Greetings fellow Knights! I hope things are well in your world and you have started to enjoy some of this warmer weather and sunshine. Certainly a great sign of the quickly approaching warmer seasons.
It has been a little bit since I submitted my thoughts but as I was sitting in the high school gymnasium recently enjoying the Spring musical, I was inspired by the students' performance to think about the “why” behind what we do as a school district and educators. I’ve expressed before, both in writing and on a recent podcast, about the shift in expectations for schools and educators. How our roles have developed over the years. As I was watching the wonderful performance on Sunday, I started to reflect on how important it is to make a conscious effort to not only maintain but expand on the opportunities we offer our students.
By definition we are more of a smaller school district, hovering around 1,000 give or take a few students. We have been able to offer a wide range of classes and activities for students that have been crucial to their overall success. Academically we are currently able to offer a wide range of classes in a wide variety of disciplines. We are fortunate to offer several college-bound offerings that provide students with a roadmap to succeed if college is their choice. We also offer a wide range of career and tech ed classes to expose students to other options since college is not everyone’s path. In addition to the choices we offer students academically, we are also able to provide students with a range of extracurricular and clubs to help them connect, and explore their interests.
All of this leads me to the purpose of writing this article and providing my thoughts on what is our purpose, goals, and responsibilities as a school district. The obvious answer is that we are here to educate the students on various subjects. This is often dictated or mandated by the state, and we are held accountable by the state by posting the results of the standardized tests on the state report card. All of our schools were rated commendable on the Illinois Report Card and our teachers are constantly analyzing student data, making adjustments, and providing great instruction for our students. I do not want to diminish the importance of this academic piece but I believe school districts, especially ours, reach far beyond the development of our students academically.
The opportunities that are just as developmentally important and certainly do not get highlighted on any “report card” are those that occur every day in the classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, lunchrooms, ball fields, gymnasiums, field trips, etc. Shaping and molding students' character, teaching them dedication, hard work, teamwork, relationship building, and providing the students with the confidence to branch out and try something new and exciting are all qualities that are being built and enhanced each day across the district. These are developed through the interactions our staff have with students in the classroom, but also through the activities we offer our students. We are very fortunate to offer a wide range of activities and we are always searching for ideas on how to expand on those opportunities for our students. We are fortunate to have several offerings for our students to explore and expand upon their interests outside the classroom. Some of those areas include FFA, FCLA, Band and Chorus, Drama performances, recently resurrected musical performances, Scholastic Bowl as well as various athletic offerings. This list certainly isn’t all-inclusive but it does provide some insight into the diversity of offerings and opportunities we are proud to be able to offer.
During the musical’s intermission on Sunday, I started to converse with a teacher that was also in attendance. This was a veteran staff member with whom I’ve had many a conversation over the past 5 years and the discussion centered around the various talents our students have and can showcase. This highlights the importance of offering such a broad and diverse set of courses, opportunities, and activities for our students. Offering a wide spectrum of activities allows students to showcase their talents, and allows us the opportunity to celebrate those talents. In addition, it allows students the unique opportunity to explore what they might be interested in later in life. Developing philosophies, interests, and viewpoints is enhanced and developed through opportunities and those opportunities are critical to molding, and ensuring the success of our students moving forward.
We will stay committed to evaluating our current programming, including the facility needs to support those programs moving forward so that we can continue to offer great educational opportunities. We are preparing to host a series of open houses at the high school where we are going to be discussing the high school facility and providing solutions to address some of the concerns identified. I’m providing you with the dates and times of those open houses and am requesting your attendance at one or all of the meetings to become informed moving forward. It is imperative that we all participate and make a commitment to educate ourselves and provide input as we continue on this journey to address the challenges we are currently faced with related to the needs of the high school. In addition to the dates provided at the end of this article, I would encourage you to reach out to me if you have questions, ideas or just want to take a tour of any or all of the facilities. My email is cheeks@cusd305.org or if you prefer a phone call, please call the district office at 217-543-2511. Thanks for taking the time to read and a sincere thank you for your continued support and dedication to making Arthur CUSD 305 the best experience it can be for all of our students.
The dates and times of the open houses are listed below. The location of the open houses are all taking place at the high school.
Saturday, May 11th 9am - 1 pm
Tuesday, May 14th, 4pm-7pm
Wednesday, May 15th 4pm-6pm