Woodland Park school board discusses 2023-24 calendar, creates subcommittees to oversee superintendent search, core beliefs
WOODLAND PARK • The RE-2 Board of Education had a special meeting/work session Oct. 26 to discuss several items that aren’t quite ready for discussion at a regular meeting.
One of these items was the 2023-24 district calendar. Typically, the district posts three years of calendar so families and school employees can plan for vacations. The district calendar committee, consisting of a principal, staff members and parents from each school, usually meets in February to work on calendars, but the process fell apart with the COVID-19 pandemic.
District Co-Superintendent Tina Cassens explained the calendar process and changes that were made in 2019.
“The calendar used to have a lot of four-day weeks,” she said. “We’re trying to build in as many five-day weeks as possible while giving students and staff fall and spring breaks.”
Also, professional development days that used to take one day, now take two days — one day for training and the second day for processing.
Since the district started to use this calendar, there have been fewer extended family vacations and fewer disciplinary actions, Cassens said, adding that, unlike other districts, school doesn’t start earlier in August.
“It’s hot in August and some parents don’t send their students to school before Labor Day even though the calendar starts earlier,” she said.
Extra days are added into the calendar for snow days and other unplanned closures. “We track educational instruction time by minutes – 1,080 minutes for secondary students,” Cassens said. “If we get behind early in the year, we add extra minutes to the day, but sometimes we call for remote days, which also count as instructional time.”
Board President David Rusterholtz asked how working parents plan for childcare when their children have days off. Cassens said most of the local daycare businesses have closed, but the district has encouraged the community to help.
“The district plans activities during long breaks but teachers also need breaks,” she said. “Some community agencies are helping, but we need more. We’re looking to hire an organizer for student activities. We hope to sponsor a 5K run and maybe a ski trip. All activities are free for students.”
The board then proceeded to brainstorm the development of the board’s purpose (vision) and core beliefs statements.
Woodland Park School District Co-Superintendent Tina Cassens, left, and Woodland Park High School Assistant Principal Karen Hamlow facilitate the development of board purpose and core beliefs.
Cassens and Woodland Park High School Assistant Principal Karen Hamlow facilitated the process, using a white board and a lot of sticky notes posted within several idea-filled bubbles covering why the district is here and what it hopes to achieve for parents and students.
One idea that rose to the top was educating future citizens who appreciate and contribute to American society.
“People won’t serve on juries unless they know what that means,” said Board Vice President David Illingworth, who is a career prosecutor.
The board members also added such ideas as “lifelong learners,” “personal agency,” “personal drive,” “honorable, honest, hard work,” and “discipline and accountability.”
“We need to be strong on core values, traditions, virtues and citizenship,” Illingworth said.
“When I hear ‘core values,’ I always think ‘whose values?’,” Hamlow said.
“We can’t mold values,” Board Treasurer Chris Austin said. “We need to teach students to work with those who have different values.”
“We must have some common school values, such as it’s wrong to cheat, lie, steal and bully,” Illingworth said. “Values that promote a healthy, happy person and a better society.”
Co-Superintendent Del Garrick suggested “code of conduct” rather than “core values.”
When board members said parents, as the district’s customers, should always have the final say on how their children are educated, both Cassens and Hamlow brought up the problem of parents who don’t or won’t engage in their children’s education.
When the brainstorming session was over, Cassens and Hamlow asked if they could consolidate the ideas into draft statements and bring them back to the board before they appoint a subcommittee to work on the final version.
Instead, the board decided to appoint Rusterholtz and Director Suzanne Patterson as a subcommittee to oversee the process. Rusterholtz suggested that each director and Cassens and Hamlow create cleaned-up drafts of the purpose and core-belief statements.
The board appointed Illingworth and Director Cassie Kimbrell to the subcommittee that will explore the next steps in searching for a district superintendent.
“We have a precedent of getting rid of superintendents,” Rusterholtz said. “I’d like to change that.”
Illingworth said searching for an interim superintendent would be a better idea, since three board positions will be open for the next district election. However, it was pointed out that the board changes composition every two years.
Cassens said searching for an interim superintendent would change the pool of candidates and it might be difficult to ask someone to relocate for a temporary position.
Cassens asked the board to use a “spend a buck” process or in this case $1.08, to prioritize board goals for 2022-23. Each board member decided how much they would “spend” on each of five goals — a facilities usage review, innovative programing, monitoring reports and board strategies, safety and security, and the Summit Learning Program.
After adding together how much each board member would spend on each goal, the Summit Learning Program won, followed by innovative programs, and facilities. The other two tied for last place.
Additionally, the board appointed Jessie Sievers to the District Accountability Committee.
Kimbrell suggested that next time the board appoints members to the DAC, they get to meet the applicants instead of picking them from a list.
Members of the Woodland Park School District RE-2 board of education pull up their seats for a brainstorming session to create board purpose and core beliefs statements.