After being on the job for 18 weeks, Superintendent Dr. William Skilling is honing in on completing his checklist of goals for the Oxford School District.
‘I wanted to establish accountability for the things that needed to happen,? he said.
So far, he’s accomplished building relationships with School Board members, the administration team, staff, community and business leaders.
Most importantly, though, Skilling is proud of putting into place what he calls the servant/leadership model. ‘Servant/leadership can only happen if you focus on selflessness first. That means putting others before self,? he said, noting that his job as superintendent is to serve those in positions below him. Not the other way around.
‘We talk so much about self-esteem in schools, but really, we should get rid of all that and focus on selflessness,? he said.
The superintendent said the district has also set forth a strategic plan when it comes to increasing academics and fine arts, specifically, implementing a K-12 Mandarin Chinese language and culture curriculum and orchestra program for the 2008-09 school year.
Having all 28 districts in Oakland County establish a Mandarin Chinese program was an initiative County Executive L. Brooks Patterson started at the beginning of this year. So far, 14 districts have implemented the program.
School officials are seeking state and federal foundation grants to help fund the program. U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Bloomfield Hils), recently introduced the Mandarin Language Teaching Grant Act of 2007 that would authorize $50 million to be spent on funding the language classes for elementary, secondary and adult students.
Although nothing is official for the Oxford School District yet, Skilling said it’s what they’re working toward for next fall.
‘We’re getting a grant to hire a person starting in January to develop the K-12 curriculum for Chinese,? he said. ‘We’re also working with a a couple of partners to fully fund an orchestra program.?
The funding would cover the cost of curriculum, various purchases, staffing and the instruments themselves, according to the superintendent.
Another one of Skilling’s goals is to focus on student achievement at all grade levels and improving the financial state of the district, like increasing student enrollment through Schools of Choice, for instance.
‘We have to find other revenue streams and partnerships and so forth if we’re really going to achieve greatness,? he said.