Last Tuesday and Wednesday nights brought students, teachers, administration, and community members alike together for a common purpose: taking LaPorte Community School Corporation to another level.
LPCSC is in the midst of conducting a K-12 feasibility study to address the needs of the schools’ facilities, programs, and staffing. In hopes of ensuring the corporation is equipped with the necessities to best serve the students, surveys were initially sent out to La Porte residents and those involved directly with the schools.
Special focus group meetings took place last week to mull over the LPCSC survey findings. Areas like safety, public relations, college and career readiness, athletics, technology, fine arts, and special education were targeted. Each meeting was made up of people from various walks of life who in some way, shape or form have a tie to the topic.
“It was an opportunity to exchange ideas with community members, parents, staff, and students. We realized we had common goals: to graduate kids on time, to prepare students for their next steps, and to ensure each student has a positive school experience,” Janie Ulmer, LPCSC Virtual Learning Director, said.
While most educational decisions wind up in the hands of administration, these meetings allowed new perspectives and ideas to be discussed. Led by a team from Odle, McGuire, and Shook, group members examined topics that were of concern on the surveys.
“As a teacher, I enjoyed being a part of such a positive, like minded group. As a mother, I had a vested interest in what was going on since I have kids in multiple schools. I want the best for my students and kids,” Brenda Cooper, teacher and parent, said.
Central administration was adamant about all voices being heard, so each meeting had a handful of Slicer students to give their unique angle. They had no reservations about speaking up on what’s working and what’s not, adding to the already productive conversation.
“I was honored to be chosen as a student voice. I enjoyed hearing different aspects from community members about the same issues. Everyone realized they were working towards a common goal. The meetings galvanized the efforts to reach the goals efficiently,” senior Michael Varda said.
After the last meeting wrapped up, the team from Odle, McGuire, and Shook left with new insights to take back to the central team and school board. The community came together yet again to open new doors for Slicer students.
“Most inspiring to us was the idea of getting the community, students, and staff together in focus groups to brainstorm about what the vision is for how we assure that our students are being prepared to succeed in their future college and career endeavors. The focus topics that were selected were identified as being key areas according to trends in education, our current strategic plan, and community interest. Final strategic plan recommendations will be reflect the data analysis and what is "feasible' for LPCSC to commit to according to resources and community support,” Mark Francesconi, superintendent, said.
