SCHOOL DISTRICT STRATEGIC PLANNING HEATS UP; FORMER BOARD MEMBER OBJECTS

The ongoing school district strategic planning process heated up this week with two big forums with the appointed Strategic Planning Committee that drew questions and concerns, but also gave the district a chance to ease some worries with informed responses.

But things are far from over as the school board holds a special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 16, to vote on a resolution titled, "Accepts Strategic Direction and Approves the Continuation of the Strategic Planning Process." See the agenda online, with the resolution.

Board President Elizabeth Baker

Board President Elizabeth Baker and Superintendent John Ramos made clear this week that the resolution is not approval of the final strategic plan, but merely approval of the steps so far and the continued review.

"There is a sense among some that the direction is the plan, that is not the case," Ramos said at the Wednesday forum. "In fact, the direction only provides the broad overview of sort of a larger vision about where we might go, but it is the action plans that take us there, it is important to know that."

Superintendent John Ramos

Ramos had wanted the board to approve such a resolution at the last school board meeting on January 25, but Baker and Board Attorney Phil Stern were concerned it might not be legal given that the resolution had not been publicized prior to the meeting.

Some opposition to the strategic process, and the proposal to implement a more "learner-centered" approach, has arisen with some residents offering concerns at both the Tuesday and Wednesday forums, and a petition being created online urging a slower process. The petition had 151 signers as of Friday morning.

Jeffrey Bennett

Among those expressing concern is former Board Member Jeffrey Bennett, who left the board last year after choosing not to run for re-election.

After signing the petition, he wrote: 

At a certain point a district has to ditch the edujargon and think concretely in terms of what is the curriculum in core classes that all students take and what courses are offered. I see almost nothing about curriculum and literally nothing about course opportunities. Are we ever going to offer Mandarin? Will we ever bring back AP Comp Sci? Will we continue to cut and cut time given to second language?

There's a lot of talk in the Strategic Planning Document about "Student Centered Learning," but the mentality is still that students are interchangeable and that until high school every student should take the same courses with the same curriculum the same homework policy and basically the same pedagogy. A "Student Centered Classroom" has a nice ring to it, but every classroom has 20-30 kids in it and the classroom can't be centered around each one.

Tuesday's meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. at the board offices, 525 Academy St.