Over the next five years, Arizona’s Gilbert Public Schools will not only implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), but also take a number of steps toward improving the quality of education in the district, The Republic reported.
As the Gilbert Public Schools’ student demographics and enrollment numbers change, so too must the district’s approach to education. In response to these challenges, Gilbert officials approved a five-year strategic plan.
While students grow more familiar with the CCSS in Gilbert classrooms, the plan will help district officials increase the role parents and community members play in the Public Schools, as well as explore alternative sources of revenue.
District teachers have begun to implement certain aspects of the plan, including the approval of CCSS-aligned textbooks and the introduction of a bring-your-own-technology to school program at seven Gilbert institutions.
According to the five-year strategic plan, which appears on the district’s website, other focus areas are the selection and retention of teachers, as well as professional development opportunities for them. By investing time and resources in its instructors, the Gilbert Public Schools can help create a world-class curriculum, which is another one of the plan’s main goals.
Conspicuously missing in this article is the fact that this strategic plan was written by a consultant, and is the subject of controversy within the district for both its cost ($100,000 plus) as well as its content. For example, "alternative sources of revenue" translates as beginning a catering operation in competition with local businesses. Recruiting and retaining teachers takes a back seat to retaliation, a word teachers have discussed at board meetings, and a word that has come to define the district’s relationship with employees. Retaliation also was a finding of the US Dept of Education Office for Civil Rights in a three year investigation concerning the district’s special education students participating in a regional vocational training constortium, East Valley Institute of Technology. Read Sarah’s Story and Glenna’s Story at http://westernconnections.com