Havre schools continue to look at future of district

When discussion of strategic planning for Havre Public Schools at a meeting Tuesday turned to discussion of the school district's stated core values and purpose of the district, it became an issue of contention between some of the people at the meeting.

The issue arose in the meeting where members of the Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees, district administrators and local community members discussed the long-term future of the district, potential barriers to reaching their goals, and how best to reflect the school's values and purpose in writing.

Montana School Boards Association General Counsel Debra Silk, who's been leading these meetings, said core values and purpose, which was the main topic of discussion during the first meeting last month. isn't a goal, but who they are and what they stand for.

The group discussed a number of updates to the wording of their stated values and purpose, but a subject of contention was the phrase "tradition of excellence."

Board of Trustees Chair Curtis Smeby suggested the removal of the word tradition because it evokes a sense of rigidity and an unwillingness to change and innovate.

Community member Tami Gibson said she understood what Smeby was talking about, saying from an outside perspective many may not exactly know what the word tradition would mean in that context and this may give people the wrong impression.

However, this suggestion was vehemently disagreed with by Havre Middle School Assistant Principal Jeremiah Nitz.

"22 years I've worked in the district, that's who we've been, to get rid of that, in my opinion, no disrespect, is sacrilegious," Nitz said.

He said he understood Smeby's suggestion conceptually but argued that their core values and purpose already affirms their devotion to innovation.

However, before a middle ground could be reached Sunnyside Intermediate school principal Haslem expressed his own perspective, which was that the state of the district does not justify claiming to have a tradition of excellence.

"I respect you tremendously Jeremiah, but I've been here for five years and I have not seen those traditions of excellence," Haslem said. "If that is who we want to be I'm all on board, but the traditions of excellence have also been the obstacles to innovation and what we need to be doing, and where we need to be growing."

He said he finds himself asking constantly about why certain things at the district are done as they are and rarely does he get an answer beyond tradition, and despite his respect for Nitz he just does not see things the same way.

"I don't know what the glory days looked like," he said. "... But our test scores aren't excellent, our participation isn't excellent, our diversity isn't excellent."

Silk suggested that the group discuss this matter amongst themselves in more detail and they can pick this conversation up at the next meeting as it is clearly more complex than anticipated.

This was the second in a planned series of meetings for the strategic planning process.

Strategic planning is a process that occurs every three to five years where the district reevaluates the short- and long-term goals it has set for itself, as well as its core values and purpose.

The majority of Tuesday's meeting was spent discussing what the 10- to 15-year vision for the district should be.

Silk said the group should discuss what they would like to see in a perfect world, and that they would discuss barriers like funding and staffing later.

She asked them to think about a kindergarten student in the district and what they want for that student by the time they leave the system.

The group split into teams that spent time discussing ideas and when they reported back a few common themes were present.

Haslem in particular talked about the idea of creating individualized learning plans for every student in the district starting around middle school age.

Haslem and his fellow team members said there are students that know who they're going to do by that time and by allowing them to follow more specialized classes they can be better-prepared for life beyond school.

They said this kind of individualized learning would help students focus on what they need and want and improve the experience of education.

"An IEP for every kid," Haslem said.

Silk said this idea is bold, but hardly impossible in a school district this size and with the increasing flexibility technology provides to teachers and students this could be a really good idea.

Haslem's group also talked about how to reach students through new methods of education, including gaming, which are increasingly becoming an effective medium for teaching certain subjects.

HPS Superintendent Craig Mueller's group also talked about ways to improve curriculum by possibly breaking the school year down into shorter but more meaningful semesters.

Mueller said his group also talked about possible improvements to the district's facilities including the possible restructuring as buildings age, improvements to the track and tennis courts, and the establishment of a community building capable of hosting large events and after-school activities.

The third group also discussed the possibility of further taking advantage of students interacting with other schools, with older students providing role models to younger ones, and giving them a better idea of what they want for themselves.

The groups also briefly discussed potential barriers to these ideas in the realm of demographics and business climate, technology and science, politics and social values, and regulation and legislation.

Silk said the next meeting will delve into these topics more deeply, but she wanted the group to start thinking about them now.

On the subject of technology she said conversations are happening on the state-level about how schools should be taking advantage of new technologies for things like remote learning and the 2023 legislative session will likely feature significantly increased scrutiny of public schools and how they are or are not taking advantage of these opportunities.

"My fear is, and it's not just mine, that if our public schools aren't showing the state of Montana and our communities and legislators that we're doing that, we're not going to like the results," she said.

The group also talked about the specter of forced consolidation rearing its head in the next session, which Silk said is very likely based on what she's seen.

Assistant Superintendent Brad Moore said he's afraid that staffing shortages will be used as a justification to force schools to consolidate, damaging smaller schools' autonomy.