Cape schools pass goals for coming year

The Cape Girardeau School District has set its sights on student achievement and professional development for teachers next year, although some parents find the wording of the open-ended goals confusing.

During its Monday night meeting, the Cape Girardeau School Board approved three goals that will be implemented this year through an innovative reform movement known nationally as professional learning communities. The goals are:

All staff will have articulated the essential components of professional learning communities and actively applied these components in processes within their buildings consistent with this conceptual framework.

All instructional staff will have held their students to high academic standards, helping each of them to achieve scholastically to the best of each student's ability by adopting professional learning community practices.

All instructional staff will have participated in professional development activities on research-driven concepts and techniques dedicated to increasing student achievement. Classroom practice of all instructional staff will have reflected the results of their professional development activities.

"These goals are what we're really going to focus on this year, aside from the business aspect of school," school board president Sharon Mueller said. "We'll align all of our activities with these goals."

In past years, the school board has set specific goals that applied to every school in the district.

Under professional learning communities, the board has established general expectations, but allows teachers and administrators at individual schools to develop their own measurable standards for meeting the goals.

"We now know that children learn differently, and we're going to tap into teachers' strength to focus on how each student learns best," Mueller said.

But local parents say the goals are too ambiguous for them to understand what the school board's expectations are.

"It all sounds good, but it would be really helpful to know exactly what they're talking about," said Debbie Lewis, who has a child at Central High School.

Judy Evans, a Cape Girardeau parent who has children at Central High School and Franklin Elementary, said she found especially confusing the student achievement goal, which states that teachers are to hold students to high academic standards and help them achieve to the best of their scholastic ability.

"It's describing a teacher's job. They're supposed to help kids achieve to the best of their ability," Evans said. "That should be automatic, not a goal. To me, it says it's something they haven't been doing in the past."

'Conceptual framework'

The board spent more than 10 hours deliberating the goals in two evening sessions last week. Mueller said the board may choose to add or amend goals in the next few months, but the basis for each is professional learning communities.

The reform model, which was developed by nationally renowned educator Rick DuFour, stresses the involvement of teachers, students and community members, continued professional development, the use of scientifically based teaching methods, and the application and attainment of specific goals.

The model is referred to as a "conceptual framework," because it is not a standardized reform. Instead, each district applies the practices according to individual needs.

In 2002-03, the board adopted seven goals that were broken down into 22 specific standards.

"It's a big departure from the way we looked at goals in past years," said school board member Dr. Martha Zlokovich. "We want to make sure we're not leaving something essential off. But we felt the fewer goals the better, so we're not confusing everyday tasks with goals."

cclark@semissourian.com

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