Voters in the Oxford school district could face another bond proposal within the next year, possibly in November 2009, based on the consensus of a steering committee meeting held March 5 at Devil’s Ridge Banquet Center, according to Assistant Superintendent of curriculum James Schwarz.
‘But nothing’s been set in stone yet,? Schwarz said. ‘We’re getting a good feel of what the community thinks, and the community steering committee will go back and work on those plans.?
Schwarz described the all-day meeting ? designed to discuss the district’s 2008-13 Strategic Plan and consider options in light of the recent failed bond vote ? as being ‘very beneficial? and said it was a time to ‘fine tune? strategies by examining where they’ve been in the past year and considering the feedback they’ve received.
‘We’re looking at condensing the 11 [Strategic Plan] goals down to probably seven or eight,? Schwarz said. ‘Some felt the goals were too much and needed to be narrowed down to something more manageable. The strategies in the goals are not changing, and the changes in the document would be more cosmetic than anything else.?
Currently the goals are:
Goal 1: To graduate students who are prepared for ever-changing global opportunities and who embody our core values evidenced by the following Oxford Student Profile/Exit Outcomes;
Goal 2: To maximize student achievement through a globally relevant curriculum that promotes excellence in academics, fine arts and athletics;
Goal 3: To create a model global learning committee;
Goal 4: To create an organizational structure that supports meaningful, effective and efficient changes in curriculum and changes in instructional practices;
Goal 5: To develop a seamless, research-based curriculum and instructional practices that will inspire and engage all students to achieve their maximum potential;
Goal 6: To establish and maintain developmentally appropriate learning communities that meet the needs of all students;
Goal 7: To create effective and authentic communication of student achievement;
Goal 8: To have facilities of excellence, incorporating the elements of a secure, celebrated entrance that leads to evolving worlds of learning;
Goal 9: To attract and retain highly innovative, dynamic, dedicated, and skilled staff;
Goal 10: To create a school community that builds a foundation of selfless, global leaders where administrators serve teachers, teachers serve students, and students serve the world through academic, athletic, and artistic excellence;
Goal 11: To embrace the community while working together to achieve common goals and plan future endeavors.
While some goals would be merged, no goals or strategies would be removed, Schwarz added. The idea behind condensing them is to reduce the overlap.
‘We’re also looking to take them to the next step in terms of the putting in the next tier of strategies, defining details and digging deeper,? he said.
At this time, the Oxford Schools administration will take a look to see which goals to merge. They would then take it to committee for approval.
At the meeting’s end they also discussed possible strategies regarding the recent school bond vote, which Oxford-area voters narrowly rejected with 2,191 No votes to 1,902 Yes votes. There was a debriefing of the bond campaign along with a round table to get opinions from those present on whether they thought another bond vote should be tried again and when. They also, Schwarz said, identified the specific needs in the bond proposal.
At the meeting, the school officials also received input from about 90 people that Schwarz described as ‘a cross section of most facets in the community,? including township, village and library representatives, parents of students, along with several pastors.
The officials may also further reach out for community input through a survey to be distributed in the area. Schwarz said the idea is to examine the feedback and use that to modify the bond issue.
Currently, there’s no timetable for sending out the survey.