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Hello School Boarders,
I have a very exciting
possibility for part of the Capacity Reduction discussion tomorrow. With
some of the media coverage out there regarding my proposed Community Partners
idea, I have heard back about a dynamic partnering potential.
Last night I met with Dr. Carol
Anderson - WSU Dean of the College of Education, Dr. Jean Leicester - WSU
Education Department Chair, Ann Rethlefson - WAPS elementary teacher on
assignment to WSU, and Bruce Ramsdell - WSHS Music Department. They
told me that a group of WAPS educators meets regularly with them to explore
ways to improve teaching practices, etc. They are currently initiating an
effort to increase WSU student contact time in area classrooms with a
couple WAPS elementaries, so many good working relationships have been
established between WSU and WAPS educators.
This is where we come
in. Another idea they would like to implement is "field-based teacher
preparation." This innovative approach means that college faculty and
college students would be located in and working more closely with K-12
schools. We might think of this as a college-within-a-school.
They explained to me that WSU is
challenged with limited facility space. We are challenged with excess
facility space. The timing is perfect for having both WAPS and WSU
consider a shared facility partnership. We talked generally about
benefits/concerns to WSU and WAPS. (Everyone was VERY clear that this
is only at the conceptual phase, feeling each other out for receptivity,
possibilities, etc. No commitments by them or us.)
I
understand that the concept of Community Partners has been viewed by some
board members and community members as no more than
a good thought because finding an appropriate, ready
occupant would be daunting.
Here we have a timely and excellent
possibility for a Community Partner! Yes, gentlemen, life is
good.
I acknowledge that the board has
not officially adopted a position yet on which direction WAPS should move
regarding capacity reduction, so I am sensitive to not placing the cart before
the horse. However, the presence of a positive and willing
partner should remove any consternation or doubt from members' minds
about feasibility as we discuss this tomorrow. The Community Partner
concept can be successful in Winona, just like in Apple
Valley, Northfield, Phoenix and New York.
Dr. Leicester and Ann
Rethleson will gladly speak for about 10-15 minutes about the enormous
win-win possibilities. Like Les Hittner, I believe they will only be
officially indicating interest and asking us if we are interested
in pursuing the idea. Larry has agreed to add them to the agenda
during the Capacity Reduction discussion. They will have much more to say
than I will address here, such as WAPS benefits to this partnership, smart use
of tax dollars, grant support, etc.
I hope that I have accurately
captured the thoughts of our initial meeting. If not, I am sure that Jean
and Ann will put us on the right track tomorrow!
Thanks,
Sharon
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