WINONA LAKE - Less than two dozen people attended the OrthoWorx - Cambridge Education Comprehensive Education System Study public input meeting Thursday.
Brad Bishop, OrthoWorx executive director, said the reason OrthoWorx is here is because the orthopedic companies are here. Warsaw-based orthopedic companies still account for a third of the world's orthopedics. The companies' employment has grown over the last few years, and Kosciusko County has seen an impressive growth in the health and life sciences sector. Health and biomedical industry jobs represent a third of Kosciusko's total employment, Bishop said.
Now, however, there is more global competition for orthopedics. The community must do what it can to protect what it has.
A year ago, BioCrossroads completed a study assessing the orthopedic companies and their needs. The report said if the industry is to grow, the community needs to obtain and grow the best and brightest.
OrthoWorx was formed from the results of the BioCrossroads report. Some of the areas of focus of OrthoWorx include branding and awareness, community development and K-16 education. The report said a comprehensive K-16 education strategy is crucial to both talent development and community enhancement.
The report said a study should be undertaken of the local school system.
Tim Boyce, Cambridge Education, said the general consensus of Warsaw schools is that the corporation is doing a pretty good job, but it can do better.
Boyce said Cambridge is looking very carefully at the quality of the schools in the area. They are visiting the high school, middle schools and four of the eight elementary schools for full evaluations. The other four elementaries will have half-day evaluations, and all schools will do a self evaluation.
"Just because we're talking about improvement doesn't mean there's anything wrong," Boyce said.
He said they want to identify what is working well with the schools and identify areas where improvements can be made so students can get the best opportunity to prepare for their futures.
Boyce also explained what Cambridge Education is. He said they are one of the biggest education companies working in the states, and have been here for about eight years. They work around the world, and are glad to have been recommended for this study by the Indiana Department of Education.
"School review is one of the things we do all the time," Boyce said.
There are several purposes for the school quality reviews. According to slides Boyce presented, the reviews are designed to enable and assist schools to have a clearer view of their strengths and areas for further development. The reviews provide school management organizations a clear picture of the quality of education provided in their schools, particularly in regard to the curriculum. Third, the reviews will provide OrthoWorx with a clear picture of the quality of education and breadth and depth of the curriculum provided by the schools in the local area.
Boyce said OrthoWorx and the school corporation will get a full report on what Cambridge finds.
The focus of the review will not just be based on test scores.
"What is the value added to each kid in that school?" Boyce said. "We're looking at the quality of education."
They also will review the quality of leadership in the schools, and look at the quality of learning, teaching and assessment.
During the three-week study, Boyce said, they will talk to students, teachers, principals, parents and anyone who has a view on the life in the schools.
Boyce said they are looking at the curriculum through a particular lens.
He said they are finding the quality and resources at Warsaw Schools is pretty impressive. As for technology, there seems to be two speeds - student speed and teacher speed. He said it may be a case of where teachers aren't getting enough training on the technology.
Boyce said they have been impressed with the data the school corporation has provided for them. It's not just test scores, but also information like growth data.
During public comments, Warsaw School Board Vice President Dan Robinson asked Bishop if he could name curriculum local schools should be providing that the orthopedic companies would want that the schools are not.
Bishop said they're interested in science, technology, engineering and math education, but he didn't want to prejudge the results of the study. Bishop said what the orthopedic companies are hearing from the families they are trying to recruit is that they want more diversity in the curriculum, like world languages.
Robinson said it would be helpful to the school system and community at large if the orthopedic companies quizzed their employees on why they choose not to live in Warsaw.
One person attending asked, if there are deficiencies in certain areas of the curriculum, would the orthopedic companies be willing to help fund that instead of putting all the burden on the taxpayers.
Bishop said a third of the employees in the county are orthopedic company employees and do pay taxes. Robinson said there are different things the orthopedic companies already are doing beyond the taxes they pay. For example, Robinson said, Zimmer provided funding for the robotics teams.
"I'm sure they will continue to do things like that. At what level, we can't predict," Robinson said.
