Superintendent Victor Shandor wants to hear from residents, parents, students and employees in the York County School Division.
Shandor kicked off a four-week series of community forums March 10 at Bruton High, seeking feedback from members of the school community on the division’s strengths and how it can improve.
The forums incorporate both written responses and an open dialogue with the superintendent and members of the School Board.
First, attendees are asked to provide their responses to four questions:
- What are the strengths of the division?
- What are our biggest challenges?
- What does Shandor need to know to lead the division?
- What are the first things you hope Shandor does?
Those present are given a pad of sticky notes and asked to write their thoughts and attach it to a large sheet of paper marked with the question.
After the sticky note exercise, attendees can ask Shandor questions or offer deeper thoughts on the state of the division.
Shandor said it was important to hear from members of the community at all levels.
“That feedback is so critical to moving forward to help our kids to help our community to continue to achieve and to help our schools continue to achieve at a high level,” he said.
Shandor has made seeking that feedback one of the hallmarks of his first four months in York County.
He has met with students at each of the school division’s four high schools, and has plans to visit every building within the coming months. Shandor said those visits have provided with valuable insights on the perspective of students and employees in the division.
“With each meeting, we gain critical information from another stakeholder,” Shandor said.
He said division staff had collected more than 3,000 sticky notes of feedback from the community and were reading and recording each one. He said he hoped to have a report prepared on general trends and themes from the responses finished by the end of the year.
Although the division has had similar forums in the past, they have not been regular occurrences. Shandor said he hopes to change that.
“It’s important that we continue to have that conversation,” he said.
School Board member Barbara Haywood said listening to stakeholders was one of the school board’s duties.
“We have to be responsible to the community,” she said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Additional meetings are scheduled for Tuesday at Tabb High, March 25 at Grafton High and April 2 at York High. Each of those meetings will begin at 7 p.m., and will have the same format and questions.
In addition to Shandor, School Board Vice Chairman Robert George will be at the Tabb meeting, Board members Cindy Kirschke and Page Minter will be at Grafton and Board Chairman Mark Medford will be at York.
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