The Taylor School District Revitalization Task
Force for the 21st Century is currently seeking your feedback through a
“heartbeat” survey.
The task force of over 60 members represents all
stakeholder groups and includes community members, parents, board members,
support staff, administrators and teachers at all levels. They have gathered
hundreds of ideas and, as a result, have formed 10 action committees.
The task force has posted a “District Heartbeat
Survey” that can be viewed by clicking here and then going to the top of the
new portion of the page, located on the lower right side of the page.
Areas include categories like quality of education
and educational improvement. The survey is posted in a quick, easy-to-do
21-question format. It is done entirely online.
Those committees will meet independently of the
larger group to study specific topics, such as reconfiguration, preschool
curriculum, special education, technology, etc.
This is an exciting process that is being lead by
a group of dynamic and committed people. The work that is being done on behalf of
the students of the Taylor School District will lead to new learning
opportunities for all.
BACKGROUND: The first meeting of the task
force was held Feb. 28. It's mission: To make the community proud of the Taylor
School District. At that time, the Board of Education had its deficit plan
approved by the State of Michigan and all contracts within the system had been
recently approved.
The district's enrollment was 7,310 with a general
fund budget of $62 million. Its foundation allowance per pupil -- the per-pupil
state grant to fund education annually -- was $7,547.
Supt. Diane Allen pointed out that the
revitalization program was focused on giving new life or vitality to the system
and bringing it again into prominence.
Why the task force? Allen used a couple of
quotations to make a point.
Margaret Mead once said, "We are continually
faced with great opportunities which are brilliantly disguised as unsolvable
problems."
"That says so much about our district,"
Allen said. "Actually, this is an opportunity for our district" to
improve. She then turned to another quote, this time from Oprah Winfrey.
"We can't become what we need to be by
remaining what we are." Allen told the task force members that the
district will only get better by changing.
Revitalization focuses on five points:
•
Increasing student achievement
•
Better preparing students to live and work in the
21st Century
•
To bring resident students back to the district
•
To retain the students that the district currently
has
•
To increase enrollment through schools of choice
Allen pointed out that nearly half of the K-12
students living in the district (3,016) attend schools out of the system. In
addition, she pointed to a 32 percent decline in student population over the
past decade. Taylor did see 231 out-of-district student enrollees this year.
The revitalization campaign seeks to change
negatives into positives -- instead of an end, this is a chance for a new
beginning in Taylor. Considered heavily will be issues like reorganizing to add
value, saving money and aligning with best practices and effectively and
efficiently using facilities.
The timeline for task force work began with that
first meeting. The end date is projected for Sept. 30. There is plenty of work
ahead.
"We are now at a point where we must educate
our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what no
one knows yet."
-- Margaret Mead
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