Wisdom in a Multitude of Counselors
Dr. William C. Skilling, Superintendent - February 2007
There is an old proverb that states, “There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors.” In December of 2003, Webberville Community Schools embarked on a journey to put in place a strategic plan for the district. Since that time, we have seen many improvements to our school district. Our primary goal in all our planning, changes, and facility improvements is to make our school a place where our students, upon graduation, could compete for the best post-secondary education opportunities and jobs that were available. We knew that Webberville students would need to have the skills to successfully compete in a global economy. Thinking back to December of 2003, one of our main concerns was that we did not know if we could even keep our doors open as a school district. The district had experienced eleven year’s of declining enrollment with no end in sight. The Strategic Planning Committee knew that change would be difficult for the district and the community, but to remain status quo, meant that the district would at some point cease to exist. As a result of bringing many people together from within and outside the school district, we made many improvements to the academic programs including: instruction, curriculum, technology, equipment, and educational opportunities. In addition to academics, the Strategic Planning Committee put together a long range facilities improvement plan that would renovate and expand our facilities without raising our local property taxes. Our current bond proposal continues that vision by once again being committed to improving facilities without raising taxes.
The following are some of the results of the Strategic Planning Committee’s vision:
•On-going improvement in MEAP scores, especially at the elementary and middle school level.
•The Middle School received the Michigan’s Best Award for improved student achievement for the last four-years.
•The elementary school is a finalist for the Michigan Exemplary Schools Blue Ribbon Award, which is the state’s highest honor. They will find out if they have been selected at the State Board of Education meeting on February 13, 2007.
•We have become a “school of choice” school district. Our enrollment has grown three consecutive years in a row.
•We have created new opportunities for our students in co-curricular areas and have addressed wellness, recreation, and family time concerns.
•We have improved and expanded our facilities without raising taxes.
•We have improved our communications to the home through the district’s newsletter, district’s web site, through newspaper articles, and through monthly superintendent advisory meetings, and superintendent coffees. The building principals also have monthly meetings with their parent groups.
•We have improved the schools revenue by approximately $500,000 in the last three years.
•We have improved our school calendar and facilities to support family time.
All of these changes have been the result of many people coming together to provide wisdom, discernment, and knowledge about the direction this school district should go to someday achieve excellence in everything we do.
As a result, we have challenged the common wisdom surrounding our school district three years ago, which was the need for the Webberville Community School district to be consolidated with surrounding districts. Sometimes it is important to put aside what appears to be intuitive, and break the conventional thinking. This was the wisdom that our Strategic Planning Committee invoked in December of 2003.
This month, February 27, 2007, we are asking the community to consider the next phase of our facilities improvement plan. The plan has been well outlined in numerous communications already. The plan is deliberate and has been part of an on going effort to get our facilities where they need to be to enable our students to compete successfully in a global economy and to provide better opportunities for our students. The conventional wisdom would say to slow down because of the economy. However, because of the economy, we have to keep moving forward. It is only through continual improvement in our educational system and facilities that this school district will continue to draw more families and students to our community. As you know from the media, the state of Michigan is cutting our operation revenue again, and this means that we must continue to have student growth to increase our revenues and continue to improve our educational programs.
The “wisdom in a multitude of counselors” has been working. Let us continue to challenge the conventional thinking and pursue the wisdom and knowledge that has helped to make Webberville Community Schools become more successful in the last few years. Please take time to review the information provided to you on the upcoming bond election, and please remember to vote on Tuesday, February 27, 2007.