Wausau School DistrictCreating Future-Focused Schools

Community Resource CommitteeReview of Engagement DataApril 12, 2007

The engagement process began with you:

• 23 sessions over a two-month period January 11th to March 15th

• Over a thousand people invited to attend

• Two open sessions held for the general public

• Over 325 people participated• Session size varied from 3 people to

over 40

Each session was focused on five trends:

• Technology• Globalization• Social Justice• Changing Demographics• Innovation and Life-Long Learning

Every group was asked to provide feedback on two important questions:

• How should the curriculum change to best prepare our students for a successful future?

• How should the delivery of instruction change to best prepare our students for a successful future?

Community, parents, staff, and students told us what they thought. They voted for the ideas they felt should be the highest priorities for the District. Those ideas are:

Enhance District technology capabilities

• Provide more hands-on experience with technology for students

• Provide increased training and support for staff

• Ensure that appropriate technologies are available as learning tools across the District

• Provide access to technology outside the school day for students and families

Create foreign language and culture instruction throughout all grades

• Begin foreign language instruction at earliest grades• Infuse cultural education throughout the curriculum• Teach languages that have more global relevance—

Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, Japanese• Provide native speakers as instructors• Tie the teaching of history and geography to

instruction in language and culture• Investigate learning strategies that are successful

across the country and around the globe

Restructure instructional time

• Investigate changes to the established school calendar

• Provide flexibility in the length of the school day/school year

• Investigate year round school

Focus on critical thinking,problem-solving skills, life-skills

• Instruction should focus on critical thinking skills, problem-solving strategies

• Students should progress at their own pace and be measured for mastery and understanding in a variety of ways that reflect student learning styles

• Students should graduate with strong soft skills—communication skills, collaboration skills, independent decision-making skills

• Students should graduate with the skills they need to be a successful, contributing member of society• Citizenship and respect for others• Appreciation of diversity• Development of a service ethic

Incorporate financial literacy across the curriculum, throughout all grade levels

• Students should be exposed to authentic financial learning experiences.

• Areas of study should include checking, savings, sound use of credit resources, and financial planning.

Increase work-based learning opportunities

• Utilize local business as resources-in the classroom/in the business setting

• Provide more career-focused instruction• Offer academies within the regular

school setting

Create an environment of respect and understanding for diversity

• Promote a culture of sensitivity and respectfor all students

• Support students in poverty so they can have the experiences and resources to be successful

• Provide a broader history and context for students and encourage open-ended discussion and thoughtful consideration of ideas

• Celebrate diversity in a community-wide approach to learning

Increase utilization of community resources

• Strengthen existing partnerships and develop new collaborations with area organizations, businesses, clubs, and associations

• Utilize community members as instructors, presenters, mentors

• Seek expanded resources (financial and material) from the community for students with specific needs

Broaden staff recruitment to create a wider range of role models, support for students from diverse backgrounds

• Broaden the scope of recruitment to bring a more diverse administrative and teaching base to WSD

Create an environment that encourages students to explore and take instructional risks

• Challenge students to try new classes, experience instruction that does not impact their GPA

• Provide a variety of paths to success that meet the needs of diverse learners

• Provide individualized instruction to meet students’ needs

Provide greater opportunities for community & family learning experiences

• Open up District resources outside the traditional school day to community members and families

• Provide access to technology and encourage student instruction of community members and families

Provide opportunities for students to expand their creative thought and expression

• Integrate hands-on learning for relevance and application

• Ensure that students have a full range of the creative arts available

Increase inter-generational programming

• Provide opportunities for family learning in and outside of the school day

• Encourage senior citizen involvement, presentations, volunteers, mentors

• Provide technology and other instructional programming that can benefit adults throughout the community in our schools

Support student health and nutrition

• Encourage more physical activity for students

• Increase instruction on healthy living and nutrition

• Increase the healthy and multi-cultural food offerings in the Food Service program

Where do we go from here?

• Administrative prioritization of the ideas to be addressed

• Establish Future-Focused Action Teams• Teams to be comprised of community members, staff, and

administrators • Provide training for teams• Provide resources for research, analysis, communication, and

evaluation• Initiate work on the highest priorities beginning fall 2007

• Ensure that every Action Team is working toward the goal of creating a world-class school district

Any Questions?

All Rights Reserved 2007