By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board at its meeting at 6 tonight at Rockwell Administration Center will discuss a long-range plan for the district.
A community group has met during the last two months to make recommendations to the board.
Common themes that arose during the meetings included:
• Supporting students, families, teachers and staff
• Retaining and recruiting quality educators
• Focusing on inclusivity and diversity
• Improving transparency and communication
The group broken into smaller groups to discuss specific strategies to achieve the goals listed above.
Eliminating or reducing student fees was mentioned several times. Other support strategies included providing enough planning time and materials for teachers, adding social workers at the schools and sponsoring family nights at schools.
To increase recruitment and retention, the groups suggested such things as increasing pay for teachers, compensation for professional development and means for teachers to give feedback or report problems without repercussions.
Under diversity, the groups discussed introducing foreign language to younger students, diversity training for staff, recruiting diverse staff and disability awareness.
The groups said communication needs to be improved with parents, especially at the high school and middle school. The groups also said the district needs a dedicated public relations office and more clear policies for emergency communication.
The next step will be for the school board and administration to evaluate the group's recommendations and work to develop specific strategies to implement the goals.
The school board will also here a report on the Hays High School Boost program, which helps students with credit recovery, and an agreement with Thomas More Prep-Marian to use Victory Road to alleviate overcrowding during school release at O'Loughlin Elementary School.