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By Tim Argo
Alva Schools Superintendent 

Letter to the Editor

Alva School Supt. on community input-based changes

 

September 4, 2022



Dear Alva Public Schools Community,

What a great week we have had for AHS Homecoming! Thank you to Lizabeth Richey and the Alva Goldbug Education Foundation Board (AGEF) for honoring our wonderful Distinguished Goldbugs. AGEF provides scholarship opportunities for students, goodie bags for teachers, technology grants for classrooms and many other gifts that enhance the learning experience for students and teachers at Alva Public Schools.

For more information on how you can impact the students in Alva Public School contact Mrs. Richey by calling the office at Alva High School (327-3682).

The update this week involves the information gathered from our community survey, public forums, and students from the initial development of the plan in 2018-2019. The information was aligned into Learner Expectations, Core Beliefs and Core Values. This week we will look at the Learner Expectations for students attending Alva Public Schools.

By 2028 Alva Public Schools graduates will expect to have:

• Effective communication skills

• Critical thinking

• Organization, goal setting, and time management skills

• Creativity

• Mastery of core content

• Collaboration skills

• Conflict resolution

• Technology use

• Skills to locate and use information

• Financial skills

These expectations will create productive citizens that are college and/or career ready, globally aware, and equipped with the life skills necessary to be successful.

What are some steps that we have taken to meet these Learner Expectations for our students? In the goal area of curriculum and instruction we have made a concerted effort to engage learners through increased literacy skills. This has included developing curriculum maps, Literacy Project at Lincoln and Alva Middle Schools, workstation professional development with Debbie Diller, Max Teaching with Todd Luke, and K20 engagement strategies to name a few.

These professional developments have touched on critical thinking, mastery of core content, collaboration skills and technology use. APS has also used technology throughout the pandemic to deliver lessons to students through Chromebook devices and platforms such as Google Classroom and Seesaw. The results of the survey and focus groups were used to develop the Core Values for the district.

In order to ensure quality teaching and learning, Alva Public Schools values ...

• Quality teachers

• A respectful and nurturing environment

• Buildings and grounds

• School and community connections

• Up-to-date technology

• Quality programs

• Adequate financials

• Strong Leadership

• A safe environment

• Small class sizes

By upholding these values, Alva Public School will create an environment of student-centered learning that has a rigorous curriculum and innovative teachers that have all necessary instructional materials to meet the diverse needs of students.

The core values can be seen throughout our district in numerous ways. Alva Public Schools has the finest teachers that have created a respectful and nurturing environment through Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports. Examples of PBIS in action are the incentives and positive notes sent home with students.

Additionally, the district has maintained a strong connection with the community through multiple committees including the development of the school district calendar, gifted and talented, accelerated reader, and facilities to name a few.

APS has continued to update technology by refreshing Chromebooks to ensure our students are using quality devices. APS has also utilized federal funding to purchase new Thinkpads for our teachers. Federal funding has also been used to place active panels in all classrooms to enhance teacher instruction.

The leadership at Alva Public Schools has worked to continue the multiple quality programs that can be found in our districts from the fine arts to athletics. The strong leadership provided by our principals has led to additional measures to create a safe school environment and the maintaining of smaller classes.

Currently Alva Public Schools has 1,051 students enrolled in school. The elementary schools right now have a class size average of 20 students, while the middle school core classes (language arts, social studies, math and science) have 17 students, and the high school has 18 students per core class.

The district continues to work towards improvement of facilities which have included an $800,000 renovation of the art room and the addition of HVAC in our high school gyms this summer. We will continue to look at ways to uphold these Core Values while maintaining adequate financial standing for the future of the district.

Finally, the strategic plan addresses the Core Beliefs of the district. Alva Public Schools believe that to realize their expectations for graduates, teaching and learning should provide ...

• Community service opportunities

• Family support and engagement

• Opportunities for creativity and innovation

• Relevant content

• Basic skills

• Opportunities for collaboration

• Education about post-HS opportunities

• Emphasis or consideration of student strengths/weaknesses

• Enrichment

• Community support

This type of teaching and learning, supported by counseling and remediation opportunities, will provide enriching experiences to teach students to use available technology to locate, evaluate, and use information.

APS has tried to uphold these core beliefs through our collaboration with Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Northwest Career Tech. The partnership that we have developed between and among these institutions has helped our students to be immersed and enriched in relevant content that has enhanced their preparation for college and post-high school opportunities.

Alva Public Schools will be surveying parents during parent teacher conferences to help us recognize areas for improvement. Next week I will begin communicating the Goal Areas, Initiatives, and Actions Steps that we are working towards to realize these Learner Expectations, Core Values and Core Beliefs.

For more information on the strategic plan, please visit http://www.alvaschools.com under the Accountability Tab. Thank you for your support of APS!

Sincerely,

Tim Argo

Superintendent

 

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