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Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
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We’re Taxpayers. It’s Our Money. |
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What Results Will Katy ISD’s Critical Issues Forum Yield? |
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OK - for those of you who did not make it to Katy ISD's Critical Issues Symposium Tuesday, here's a brief rundown. I'll be doing a full report in a couple of weeks after I meet with Superintendent Alton Frailey to discuss the results. The district will compile the responses from participants and put some information on the Web site, officials said. Frailey said the primary goal of the forum was to gather input and identify common ground to help him make recommendations to the board about the future of the district. He told the crowd they were invited because "someone felt you had something to offer." He said: I don't want a group of "yes" people and I see that that has been accomplished. But the weather and other issues may have played a part in the lower than anticipated turnout of parents and community members. I would estimate that more than half of the attendees were district staff. Plus, there were only a handful of non-participants sitting in the galley with me - mostly KISD staff there, too. School officials said administrators were on hand only as facilitators but several people have criticized the district on this blog saying it uses the Delphi technique to achieve consensus in various group meetings. Guests, who participated in hands-on exercises, got a "big picture" of the critical issues in the district such as student performance, staff development, curriculum and instruction, community support and technology. During the event, Frailey talked about sparking a community-wide dialogue to survey common values, expectations, and challenges in the district. He stressed that in a fast-growing district like Katy, the "main thing" is student growth and success, which hinges on harmony among the key players. He said: We share a resource that we call Katy. We can use it for what we want to do with it or what we agree to do with. Frailey criticized the "plethora" of student education reform acts (IDEA, NCLB, ESEA, SCANS, etc) saying they haven't worked as intended. He said: They had lots of things connected to no dream at all. In addition to the small group discussions, there was a really cool live survey where answers were retrieved in real time using a small electronic gadget that attendees could key their answers in with. The results will be posted on the district's Web site. Attendees unanimously decided to come back on April 8 for part deux to continue their work as the district strives to focus on priorities and fine tune key initiatives. In April, they will examine student growth and success, safe learning environments, community engagement, etc. |
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Helen Eriksen, Houston Chronicle |
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Date: 02/06/2008 |
