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… to hear the audio from the Q&A with Superintendent Dr. Tony Byrd. This recording was made with consent of all attendees at our CT3 monthly meeting on August 18, 2022, 6:30-8pm
Question times are bolded if you want to skip ahead on certain questions.
0:0:45 – Dr. Byrd took the floor to tell us about his background, how he got into education, and why he chose to take the Superintendent job here at Summit.
0:7:10 – It took a month for the school to report Leonard Grams to the police. What protocols are in place to prevent this from happening again?
0:19:25 – SCSD has some of the lowest testing scores in the state, in fact Silverthorne Elementary is on probation. How do you plan to address this issue?
0:48:30 – In the recent Summit Daily article, you mentioned your priority is to give all students a chance to take an AP class. AP classes traditionally are in place to help those students who excel in a certain subject a safe place to learn and not be held back by those who need extra attention and time. Can you explain your take on how this goal will not hold back the growth of our advanced students, as well as not hinder testing scores further?
1:22:30 – Some parents are worried about teachers/staff pushing controversial social issues on their children. They think school is for academics, and aside from teaching kindness and respect for everyone, the school should leave social issues to the parents. Do you have plans to enable the school district to be more transparent with parents, to help them better understand what is being taught in their child’s classroom? Does the school have a way for parents to ‘opt-out’ in order to not lose them to home-schooling or private schools?
1:42:48 – Additional Questions:
- A parent was upset over a consent letter received from their child’s SC Day Treatment program in regard to restraining their child. (Follow up on this question: this parent was incorrectly given this form by the school, her son is in the Academic Support Program which is taught in the Day Treatment room. However this form is required for Day Treatment Program students.)
- A parent wanted to better understand where Dr. Byrd views the role of the school when it comes to Academics vs Social issues.
Several spots in the recording Dr. Byrd noted he would follow up with answers. Here is his follow-up …
- What is the policy number regarding mandatory reporting? Policy JLF https://z2.ctspublish.com/casb/browse/summit-casb/summit/z20000403
- Is there a “5 strike policy”’? No.
- Will test scores be posted on the website? Yes, we are looking to do that in September. They have also gone out to families already.
- Can we move more curricula and materials on-line for parents to see? Yes. We are looking to move additional elementary curricula on-line this year and will share any changes in secondary on-line as well. Any parent may ask any teacher or principal about individual level curricular questions.
- What will you be doing about the math curriculum? We are reviewing the reasons for our lower math scores and creating plans to address. Curricular changes may well emerge as one decision.
- What is the standard for getting into AP? There is not an entry requirement.
- Can you do a Facebook Live to explain your take on “AP for all?” I will be doing this in September.
- How many counselors are bilingual in the district? One and we wish we had more. Staffing has been difficult due to the very high cost of living here.
- Will you ensure parents can opt-out of controversial classroom topics? Yes. Here is the policy I referenced https://z2.ctspublish.com/casb/browse/summit-casb/summit/z20000294
- What is the bathroom policy? We are reviewing these policies now and no new decisions have been made.
- Will teachers present multiple sides of an issue? That is expected per this policy https://z2.ctspublish.com/casb/browse/summit-casb/summit/z20000294
- Will students continue to learn math every other quarter at the middle school? The middle school has returned this year to a model that teaches math each month of the year.
- Why do academic athletes have to pay for Edgenuity? This is a longer discussion that I am happy to have with the family of any academic athlete to explain and listen.
NOTE: There were some issues that came up in the meeting that appeared to be particular to an individual situation. For those, please first work with the teacher, then the principal and then me – if you are not satisfied with what you have learned.
CLICK HERE to see the original Google document sent by Dr. Byrd outlining the above follow-up Q&A.