Townsend School Board Strategic Plan AND Golf
Author: Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter
Townsend School Board Strategic Plan AND Golf Eliza McLaughlin - Staff Reporter Townsend School District administrators were in meetings night after night last week, planning for the future and increasing opportunities for students right now.
Admin, teachers and members of the community gathered Monday, Jan. 9 for the second round of discussions concerning the district’s 2023-28 strategic plan, this time focusing on re-establishing clear goals.
The strategic plan features four goal areas that will guide administrators' decisions moving forward. These goal areas are quality education, community partnerships, a favorable learning environment and staff teamwork and excellence.
Shaun Scott, member of the Townsend School District’s Board of Trustees, led the meeting and encouraged participants to “think both inside, and outside the box” as they broke out into groups to discuss the various goals.
Despite working separately from each other, all the groups focused on one problem preventing them from achieving their outlined goals: time.
In terms of providing students with a quality education, teachers questioned how they would have time to meet together to ensure lesson material progressed and was not repeated through various grade levels. For staff teamwork and excellence, participants wondered when they would be able to spend time together to build unity.
Solving the district's recruiting and retention issues were also a main point of discussion. To do so, teachers advocated that smaller class sizes and a shorter school week could attract more applicants. But even with those elements, participants voiced concerns that there wasn’t affordable housing available for new employees. The idea of district-provided housing stipends or district-owned employee housing was proposed to the group.
At the next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 13 at 6 p.m., Scott said the group will shift to revise the draft goals and will gain an understanding of the “key points of educational strengths and/or concerns presented by the administration”.
On Tuesday, Jan. 10, the district’s administrators were back at it again with a school board meeting.
During the meeting, the board was asked to consider adding golf to the list of junior high sports programs. Dan Hazlett, a K-5 PE teacher for the district, told the board that involvement in the Townsend Youth Golf Club program has gradually increased over the years. According to Hazlett, 23 golfers came out for the 2022 season, compared to just 15 the year before.
High School Principal, Sheri Heavrin, added that a middle school program would “feed” the high school program and make it stronger. Additionally, Heavrin said, when kids participate in an extracurricular activity, they’re held more accountable for their academic eligibility.
The board approved golf at the junior high level unanimously. The program will be available to both boys and girls starting in sixth grade.
With the addition of the program, the board also committed to paying two coaching stipends in the amount of $1,455 each, per season.
The board will meet again on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.
