Gilroy
– At the suggestion of one trustee, the school board will hold
extra, informal meetings each month to hone in on student
achievement.
Starting in November, Gilroy Unified School District trustees
will add two meetings to their regularly scheduled meetings on the
first and third Thursday of each month.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – At the suggestion of one trustee, the school board will hold extra, informal meetings each month to hone in on student achievement.
Starting in November, Gilroy Unified School District trustees will add two meetings to their regularly scheduled meetings on the first and third Thursday of each month.
Trustee Tom Bundros brought the idea to the board last Thursday because more time is needed to answer some specific questions about how to improve teaching and learning.
“I think it’s (good) if we ramp up how much time we spend on the improvement of our schools,” Bundros said. “Frankly, I’ve been frustrated. I don’t think we spend enough time.”
Bundros said he had asked for more time at the board’s regular meetings, but at the suggestion of Superintendent Edwin Diaz, decided additional, more casual meetings would be more productive.
Diaz said he thinks it’s a “great idea,” but cautioned that the board ensure the meetings are meaningful, and keep district staff on course with the Strategic Plan.
“I see this as an opportunity to look at our priorities, to look at our Tier One indicators,” Diaz said.
The meetings will not duplicate the work of the Accountability Task Force, which will measure schools and the district against their goals, Bundros said. GUSD staff presentations and board decisions relating to instructional improvement – the first items addressed in regular meetings – will remain on the regular agendas.
This extra time will be used to research instructional and accountability issues in-depth, with staff input and plenty of board discussion, Bundros said.
For example, Bundros brought a list of some example questions he would like to address in the meetings, in the areas of curriculum, students, teachers, and parents. What percentage of homework is evaluated? How effective is a particular curriculum for a particular group of students? To what extent do report card grades predict standardized test results?
Trustees unanimously approved holding the additional meetings.
“I agree that the study session is a much better format for this type of discussion, so I support that,” Trustee Jim Rogers said.
The board should consider ending its regular meetings at 9pm, instead of 10pm, suggested Trustee Bob Kraemer, to save time while adding the extra meetings.
“I think it’s a discipline situation,” Kraemer said. “Work expands to meet time.”
The board agreed to look at that option in January, and assess how the new meetings are working.
