Test scores criticized at Oxbow meeting

By Tom Kent
for Journal Opinion

Journal Opinion/STPNS

March 19, 2008

BRADFORD, Vermont (STPNS) -- Oxbow High School Board members and administrators were treated to a round of questions and commentaries at an informational meeting on March 13. The meeting was held prior to the district's annual meeting and Australian ballot vote on the proposed budget on March 25.

With 36 voters in attendance, about twice as many as have attended informational meetings in recent years, board chair Kathy Damon began the meeting by addressing the recently released NECAP scores.

"We expected better performance from the students," she said. "The teachers and guidance counselors are working to emphasize the importance of these tests to the school and that we expect the each student will perform to the best of their abilities."

Later in the meeting, Larry Drew of Bradford once again raised the low NECAP scores attained by students in math. The former math teacher said he was dismayed by the lack of concern over a subject that's so fundamental and basic in the life of a student. He cited a study of college students who were found to be unable to handle their personal finances, including the student loans which kept them in college.

"It's not that tough to teach math to people, but they've got to teach the basics first," said Drew. He said that calculators should be removed from the classrooms until students have mastered the basics.

When questioned as to how other schools were doing on NECAP, Orange East Supervisory Union Superintendent Wendy Baker replied "none of the schools are doing very well but, at least, we're learning what we need to do. Yes we're learning from the other high schools. And we all have a long way to go."

In a statement issued by OESU after the meeting, Damon said that the board hopes to have a detailed analysis of the NECAP results at their April 3 meeting and "an in-depth plan for improving student achievement directly after that."

"It is our expectation that our students will do well on these measures and we look forward to supporting the administration, teachers, students and their families as they go about the work necessary to make that happen," she wrote.

At last week's meeting Bob Nordham of Bradford asked the board how they set their priorities for extracurricular programs as part of preparing students to become responsible citizens after leaving high school. He used the football team as an example of cost-balancing and priority setting.

After hearing responses that the football program was working well to attract students from other schools to transfer to Oxbow and in some cases keeping current Oxbow students from dropping out, he rephrased his question.

Conceding that both academic studies and extracurricular activities are both preparations for living, he said he assumed that the academics would be the first priority. He asked the board how they could relate the football experience to the academic mission, and how they could justify a budget for only a small number of students, particularly in these days of tight budgets?

"It's a question of the board's governance, of setting goals, building plans, and establishing a priority of tasks by which these goals can be reached, " he said. "I'm asking could any football monies have been better used for academics? I just simply want to pay for a good academic education, and see that the taxpayers are getting their money's worth."

Nordham asked the board if he could see a breakdown of the Oxbow football team expenses for the past year. After the meeting, Baker told the Journal Opinion that as a comparative measure, the cost of running the grades basketball program for boys and girls in grades 7-12 is about $23,270, while the cost of the first year of varsity high school football team was $20,972. That figure was further reduced by $5,037 as a result of fund-raising by supporters of the football program that brought the net cost to the district down to $15,935.

Committees

Board member Tom Kidder described how the six recently formed advisory committees had not only increased the community participation in the board's implementation of their five-year strategic plan, but brought a more cohesive working relationship among the board, the faculty and community members in the school's operations.

Kidder, chair of the scholarship committee, was pleased to announce that with the help of donors and district auditors, they have negotiated the reinvestment of donations to a scholarship fund and this year's balance sheet shows that "it's beginning to pay off."

Dan Smith, chairman of the facilities committee, spoke to the priority of replacing the leaking gymnasium roof, thus putting other projects on the backburner for this year. According to Smith, the $90,000 replacement, rather than a more temporary repair project, will give better service and be more economical in the long run. The funds for the replacement will be drawn from unexpended funds

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