Schools look for community views to re-evaluate goals

It has been seven years since the Corvallis School District sought out community-wide input in order to re-evaluate its goals and direction. Current superintendent Dawn Tarzian said it's about time that the district took another look at exactly what children should be learning in their 13 years with the district.

"In that seven years, not only has the district changed, but we've changed in our state, and changed a lot in our nation and our world," she said. "It's time to reengage the discussion."

The face of the school district has been changing rapidly, even in the five years since Tarzian has been superintendent. Students speak 24 native languages, and 24 percent of the district identify as ethnically or racially other than white. Five years ago, that number was 16 percent.

More than 30 percent of students' families are at or below the federal poverty level, and in five of the district's 12 schools, that number exceeds 40 percent. Twenty-five percent of district students qualify for the Talented and Gifted (TAG) program, and another 11 percent have some kind of diagnosed learning disability. There has also been a 67 percent increase in the number of autistic children attending district schools.

Tarzian said there are so many demands on teachers' time that it is difficult for them to plan day to day, let alone year to year. The goal-setting process being implemented by the district is aimed at creating community-driven guidelines.

"What are we trying to accomplish in 13 years of education?" Tarzian asked. "What knowledge and skills are we trying to provide? What learning experiences and opportunities? What kind of culture?"

With a 37 percent turnover in staff during the last five years, the district has a lot of new faces, and Tarzian said creating specific goals for those new teachers will help them as they settle into the district.

"Instilling in those teachers our priorities is essential," she said.

The first step in the community engagement process was inviting a select number of parents from each school in the district to attend a goal-setting session Thursday night at the district offices. The meeting was facilitated by Jeff DeFranco of the Springfield School District. Springfield went through a similar goal-setting process in 2004.

"Try to be representative not only of yourself but of your schools," DeFranco told the parents, who were split into elementary, middle and high school groups.

At one of the elementary school tables, a number of mothers carefully considered the things that they hoped their students would learn during their time in the district.

They discussed career skills, personal responsibility, cultural competency and many other topics. Julie Beaumariage, an Adams parent, wanted to see elementary school children exposed to a variety of skills, from cooking to language.

"Children start pruning themselves out of careers at third grade," Jefferson parent Carole Petersen agreed, so exposing children to many different options at a young age is crucial.

Petersen also wanted children to learn money management skills.

"Not just get money and spend it," she said.

Antigone Cook, a Jefferson parent, thought that the district's emphasis on character building, the "Safe, responsible and respectful" motto that is drilled into every student, was exactly the kind of thing young students should be learning.

Margaret Oneida, a Mountain View parent and head of its parent-teacher group, agreed that her school's "Caught in the act" program that rewards children for good behavior was a great way to teach children to value good citizenship.

Later, the parents were asked to write down three different learning opportunities or experiences every child should have at school. Their choices were then grouped into themes, ranging from arts enrichment to technology integration, smaller class size to citizenship and community service.

The parents were the first of many groups to join in facilitated discussions. Business leaders, students, community members and others will be asked to participate at later meetings through February 2007. The process will culminate in a public forum tentatively scheduled for Feb. 22. Findings from the process will be presented to the Corvallis School Board in May 2007.

Theresa Hogue is features reporter for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at theresa.hogue@lee.net or by phone at 758-9526.