A little feedback on today's story about the state appointing a trustee to work with/oversee instruction in the struggling Yupiit school district ...
This morning a woman whose family is from Newtok called to say one obstacle for village schools is constant teacher turnover -- educators don't stay long enough in one place to become a familiar face to kids, she said.
Then came this note from a former principal in the Yupiit district:
I am Dan Reum former principal of Akiak and I left there in 2007 the last and only year they made AYP adequate yearly progress. I believe that while some people may not like the move the state did that it was a necessary step for Commissioner LeDeaux and ass't Commissioner Les Morse to take as more progress needs to be made in this district as well as others across the state. The district has a good leadership team Superintendent Howard Diamond and ass't Diane George and I believe through cooperation with the overseer they can and will resolve many issues in Yupiit.
I like the fact that they hired an outside observer Darrell Sanborn to oversee the district and that in the end if progress isn't made he has the authority to make chgs.
In the past many people would come and go with suggestions but they didn't stay around to see if any results happened. The teacher mentoring program was very useful as they came on a consistent basis. Teacher collaborative mtgs are a good thing if the focus on improving individual academic achievement.
More constructive meetings with communities need to happen that emphasize academic achievement.
Whomever comes in to provide technical or overseer guidance need to be able to establish a confidence level with the staff's, communities and students that will allow all parties to feel good about their contribution to academic achievement.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.
