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October 4, 2024
GLPS Families,
As the calendar rolls over to October this week, and we are now wrapping up our 6th week of school, it is a good time for us to start thinking about feedback. Your opinions matter to us here at GLPS, and we want to make sure that we are providing you with the opportunity to tell us how we are doing. I know my message is a bit long this week, but please read through to the end, because it is important to understand how feedback is most effective, as well as how best to provide it for us.
Unfortunately, rather than providing us directly with the feedback we need to improve the district, sometimes folks choose to use other methods to share concerns. Over the last couple of weeks, I have had a number of social media posts and/or emails shared with me that call staff members or others connected to school programming out by name, based on rumors, innuendoes, partial truths, or outright falsehoods. Our staff members are all here to help students learn and grow, and no one wants to read their name in a disparaging Facebook post. In our strategic plan, we state that we believe the GLPS staff are professionals who are vital to the health and future of the Grand Ledge community, and we believe in partnerships between the family, community, and education stakeholders for the success of GLPS. Please help us live up to those beliefs by providing actionable feedback directly to staff members and administrators, and help us create an environment where staff and students feel safe and welcome. Above all, be kind. Remember, staff members are first and foremost people, and they are here to support all of our kids. Insulting them on social media, or sending an email to me or the board that skips the steps outlined below, does not help staff do their jobs, and it does not make our district better. Sharing feedback through proper channels, and remembering that our staff members are people trying to make a difference for kids in our community does.
To those ends, this year, we will again hold Caregiver School Improvement Team meetings. These meetings are designed for all of you to meet with me to discuss district initiatives, school improvement planning, and our strategic plan. This form allows you to sign up to join the meetings, receive communications about the topics, or tell me why you are not interested in those two options. Please take a moment to fill it out. The dates and times of the sessions are included on the form.
The second place where I would like some feedback is around these communications. Last school year, I asked you what you wanted to hear from me in my weekly messages, and that helped shape what I wrote about each week. I would like to do the same thing this year, so please take a moment to click here to let me know. I also added a section this year to include areas around which we should be seeking your feedback. This will guide questions we ask you throughout the year. This survey should only take a couple of minutes to complete; thank you for taking the time!
In addition to those formal methods for feedback, please know that we want to hear about your thoughts, ideas, and concerns, not just through surveys, but throughout the year. The best way to share them with the district is to start with the staff member involved. For example, if you have a question about a class, start with the teacher. If it is a bus question, start with the driver. If the issue is not resolved, then communicate with the individual’s supervisor, and then if it still is not resolved, bring the issue to me. If I do not address it adequately, then it goes to the school board through contact with individual board members or through public comment at a board meeting. In fact, this process is outlined in board policy 9130, which can be found here.
As we wrap up this week, I want to take this opportunity to remind you that next Wednesday, 10/9, from 6:00-8:00 pm, the community is invited to visit the NEW Wacousta Elementary School – please come on in and take a look around. Please park in the big lot near the Dream Depot playground and enter the building by the gym. We have school the next morning, but we wanted to give everyone in the community a chance to see inside our newest building at Grand Ledge Public Schools. In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with you and your students every day. As always, I am #proudtobeacomet!
Dr. Bill Barnes
Superintendent of Schools
