The Burke
Report

As a reminder, I have been asked by our community to publish quarterly blogs that speak to the types of discipline issues and the school’s response as a way of sharing what is happening at Overlake as well as being transparent about how our philosophy gets translated into practice.  In these, I try to be candid with our community as well as illustrate the thought process that goes on around these issues as they arise while also being respectful of privacy laws and the knowledge that in a small school it is even harder to protect the identify of those that get in trouble than in a larger school setting.  If after reading through, you still have questions or want to know more specific information, please feel free to contact me directly via email or phone, and I am happy to speak with you. 

In the 4th Quarter at Overlake in the Upper School, we did not convene the Student Review Board.  We did have several issues that we dealt with that were minor.  These included:

• Students leaving campus for lunch – This was handled by calling parents and assigning detention to those students.  In this case, it was these students’ first offense.  
• Students skipping out on their lunch room clean-up duty – This was handled by assigning make up duty and in the case of one student that was disrespectful when confronted by a senior leader, detention was assigned. 
• We had two instances of peer to peer conflict that were dealt with dependent on specific circumstances.  In these cases, we handle them case by case.  – In these cases, we did put one student on disciplinary warning  as well as assign meetings with one of our counselors as a way of addressing their behavior.  In another case, we asked both students who were having problems to have “no contact”, and to stop the interaction that was causing problems.  In all cases, parents were informed and are asked to help collaborate in the solution. 

As a related note, there was a case of harassment in the 8th grade that involved several students.  Given that Bob Wood, our Middle School Head was leaving, I sat in on those cases, and several of those eighth graders were given consequences that involved coming into the US on Disciplinary Probation or with a number of Disciplinary Warnings.  In general, Middle School behavior records do not follow students into the Upper School, but in these cases, it was decided that they needed to follow those students.  

As I have reflected on the types of issues that we have dealt with this year, I am still struck by the amount of plagiarism that occurs knowing that we are not catching everything that is occurring. Further, at Overlake, we are consistently managing the tension that exists between being a small, compassionate community and being a small community where it is very hard to be anonymous.  The potential for small things to get blown out of proportion or become fodder for conversation for a community that at times can be “too close” is not a problem to be solved but rather a dilemma to be managed.  This marks the end of my tenth year in education and fifth at Overlake, and I am still struck with how amazing Overlake students are.  Yes, they are normal kids that make mistakes, but whether I am in Colville, WA or downtown Redmond with Overlake kids, they stick out as intelligent, creative and connected to others.  With greatness and success comes pressure and expectation, so I think that it is imperative that we continue to support Overlake students learning around positive stress management in a cultural climate where many teenagers turn to substance abuse and impulsive ways of letting off steam.  Colleges report more and more issues with Freshmen partying, and I would like to think at Overlake, we provide alternative options and an education about other ways to let off steam.   Overlake students challenge me to be a better communicator, to see multiple sides to issues that my adult nature wants to make black and white instead of grey, and I feel grateful to be a part of such a supportive community of students, teachers, parents and staff.  

Ryan Burke

Upper School Dean of Students

If you don’t know where my office is, that means you have never had to come and see me which is probably a good thing.  But if you do know where I am, or if you need to find me over the next couple of weeks, you will notice that I will not longer be located in the 6th grade building where my office has been located for the last three years.  I am moving to the third floor of the new TLC, and we are open for business up there as of Tuesday of next week.  Come check out the new student center, and you will find me right there in the middle of a great new facility.

Watch that e-bulletin for opportunities to come in and interview candidates for our Varsity Head Coaching positions.  John Wiley, our Athletic Director has made it even easier to contribute to the process as a student and a parent by creating lunch time interviews when we hire Varsity Head Coaches.  We are currently looking for a Girl’s Varsity Cross-Country Coach and a Girl’s Volleyball Head Coach.  We have recently filled roles in our Boys Cross Country Program as well as in Boys Basketball, and having the added parent and student input has been incredibly helpful when making the hiring decisions.  Please watch the ebulletin for those opportunities.

Each year, we bring eight US students to field studies to visit with the 8th graders, and also to provide some information about transitioning to the high school.  As part of that program, they meet in gender groups and answer questions that the 8th graders have, and they also participate in discussions with guided questions with faculty.  The last couple of years, I have been impressed by the maturity and intentionality of the US students that we take.  When we choose students, we look for potential leaders that represent a wide variety of intersts as well as students that we are confident will reach out to the 8th grade students.  They are clear, explicit and appropriate in their responses, and they provide information and great advice.  Beyond the structured opportunities for guidance, the US students hang out with the 8th graders and begin the process of leading by example.  While a small part of our transitional program, I think the US visit to Field Studies is a tradition that is worthwhile and helpful as the 8th graders start the important transition to the high school.

It is that time of year.  Our boys soccer team is heading to the State Semifinal in Sumner, WA at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium.  Game time is 4PM, and with Memorial Day traffic, we are leaving Overlake at 2PM.  I have permission forms on my door at school that students need to pick up and have signed by a teacher and parent in order to ride the fan bus.  Please ask your students about this as they are due to me by Thursday at 4PM in order to ride the bus.  This is a great opportunity to flex our school spirit muscles, and when we did this in the fall with the girls soccer team, we showed up with 150 students, and it was great.  Again, students need to get a signature from the teacher of the class that they will miss (A block) and their parents, and the forms will be available on Owlnet under “Student Forms” later today or on my door.  See you there!

As a parent myself, this article hit me as true and a consistent challenge these days.  In summary, it reflects on the impact of summer, lack of schedules and the effect of unguided freedom on kids.  My take away was…”Just becuase you can, doesn’t mean you should”. 

Click here to read:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030714-463092,00.html

Every year, I speak with parents about things they are hearing.  They often are confused about what they should do…(pass on information or keep it to themselves).  They often wonder what I do with that information, or sometimes they tell me wild stories about things they have heard about what I have done with the information.  I thought it would be helpful to outline the process, so that parents can make the most informed decision about whether or not to pass rumors on.

What we do with information: 

• We pass it on to parents and students as rumors.  This functions to allow parents and students to know and hopefully understand what is being said about them.  We do not tell parents or students where the information comes from, rather we tell them that regardless of whether or not there is any truth about the info, it is good for them to be aware of what is being circulated. 
• We check into rumors for truth.  Anytime I get information about something, I look into it.  Often, I am not able to find anything concrete, but there have been instances where a piece of information is passed on to me and it leads to necessary  intervention with a student. 

What you should consider:

• Kids are smart, if you pass on information even if I don’t tell them where I got the info, they will draw their own conclusions and often those conclusions are right.  Even though I do not tell people where rumors come from, it is not a good idea to share them with me if you are not comfortable with the potential that kids may guess and be right.  
• Is there a safety concern?  If so, safety is more important than anonymity, and the school cannot act without information. 
• If there is ever a concern or question that is not black and white and you need to talk with someone before making the decision, please call me.  I am happy to talk you through how a situation will be handled, so that you can make an informed decision about what to do. 
• Consider calling other parents directly with your concern.  It is often much easier for parents to hear from parents rather than from the Dean of Students. 
• Don’t assume that what you hear is correct.  80% of what I hear is inaccurate in some way, and students often forget to tell parents details and context which may completely change the way a rumor is interpreted.

The bottom line at Overlake is that we are a community and sharing information is often how we show concern for each other.  The right thing to do is always share information if you think someones safety is at risk.  If safety is not a concern, then the answer is often much more grey, and I hope the points above will help you make a decision that you feel good about.

Each year in the US, we have two elections at the end of the year.  The first is upon us this week.  We start with Executive ASB elections which is where the US student body elects a new President, Vice President, Social Coordinator and Secretary/Treasurer.  These four positions are considered our executive leadership team, and these four members often take on leadership roles for events and initiatives throughout the year. 

This year, we have eight candidates running for those positions, and on Friday they will deliver speeches to convince their peers that they are the right fit for the job.  Those speeches are 1-3 minutes long, and delivered in Fulton on Friday.  Directly following the speeches, all the candidates will participate in our Q and A panel which is a an opportunity for them to elaborate on their platforms for the following year.  This Q and A session is an attempt to help students make informed choices when voting and minimize the high school popularity contest.  I am happy to say that at Overlake, students seem to be savvy and choose to elect students that are serious, organized and passionate about the leadership opportunity.  

If students are looking for a chance to lead, but they are not ready for an executive leadership position, they can run later this month for ASB representative or Student Review Board representative.  Both of these positions are leadership within a grade level.  Each grade has two ASB representatives that function as the liaison between the ASB and student body at each class level.  In the SRB, there are two senior reps, two junior reps and 1 sophomore and freshman rep.  The SRB is a specific leadership opportunity for students looking to be involved in the school’s disciplinary process.  Students that are interested should come and see me if they are interested in any of these opportunities.

As many of you know, the Overlake Upper School carnival was a new event, and with new events, comes the anticipation of whether or not any students will attend and enjoy the event.  On Friday, in conjunction with the Film Festival, we had 170 Overlake students show up and enjoy themselves.  There was cotton candy, games, and food by Dan’s Burgers from Lynwood, as well as Guitar Hero and a blow up obstacle course.  Congratulations and thanks should go out to the Upper School ASB members who planned for a month and pulled off a great event.

All year long, we have tried to take advantage of “Community Time” in our new schedule.  This is a regularly scheduled time for grade levels to meet and discuss things that are pertinent.  We have had class meetings, discussions about Internet safety and bullying, and we have also had guest speakers. 

On Wednesday May 19th, during this time block, we are going to have a guest speaker come and talk about texting and driving.  His name is Jason Epstein, and he is an alum of Overlake.  Now a personal injury lawyer in the area, Jason has decided to spearhead a campaign against teenagers texting and driving.  As a lawyer, he finds himself suing teens and their families for damages after they have caused an accident, and he believes that teenagers need to be more aware of the dangers of texting while driving, especially for a new driver.

While he will only have 25 minutes with our 9th and 10th grade students, we hope to use this opportunity to start a long term campaign against texting and driving, possibly challenging other local schools in a competition to get kids to pledge not to text and drive. 

The presentation on the 19th will be in Disco Hall, and will include a short video re-enacting a crash caused by a teen that was texting, as well as some information and discussion with our kids.  I have included this video if you are interested in what your students will be seeing and in discussion about. 

Feel free to stop in and see Jason’s presentation, he includes facts like the fact that texting and driving is more dangerous than drinking and driving as well as how many seconds the average texter takes their eyes off the road….4.6 seconds or 450 feet at 65 mph.  Should be good conversation.  Please be advised that this video is graphic and may be upsetting.