WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. February 3, 2007: The White Plains City School District through the Superintendent of Schools Office has released a report on the World Cafe meeting held January 24 in which 144 persons attended from across the city to answer survey questions about what they thought of the City School District. The 8-1/2 page report is available through the Superintendent.
The overwhelming response garnered from 320 respenses generated concern about the Curriculum and Program (57%) (courses and how they are taught) with less than 11% of responses concerned about school finances and budget growth, faculty, school testing, future school facilities and special needs. No mention is reported of participants' concern about facilities and only cursory concern about what lies ahead for district growth . The report indicates a genuine "thumbs up" for the way the school district has been conducting, planning and handling the education of White Plains students.
The report does not break down percentages of responses on the many comments collected in the report (all comments are not published). Herewith is the report which will be used as a basis for community comment when the Strategic Core Planning Group meets Wednesday through Friday next week at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. That meeting will be closed to the public and the media at this time.
Here is the text of the "Introduction and Background" Report issued to WPCNR Friday afternoon:
Introduction and Background
The White Plains School District has embarked upon a Strategic Planning Initiative to plan for the long term future and success of the district. As part of the process, the district held a World Café on January 24, 2007. The purpose of the World Café was to allow the community at large to share its thoughts on what we have accomplished, what our students believe is the value of our school district, where we are going, and what our future challenges maybe.
Approximately 140 individuals (staff, parents, and community members) attended the World Café and they were asked five questions:
* What would you want the students of White Plains to thank the school district for as they graduate?
* What are your biggest concerns about our schools and what would you want to see changed as we plan our future?
* What changes in practice would the White Plains School District need to make in order to achieve what you just described?
* What do you really value about our schools that you would want to see retained as we plan our future?
* What are the greatest untapped resources of our staff and community that might contribute to the success of our students?
It is important to recognize that although 140 individuals attended, each person had the opportunity to give multiple responses to each question. Major themes emerged in the responses to each question, and they, along with miscellaneous responses are reported in the summary of findings. A key to acronyms in this report is as follows:
ESL/ESOL : English as a Second Language
ELL: English Language Learner
LSP: Language Strategies Program
OT: Occupational Therapy
PT: Physical Therapy
TERC: K-5 Math curriculum: Investigations
Summary of Findings
Question one asked the participants what they thought our students should thank us for as they graduate. Four themes emerged from a total of 271 responses
Program Offerings 33%
Life Skills 27%
Feeling cared for/supported 23%
Academics/Skills preparation 13%
Some verbatim examples of the responses to each question follow.
Program Offerings
* Good sports program, great clubs and after school activities
* Multi-sensory proçjrarn allowed me to graduate with honors
* Full-day kindergarten
* LSP, OT. PT, Wings, ESOL are great!!!
* Wide range of electives
Life Skills
* Enabling wonderful insights to who I am and what 1111cc
* Opportunity to be the best I can be
* Being given the skills and decision making ability to be able to handle whatever’ comes my way
* Being aware of the world around them and having the ability to make independent decisions
* Preparation to be citizens of the world
* Taught me to be independent, responsible and time management skills
Feeling cared for and supported
* I was able to learn because I felt safe and comfortable
* For caring about me
* For giving me access to administrators and faculty
* Giving me a chance to be a star and giving everyone a chance to shine
* For offering alternatives to the bad choices that teens make or face
Academic/Skills preparation
* The coursework allowed for a greater learning of subject matter
* For being aptly prepared to be academically competitive in higher levels of academics
* A challenging, multi-faceted education
* Graduating with stronger math and science skills
* The opportunity to have a well-rounded, diverse education
Miscellaneous Responses
* Summer job opportunities
* Teachers who kept parents informed
* A proactive approach to prevent or find potential problems
* The beauty of the facilities
Question two focused on the participants’ greatest concerns about our schools and elicited suggestions for what they would want to see changed as we plan our future. Six themes emerged from a total of 320 responses.
Curriculum and Program 57%
Social Concerns 11%
Faculty/Staff 10%
Finances/Funding/Expenditures 9%
Discipline 6%
Special Needs of Learners 4%
(English Language Learners, Special Eduction)
Samples of verbatim responses to each theme are listed below.
Curriculum and Program
* Too much teaching to the test
* You are not putting enough resources to the students tot a are just average
* Social promotion must stop
* Quality of education must remain at a high level
* Focus on basics
* TERC math
* Not enough structure in the Elementary curriculum
* Not enough field trips or out-of-school enrichment
* Wish languages started earlier
* Inside recess should not involve watching ‘TV. Where is the structure?
* The district does not have reliable academic standards because the Board and Administration have reduced passing grades on exams to accommodate uneducated students
* Eliminate the achievement gap
* Schools are crowded
* Longer school day and year
* Get rid of open campus at the high school — allows too many problems
* Academics dominate and emotions are not values
* Increase flexibility in schedule/day plan for schools
Social Concerns
* Need to confront racism
* Need more trust and communication between/within groups
* Opinions matter-give people a chance to share them
* Be honest about diversity
* Parental apathy
* Shjfting demographics and challenges associated with that
Faculty/Staff
* Some administrators need to work more for the kids — not themselves
* Some teachers are coasting and “taking up space”
* Review of tenure so unmotivated teachers aren’t protected
* Faculty complacent and resistant to change — need to embrace research-based best practices and stop blaming the kids and parents
* Need a diverse, high quality staff
SOCIAL
* Finances/Funding/Expenditures
* Afraid taxes will force people to move; can’t afford to live here
* Concern about funding tax certioraris
* Concern about distribution of resources
* Budget vote should be moved to November
* Budget is mismanaged
Special Needs of Learners (ELL, Special Education etc.)
* Concerns about gap between non-English speaking students and others; makes teaching more of a challenge
* Attention should be paid to all
* There are not enough translators, ESOL teachers, reading teachers in schools
* Does the district have a clear program for non-English speakers?
* Train faculty to deal with diverse groups
* Separateness and programming and lack of achievement for Special Education students need to be eliminated. “Separate but not equal”
* Resources need to be put to remedial programs
* Language barriers need to be addressed
* Need for support services — will have to expand
* More programs for Hispanic students
* ESOL — reduce class sizes and provide more support after child leaves program
Student Discipline
* Discipline/Dress Code/Code of Conduct not being enforced across the District
* Tardiness/A bsencesfrorn school are hurting the flow of education.
* Child Stress
* Safety of all students
* Accountability/Responsibility in the students part
* Lack of student respect towards others
* Need consistent student discipline
Miscellaneous Responses
* (This) Survey has to be more extensive and detailed
* Too much paper — we like trees
* Communication between upper grades and home needs to improve
* Promote schools of excellence
* Lack of good public relations
* Population keeps going up yet we are told its leveling off
Question three focused on what changes in practice the White Plains School District would have to make in order to achieve those things participants discussed in question two. Five themes emerged from a total of 190 responses.
Programming 50%
Use of human resources 17%
Relationships with parents and community 12%
Focus on Testing 7%
Diversity 6%
Some examples of verbatim responses are:
Programming
* De-emphasize state tests as central focus in curriculum planning and encourage creative thinking and teaching strategies
* Enrichment for all
* Stop spending money on programs that don’t work
* GET RID OF TERC MATH
* Change program for ESOL kids -. meet their needs, not force kids into our preexisting proqrams (which are limited)
* Put money from buses leaving at 2:05 and use it so teachers can be available for x-period. X-period should be mandatory.
* Shift focus back to reinforcement of basic skills
* Smaller classes at the HS and Middle School
Use of Human Resources
* Upgrade the tenure process — should be much more rigorous
* Review of materials, curriculum and actual classroom teaching, so teachers are monitored periodically and those who are chronically late, play movies or teach ineffectively are given concrete goals for improvement and a timeline to achieve it or they are out
* Hire teachers that have a passion for teaching
* More diverse representation of staff across the district even if it means reassignment across — throughout the buildings
Relationship with parents and community
* Need better P.R. — good news from our schools
* Provide more and consistent opportunities for parents to contribute to in-class activities
* Increase parent involvement
* Create tangible connections to student’s global counterparts in this changing world especially across socio-economic lines (teleconference with other countries)
* More parent communication with the school as a community so that parents can understand what is being taught and can give their input or feedback — An open line of communication. Parents should be more involved in curriculum planning
* Board and Superintendent need to be more open to change — not decide the answer before you ask the question — look outside for answers.
Focus on testing
* Assessments — need to be modified on students — are they learning the skills?
* Teaching to the test doesn’t always transfer to greater knowledge
* Don’t teach to the test and not the children —find the balance
* Increase passing scores on the Regents exam
Diversity
* Need equal demographics in the elementary schools
* Provide more daily opportunities for sharing backgrounds and student diversity
* Do more to break down racial and ethnic divides among children; encourage interaction
* Speak only English in classrooms to encourage the ESOL students to continue what they’ve learned
* Remove things which foster racism (institutional approach)
Miscellaneous Responses
* Find ways to increase tax revenue from commercial properties and development in White Plains. More $ = better provisions
* Pay taxes from budget as opposed to bonds
* School board elections — have all elections on the same day
* Consistency between buildings, programs, and policies needs to be put in place
Question four focused on the aspects of our schools that participants value, and which they would want to see retained as we plan our future. Three themes emerged from a total of 296 responses.
Specific Programs and services 63%
Interactions with the community 16%
Diversity 10%
Supportive environment for staff and students 9%
Verbatim responses include:
Specific programs and services
* Music and Art Program
* Athletics/Sports
* Choice Program
* Retain quality teachers
* Respect for diversity
* Diversity of programming /
* Special Education Programs/Learning Strategies Programs — they are excellent
* Wings Programs
* Keep team aspect at Middle Schools
* AP and Honors classes
* Technology in the classroom
* Full day kindergarten
* Small class size
Interactions with the community
* Parental involvement
* Sense of community amongst all stake holders
* Communication tools
* Seeking/listening to opinions of all
* Tap into the resources of the community
* Opportunities for the community to come together to address concerns and plan for the future
* Maintain strong community support for the schools
* Open door policy for Administration and Board
* Coordination of safety teams with community
Supportive environment for students and staff
* Positive teacher relationship with students
* Keep security guards at High School for order
* School Spirit — kids are proud of their schools
* Let the teachers know they are valued
* Caring attitudes that the teachers and TAs provide for all students is greatly valued
* Support staff and the purpose they serve needs to be valued
* Support from staff to staff
* Respectfvlness on the part of most staff
* Pride in the District
* Create a real sense of community for kids (no bullying allowed). Schools really try to instill idea of good citizenship
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