To improve awareness, training and investigation of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) in Tacoma schools, Superintendent Art Jarvis formally announced today the creation of a new Department of Student Life.
Jennifer Kubista, the Director of Athletics and Activities, will become the new Director of Student Life. Her new department still will include athletics and activities but will add oversight of HIB.
The transition will occur over the next few weeks as Kubista designs how the new department will look and operate. During the transition, Kubista said, her work plan includes policy and regulation review and updating, development of a staff training program, establishment of an HIB committee, creating a 'student voice' mechanism and selection of an effective HIB curriculum for students at all grade levels. During this transition phase, all current protocols for handling HIB incidents will remain in place.
Jarvis made the announcement and introduced Kubista this morning in a series of meetings with high school, middle school and elementary school principals.
Jarvis noted that the school board recently adopted a strategic plan with four goals. One of the goals is, “Safety: All schools will create and maintain safe learning environments that promote excellent academic achievement.”
“We can’t get there on academic achievement,” Jarvis said, “unless all our students feel safe at school…Jennifer is coming off of a huge success by achieving equitable participation in girls’ and boys’ athletics throughout the district, which gets us out from under a 10-year federal order. I can’t think of a better person to lead our new effort to raise awareness and fight harassment, intimidation and bullying in our schools.”
Kubista, who attended a recent national conference on bullying, expressed her excitement about her expanded role and how her department will oversee and help students succeed.
“The bullying conference I attended was the best conference I’ve ever been to in my professional career in terms of coming away with practical strategies we can implement right away,” Kubista said. “I can’t wait to start working with and helping train our people in the schools to help make life better for all our students.”
Kubista is a 1993 graduate of Wilson High School and starred in volleyball and basketball and earned an athletic scholarship to Gonzaga University. She joined the Tacoma Public Schools administration in 2003. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Gonzaga University in 1997 and her Master of Arts in Education in Sports Management from the University of Connecticut in 1999. She received her Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA) credentials in 2008 from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.