Closures must meet diverse needs

A new year has arrived and with it comes a renewed sense of excitement for things to come and a hope that the coming year brings good things. But there are always past issues that follow us into the new year.

For Poudre School District, one of these issues is the contemplation of realigning students with schools and the potential for several consolidations/closures in the 2011-12 school year. This is an extremely emotional and complex issue with highly impactful consequences for students, parents and the school district. The decisions need to be carefully weighed and made based on a full assessment and knowledge of the impacts to the students and their learning needs.

Last year, PSD launched an effort to assess 16 select schools around potential improvements in innovation and efficiencies. In addition, five of those select schools were asked to do closure/consolidation plans that were to be presented to the PSD School Board on Jan. 11 (after the Business Report went to press), with final voting by the board on a plan of action on Jan. 25. (Additional information and individual school proposals are available on the poudreschools.org website.)

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Needless to say, decisions like this are difficult and complicated. School closures and their implications are highly emotional due to the impact it has on the students, families and communities. Some of the schools under consideration for closure are in low-income areas and have become the center of community for students and parents. In some instances, the school is the only stable element in the students’ lives.

The skill sets of the teachers and their ability to connect with students and provide an effective learning environment is critical to the ability of many students to succeed. Disruption of this environment can be a significant factor in the learning ability of the student. The consideration for cultural differences and student realignment impact needs to be thoughtfully assessed along with the financial aspects.

There seem to be a few pressing questions coming from the community around the criteria for selecting the schools for potential closure. This is not an easy assessment to make and we hope that the criteria used are broad enough and fair enough to look at options for efficiencies across the district and that any school closures will be well analyzed from all aspects and justify the transition trauma.

Showing improvement

Performance is another aspect that does not appear as part of the initial criteria. Although performance was not a key criterium, it should be a part of the decision factors. Although some of the schools are still performing at less than the district average, they are showing significant improvement and a positive trend in narrowing the performance gap. I think this says that whatever models are being used, they are having a positive impact on the students. I believe one of the questions has to be, “Can that learning trend continue if the learning environment is changed?” I think this is a huge issue for consideration in the final decision of the school board.

Another unknown element is around the trade-off in the projected savings from closures of schools with the effect and logistics cost of relocating special programs and transporting students to different locations. I would hope that these questions would be answered before final decisions are made.

We all know that an ongoing assessment of assets versus needs is healthy and a part of the education process. To be fiscally responsible, tough issues need to be addressed. I think the challenge the board has is to assure that the decision criteria are robust and inclusive enough to demonstrate that the final outcomes address the financial aspects and also accommodate the best interest of the students.

In addition, the decision needs to be based on an understanding of the effect on the students and their ability to learn in a new environment given the cultural differences for some versus a decision based on the financial advantage to the district. We know that some students are at a higher risk and that it may take additional funding and effort to ensure they have adequate support to become productive contributors to society.

I wish the board well in their difficult task as the results will make a significant difference in many lives.

Kathy Gilliland owns DK Innovative Solutions, a consulting company focused on strategic partnerships for workforce development. She can be reached at 970-493-7783.