The meeting became a broader discussion about District communication. I stressed that it is vital for the community at large to hear from the superintendent, such communication goes beyond individual principal's updates, PTO forums, and School Board newsletters. In particular, we talked about a two pronged approach where the superintendent provides a regular, written update (via listserv, e-mail, web site, etc.) coupled with regular, in-person, discussion groups.
The discussion groups are a vehicle to allow for face-to-face communication on topics of interest. These groups would be informal and open to the community at large. I welcome individuals to post topics of interest on this blog. I will then consolidate ideas/ suggestions and forward them onto Mr. Colter. Personally, I would like to see discussions on curricula and operational/facility improvements.
Finally, Mr. Colter reiterated to me that he is open to meeting directly with concerned parents about our District. I hope others, besides myself, take him up on his offer. In the mean time, I hope central office communications will improve and that some of my suggestions come to fruition.
Is he saying he will only meet with concerned parents? What if citizens don't have children?
ReplyDeleteUh, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that "concerned parents" and "concerned citizens" are likely synonymous in this case.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone ask him why he does not take better advantage of communicating during the board meetings? Many citizens who do not have children count on these meetings to get a full flavor of the district. What we see is Mr.Colter looking annoyed and bored. When he does provide a report, albeit brief, it is often not of the depth I believe our district and our teachers deserve. Why does he not take that opportunity to communicate with us as to what is going on? I find it hard to beleive that twice a month he could not find programs, teachers, or inititives to highlight. We want to know what is in the works, and how we as a district are working towards continued improvement. I watch the meetings despite having had my children graduate, and I do not see him take this opportunity that is his twice a month.
ReplyDeleteWhat I want is the opportunity to have a question and answer time with the Board and Colter. A press conference, if you will, during which anyone can make a comment or question Colter or anyone on the board about anything and get either an immediate answer or a "we'll get back to you," with a time and place provided for that answer.
ReplyDeleteThe Board is elected by us and Colter is hired by us through the Board with our tax dollars, and the community has the right to expect a forum where we can seek information and get immediate answers.
It is the "get back to you" part that is key.
ReplyDeleteQuestions are often left unanswered, or worse those that asked are dismissed or marked as trouble makers. Often the questions are simple and within the relm of normal inquiry, yet those that question are met with suspicion. Why not do a monthly Q&A, written questions could be submitted to allow adequate time for research.
I believe this would go a long way towards creating the openness that many are rightly requesting.
Thank you Megan for taking the time & making the effort. This was a positive approach & I hope that Superintendent Colter was listening. Hopefully he is better at listening that he is at communicating.
ReplyDeleteTopic of interest:
ReplyDeleteRecruiting other school districts to fill our high school and save teacher jobs.
The PEP pre-school program that is going to be put at the high school. Would the NH Department of Education say that our local elementary schools or our local high school would more appropriate? Which environment would be considered the least restrictive environment for our disabled preschoolers? It is a waste of our tax dollars and certainly not the appropriate place in town for our preschoolers. Federal laws state that students with disabilities are entitled to an education in the least restrictive environment. The neighborhood school where their same aged typical peers would attend school. They are much closer in age to a kindergarten and first grade student than they are to students aged 15-18.
Option for parents to have paper report card sent rather than access on-line.
Fees for sports and extracurricular activities
Fees for field trips with option to not go
Fees for teacher and SAU parking permit
This blog is rife with unhealthy amounts of suspicion and cynicism.
ReplyDeleteMaking teachers pay for their parking spots? That is ridiculous. This isn't Boston. We are still a small New England town.
ReplyDeleteHowever I would support Colter being charged $50,000 per year for his spot.
Which comes from years of being ignored, dismissed and disregarded. But a good change can happen if the district and the community stop treating each other as adversaries and start understanding that all concerned are equals and equally care about the quality of the education the district offers our children.
ReplyDeleteIf the board and the superintendent continue as they have, then it's nothing less than taxation without representation.
But lets hope this new openness from the board and the administration is genuine and the start of a new era of cooperation and respect.
Since our teachers are payed very well, I don't think it unreasonable to charge them the same fee that we charge our students to park.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that there is little that this or any administrator could do to satiate some parents in the district.
ReplyDeleteYes, Colter ought to make a good faith effort to engage the community, but at a certain point it should be clear that he's the professional and most parents are heavily invested, but untrained and emotionally-skewed amateurs.
I can understand the frustration here, but many of the bitter comments presented sound more like they come from an impossible-to-please peanut gallery with too much free time.
The constant cries for more face time and more hand-fed information is sure to compromise the school's mission.
Having to replace a pacifier every 10 minutes will surely take away from Colter's ability to focus on keeping the district elite.
"Spoken like a trooper," Just how close to Howard Colter are you?
ReplyDeleteI guess the above blogger doesn't feel as though communication is important. Some of us happen to be educated and intelligent! Perhaps this intimidates some folks.
If the district was still "elite" I would agree. However we now are just barely keeping up. Yes we have had many improvements over the last few years, but the resistance to those improvements, and the lack of interest in further discussion around more only intensify the feeling that anyone who dares to critique our schools in any light but positive, is trouble. I moved here from MA due to the reputation of our schools. I have been sad to see that it was a reputation built on self appreciation, and not the reality of what is going on beyond the borders. My family still lives in MA and I get to hear what they offer, and if I could sell my home and move back I would. We do have great teachers, as most schools do, but we also have terrible teachers, as most schools do. We have good principals, good programs, and basic offerings, but not to the level of what I was led to believe when I moved here. I follow the board meetings, and recently started following this blog in the hope that I would see attempts at progress. Instead I now realize until Colter leaves, nothing will change. I only have one more kid and a couple of more years, but I will have the for sale sign ready the minute it is time to go, my tax dollars I fear are not being spent in a way that I can support, however I don't want to disrupt my child, so I will suffer through for two more years.
ReplyDeleteRegarding an earlier comment, Mr. Colter gave me the impression he would meet with any concerned party (not just parents). I responded that although it is wonderful to meet in person, many people are intimidated to meet with a superintendent directly and individual meeting can become time-consuming, taking time away from running the district. Also, individual meetings will not necessarily reach the broader masses. As a result, I called for periodic written communication highlighting his major district initiatives, response to State/Federal mandates, educational topics of interest, special recognition of teachers, etc.
ReplyDeleteI said that we need to understand HOW he is implementing the goals of the District and his personal, philosophical approach to education. I stressed that this communication cuts across school boundaries, is complementary to the School Board Newsletter, and needs to come from his office. I cited examples of other superintendents who provide similar, regular communications (via blogs, web sites, newsletters, e-mail list serv, etc.). Indeed, it is a standard practice for such communication to be disseminated at the superintendent level.
I do think coupling written, concise communication with informal discussion groups where folks can come and learn/discuss a range of topics is a good step forward. Again, I do appreciate Mr. Colter's willingness to meet directly with community members and hope we, as a whole, can do this.
Finally, I agree 100% about improving the way the superintendent reports at Board meeting. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to talk about that topic when we met.
Please continue to submit topics for discussion groups and I will forward them to Mr. Colter. I would simply ask that when you submit a topic that you identify yourself and your situation (i.e., parent, resident, etc.). I need to ensure that the comments are from ORCSD community members. Thanks!
On second thought, I will gather anonymously submitted, suggested topics. I want folks to feel free to express concerns. I think it is safe to assume folks posting on this blog are ORCSD residents for the most part.
ReplyDeleteIt is insane for a man who is paid as much as Howard Colter to require communication lessons. This is completely unacceptable. The sooner the town accepts the fact that he is the problem, the better.
ReplyDeleteI am also concerned about the disabled preschool program that is going into the high school. Are they crazy??? Transition from early intervention services to preschool is extremely stressful. I also agree that these students should be placed with their same aged peers at the elementary school. It would be the most appropriate way to prepare them for kindergarten. This appears to be a thoughtless decisions and certainly not in the best interest of our students. What planet are we living on?
ReplyDeleteI just don't buy the assertions of being transparent within the Colter/Poltalupi regime. If they were serious, don't you think that the last TWO board meetings where the BUDGET was discussed would have been televised for us to watch? Colter and Poltalupi have to go.
ReplyDeleteMadbury, NH
What ever happened to the budget committee? At least Superindendent Colter's lapdog Blaine Cox is leaving. Colter should be next. I have felt strongly for the last few years that changes were needed but fear for my children's well being. The reputation within the schools is that Colter is a bully.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the school board's long anticipated budget discussion this past Wednesday night? Doesn't exactly build trust. We need an elected budget committee to handle the budget. We could all rest at ease then knowing that people who care about Lee's tax burden would watch the finances while school-focesed people on the school board could worry about education. How can we make this happen?
ReplyDelete