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Kelly Rodgers has big plans for the Terrell school district. He wants the district to be recognized by the Texas Education Agency in three years.
Barely in the superintendent’s office three months, he already has been among teachers and out in the community promoting an improvement plan.
The plan includes:
Improving parental involvement.
Realigning the curriculum.
Encouraging more students to take challenging classes.
Providing more vocational and technical courses.
He and school board members will meet with the public at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at Furlough Middle School, 1351 Colquitt Road to hear their ideas on improving the district.
“This is not a gripe session,” Mr. Rodgers emphasized. “This is not a meeting for someone to dominate the microphone.”
The board members will meet with small groups at individual tables to hear their ideas for the schools.
While Mr. Rodgers wants to hear the public’s ideas, he hasn’t waited to start improvements.
Perhaps the most ambitious part of the plan is to better prepare students for life after high school. This includes getting more students into more challenging college prep classes and expanding vocational courses.
“That’s our vision – we want students moving out of school or with a certificate,” Mr. Rodgers said.
The district is investigating working more closely with Trinity Valley Community College to provide joint courses that would lead to credentials in health-related fields, culinary arts or industrial vocations such as welding.
“This area has quite an industrial base. Those companies are interested in students coming out with skills,” he said.
Ideally, he’d like to see a college branch program across the street from the high school, he recently told a group of realtors.
At the same time the district expands vocational training, it should strengthen higher level classes, getting more students in advanced placements courses.
This involves reaching down in to middle school to identify more students capable of the challenging classes and preparing them to do well in high school, he said.
Already the new superintendent has moved to improve security in the schools. Metal detectors and dogs are randomly used, fencing has been put in to better control the flow of traffic and bus schedules are being changed so that students don’t wait as long after class.
And visitors to all schools must present a photo ID and are checked against a database.
Still, a student was found near the high school athletic facility recently with a gun. Mr. Rodgers said that weapon was not in the school and that no weapons have been found on the campus.
He also has surveyed the teachers. In general, the survey found they believe their needs to be better communication with the central office, more recognition for outstanding teachers and students and improved pay and benefits.
And a nationally recognized firm is conducting a curriculum audit. The audit is looking at all aspects of the district’s policies and teaching. The audit will recommend ways to change district programs to improve student achievement and test scores.
For instance, the audit will make sure that objectives tested on the TAKS test are taught before the test.
In Center, where he previously was superintendent, he said he found that teachers were covering the curriculum, but not necessarily teaching items covered on the statewide standardized test before the test day.
“We changed that and the scores went up. It was just that simple,” he said.
He said all these changes must take place soon.
“I’ve talked to our administrators and teachers,” he said, “and told them we are setting our vision on three years. It may take four or it may take two.”
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| Last Updated: Aug 13th, 2008 - 22:48:38 |
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