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| James Hager is seated left of Tony Apostle |
I can't thank the school board enough for hiring this R&A firm to advise them. Jim was a superintendent in four school districts and Tony got his bachelor's at University of Washington and PhD in education at Washington State. He was an English teacher, principal and Superintendent in Pierce county and has been an executive at R&A for years. In so many words Jim said there's no need for an overhaul.
R&A is open to traditional and non-traditional applicants. LWSD is becoming a very diverse, global community and I commented our board should consider candidates from that perspective. The first question Jim and Tony asked was what we liked about LWSD. The parents in our group really liked how the district and community cared about our students. They valued our strong PTSA. An Asian parent stressed keeping the bar high and adjusting it according to the capabilities of the student. We all talked about the overriding educational influence of technology in our district, STEM in particular. I suggested more emphasis on art and music and Tony quipped, yes, STEMA. I also asked for a superintendent who encourages innovation and community participation. We worried about young teachers long commutes from more affordable cities like Maple Valley and even Everett with concerns they would leave our district. Apparently, about 50% have to commute but they do because we have a top school district. If we continue to allow overcrowding many good teachers may get dissatisfied and find work in districts closer to home. Early start times make it hard on commuting teachers [and students] too.
The process R&D takes in selecting applicants for the School Board is very thorough. 20 focus groups is an intense endeavor! Once completed they will compile all the data and post it on the district website HERE for our review. All of us again will have an opportunity to give feedback. As I understand it, R&D will accept about 20 applications nation-wide and then filter them to about 5 or 7 for review by the Board. The Board will then select 2 or 3 and post their background and possibly their interviews. Of course the complete selection process is governed by the Board of Directors. The Board is scheduled to make their final decision by June 30. They will decide, not the consultants.
Dr. Hager asked for thoughts of the first action a new superintendent would take once hired. Hmm. He said the superintendent may meet with us! .... and probably other focus groups. So, make sure you participate in one! I think about 15 remain. E-mail communications@lwsd to learn when and where they will be held.
B. Yoder
Jim Hager was Deputy Supt. under Bud Scarr. Wonderful man.
ReplyDeleteLooking to future education trends, research shows a strong preference for relevant job skills training. The modern workforce must be trained in collaboration / team work, and critical thinking / creative problem solving. These are skills needed in the knowledge worker industry. When I was a high school student (1966), most modern jobs were not yet "invented". My engineering training was helpful for my field, computer science, but my real training was gained on the job...For skilled trades (steel worker, plumber, etc) research shows too much emphasis is placed in college prep coursework. There is much written about Germany's best practices for preparing skilled workers at the secondary ed level. We don't get that so much here in LWSD, which is dominated by knowledge workers.
ReplyDeleteI think education research shows modern day curricula requires team building/ collaboration skills and critical thinking/ problem solving.. since technology’s pace is exponential, it’s hard to learn relevant job skills, when tomorrow’s jobs aren’t invented yet. Thus students need to be trained as “life long learning.” Students who can contribute in a team setting do best in tech STEM. In the Redmond Reporter there was a story about four STEM students entering a national science robot competition.
ReplyDeleteGood points Richard. School Board member Mark Stuart touch on this when he recommended field trips to some of the school construction sites. I thought it was a brilliant idea but it was tabled from further discussion and I don't even think it made to "parking."
ReplyDeleteGetting back to the original post of selecting a Sup. One would think the Administration would hold all the community meetings at the Resource Center. PTSA knows that location. Though they may be having their own task force meetings the synergy of both groups would spark better communication and feedback.
I'm upset with the poor turnout for public comment at Board meetings. They lock all entrance doors but one in the far corner of the building. When we had our "community meeting" only 6 found their way to the room. One of the consultants kept looking out the window for potential attendees. Communication and participation is lacking. When that happens sometimes serious mistakes are made or brushed over.
I'm counting on the Board to hire a Leader. Mark Stuart openly said so during the public meeting. We DON'T want our Directors to get bogged down by bureaucratic thinking.
Again Richard, thank you for your critical thinking. Let' visit a construction site some day and do some creative thinking to stretch our minds. :)