WILLYARD: Mission Possible

The last time the ASD School Board adopted a mission statement and goal, it was 2003. We think it can be agreed upon, that there have been vast changes in the past 7 years.

It would be thought, with a large organization such as the Pennsylvania School Board Association behind it, our board would look to them for guidance and assistance in their policies and endeavors.

The PSBA adopted their 5 year strategic plan in 2007. What is wonderful about their plan is they clearly outline their goals:

• Determine PSBA’s role as the lead public education association
• Develop programs to recognize and promote effective governance
• Ensure PSBA has expertise to implement strategic plan
• Enhance member participation in PSBA governance, advocacy and related activities
• Expand consulting services to school boards and management teams
• Develop a fully integrated communications function for all audiences
• Increase utilization of PSBA programs & services
• Be the leader in school insurance
• Diversify PSBA’s revenue base
• Ensure sound administrative procedures & controls
• Establish education research & policy analysis center
• Strengthen advocacy impact

As stakeholders in our district, we would like to know if our school directors are taking advantage of these services. One item in particular that the PSBA was working on was “Expand consulting services to school boards and management teams”. Has our board taken advantage of this? Has the board had an independent entity come in to see how they are doing? How they are engaging each other? How they are engaging the community? How they are engaging our children?

Our district has again adopted the PSBA Effective Governance Standards, but are they putting the work into that? Do they truly know what the Effective Governance Standards are?

Are they taking advantage of the training and events that the PSBA offer? If they are, then hopefully our directors attended the Symposium of Education Issues that was held July 11-12 in Gettysburg. Hopefully they listened as former Pine-Richland School District Superintendent Dr. James Manley addressed them. Perhaps they heard him state “There is no room for big egos in a learning organization. Superintendent and School Board members are dependent on one another to lead the district. How this relationship goes; so goes the district. What they do, how they act, what decisions they make and how they handle conflict sets the tone for the school district.”

Maybe one of Dr. Stan Chapp’s first objectives once he takes over the reins of our district is to truly evaluate it. Take a page from Trinity School District that had Dr. Manley in to do an independent audit of their district. Our board did not want to listen when Dr. Kerr spoke about change, perhaps an independent audit of our districts workings could help. Spell out the things we are doing right. Spell out the things we are doing wrong. Offer some guidance and help.

LINKS:

Trinity Area School District “A Journey Toward High Performance Schools

http://www.trinitypride.org/files/258002/A%20Journey%20Towards%20High%20Performance%20Schools.pdf

WILLYARD: Round and Round

An Editorial by Becky Fullerton and Jennifer Willyard 

“I lived in Dayton for 14 years and, as County Superintendent, worked very closely with the rural people of the county. Knowing them as I do, I cannot comprehend, especially when they pay the same taxes, their acceptance of schools that do not provide their children with the same educational opportunities as those found in Ford City and Kittanning. If this school system is left to stagnate or deteriorate, I can now hear the statement being made that it never could succeed because it was too big. What a shallow excuse this will be. The real reason will be simply because of the lack of foresight of our people to invest in the future. The record will be there for all to see. We “missed the boat” on the Vocational-Technical School. Had we been allowed to build a complete school a few years ago, instead of the partial school we now have, we would have saved our patrons hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now we can’t even round up enough votes to complete it. We are paying a horrible price for every month of delay. Are we again going to “miss the boat” in developing the school system of the Armstrong School District?”  –C. N. Hanner, Superintendent (November 13, 1969)

This statement speaks volumes!  Dare we say history is still repeating itself again and again in the Armstrong School District?  Should we STILL be dealing with this same issue in 2010?  The SAME studies with the SAME results?  Superintendents with the SAME visions as to what is best for ALL students and taxpayers yet, the same opposition?

For more than 40 years, the residents of Armstrong County have gone around and around on how best to right size our schools.  Why has nothing been solved yet?  The same problems are to the forefront of our district with other problems being pushed aside to fight the battle of appeasing interest groups.

Let’s take a step back and look at the picture.  Other than the financial problems our district is facing, what other problems are there?

We have many children with inadequate test scores.

We have bullying, physical abuse, drug and alcohol abuse.

We have schools that lack equipment in order for teachers to properly do their jobs.

We have other deteriorating buildings.

There is an endless supply of concerns for ASD….but it seems as if all else in the district has been pushed aside with the reopening of EHS looming.  There are other issues that need to be addressed in this district.  Why must all of the focus be on EHS?   Why are all available funds being funneled into the Elderton project as Director Michael Markilinski stated “We’re not going to do a bare-bones project. It might be (deciding) between the middle of the road and a high-end (project),”.  Should some focus perhaps be on the many other issues in the district rather than focusing all of our time, energy and money on one small part of this district? 

Why are the rest of the issues of ASD not as important as renovating and reopening one building when so many other problems need to be addressed?  We think it is time that you make your concerns with OTHER issues known to our school board.

And we would like to hear YOUR issues.

What problems do you personally see within the district and how do you think they can be solved?

Email us at info@asd-news.com or write to us at

PO Box 424

Ford City, PA 16226

All responses will be considered for a future editorial and/or posted on our website.  If you do not wish for your name to be used, please just post/write anonymous.

OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND REFLECT PAID SPONSORSHIP.