Clovis schools enlist help with district problems

CLOVIS — Officials at Clovis Municipal Schools are looking to bring in a fresh set of outside eyes to help provide new solutions to the problems facing the district.

That's why they have partnered with the University of Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE) school turnaround program.

As a part of the turnaround process, in October three PLE representatives came to Clovis and met with members of the administration, principals and teachers to determine the district's readiness to take part in the turnaround program.

In the Readiness Assessment Report the PLE representatives highlight a number of reasons why Clovis is prepared to take part in the turnaround program and listed some areas for potential improvement, which could be addressed by PLE.

CMS was praised for the high level of collaboration in the district office, something Superintendent of Instruction Joe Strickland said is relatively new.

"When I first started working in the central office six, seven years ago, everybody was like a little silo," Strickland said. "HR did their own thing and federal programs did their own thing and instruction did their own thing and people did not really work together and plan together, so we have been real intentional about that."

Strickland said that collaboration has been accomplished through bi-monthly meetings with the director of every department to discuss what they are each working on.

"Just having everybody at the table has been really a powerful thing that will lead to really good things for our district," Strickland said.

Another strength identified in the report is the district's resources.

"Those who had worked in other districts said educators in (CMS) do not realize how well they are supported relative to other districts in New Mexico," the report said, in addition to highlighting the district's equipment infrastructure and technology as strengths.

Strickland believes the partnership with UVA will allow for Clovis to make better use of those available resources.

"We have rocking internet access, bandwidth is super here, and it's an Apple district so we have this fantastic technology all over the district, but it could be used in a more substantial way for students," Strickland said. "It's kind of like having a sports car that you're just using to go to the grocery store and we need to get it out there and do more with it."

The report also outlined various areas where Clovis has an opportunity to improve as a result of participating in the turnaround program, such as building a culture of high expectations for all students.

According to the report, "PLE team members heard a few references to the conditions of poverty faced by a sub-population of the district's students and in many cases the statements were paired with comments that suggested that the expectations for these students were lower than those of their slightly more affluent peers."

Strickland said that he really took that critique to heart because his own children have gone through the district and he believes having high expectations for all students is important.

"I think that the high poverty rate in our community makes more challenges but that doesn't mean that people can't achieve and I've always been a believer that for a lot of families and a lot of kids, that's the hope; school is the hope for them to change their life and make a better future and high expectations is a big part of that," Strickland said.

Superintendent Jody Balch said he understands the perception PLE representatives may have seen during their two days in Clovis, but he believes the district is doing a number of things already to help elevate those students from tougher economic backgrounds through school lunch, bill paying, and other programs.

"Our federal programs would tell you just the opposite of what they do for those kids," Balch said.

Another area of improvement highlighted in the report is the need to identify and communicate common goals and priorities to all members of the district.

"I think we have multiple goals and they're probably overwhelming so nobody really knows what the real core focus is because we had so many things coming up at people at one time," Strickland said. "That's another area that UVA specializes in is helping people identify and then communicate out a common goal for people to be working toward."

Balch agreed with the need for growth in that area.

"Our motto has been continue to climb the hill and improve every day," Balch said. "We need to establish defined checkpoints to make sure we're meeting those goals."

Now that PLE has determined Clovis to be ready for the turnaround program and found areas for improvement, one of the next steps is for members of the district leadership team to attend a District Boot Camp in March on the campus of UVA where they will go through various workshops to learn ways to put the turnaround initiatives in place and select which three schools will take part in the turnaround program next school year.