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D. Program Quality | |
A program that offers students and parents a variety of choices of educational philosophies as well as specific course offerings will better meet the needs of the greatest number of students. Since students’ educational needs and goals are widely varied, offering a variety of choices to students will reinforce the belief that the educational system is here to SERVE them and that education is a lifelong process Recommendation 12: Innovation is aggressively promoted and encouraged both within district-operated schools and district-supported independently operated schools.Cooperation and collaboration between schools serves the needs of students better than competition. The district should encourage looking "outside" for models that have worked both within and outside of public education. Recommendation 12 responds to the following Schools of the Future Guiding Principles: 2. We believe that education must be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of students, the community, and society. 4. We believe that schools must be accountable to the public, providing a quality education while making efficient use of public resources. 6. We believe that schools must engage the community in education, providing and welcoming opportunities for collaboration. Recommendation 13: Magnet and independent programs "push the edges" of innovation and ensure that the needs of all students are being met.The district should recognize that not all students desire programs that emphasize basic academics. Some would prefer options that focus on immediate career opportunities and others want to study in alternative programs that may deal with the sustainability of the environment or future transportation needs. Whatever the program, they should be continually evaluated and adjusted to meet the changing needs and interests of our community. In the interest of meeting the differing needs of students, and in responding to the desires of parents for different sorts of schools, the district should encourage and approve proposals for non-profit independent schools when they offer educational programs that do not exist with the district. These programs must involve a radically different curriculum, pedagogical approach, or philosophy. Recommendation 13 responds to the following Schools of the Future Guiding Principles: 1. We believe that education must provide an environment in which all students are respected and have equal access and opportunity. 2. We believe that education must be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of students, the community, and society. 3. We believe that schools must provide a comprehensive, focused education, which challenges the whole student. 5. We believe that schools must teach the interdependence of the natural environment and the human community. Recommendation 14: The district periodically reevaluates the purpose and relevance of publicly-funded schools.The primary purpose of neighborhood schools is to provide a comprehensive program for students from that neighborhood. The district has closed and consolidated neighbor-hood schools when enrollment has dipped below a sustainable level. The task group believes that alternative schools need to be reevaluated as well. These schools need to be evaluated on whether they are still fulfilling their mission. For many of them, as ideas that were once "alternative" have become mainstream, the difference between the alternative schools and neighborhood schools has narrowed significantly. But the only justification for these schools is that they do something that neighborhood schools can't or don't. When that is no longer the case, alternative schools should be considered for closure. Independent schools should be regularly evaluated according to their own mission and goals. Recommendation 14 responds to the following Schools of the Future Guiding Principles: 4. We believe that schools must be accountable to the public, providing a quality education while making efficient use of public resources. Recommendation 15: The district takes measures to preserve quality in schools with declining enrollment.As long as the district continues to operate schools with small and/or declining enrollments, it is essential that it support them so that they also can provide a comprehensive and quality program for their students.
Recommendation 15 responds to the following Schools of the Future Guiding Principles: 1. We believe that education must provide an environment in which all students are respected and have equal access and opportunity. 2. We believe that education must be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of students, the community, and society. 4. We believe that schools must be accountable to the public, providing a quality education while making efficient use of public resources. | |
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Eugene School District 4J