'Town Hall' Meeting Looks At Local Education Needs
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
What are the educational needs in Kosciusko County?
To help answer this question, the first of three "town hall" meetings to identify the educational needs in Kosciusko County was held Monday at Kosciusko County Foundation.
Approximately 25 people attended, representing local businesses, schools, home-schooling programs, retired people and foundations.
The next two town hall meetings will be Thursday and April 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. People are encouraged to attend and should call Mary at 267-1901 to reserve a spot.
The meetings are part of the Foundation's efforts to get funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc.'s Community Alliances to Promote Education.
"Our board is very serious about pursuing a CAPE grant for Kosciusko County," Foundation director Suzie Light said at Monday's meeting.
Lilly is urging foundations to help identify the most compelling educational needs of the entire age and population spectrum of their communities. Last year, several Indiana communities participated in another version of CAPE.
The purpose of the planning phase is to allow the foundations the opportunity to do research, talk with experts and gather public input to develop solutions for educational needs in the community.
After the planning process is complete, the Foundation will send its plan to Lilly by July 31 and hope to be awarded up to $5 million by year's end.
Greg Griffith, with Thomas P. Miller & Associates, is facilitating the meetings. Griffith said the meetings are to determine the most compelling educational needs in Kosciusko County. There are no preconceived notions of what the needs are, he said, because it is up to the people at the meeting. The town hall meetings are just a part of the information-gathering process, he said.
Communities across Indiana are competing for the dollars. One reason Lilly is giving so much money is because of Indiana's "brain drain." The best and brightest students are being lost because they are going elsewhere after high school. If Indiana is to grow, Griffith said, Indiana and Kosciusko County need to retain those students. Also, he said, Indiana lags behind the nation in many key indexes.
The people at the meeting were asked to brainstorm ideas on the county's educational needs. Small groups were then formed and the individual ideas were discussed. Each group selected their top five educational priorities.
In one group, the top five most compelling educational needs were: address the varied educational needs of the Hispanic population; increase the number of educational opportunities available to children before entering school with the focus on low-income families; address the number of expelled, suspended and drop-out students by increasing nontraditional learning opportunities for middle and high school students; promote job training and education to fill the needs of local industry; and provide secondary, trade and college educational opportunities for people in jail.
All the groups' lists were divided into seven categories: post-secondary, college, vocational programs and college transfers; literacy; early intervention; life skills development and mentoring; minority, cultural and language programs; at-risk programs for students and adults; and parental involvement.
The attendees prioritized the top four categories, in order: at- risk programs for students and adults; minority, cultural and language programs; life skills development and mentoring; and post-secondary, college and vocational training.
After the next two town hall meetings, the next steps, Griffith said, will be to gather more public input from interviews, focus groups, surveys, etc. Local, national and international "best practices" will be researched to address the needs. The grant application is due July 31 with disbursement of any funds the county receives to be by January. The grants, Griffith said, are for three years.
For more information about CAPE, call Thomas P. Miller & Associates at 866-351-8762, Ext. 45, or the Foundation at 267-1901. [[In-content Ad]]
What are the educational needs in Kosciusko County?
To help answer this question, the first of three "town hall" meetings to identify the educational needs in Kosciusko County was held Monday at Kosciusko County Foundation.
Approximately 25 people attended, representing local businesses, schools, home-schooling programs, retired people and foundations.
The next two town hall meetings will be Thursday and April 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. People are encouraged to attend and should call Mary at 267-1901 to reserve a spot.
The meetings are part of the Foundation's efforts to get funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc.'s Community Alliances to Promote Education.
"Our board is very serious about pursuing a CAPE grant for Kosciusko County," Foundation director Suzie Light said at Monday's meeting.
Lilly is urging foundations to help identify the most compelling educational needs of the entire age and population spectrum of their communities. Last year, several Indiana communities participated in another version of CAPE.
The purpose of the planning phase is to allow the foundations the opportunity to do research, talk with experts and gather public input to develop solutions for educational needs in the community.
After the planning process is complete, the Foundation will send its plan to Lilly by July 31 and hope to be awarded up to $5 million by year's end.
Greg Griffith, with Thomas P. Miller & Associates, is facilitating the meetings. Griffith said the meetings are to determine the most compelling educational needs in Kosciusko County. There are no preconceived notions of what the needs are, he said, because it is up to the people at the meeting. The town hall meetings are just a part of the information-gathering process, he said.
Communities across Indiana are competing for the dollars. One reason Lilly is giving so much money is because of Indiana's "brain drain." The best and brightest students are being lost because they are going elsewhere after high school. If Indiana is to grow, Griffith said, Indiana and Kosciusko County need to retain those students. Also, he said, Indiana lags behind the nation in many key indexes.
The people at the meeting were asked to brainstorm ideas on the county's educational needs. Small groups were then formed and the individual ideas were discussed. Each group selected their top five educational priorities.
In one group, the top five most compelling educational needs were: address the varied educational needs of the Hispanic population; increase the number of educational opportunities available to children before entering school with the focus on low-income families; address the number of expelled, suspended and drop-out students by increasing nontraditional learning opportunities for middle and high school students; promote job training and education to fill the needs of local industry; and provide secondary, trade and college educational opportunities for people in jail.
All the groups' lists were divided into seven categories: post-secondary, college, vocational programs and college transfers; literacy; early intervention; life skills development and mentoring; minority, cultural and language programs; at-risk programs for students and adults; and parental involvement.
The attendees prioritized the top four categories, in order: at- risk programs for students and adults; minority, cultural and language programs; life skills development and mentoring; and post-secondary, college and vocational training.
After the next two town hall meetings, the next steps, Griffith said, will be to gather more public input from interviews, focus groups, surveys, etc. Local, national and international "best practices" will be researched to address the needs. The grant application is due July 31 with disbursement of any funds the county receives to be by January. The grants, Griffith said, are for three years.
For more information about CAPE, call Thomas P. Miller & Associates at 866-351-8762, Ext. 45, or the Foundation at 267-1901. [[In-content Ad]]