The Next Generation:

April 11th

Members Present: Phyllis Carlson, Cheri Carson, Chris Carte, Sonja Engle, Ron Flint, Larry Harris, Alberta Jones, Jackie Kookesh, Tracy Kubley, Gary Lehnhart, Nia Maake, Joe Nelson, Sandra Pahlke, Bill Ralston, Destiny Sargeant, Laury Scandling, Bernie Sorenson, Roberta Stell, Teri Tibbett, Chrissy Walker, Charla Wright

Grounding:  The Committee reviewed the Collective Statements created during the first meeting in December as a way to think back to our original goals and best possible outcomes for secondary education in Juneau.

Consensus: 

Dave introduced the topic of consensus in order to help the group begin to focus on the tasks ahead.  In explaining what consensus is, he emphasized the following points:

• Coming to Consensus is a learning process.
• A group must want to come to consensus with a belief that they can resolve the issues.
• Consensus does NOT mean total agreement, but rather a willingness to support.
• Consensus is more than just words—it is ultimately about behavior.
• The community and the School District trust us to make this decision.

Program Presentation:

Bernie Sorenson and Charla Wright shared the program that they were charged to create and share with the committee.  After spending a great deal of time reviewing community input and completing additional research, they developed the following four themes as representative of what the community said they want.  These are as follows:

• Unity
• Personalization
• Choice
• Equity

After identifying these four common themes, they presented the following essential components that need to be the basis of any educational program, regardless of how a school is structured.  The components include the following:

• 9th Grade Learning Communities
• Theme Based Academies Grades 10-12
• Advisory Program
• Flexibility to Move among Themed Academies
• Core Content/State Standards in All Academies
• No Geographic Boundaries
• Expanded Choices for Activities/Athletics

They also developed a chart that includes what the themes of unity, personalization, choice, and equity look like in a school setting, as well as what must be incorporated by the schools and district in order to make these happen.

After the presentation, the committee split into small groups to discuss the ideas and “unpack” their meaning.  Following this discussion, each member of the committee shared his/her perspective or point of view on this program proposal.  Overall, the responses were supportive with questions about the challenges of implementation and the time needed to successfully make this happen.  Another question on funding was answered by Bernie who did some “number crunching” and found that it will be possible to fund the types of programs that are described in the proposal.

Committee members will receive information on the ballot language and answers to funding questions before the next meeting.

Next Meeting: 

Wednesday, April 25th.  5:00-8:30  (Dinner will be served!)

Conference Call: 

Thursday, April 19th at JDHS, 4:00 p.m.