By Mike Wagner, NSSO Board Chairman
As a board member and recently elected Board Chairman for the North Santiam School District’s Board of Directors, I feel a responsibility to listen to parents and the community. I have watched the board, teachers, administrators, community and parents all struggle with communication. Sometimes we fret about the lack of it, other times we wonder why we get too much, and finally we wonder why our message is misunderstood.
There is an exercise that I did in high school that many of you may have experienced. Twenty students stand in a circle and a statement is whispered in the first student’s ear. In turn, the message is passed to each student until it gets to the last student. Most of the time, the message repeated by the last person bares no resemblance what so ever to the original message. All organizations, including school districts, face similar problems both in sending out their message and in receiving second hand input from its constituents.
As our community and school district cope with the effects of this economic down turn we are committed to do what’s best for kids with fewer resources. In this environment, the board and district leadership feel the need to try even harder to listen to what you, as community members, think about our schools. In an effort to reach out and get your perspective, the board has scheduled a community forum to be held on Nov. 16, 7-8:30 p.m. at Stayton High School in the auditorium. The district wants to know what we are doing right; how can we improve; what the community wants our schools to look like in five years; and how we can accomplish your vision.
The district’s mission is to prepare all students for continuing education, work and citizenship. As we work towards that mission our guiding principal is to do what is best for kids.
As we work with the new Superintendent, Andy Gardner, we have found that some of his strengths include his listening ability and his ability to set goals with a vision for the future. It is my hope that community members from Lyons, Mehama, Stayton, and Sublimity will take this opportunity to become engaged in a conversation about the educational future of the North Santiam School District and the students it serves. Our schools are the mirror of our community. Please come share your vision for the district so that our schools can truly reflect your values and hopes.
