Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Patrons in the Wawasee school system would like to see a return to more traditional education if a recent survey is any indication.
Superintendent Mark Stock explained this was one of the findings of the recent Community Forum on Education.
As part of the forum, 400 people were asked to rate the school corporation on what it is doing and what it should be doing. The patrons were asked to consider three areas:
• The literary view, which stresses academics;
• The economic view, which stresses preparing students for the work force; and
• The social view, which stresses personal needs of students.
In the perception of what the system is doing, 69 people said the emphasis was literary, 51 said economic, and 279 said social. In response to what schools should be doing, 215 said the literary view should be most important, 115 said economic, and 92 said social.
In summarizing the discussion at the forum, Stock said the emphasis for students in kindergarten through grade 10 should be literary. More stress needs to be placed on economic training for high school juniors and seniors.
Many people seem to resent resources being taken away from academics and used in "social" areas, but schools are increasingly being asked to do just that. "You can't take a child curled up in a fetal position because of an abusive home life and teach him to read," Stock said.
He said schools may need to reach out to churches, service clubs and other organizations to help students in this area.
Stock said everything at school has to be built on a community view, which he will put together based on input from the forum. Then he will prepare a formal mission statement to provide "a framework for making decisions in our district," he said.
The goal of the school corporation, he said, is to "develop academic, social and artistic skills of students so that they will be productive, responsible citizens."
Stock said he would fashion a policy and bring it to a school board meeting for input. It takes three readings for a policy to become official, which "will give the community plenty of opportunity to give input," said board member Jeff Wells.
The 400 forum participants were a sampling of the community and included members of the Kiwanis, Rotary, auxiliaries, school staffs and parent-teacher groups.
