Caledonia Argus

School board sets goals

Posted: 8/26/03

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

What does the future hold for Caledonia schools? If the ISD #299 school board turns theory into practice, students can look forward to a wider variety of courses, higher academic standards, and technology playing a more central role in instruction.

Formally stating its goals for the district is something the board had planned on doing for several years, said board member Barb Hurley, but more pressing issuesñ like the construction of the new high school, the December 2002 operating levy referendum, and principal and superintendent contract negotiationsñ had kept the board from doing so.

Now, with the new school already a year old, the referendum passed by voters, and an administrative team firmly in place for the coming year, the board decided it was due time to set out a vision for the future. Such was the aim at the boardís meeting on August 18.

How soon can district residents expect to see the goals reached? Progress will be made in the coming year, noted Hurley, but for now, itís best to think of the goals as things that will be brought to fruition over the course of several years.

ìWeíd like to see them attained within the year,î said Hurley, ìbut theyíre goals in general, and they were set out for the long-term.î

Each board member was asked to present one goal at the meeting, and to list why the district needs to attain that goal, as well as how it can be attained. The list of goals will be presented to district administrators, who are then to review the list and report back with comments in mid-September.

ï Set a positive visionary tone for the students, faculty, staff, and parents of the district

ìIf we donít set the tone, who in the world will?î questioned board member Naomi Fruechte.

The board determined that an opinion survey issued to a random sample of district residents could measure how well the board had achieved this goal.

ï Set higher academic standards

Board member Chuck Schulte suggested that higher student performance should be one of the central aims of the board, and that heíd like to see Caledonia schools among the top 25% of Minnesota schools. This can be measured, he added, by results from standardized testing.

ìIíd like to see us move up our academic proficiency,î he said. ìWe (currently) rate somewhere in the middle in the state of Minnesota, and I donít think you can argue with the fact that we all want higher academic standards. Iím willing to roll up my sleeves and work with anybody on that.î

ï Develop better communication with district residents and the community

ìFrankly, Iím not impressed with our website,î Schulte said, ìand this is a big issue.î

Cory Klabunde, the new principal at Caledonia High School, suggested that a mass e-mail sent out to district residents could greatly improve communication.

How well this goal has been met, the board decided, can be measured by the number of hits on the districtís website, and the number of district residents who receive the e-mails which Klabunde suggested.

ï Provide training for teachers to incorporate technology into their classroom curriculum

The district has spent many thousands of dollars on acquiring state-of-the-art technology, said board member Mary Frank, ìand if no one knows how to use it, itís a waste.î

Teachers need to be provided with training on how to use the technology, Frank said. To see if teachers are taking advantage of the training, surveys can be sent out to teachers to see what technology theyíre using in their courses.

ï Provide a competitive curriculum

Offering a wider variety of courses will help retain current students, and might draw other students into the district who might have sought their education elsewhere, said board member Charlie Wray.

Enrollment trends will paint an accurate picture of how well the district is retaining students, the board concluded.

ï Keep the district financially sound, so as to bring back courses that were cut from the curriculum

Several courses were cut in the past few years, noted Hurley, and reinstating these classes will provide students with a more robust curriculum. Headway here can be measured with a survey of what courses are being offered, and how many different electives are available to students.

ï Find ways to heavily promote the school within the district and throughout the area

School spirit is something that could use a boost, Hurley said, and to effectively promote district schools, student and staff enthusiasm should be higher.

ìPositive attitude has to happen first,î Hurley added, and the board needs to ìfind ways to develop a stronger school spirit.î

Attitude surveys and focus groups, the board agreed, will be a good indicator of the facultyís and the student bodyís enthusiasm.

ï Show fewer entertainment videos during class time

ìWith all the technology we have, with all the staff development dollars we have, I canít see the value of video,î said board member Suzanne Roesler. ìWhen youíve got a nice new school, I hate to see Disney movies being shown.î

What should be done, Roesler added, is to encourage a broader variety of teaching methods, methods that require active student engagement. Showing videos allows students to be passive, and there are other ways to reward a class for its good behavior or performance than with videos.

To see if teachers are veering away from entertainment videos, Roesler said, a survey of teaching methods used will do the trick.

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