Roaring Fork School District wants the community to help sketch a path forward, as it revisits its recent goals — and asks for input.
Five years ago, Roaring Fork School District completed a “visioning” process. The idea was to identify what goals the community had for its students and what types of schools they wanted to create.
Superintendent Rob Stein said the district used feedback from more than 1,400 participants, and a dominant concern was making sure all students graduate ready for college or work experience.
“So we revised our graduation requirements, so we actually simplified them, but we also made them more rigorous in core subject areas," Stein said.
Part of that update includes requiring high school seniors to complete a capstone project - a chance for students to research a topic on their own. Stein said this is one way schools have worked to include more experiential and project-based learning.
“One of the great ironies of public education is that we want to raise our students to be independent and self-directed, but most of what we have them do is learn the stuff we want them to learn, and show us they know it by taking the test we give them,” Stein said.
Staff has also placed renewed focus on character development.
But they aren’t sure yet if any of this is working. This week, the district is revisiting the visioning process from 2013.
“Now it’s been five years, we’ve made a lot of progress, and we want to go back and ask our community, are we on track?" he said. "Where would you like to see some course adjustments? And what’s next?”
Stein said this is a chance for parents, students and the community to reflect on how the district has implemented the strategic plan.
“We just want to provide a lot of opportunities for people to engage so we can hear their voice,” he said.
There are three community meetings: Tuesday at Glenwood Springs Elementary School; Wednesday at Crystal River Elementary in Carbondale; and Thursday at Basalt High School. All meetings begin at 5:30 p.m.
