I Sue port pub lick ed u kay shun! (I Support Public Education!)
Posted: October 22, 2008
Frankly, I’m getting tired of hearing that our public schools are failing! I have the privilege of having been elected to serve as a Trustee of Minidoka School District and take great pride in knowing that we have very dedicated, passionate and hard working staffs that have embraced the tenets of NCLB (No Child Left Behind), and are diligent in their effort to help every child learn every day. NCLB has changed the way we look at education. In the beginning it felt like a dead weight we were dragging around hoping it would just go away. Today, I like to think of it like the gauges and warning lights we have in our automobiles which keep us informed that the vehicle is operating properly or warn us of signs of trouble. Using the same analogy, just like when a new model car is rolled out, there are always bugs that need to be worked out. Hopefully next January, regardless of which political party obtains the White House, the reauthorization of NCLB with much needed changes will be a priority.
You undoubtedly have seen or will in the near future that East Minico Middle School, West Minico Middle School and Minico High School missed AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) under NCLB last year and are listed as failing schools. NCLB measures schools based on 41 criteria; East and West Minico fell short on one of the criteria, and Minico High School only missed three. That’s 98% and 93% respectively and, in West Minico’s case, the difference was so small that one student could have made the difference. Most of us who took classes in high school or college would have been very happy with those scores. I certainly cannot call any of these schools a failure.
In changing the way we look at education in the Minidoka District, the Board of Trustees has been involved in the Idaho School Board Foundation sponsored “Lighthouse Study” which trains school boards in research proven practices of school boards that help increase student achievement and then follows their success in implementing those practices. In the past, at the beginning of each school year, the board has outlined the goals for the district and communicated them to at the annual “Back to School Meeting.” Although we have always tried to keep the number of goals small, there have been many “action” items listed under each one which tended to obscure the goal. Lighthouse research suggests that a single narrow focus be developed by examining the data, planning professional development around that focus and implementing those strategies in the classroom.
Together, with all of the District’s Administrators, the Board of Trustees has narrowed in on “Instructional Intensity to improve student achievement” as our focus this year. Several articles explaining this focus can be found on the district website. For my purpose here, the reason this became an obvious choice for our District was predicated on research suggesting that intensity in the classroom can overcome any outside influence that may affect the child. The teachers and staff are taking a “No Excuses” approach this year and use these effective teaching methods daily. I encourage anyone who visits our schools to notice the Lighthouse banners posted in each building and the commitment of our staff to making students successful.
The willingness, commitment, and energy of our staff and teachers in embracing this focus is very humbling. I look forward to spring testing and to 100% of Minidoka schools making AYP!
By: Brian Duncan, Board Chairman, Minidoka County Joint School District #331