K-12 Schools

Facilities (25 Responses)

Overcrowding (18)

• Need two high schools
• Valley High School is too big
• Too much competition in sports and activities
• Students get lost, don’t get special attention
• Connections are difficult
• Have vote for one or two high schools
• One high school may reflect elitist attitude
• Shrink class size
• Schools are too large, overpopulated

Buildings (7)

• Buildings will eventually need work
• No insulation in special education room at Valley High School
• Regulate temperature control at Valley High School
• Need space for all day kindergarten
• Need multiple grades at Valley Southwoods Freshmen High School to provide older student modeling for younger students

Culture (22 Responses)

Students (9)

• Many students and adults don’t care about school, community’s future or making a difference
• High expectations create too much pressure
• Peer pressure is constant concern
• Pace is too fast
• Kids are over-programmed
• Students get lost in system during time of shaping identities
• Need to value each student
• Kids overemphasize good grades
• Kids learn character in school then go out to an aggressive environment
• Need more legal and moral accountability in youth for bad behavior

Misplaced Priorities (4)

• Too much emphasis on aesthetics of facilities and programs, not enough on loving kids and helping them develop
• Too much emphasis on grades
• Too much focus on administration needs vs. learner needs
• Lots of politics between schools

Teachers (3)

• Teachers losing deserved respect and have low morale
• Some students are teacher’s pet, others go unnoticed and unrewarded

Vision (1)

What would happen if we had the vision to be one of the most caring communities and school systems in the nation?

Culture - Other Concerns (5)

• Remove walls between school and community
• Let kids learn in community
• Facilitate transition between eighth and ninth grades
• Integrate new students into school – especially those from other nations
• Valley High School is too big and impersonal
• District becoming polarized between east and west

Education (18 Responses)

Programs (7)

• Move D.A.R.E. program to junior high
• Need safety education
• Teach emotional intelligence
• Need to handle language barriers
• Implement consistent Character Counts programs
• Need smaller classes
• Address lapse in student learning caused by summer break

School Concerns (6)

• No Child Left Behind legislation is a concern
• Sports put ahead of academics
• KIDS WEST needs space to serve more
• KIDS WEST needs access to health services

Curriculum and Teachers (5)

• Need full day kindergarten
• Give teachers less paperwork, more time to help students
• Provide more individualized approach with students
• Offer job skills

Discipline (11 Responses)

Rules and Safety (7)

• Address bullying, inappropriate dress
• Need more discipline, drug control, punishment, accountability
• Need consistent enforcement of rules and zero tolerance
• Need to get kids safely in and out of buildings

Restrictions (4)

• Let kids have fun and walk around at game
• Let kids wear hats
• Kids need place to listen to music
• Some teachers too hard on kids
• Teacher use of fear decays school culture and student self-esteem
• Need schools for kids who miss the mark

Extra Curricular (7 Responses)

Need more:
• Structured after school programs
• Opportunities to participate in sports and activities
• After school programs for at-risk kids
• Supervision for high school athletic events, participation is limited due to growth

Finances (6 Responses)

• Parents pay for too many things
• Need better use and management of resources
• Too expensive to participate in activities
• Too much fundraising

Transportation (6 Responses)

Safety (4)

• Need more crossing guards
• Encourage kids to walk to school
• Address safety issues around dropping children off at Jordan Creek Elementary

Parking (2)

Need more parking spots around Valley High School

Communication and Involvement (4 Responses)

Communication (2)

• People can’t get ideas heard
• Some staff don’t take parents’ opinions seriously
• Many are uninformed
• Myths abound
• Need more information
• Advertise events more

Lack of Involvement (2)

• Public is not involved until issue is too big
• People forego being part of decision, then complain
• Not enough kids involved in school

Lunch (4 Responses)

• Need new and healthier options
• Fill pop machines
• Students are too rushed
• Need option to lunch cards

District Boundaries (3 Responses)

• Four communities in one district creates disparity
• Elementary school boundaries don’t create sense of neighborhood schools
• Address duplication of services across school districts