Some Rochester School board members on Thursday spoke out the report issued by the state’s Distinguished Educator, Jamie Acquino.
In that review of the district’s operations which was released on Wednesday, Acquino made 84 recommendations, among them calling for the district to shift its entire focus from the interests of adults to a student-centered agenda.
School board President Van White takes issue with that characterization.
“I think for a report, that alleges that people are not focused on children, but rather are focused on adults, the methodology was erroneous. The methodology was they spoke to adults and only adults."
But White and other school board members vowed to work with Acquino and within the district to achieve positive changes.
Board member Natalie Sheppard says Acquino's report talks a lot about accountability and she agrees.
But Sheppard also says to bring about some of that accountability; school officials and board members need to have better flexibility in dealing with staff.
“If we do put a system in place, we have that flexibility to say, based off of data, like president White said, you’re not performing at a level that we need you to perform at so that our kids are achieving excellence, then sorry, you have to see the door, and that’s the most respectful way that I can put it.”
City School District Superintendent Barbara Deane-Williams issued a statement Thursday thanking Acquino for the time he spent listening to various perspectives regarding the challenges the district faces.
She says the district will review each recommendation and prepare a plan to submit to the state, as required, by February 8th.
