- Target:
- Kaleidoscope Charter School Board
- Region:
- United States of America
There is currently a new strategic plan that is board-approved that may bring drastic change to the identity and direction of Kaleidoscope Charter School (KCS)- including a limit on creative teaching and project-based learning. Concerned Parents of KCS would like to know by the May 2017 meeting of the school board when this plan will be implemented and specifically how it will affect curriculum and our children's education.
It has come to our attention through various parents, teachers, and staff at KCS that the administration and/or school board fundamentally would like to change the direction and focus of KCS to increase standardized test scores and reduce project-based learning in the classrooms. We want a detailed explanation from the KCS school board regarding this strategic plan so that families can understand the direction of KCS, know how the impending strategic plan will effect their children's education, and be able to plan ahead and enroll accordingly. We are concerned that the strategic plan will change the identity of KCS in a way that no longer aligns with our values, needs, or our basic reasoning for attending this charter school. Several parents attended the strategic planning committee in the fall of 2016, and the administrative agenda seemed to take away from what makes KCS unique and instead focused on increasing test scores. "Families choose Kaleidoscope because we meet our students at their level, focus on their academics and character, and help them become the happy and successful people they aspire to be." This is the KCS mission statement that accompanies each email they send. The Concerned Parents of KCS want to see that we continue to align with this mission! According to KCS academic philosophy found under Testing and Assessments, it is the belief of KCS that standardized testing is just one important component of a balanced assessment plan. We would like to make sure that testing does not become a central component in our children’s education.
Some components to the strategic plan have raised concern, and because of this, Concerned Parents of KCS request the following:
- We what to know specifics on what the strategic plan will it look like, what it means to have the objectives in the strategic plan carried out, and what the desired accomplishments are.
-We want project-based learning to be continued and for teachers to be encouraged and supported to use creativity to meet the needs of the students and their various learning styles.
-We believe curriculum like Logic of English should be kept, protected, and even expanded into higher grades. We appreciate that KCS is utilizing such an innovative approach to learning.
-We appreciate that KCS staff has the freedom to celebrate holidays, themed activities, KCS P.R.I.D.E. and traditional practices like the Pledge of Alliance.
-We believe that a well-rounded education includes art, Spanish, music, technology, and physical education and want them to continue being equally accessible to all grades.
-We want to know how the strategic plan will specifically affect the early elementary grades as well as the upper level grades.
-We want to ensure that class sizes remain at or below current standards of (18) for kindergarten and (24) for all other grades.
-We don't believe a new strategic plan should be implemented without the necessary benchmarks to gauge its success; if benchmarks prove the plan is ineffective, an exit strategy should be available.
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The Concerned Parents of KCS petition to Kaleidoscope Charter School Board was written by Liz Iverson and is in the category Education at GoPetition.