The Parent Advisory Committee, which I am the lead of, gave some recommendations about the adoption of a new cell phone policy. As a parent in TSD, I am grateful that TSD allows parents to be a part of these conversations. Teachers and district staff agree that cell phones increasingly affect classroom learning and instruction. From listening to parents, it is obvious that there are safety concerns and concerns about the liability of having devices no longer in the control of the students. Parents should be the ones that use apps to limit functionality of devices and support the teachers in removing the distractions from the classroom. There are equity questions that must be addressed within the policy, whether it is for students that use the phone as a translator or even the appearance of the policy not being strictly followed across the district. The policy needs to have as many different people’s perspectives accounted for in its authorship as possible.
I have watched TSD deal with a serious financial deficit over the past two years. While only having kids at the school for 2 years, the losses are very apparent to me. They have made impossible choices and have lived with the losses in our schools. The staff have been able to provide such a quality and caring education for our kids throughout this process. Honesty has been appreciated, and transparency has been critical. The district has reached out to parents multiple times asking for input and offering explanations. I believe this has been the correct approach and would do the same. I firmly believe that due to the inadequate ways the state funds education, finding outside sources of revenue is the only path forward. Grants, facility rentals, fundraisers, and community partnerships are some ways that TSD can continue to offer our students the education and experience they deserve.
The various cuts have exposed some critical needs our schools face. As we begin to rebuild, I believe social emotional need to be a focus. We lost many of these critical roles, leaving teachers and other staff to step up to try and meet this need in addition to their own roles. The students that need the support suffer and their classmates don’t get the attention they also need. TSD does an amazing job supporting our students and as we climb out of this financial position, we need to make sure the funds are there to support our staff as they support our students, especially in the area of social emotional well-being. I would like to see as many options for the high school classes as possible. With the emergence of technologies such as AI, I believe our best defense will be increasing student engagement. At the community events I've attended at Foster, the staff has already been engaging students in impressive and meaningful ways, and I want to further support them in
I have spent a lot of time on this topic over the past two years. The Parent Advisory Committee has advocated and is working to put on a technology workshop next year, with the desire for parents to be better able to communicate with TSD. I believe “pocket talk” devices need to be available to PTAs and other groups working to communicate with the community. Our entire community needs to be included in events. I feel that TSD does strive to be transparent, I think there are some gaps in the ways parents get the information. The Parent Advisory Committee created a short survey on communication to help address these gaps, which we'll promote next year and beyond. I see communication as a never ending “work in progress”. As technology changes and personal habits adapt, we will need to always be looking for ways to reach out. From what I've seen, offering food and good times remains a reliable way to boost turnout and encourage connection.
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