×

Boards discuss collaboration across three districts

Informal meeting with WC, Stratford and NEH?held Monday

Three school boards met to discuss professional development and curriculum across the three districts to make sure all are on the same page.

The informal meeting was held prior to the Webster City school board meeting Monday night.

The board discussed how to go about incorporating what’s happening in Northeast Hamilton and Stratford so that when students come into Webster City schools they will have a common experience, with alignment in what they’ve learned, according to Superintendent Mandy Ross.

With Iowa Core being the State Curriculum for Reading, Math, and Science, the act of teaching has become more of a science than an art., she said.

“Teaching used to be more of an art, but because of requirements now there is more science behind teaching, such as best practices, common curriculum or what is being taught,” said Ross. “In order to improve alignment, we need to get teachers to collaborate across all three districts.”

When NEH teachers become Webster City teachers in the reorganization process next year, it’s vital that they don’t become overwhelmed with all of the “content area curriculum” taught at WC at once, according to Ross. They will be introduced to the teaching practices and content at a slower pace, but will still have “the state standards as their common curriculum” to follow as their guidelines. Execution and lesson plans may differ, but the objectives will abide.

Other topics at the informal meeting included discussion that community concerns should be brought to the interim school board’s attention to make the reorganization as seemless as possible, according to school board member, Rich Stroner. It needs to be instilled within the community that regardless of which school children will be attending next year, all students will be receiving the same type of education. These concerns may arise with the influx of students coming into the district, in which some students who live in Webster City may end up going to NEH depending on the class sizes and if there are caps on certain classes in WC, added Stroner.

The contract recommendation for Mitch Dunham as the new Director of Building and Grounds was approved.

In other business, the Iowa Department of Education will be offering a “biliterate seal upon graduation for this years’ seniors, which had been in the works for awhile, according to Ross. Students must demonstrate proficiency in 2 languages, English being one of the languages. If students prove their proficiency in both languages, they will receive the seal on their diploma.

“This is a good thing for students and allows them to be part of a global community,” said Ross. “This type of program will come with costs, so we want to make sure that this isn’t put onto students who may have qualified for the seal, but may not receive it due to monetary costs. This is a conversation in the works for now, but is such an exciting opportunity for our students.”

It was also discussed during a Future Ready Iowa meeting that Stroner and High School Principal Brent Jorth had attended in Fort Dodge, that the governor hopes to have 70 percent of all Iowans obtain a post secondary education by 2025, according to Stroner.

“For far too long we have been telling students that college is the only path, when we have a need for mid-skilled and high-skilled trades, so 70 percent is an admirable goal but that should not just be a 2-year degree or 4-year degree,” said Jorth. “It’s also a certification credential that you can utilize too to raise your qualifications for any of those mid-skilled or high-skilled jobs in our communities, just like an electrician or plumber that we need. How do we make students and parents aware of those professions without making them sound like undesireable positions.”

Jorth proposed taking a team of counselors and administrators to a follow up Future Ready Iowa meeting in order to promote these pathways for kids starting in elementary or middle school, as opposed to leaving it as a decision to be made for when students are in their junior and senior years of high school. It’s better to instill in them the diverse avenues they can take to further their post secondary education. There has to be a better way of promoting these types of professions earlier in their education, such as during middle school exploratories classes, added Jorth. It had also been mentioned about incorporating apprenticeships or internships with local businesses, in order to provide students with the information necessary to make better informed decisions regarding their future career goals.

“My perspective as a parent changed my perspective as a professional as my kids were growing up,” said Ross. “Not every kid is ready to go into a college environment right out of high school. How do we prepare kids to have some flexibility who may go right into the work force after high school? We want kids to have options. This provides an opportunity to restructure education as we’ve known it.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $3.46/week.

Subscribe Today