School site visits deemed 'valuable process'

A recent two-day Iowa Department of Education (DE) site visit to an area school district has its superintendent confidently proclaiming: "From all indications, things went real well for us as a district."

For those district representatives who do not enjoy such visits, Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School District Superintendent Ervin "Erv" Rowlands added/assured, "For other communities, as this comes up, try to be a part of it. It's a good way to learn about your district, as well as yourself. It is a valuable tool."

Ruthven-Ayrshire hosted its latest site visit by DE staff on Jan. 14-15.

"In our case," Rowlands said, "it forced us to take that serious look. It's easy to put things off because you're busy with so many other things. This way, you take the time. I spent a lot of time reviewing things, which was good for me. It's good for the staff and it's also good for the board. It is a valuable process. ... Hopefully you use (what's uncovered during a site visit) to build your district from that point, and view at it as a useful tool -- not something to get through. I think we've approached it that way as a district."

Site visits led by Iowa Department of Education (DE) staff are done once every five years at accredited K-12 buildings to assess progress with comprehensive school improvement plans; make recommendations with regard to visit findings for the purposes of improving educational practices above minimal compliance; determine that a school is in compliance with accreditation standards; and provide a general assessment of educational practices.

These visits, which generally last three days, allow DE representatives to receive a snapshot of what's occurring within the district -- and to specifically assess if it is meeting required standards -- via their visits with district staff, community residents and students.

"For this visit, you gather information you've been doing for the five years since they were last there," Rowlands explained. "So, it's a lot of collection of data. ... We probably had 20-25 three-ring binders full of different board policies, plans and just the documentation to show the visit team what we've been up to."

End products of a DE site visit usually include a tentative list of items the district may be doing well, as well as recommendations on what it could improve to provide better programming for students in the community.

"In the tentative report, we met the compliance. So, we met the legal issues that are involved with the site visit. So, no problems there," Rowlands reported. "They talked about how they were impressed with what our staff is doing with its inservice and professional development (time), the involvement of the board in that process, and how it's ongoing and an effort that's shared between the board, staff and the administration. So, we're all going in the same direction and working on reading as our primary focus over the next couple of years. (They also) liked things we are doing (in regard to our) application for grants and having technology in our buildings for our kids."

The Ruthven-Ayrshire superintendent continued, "As far as some things they're looking for improvement in, we'll get the details. But, in their tentative report, they talked a little about trying to expand curriculum. That's always a challenge in a small school. As we're moving toward the core curriculum -- which is going to impact all schools around the state -- we'll know more detail and some of the recommendations, and then look to see what we can do to expand some things for our kids and provide those opportunities. But, overall, it was a favorable report and positive experience for our district this past week."

Rowlands also indicated the DE delegation commented that progress had been made since the district's last site visit in 2004.

"As you look back and see some of the things they wanted then, we thought we'd taken care of them -- and we did. Those areas didn't show up this time," he said. "As far as expanding curriculum, we've done a little bit more since then. We've done a lot more with our students for post-secondary enrollment. That had been an area they wanted to see us improve, and we made that happen with some adjustments, scheduling and a little bit more recruitment encouragement of kids to take advantage of that program. This is still an area we'd like to see grow."

Other area schools scheduled to receive site visits this school year include Emmetsburg Catholic, Graettinger/Terril and Pocahontas Catholic.

In regard to nearby Alta Community School District hosting a Jan. 27-29 site and equity visit by DE representatives, Rowlands said, "Equity visits are not ones that superintendents look forward to. They're hard. There are just so many guidelines that come through the federal (government).

"But, if you look at schools in Iowa, we are doing a good job on that issue. ... All of us know what dealing with regulations can be like, and it's a challenge to meet that when a school gets an equity visit."

* A final site-visit report from the DE is expected within four to six weeks. Ruthven-Ayrshire results will be placed on the district's Web site and in its newsletter.