WILSON — The slow but steady process of considering what the future Central Plains USD 112 might look like continued Nov. 16 during a special meeting at Wilson School.

Superintendent Greg Clark said the district’s steering committee of four teachers from Wilson Junior-Senior High School and four teachers from Central Plains Junior-Senior High School in Claflin, has met three times so far.

The focus has been on giving students more opportunities that would prepare them for success after they graduate, and on making the district sustainable.

“We surveyed staff districtwide, about the possibility of moving (teachers) in-between schools,” he said.

Clark said the committee can spend a lot of time looking at what a block schedule might look like, different ways to implement it, and the number of teachers that possibly could go back and forth between district buildings. He noted, however, that from the results of the survey, there was not an overwhelming support for teachers to go between the two buildings.

Why does the district need to change?

“We’ve had students graduate from Wilson or Central Plains High School that have become doctors, accountants and lawyers — all these noble professions,” Clark said. “And my argument is they did that to spite us. Not that we didn’t do the right thing with them, but they probably would have ended up in that position, the majority of them, no matter the school district they were in.”

Clark said USD 112 obviously did a great job helping these students.

“But it’s those students that fall below that mark that I feel like, at times, we haven’t met their needs to the ability that we should have,” he added.

Clark said giving these students additional options would be positive for them and for the communities in USD 112.

“This is something every district struggles with,” said Dr. Brian Jordan, deputy executive director of the Kansas Association of School Boards, trying to connect the discussion back to the work of the district’s configuration committee as well as conversations with the board.

“It’s hard to build that system that has those multiple pathways through it, where all kids can be ready for their next step. That’s kind of where we are at right now. We’re pretty good at doing some things with the kids that are on the higher end. How do we continue to do things for all students. We want to make sure we prepare each kid for what their next step is going to be in life.”

“The reason we have implemented programs now, throughout my now 7 1/2 years in this district, is to reach each and every student and give them every chance, every day,” Clark said.

He said the district has developed a new program for 3-year-old children, reading programs in the high schools and adopted a new math series and career pathways.

“Those are things we try to do to meet every one of our student’s needs,” Clark said. “And every school does it. But there are those kids that slip through.”

He said the steering committee is at a standstill.

“When we put teachers on this committee to help direct and decide where it (the district) would go, that has been a tall step at times for teachers,” Clark added.

“The steering committee’s resistance to start looking at some of these different options is a natural response when facing change,” Jordan said. “Greg and I talked yesterday a little bit about some ways to retrain that conversation.”

“I think we need to frame this as student opportunities and responsible budgeting,” Clark said.

Clark said the district has teachers who are teaching subjects they are not crazy about out of necessity.

“I think we really need to get down and focus on who is the best person to provide this lesson, this opportunity, to the kids in our district,” he said.

Clark noted that at the start of the next school year, it might be 3 or 4 people working in succession back and forth between district schools.

“For example, I’d love to get a way to get a band teacher from here in Wilson down to Central Plains,” he said.

He also thinks there are opportunities with remote teaching so other subjects could be provided to students.

“There are some benefits and gain for this district,” Clark said. “For our students, number one, and for our budget, number two, in combining some of these.”

“You can start maximizing your human capital,” Jordan said. “Maximizing means how do we get their skill set, which we value, in front of a maximum number of kids to provide more opportunities.”

Jordan said it is important to test drive these ideas slowly to determine what works and what doesn’t.

Brad Schiermeyer, board president, said in his conversations with patrons, he has been asked how such a huge wall can be built in two weeks.

“Especially for myself and I think the board in general, we’re not expecting to build the entire program by next semester, next year or whatever,” he said. “It’s a pilot program. Testing it to see what works and what doesn’t work.”

“When we start talking about ‘build the whole thing,’ it gets too complex, too quickly,” Jordan said.

Clark said he and the building administrators need to sit down and discuss a modified block schedule where only special or elective classes are in a block, but core classes such as math or English would be in a daily schedule.

Board member Jacob Charvat suggested the district’s administrative team look at how the modified block that Wilson School is working. He asked whether data could be collected comparing how student performance did in relation to last year’s every day schedule.

Tamara Dody, board vice president, said she didn’t know whether a block schedule was the way to go.

“I don’t want to do anything to lose our teachers,” she said.

“I agree,” Clark said. “But I would also say that if we don’t change, we could lose it anyway.”

“Change is inevitable,” said board member Tami Schepmann. “We have to keep that sustainability in mind, I think.”

She agreed that new things need to be tried piece by piece and figured out.

“Nobody wants failure,” Schepmann said.

Clark said he would like to get a student group together to review ideas.

“They are who we are serving here,” he noted.

Jordan advised the board to let the steering committee continue doing its work and letting Clark and the building administrators continue to hammer out a long range plan for the district.

In the meantime, Clark will schedule visits to schools in other districts to research ideas.