While the new Superintendent Dr. Adam Hartley is trying to learn as much as he can about what the district has to offer, there were three new members elected to the Board of Education. Hartley saw it important to meet students, parents and staff and to hear from them what makes the district great and what needs to be improved. A workshop was the way for himself and everyone on the board new or old to learn more about the district.

“The workshop was designed to allow myself and our School Board time to hear from various groups and collect data,” Hartley said. “This will help us move forward while we prepare for the future.”

The workshop consisted of three parts: speed rounds, SWOT analysis and whole group discussion. All three parts included representative students and teachers to help inform the board more about each school.

“Dr. Hartley had some ice breaker activities and then after that we have a SWOT analysis about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, IB teacher Heather Mulligan said. “Most of the conversation was about how we felt about technology and where we saw the advantages and disadvantages. We also talked about the big picture of education and how it moves so quickly and it is hard to stay up on everything and be consistent with what the state wants. A lot of our focus was on the budget and what we saw as our needs and what would actually be accomplished with some of our budget concerns.”

“We talked a lot about how learning needs to change because of technology,” CADD teacher Andy Cocagne said. “We also talked about how we don’t even know what students what need to be able to do for a job 20 years from now, and how can we prepare kids for that.”

“This reaffirms the great programs we have here at FAPS and the quality staff and students that make up our school district.”
– Board President Rick Koester said.

Students were also able to meet with the board and express their thoughts. They were invited to represent AP and IB classes.

“I talked to the board mostly about IB and AP classes,” junior Luke Dillingham said. “I wanted to talk to them about the differences between AP and IB classes based on class structure.”

“I talked to the board members about how much I like block scheduling because to me it is a lifesaver,” senior Kate Wagner said. “We also talked about SRT because it gives students time to chill out or study and do homework that they would not get to do otherwise.”

The Board of Education sets out the strategic plan for the future and decides what the district wants to accomplish, and what needs to be improved. The student and teacher representatives hope that the information that was given during the workshop helped the board while they make the plan.

“Visiting the buildings, seeing what we do and talking with the older group of students, board members especially the new board members have a better understanding of what we do on a daily basis in each building,” Mulligan said, “Which should inform their decision making when they have to make important decisions.”

Those who participated all agreed that the workshop was a great opportunity for the board to learn more about the schools, and have positive thoughts for the future of the district.