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New engagement process going well

A new way to find out what parents, students and staff think of the public school system has turned out better than anticipated.

A new way to find out what parents, students and staff think of the public school system has turned out better than anticipated.

For the first time, Wolf Creek Public Schools (WCPS) has employed a company to assist with its public engagement process through a unique, online survey. And the tremendous response it has generated is something superintendent Jayson Lovell is extremely pleased with.

Lovell noted to the WCPS board of trustees at their regular meeting Nov. 3, in his superintendent report, that a total of 1,139 people responded by providing 4,959 thoughts in the first step of the process. Of those that responded, 691 identified themselves as parents or guardians while there were 337 teachers and 130 non-certified or support staff that responded.

Trustee Pam Hansen expressed some disappointment that three-quarters of the division’s teachers took the time allotted them to fill out the survey. However, Lovell explained that number might not be completely accurate as some teachers might have identified themselves as parents or guardians as the survey only allows one choice per email address.

Lovell added that step two, which saw respondents asked to rank thoughts with stars from one to five based on how important it was to them, is now complete with more than 100,000 stars assigned to various thoughts.

The final step, called discovery, is already underway with the company compiling the data in targeted areas and schools. Lovell expects to be able to present those results to the board for discussion at their next meeting on Nov. 17.

Facilities review

With the retirement of current facilities manager Brad Buss looming this spring, WCPS enlisted the help of a consultant to perform a review of the department that is nearing completion.

“The consultant has done interviews with staff and analyzed the workings of the department with some expectations there will be some recommendations to come out of this,” Lovell told trustees.

“With (Brad) having been with the division for so long and having such a wide range of expertise and experience, there is no way we could find someone that can do everything he has done for us. The hope is the review will provide us with new and innovative ways of looking at how the department operates.”

Art showcase

A submission from the art students at Alix School will once again grace the WCPS holiday greeting card this year, but there will be a change made in coming years regarding the selection as well as to how the work of students will be celebrated.

A student artwork with a holiday theme from Alix has been on the front of the card for the past three years, and due to time constraints, trustees determined that is what will happen for 2016. However, trustees also decided that a call will go out to all art teachers in WCPS next September for submissions in order to provide an equal opportunity for students across the division.

In addition, Lovell told trustees a plan is in the works that would see the division office and board room decorated with a variety of student art pieces.