Gilroy
– The school district will soon be asking parents, students and
community groups to help track its progress.
They will join an 18-member Accountability Task Force recently
chartered by school board trustees to examine the district’s
performance in-depth, advise the board of the good and the bad of
Gilroy schools, and direct Superintendent Edwin Diaz.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – The school district will soon be asking parents, students and community groups to help track its progress.
They will join an 18-member Accountability Task Force recently chartered by school board trustees to examine the district’s performance in-depth, advise the board of the good and the bad of Gilroy schools, and direct Superintendent Edwin Diaz.
The school board will remain ultimately responsible for holding the district accountable to its goals, but the task force allows a diverse group of school staff and community members to spend much more time and effort on this high-interest topic than the seven trustees can afford, Diaz said.
One reason for establishing such a task force is to make the whole issue of accountability more transparent and well understood by the public, Diaz said.
“And to broaden the definition of success of a school district to more than just test scores,” he said. “There’s other things that are important to the community, and important to parents, and important to staff members.”
For example, he said, indicators like a safe, orderly school environment set the stage for future growth and better student performance.
Establishing a task force is another major step in fully executing the Gilroy Unified School District’s Accountability Plan. The group’s main focus during its six meetings throughout the year will be to check GUSD’s progress against its stated goals.
Still in its formative stages, it remains to be seen how exactly the group will function and whether it will effectively direct the district.
Trustee Dave McRae said he’s “cautiously optimistic” that it can happen. His greatest concern is that all viewpoints be represented – and heard – in the group.
“I’m looking for the diverse opinion, the other side of the issues than what we normally get as a board at meetings and in presentations,” he said.
Appointing a mixed group of people will create even more accountability, McRae said, because the community will know its members will not necessarily settle for the status quo. There will be more buy-in from district staff and members of the community, he said.
Diaz said the task force can effect real change because it will fill in the holes trustees don’t have the time to examine.
The task force will oversee eight strategies set by the district in its Strategic Plan.
The group of 18 members, which trustees thought was a workable number, with the possibility of adding three more from community organizations. They will represent various stakeholder groups, from principals to students, as well as community groups like the Chamber of Commerce.
Some criteria for the appointment of task force members by Diaz and board trustees will be developed before applications are sought at the end of this month, Diaz said.
“We’re looking at somebody who, first of all, has some ability to process large amounts of information and be able to look at it with an analytical eye,” he said. “To also have enough knowledge about the district and community to identify indicators that would be important to monitor.”
Diaz also said GUSD is looking for commitment to all students in the district.
The task force members will be looking at any data and information relating to district goals to find out how GUSD is progressing. School and district staff will support the volunteers.
“Then where there’s pockets of success, they can also help disseminate that information so others can learn from that,” he said.
With education issues, from understanding jargon to digesting test scores, there is going to be a learning curve.
“That’s why we have two- and three-year terms,” Diaz said. “We really think it’s a committee that it will take some time to develop some real in-depth, working knowledge of the district. And then we have some overlap on the membership so that we always have somebody who has a working knowledge of how the task force works.”
GUSD will begin soliciting applications, which will be available at the district office, the week of Sept. 27.
Task force
The task force will be composed of:
Principals (2)
Employee representatives: Gilroy Teachers Association, Gilroy Federation of Teachers and the California School Employees Association
At-large teachers (2)
Students (2)
Parents (3)
One representative each of:
Gilroy or Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Gavilan College, senior citizen or service organization, Realtor association, city council and a newspaper publisher
Eight strategies
Strategies the Accountability Task Force will oversee:
– Establish specific, measurable, bold student goals
– Improve teaching and learning for all
– Recruit, hire and retain exemplary staff
– Engage parents and community in the educational process
– Ensure policies, procedures and decisions are implemented to support the improvement of academic performance and organizational effectiveness
– Ensure a quality learning environment for each child
– Develop and implement a plan for the effective use of technology
– Implement a comprehensive, effective accountability plan
