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4 Comments
I concur with all that Heidi Loshbaugh and Amber Tafoya have said. I think they state clearly the types of changes we need to see to NWC. I would like to add some comments of my own.
I believe that if this committee is to reach the goal of creating intelligent recommendations coupled with implementation guidelines to DPS by next November, we will need to completely change course immediately. That means tonight.
I appreciate the time, effort and expertise that all of the leadership of the NWC and DPS personnel have put into this process so far. I hope that in the interest of reaching the common goal of making a recommendation to DPS, that all will be willing to create a new structure and process that can take us there.
To date I have found the meetings to fill up our time with interesting but non-critical information.
There has very little real opportunity to actually work. And my experience has been that when we did have a good break-out session at the meeting, it was not followed up on in any way.
Also, when a group of us formed our own sub-committee for “Systems and Partnership” we quickly found that we had no consensus on what our focus should be. We are willing to do the work. We need agree on how to do it, and who will lead us. To date I have felt that any contribution I try to make to this process is peripheral to some pre-ordained mandate that has never been explained.
I would like to add the following ideas to Heidi’s and Amber’s statements. Some of this is just emphasizing what has already been said.
We need to be ready to work in subcommittees, each with a clear goal and strong leadership.
We need to be available to put in many, many more meetings than are currently scheduled.
DPS personnel should be available on an as needed basis, but should not be part of any of the working groups (sub-committees) as it stifles free and open conversation and debate.
Thank you, Heller (Helen) McDermott
Heidi shares concerns that Helen McDermott and Jennifer Portillo have also expressed and that I echo. There are several facilitation methods that the group could be using to speed the collection of ideas in the process and I see a lot of time being wasted in our groups and regurgitation of the same desires meeting by meeting without a clear sense of a plan.
There is so much incredible talent in the room. I calculated at the last meeting that we have approximately 100 regular attendees, each meeting takes three hours, and we are scheduled to have 10-12 meetings. This is 3,000 hours of manpower at a minimum that is being used in the process. This committee with 3,0000 hours committed to improving the feeder pattern and outcomes could have a tremendous impact on the feeder pattern and schools that is currently suffering from inaction by meeting.
I would propose we do a four hour one day planning process and then spend the rest of our time split up working in schools until the recommendations are due. At that point we should reconvene to make recommendations to the school board on resources needed, creative solutions, and best practices based on our implementation of the plan created and implemented by committee members. Data could be one of the project subsets, outreach another, and systems the third or we could do an elementary, middle school, and high school transition subsets as the transitions seem to have the most interest in the group.
We then work with the district over the remaining time to tweak the projects to create a strong feeder pattern in Northwest Denver that meets the needs of every student through a combination of excellent schools and community engagement.
I would suggest these items at a steering committee meeting but it’s difficult to attend with my work schedule. I appreciate others viewing my ideas on what we could do. I don’t know if they meet others expectations but my goal is that we move from discussion to action. Many of us have been discussing the same issues with the same people on this subject for many years. Let’s get into the schools and partner with teachers and administrators. The remaining hours we have on the project could make a substantial difference. This plan I realize may not work out based on where we are at in the school year but maybe it will spark an idea that does.
After reviewing Heidi’s point of view, interests, and requests for clarification I as a parent and community member agree with the importance to address the issues raised. I volunteered to be a member of the Data Committee along with many others, however the collaborative efforts are scarce. In volunteering and committing myself to this committee, I was under the impression that we all had the same interest and commitment. As we continue to move forward, it is imperative that our mission is clarified and full commitment be requested by all members, community, and stakeholders…. Interested in moving foward, Lynn
I completely agree with the comments expressed by Heidi. I feel that these meetings are still lacking focus. I also think it is important for the steering committee meetings to be held at a place and time where community members can attend (outside of work hours). Otherwise, I have little hope that this committee will go anywhere.