Superintendent summarizes responses and action
Over the past few weeks, Superintendent Debbie Brockett hosted seven virtual Town Hall meetings for parents. The Town Halls followed a ThoughtExchange, which asked families to share topics or concerns they wanted to know more about during the meetings.
There were many different responses both in the Town Halls and the ThoughtExchange. Below is a summary of the most common responses and some of the solutions the district is moving toward.
Expanding Superintendent Communication: Superintendent Brockett will attend multiple school events each month. While at these events, she hopes to interact with and continue to gain more insight from parents, students and staff.
There will also be an opportunity for parents to attend a monthly superintendent roundtable in which she will share district topics and take questions or ideas from parents and the community at large. These meetings will begin in January and will take place on the first Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. (English) and 6:30 p.m. (Spanish). The format (in-person or Zoom) will be determined closer to the first meeting date. Dates and format details will be shared via the Friday parent newsletter, the Brockett Bulletin, on the websites and school calendars.
Superintendent Brockett is also working with the high school and middle school principals to schedule monthly student roundtables.
Expanding College/Career Readiness: This has been an ongoing goal for McMinnville School District, but the work will continue to ensure we are not only sharing college information but also information on trade schools to make certain students have everything necessary to make an informed decision about their future.
Other common themes from the Town Halls and ThoughtExchanges that require further research and action include the following:
- More time for students to engage with peers in a non-academic environment (recess, clubs, activities, sports) to support both their physical and mental well-being.
- Increased information on school websites to help parents stay informed of school and district happenings.
- Dry, warm place for students when they arrive at school in the winter months.
- Balance of technology and written assignments for all students to allow parents to see the feedback being given to students on their work.
- Expanding wellness and support for staff and working toward adequate staffing.
- Helping all schools have access to Community Partners.
- Removing barriers that discourage parents from being involved in their children’s schools.
- Ensuring that a parent has language support as needed at conferences and meetings.
- Provide training for parents in educationally based technology programs.
- Continue to focus on meeting the needs of ALL students!
MSD will work diligently to address these common themes and hope you will see the changes/adjustments in our district.