Open-ended district goals allow interpretation, teachers say

New district goals adopted by the Cape Girardeau School Board may seem confusing now, but they will eventually be refined and made specific for each school.

The end result, teachers say, will be a better, individualized education for students.

At their Monday meeting, the board adopted three open-ended goals for the district this year, including student achievement, professional development and the implementation of a new reform model known as professional learning communities.

Teachers and administrators at each school in the district will develop their own, individual set of measurable standards through which to meet the board goals.

Those standards will be developed between now and September, when they will be presented to the school board for approval.

"I think teachers tend to have a better concept of what needs to happen in a classroom, and I appreciate the opportunity to set our own goals," said Bill Springer, an English and social studies teacher at Central High School.

Springer said, compared to the explicit goals set forth in past years, next year's goals seem vague.

"There's a lot of room for interpretation," Springer said. "It will be a challenge, but that's not necessarily a bad thing."

The goals the board has set in past years are very different from those approved this week for 2003-04. Last year, the school board adopted seven goals broken down into 22 specific, measurable standards that applied to every school in the district.

Those goals addressed student performance, district finances, customer service and communication with patrons, facilities, upgrading technology and curriculum.

"Many of those things are tasks that we're going to do anyway, whether they're a board goal or not," said superintendent Mark Bowles. "Even though this year's goals don't provide specific tasks, they create a current for buildings to follow. Students will see the long-term benefits of that."

Several teachers felt this year's goals encompass ideas and practices they already use.

"We talk a lot about setting the bar a little higher, and in many ways, we're already doing that in the classroom," said Mary LeGrand, a teacher at Central Junior High. "But this can still be a good thing because it recognized that each school has its own problems."

All three goals for 2003-04 were developed around a reform model known as professional learning communities. The school district has informally used practices similar to those upheld by the model for several years, but the board made an official commitment to adopt the reform during a meeting on July 14.

The model, which was developed by nationally renowned educator Rick DuFour, stresses the involvement of teachers, students and community members in education, professional development and the use of scientifically-based teaching methods.

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.

"We seem to go in cycles with reform movements," said Karen Altenthal, a teacher at Central High School.

"We jump on the bandwagon and try different philosophies, some of which work and some of which do not. But I think this one makes sense for where we want our schools to go in the future," Altenthal said.

cclark@semissourian.com

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