The USD 253 Board of Education now has a clearer picture of the type of leader the district is searching for.
This is thanks to recent data collection efforts administered by the Kansas Association of School Boards over the past week. During the board’s recent meeting Wednesday evening, KASB Deputy Executive Director Dr. Brian Jordan discussed the results of those efforts and says three important characteristics were identified by district patrons through a recent online survey.
The majority of individuals stated they want a superintendent who is honest and trustworthy, has a kid’s first mentality and acknowledges issues related to diversity. Dr. Jordan added the survey also identified the most crucial issues district patrons feel the new superintendent needs to address in order to have a successful tenure.
A total of 1,090 individuals responded to the district’s survey and six focus groups were also held over the past week to gain insight from district staff. In the focus groups under the critical needs section, several participants indicated a need for improved trust and communication within the district, two values that Dr. Jordan says are crucial to one another.
Jordan is scheduled to join the board during their next regular meeting in February to discuss potential candidates. Candidate interviews are scheduled to take place between Feb. 15 and 19.
In other business, the board received its latest update from the district’s COVID-19 advisory committee. The report comes more than a week after the district began step two of its secondary learning plan which brought 25 percent of the Emporia Middle and Emporia High School student populations back to in-person learning.
At this time the committee has recommended the district remain in step two at the secondary level and continue to monitor COVID statistics through Feb. 5th and then move into step three beginning Feb. 8th. Though no formal vote was taken on the recommendation, the proposed plan will move forward as presented.
The move into step three has been a long-discussed topic hindered mainly by a concern that certain mitigation strategies would not be effective with a larger population of students in attendance. Interim Superintendent Dr. Allison Anderson-Harder explained that the move to step three is possible, however, the board should understand that social distancing will likely not be maintainable during certain hours of the day such as the morning, lunch and passing periods.
Board President Mike Crouch says it is a concerning development, but one the board knew they may have to consider to get more students into the buildings.
Step three of the learning plan will see 50 percent of the student population attending classes every other day of the week with the continuous cohort of students with specialized learning needs continuing to attend on a daily basis.
Additionally Wednesday, the board received the second half of its student academic achievement report after receiving the first portion during their last meeting on Jan. 13. According to the report, delivered by Associate Executive Director of Assessments and Accountability Dr. Ryan Karjala, the district is meeting standards not only as measured by the state level in MAPS testing, but also when compared to similar-sized districts.
Karjala gives the credit for this success to the work of district staff and educators.
Also during Wednesday’s meeting, the board received an update on its ongoing Building for the Future renovation effort during which time the name of the new Early Learning Facility was unveiled. The facility will be known as the Jones Early Childhood Development Center.
The announcement follows a groundbreaking ceremony earlier Wednesday for renovations at EHS, details of which can be found online at KVOE.com. McCownGordon Construction senior project specialist Eric Woltje will be joining KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 segment at 8:20 am Thursday morning to provide an in-depth update on the Building for the Future initiative.
The USD 253 Board of Education will next convene on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 pm.
