Recap of School Board Workshop for January 2013

Posted on January 31st, 2013 by Thomas Kennedy

Recap of School Board Workshop for January 2013

About once or so each year the school board has a traveling board meeting which takes place at the schools. This week’s workshop was one of those meetings. I truly enjoy these traveling workshops because we get a chance to collectively see our districts programs, schools and students together and can ask questions and communicate in the “Sunshine” and outside of the traditional board chambers.

We began our day at Citrus Springs Middle School to observe the 7th grade iPad pilot in progress that began this school year. I have talked about this one-to-one (one device to one student) pilot program before. This pilot is essential to the technology initiatives and mandates for our students, including; new common core instruction, computer based testing for all students by 2014, transitioning from tradition to digital by 2015 and including a program that includes job ready technology skills. I have spent time regularly at CSMS monitoring the progress of this initiative and I was most pleased for the students and teachers to have a special opportunity to demonstrate their successes to the school board. As I have said before this initiative isn’t simply about putting iPads in the hands of students, nor is it just about having digital textbooks. This initiative is about a formative and substantive change of the manner in which curriculum is provided and instruction is done. It is about individualized curriculum for students.

Next we headed to Crystal River High School to tour the new Freshman Academy, Media Center, Health Academy and Business Academy. This school feels more like a college campus than that of a high school and at its Media Center is a cathedral for education. The great thoughts behind each and every room were well planned and executed. I am so pleased about the programs that will continue to develop and grow for the students of Citrus County.

We returned to Inverness to begin our traditional workshop format where we discussed revisions and new policies, the Code of Student Conduct and the 2012-2014 school budget. The board agreed that for the 2013-2014 school year, in order to balance the budget, we need to prepare for a $2million dollar reduction in the budget. A menu to cuts that in previous years were discussed but basically none were ever acted on. The board asked the staff to look for other options to reduce the budget that would offer a significant cost savings while directly impacting the least number of students. A follow up budget workshop is planned for February 26th.

From School Board Visit to CRHS Health Academy, posted by Citrus County School District on 1/29/2013 (26 items)