repercussions.

The first forum of the school year opens with a celebration of the positive, as new Principal Chris Herzfeld congratulates a newlywed and a new parent. Then he hands the microphone to teacher David Tuttle, who, as the association's site representative, facilitates the meetings. Tuttle states the protocol: "This is not a bitch session. It's very professional, and there's no agenda."

Staff members take turns talking about concerns like students vaulting over a locked fence, dress code enforcement problems and a hazardous trash heap on the baseball field. Administrators agree to look into the matters.

Several teachers voice concern about students missing class to attend sports or choir events. Coaches and choir teachers, in turn, explain that certain events cannot avoid cutting into class time, but agree that they will try to notify teachers in advance.

While shared decision-making is the goal of RBO, it is not always successful. Several teachers voice displeasure over not having been given a chance to weigh in on last year's decision to change the bell system, which has school starting at 8 a.m. instead of 7:30.

"We were railroaded into changing our bell schedule," says Ron La Ruffa, who teaches English and serves as the school's athletic director. "They said it was to help with academics, but our API scores are pretty good, and we're not having problems academically. Because of this schedule, kids are going to miss thousands more minutes of class time because athletes have to leave early for games and school ends later. I'm worried that this new schedule is set in concrete."

Responding that the schedule is not set in concrete, the principal says he is starting a staff committee to research the impact of the change and whether or not it should be changed back.

The open forum has come a long way. During the first session years ago, the principal took the microphone away from Tuttle and said, "That's enough." Tuttle took the microphone back and said, "We're not finished yet," and continued on. Considered radical at the time, the open forum is now an institution at the school.

Fountain Valley also has a faculty senate made up of teachers and classified staff. During meetings, faculty can formulate positions on certain policies and decide what kind of input should be given to administrators. In the past, faculty senates have been used to undermine local bargaining, but that isn't the case at Fountain Valley.

When chapter members first proposed forming a senate, the administration opposed it, recalls Tuttle. "The superintendent said it was not allowed within the RBO document. We said, 'We're going to do it,' and we did. We were not trying to be rebels; we were trying to facilitate communication. Pretty soon, we were making suggestions that were adopted by administrators, and we weren't seen as a threat. And when we went through the accreditation process, one of the biggest commendations the school received was that it had a faculty senate and open communication. At first, administrators didn't want us; now, we're the good guys."

Another facet of RBO is that teachers are able to evaluate, anonymously, the six administrators in a variety of categories, including effectiveness, communication skills, willingness to share decision-making and supportiveness.

"RBO creates an atmosphere of working together," says Tuttle. "You can say what you want, and nobody will put you down or take it out on you. It's more of a mentality than anything else. It's an expectation that teachers are listened to. That empowers people and makes them feel better about coming to work."

"I love working in a good environment with so much communication," says chapter Vice President Gina Carbone, a psychology and world history teacher. "The year started off with the principal interviewing every teacher about what he could do to make the school better. I thought it was amazing. It feels homey."

"We have the best school in the district, bar none," says special programs teacher Mary-Jon McAvoy, a former chapter president. "We are all united and make decisions together. Our administration understands that this is the best way to do business. And that makes a world of difference for those who work here."