Raising the Standard - A Pathway to Excellence - October 2005
Dr. William C. Skilling, Superintendent
When the Board of Education hired me two-years ago, they had a vision of where they wanted to see this district go. They wanted a premier rural school district in which our students could compete against the best students in the country for the best jobs and education available. They also wanted to offer big opportunities in a small school setting. They wanted to stop the mass exodus of students which was evident in eleven years of declining enrollment. The declining enrollment was greatly compounding the financial difficulties of the school district. Finally, they wanted to see MEAP scores improve. Even though the elementary MEAP scores had been competitive and consistently above the state averages, the secondary scores were usually not as competitive. However, the board also expressed pride in the many assets that the district and community already had. Hence, when we decided to create a slogan for our district it became, "Proud of our Past - Promoting our Future." This slogan accurately reflected the attitude of the board, administration, staff, students and community members who participated in creating the slogan. Therefore, we are holding on to the great things of the past, while at the same time, making the necessary changes needed to assist our students in becoming competitive in the twenty-first century.
In discussing the district's progress to date at the July board meeting last summer, many board members expressed their pleasure with the direction the school district was heading. I cautioned them, by saying that this year they will receive more complaints from parents then ever before. I shared with them that whenever you raise the standard, and hold students accountable to the standard, you will have people who will be upset about the change. The reason is because it creates more accountability, more work, and it does not allow students to have the free reign they use to have. As a result, when accountability comes, not only will students who are being held accountable be upset, but in many cases, so will their parents. There will be questions as a result of misunderstanding and because of disinformation that will get spread. However, with communication, consistency, and enforcement of the standards, you will see discipline, behavior, and achievement all improve. I shared with the board that it is not because of adding any new rules, but because we will be working harder at enforcing the existing rules and teaching character principles to our students and athletes alike. Our guiding character principles are respect, dedication, compassion, loyalty, excellence, responsibility, and integrity. These guiding character principles were put together by 30-plus community and staff members during our strategic planning on December 3, 2003.
This year we are not just focusing on behavior and character of students, but we are also focusing on raising our student achievement on the MEAP and nationally norm referenced tests. We are working with Ingham Intermediate School District 's school improvement staff and the Michigan Association of School Board's data expert staff. We will be reviewing our student achievement over the past five years both collectively and as it pertains to individual student performance. The individual student scores will enable teachers to better see the strengths and weaknesses of their students. This in turn will assist the teacher in better individualizing the instruction for each student. The result will be improved test scores. The commitment is long-term and never ending with the results of our efforts possibly not being seen for about three years.
We have the leadership team in place, an outstanding teaching staff, and the support of the Board of Education, to make the necessary improvements and hold students and athletes accountable to our new standards established by the strategic planning committee. However, in order for this to all work, we need parents to support us as well. If there is not support from the parents, it is all for naught. Our vision for the school district is "To become a premier school system that will set a new standard of excellence." This vision statement drives everything we do. Our standards and expectations are high. In the short-run it may seem difficult for some, but in the long-run it will serve all students and our community well.
As a community school, we are working hard at not creating surprises for the community members that we serve. To help avoid surprises we keep people informed on the future direction of our school district through our strategic plan. The plan is located on our website, or you can pick-up a hard copy in the board office. This plan is reviewed and updated twice a-year. If you would like to become a member of our strategic planning committee, please call Barbara Weathers at 521-3422 ext 106 and have your name added to the list. Our next meeting is December 2, 2005 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. We would appreciate having more community members serve on this committee. It is the most important committee we have as a school district.
In conclusion, I would like to comment on our September Board of Education meeting. We had the opportunity to speak with many parents and students regarding the enforcement of the standards, discipline, dress code, school climate, food service, etc. It was a great meeting! Everyone was given an opportunity to address concerns, rumors, differences, policies, and to give support for what was happening in the district. The board and the administration team appreciated the time that parents and students took to come to the board meeting. We hope that more parents, community members, and students will attend board meetings in the future when they have concerns, or if they want to voice their support on an issue. Likewise, the administration would welcome any questions or concerns by calling us or making an appointment to speak with us. Please feel free to just drop by and see if we are available when you are passing through town. We cannot communicate enough with our community. If you have any suggestions for how we can better communicate with you, please let me know. I can be reached at 521-3422.