Don’s Script for Town Hall Meeting

February 2, 2009

Welcome

Good evening and welcome to the 12th

annual Red Deer Public School District
Town Hall Meeting. This is our primary
opportunity to meet with you – students,
parents, staff members, and other
members of our community – to seek
your input with regard to issues and
priorities in the Red Deer Public School
District.

It’s my pleasure to introduce the Chair of

our Board of Trustees, Dr. Bill Stuebing,
who will begin the evening with some
words of welcome and will introduce our
trustees.
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«Bill Stuebing speaks»

Introductions/Explanation of Process

Thank you, Bill.

«introduce guests and welcome media»

Although we’re certainly pleased to see

every one of you this evening, we are
especially glad to welcome a large
number of students to our Town Hall
Meeting this evening.

«Ask all students to stand and be

acknowledged»

In years gone by, we’ve had a table of

cookies at the back of the room, but in
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keeping with our new nutrition policy,
we’ve placed an assortment of nutritious
snacks at your tables. Beverages can be
found at the back of the room and you
should feel free to visit the table at any
time during the evening. Washrooms
located just outside the main entrance
doors.

The Red Deer Public School District was

established more than 120 years ago by
the members of this community and, all
these years later, it continues to serve the
community. Tonight, we have gathered
more than 220 representatives from all
sectors of our community – students,
parents, representatives of various
community agencies & business
interests, teachers, other staff, and
trustees - to talk about one of the most
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important functions of any community:
the provision of schooling for our young
people.

Our purpose this evening is to invite you

to think about schools in general and
about Red Deer Public Schools in
particular. We’re going to do that by
engaging you two discussions: the first
an open ended discussion in which you
will be asked to identify strategies that
will enable the school district to do a
better job generally and the second
focused on how we can do a better job of
encouraging and enabling students to
enrol in post secondary education
opportunities.

Each topic will contain five steps: First,

we will provide you with background
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information about the topic. Second, you
will be invited to engage in a lively
discussion with the others at your table.
Third, your group will be asked to share
your best ideas with the group as a
whole. Fourth, you and your group will
have opportunity to discuss the ideas
presented by other groups. And finally,
we’ll poll the entire meeting, to gain a
sense of what the group as a whole
thinks.

What about the record sheets? Each table

has received three coloured record
sheets: blue, green and yellow. One
person at each table is asked to be a
recorder and keeper of the record sheets.
When someone in your group makes a
point that seems to capture a lot of
support from those at your table, or
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which is understood to be a very
important point, please be sure to write it
down on the appropriate record sheet. I’ll
say more about that in a few minutes.

Before we begin our first topic, here’s

Ron Eberts to explain the keypad polling
process.

«Ron explains polling process»

«Note: Trustees will not have keypads;
perhaps group leaders as well»

Topic #1 – Strategies to Address

District Goals and Outcomes

Our first discussion this evening focuses

on the development of strategies, or
action steps, that the District should
include in its next Education Plan;
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strategies that will help us do a better job
of meeting the needs of our students.

The District’s current priorities are found

in the District Education Plan, a copy of
which is at your table. The Education
Plan is organized around three main
goals under which there are ten
outcomes. In our first discussion this
evening, we’re going to focus on eight of
these outcomes. They are:
1. Schools provide a safe and caring
environment.
2. The education system meets the needs
of all K-12 students, society and the
economy.
3. Children at risk have their needs
addressed through effective programs
and supports.
4. Students complete programs.
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5. Students demonstrate high standards
in learner outcomes.
6. Students model the characteristics of
active citizenship.
7. The education system at all levels
demonstrates effective working
relationships.
8. The district demonstrates leadership
and continuous improvement.

Within each outcome there are a series of

strategies, or action steps, that the
District has already committed to
undertake. Some of the strategies in our
current Education Plan are (those marked
with an asterisk are a direct result of last
year’s Town Hall meeting):
1. Implement year 3 of a project
focused on character development &
citizenship.
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2. Consider development and
implementation, on a community-
wide basis, of a pledge in support of
high school completion.*
3. Develop and implement a common
district program of early literacy
intervention.
4. Implement year 3 of a project on
effective assessment practices.
5. Implement a substance abuse
intervention program.*
6. Enable students and parents to access
student marks via the Internet.
7. Intensify efforts to obtain funding for
a new elementary school in the
district’s high growth areas.

This evening you are going to have

opportunity to identify new strategies –
new actions the District should take –
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that will help us accomplish the ten
outcomes. We’re looking for your best,
most creative, out of the box thinking.
Again, please take note that each strategy
begins with a verb – an action word –
and I would request that you follow this
pattern as well when you suggest
strategies.

During the discussion period, your group

will be assigned one of the ten outcomes.
You will then be asked to develop a list
of strategies that will help us to achieve
the outcome; strategies that you think the
District should include in its next
Education Plan. Every suggestion,
whether it receives a lot of support at
your table or not, should be placed on the
blue record sheet that each group leader
has received.
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You will have a total of about 20 minutes
to generate suggested strategies. If your
group completes its assigned outcome in
less than the allotted time, you are
invited to choose one of the other
outcomes – any one you like – and to
generate strategies for that outcome as
well. Be sure to place those strategies on
the green record sheet. When you have
completed your list, or lists as the case
may be, you will be asked to identify
your top three strategies overall,
regardless of which list they may be on.

If you’re wondering about what

strategies may already be included in our
Education Plan, just check the copy of
our current Plan.

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All right, it’s time to put you to work.
Group leaders: Please feel free to begin
the discussion.

«After 18 minutes – Give 2 minute

warning»

«After 20 minutes»

Thanks very much for that excellent

discussion. It’s time now for your group
to identify its “top 3” overall priorities,
regardless of the outcomes you have
discussed, and to rank them in priority
order: #1, #2 and #3. You’ve got 3
minutes to complete that task.

«Allow 3 minutes for prioritization»

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Well, it’s now time to find out what all
that talk was about, as we capture your
ideas and put them up on the screen. Piet
Langstraat, our Deputy Superintendent,
and I will be coming round to each table
to ask you to share your #1 idea with the
group as a whole. Please give us your #1
strategy overall, which Ron Eberts will
then place on the screen for all of us to
see and think about.

If, when we get to your group, your best

idea has already been taken, please give
us your #2 idea. If that’s also been taken,
we’ll ask you for your #3 idea. In the
unlikely event that all 3 have been taken,
we’ll ask you to pass, but in so doing
we’ll understand that your group is
obviously a brilliant one, in that you’ve

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come up with the same ideas as everyone
else.

«Gather ideas»

Thanks very much for those excellent

ideas. In a moment, we’re going to poll
the entire group to give each of you an
opportunity to express your opinion
about each of the suggested strategies.
But before we get to the polling, you’ll
have a few minutes to discuss the
suggestions that are on the screen. This is
your opportunity to ask a last minute
question or provide helpful clarification
to the others in your group. Again, if
you’re wondering what will happen to
the ideas that you didn’t get to share,
they will all be read and consideration

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will be given to each one as the next
District Education Plan is developed.

«Allow 5 minutes for discussion»

«Conduct poll #2»

Topic #2 – Increasing the Post

Secondary Transition Rate

Our second discussion this evening is

focused on increasing the post secondary
transition rate. We’re interested to learn
what strategies you think would be most
helpful in encouraging and enabling
more of our young people to continue
their studies after completing high
school. Before we begin the discussion at

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your tables, here’s Bruce Buruma with
some background information.

«Bruce Buruma presents background

information»

All right, with that background, it’s time

to put you to work. During the next 20
minutes or so, your group leader will
lead you in a discussion about this all-
important topic. You will have
opportunity to identify key strategies, or
initiatives, that you think the District
should consider in its attempts to
improve the extent to which our
community is involved and engaged in
its schools. Please keep in mind that each
strategy should begin with a verb – an
action word – that clearly identifies what

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action the District should take to address
this issue.

When someone in your group makes a

point that captures a lot of support from
those at your table, be sure to write it
down on a yellow record sheet. At the
end of the meeting, we’ll collect the
sheets and I can assure you that each idea
will be considered as the Board prepares
its priorities for the next three years.
Then, as we approach the end of the
discussion period, each group will be
asked to identify its top three strategies in
priority order.

We don’t have a lot of time, so let’s get

started. Group leaders, please begin the
discussion.

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«After 18 minutes – Give 2 minute
warning»

«After 20 minutes»

Thanks very much for that excellent

discussion. It’s time now for your group
to identify its “top 3” strategies and to
rank them in priority order: #1, #2 and
#3. You have 3 minutes to complete that
task.

«Allow 3 minutes for prioritization»

«After 3 minutes»

It’s time now for all of us to hear the

strategies that you developed during your
group discussions. Piet Langstraat, our
Deputy Superintendent, and I will ask the
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leader at each table to present their #1
strategy and we’ll then place it on the
screen. If, when your turn comes, your
#1 strategy has already been taken,
please give us your second choice, or
third choice, as the case may be. If all
three of your top priorities have been
taken, I’ll ask you to pass and we’ll move
on to the next table. In that way, we will
place as many good ideas as we can on
the screen. Then, after all of your best
ideas have been posted, you’ll have a
brief opportunity to discuss them at your
table.

«Gather best ideas, one table at a time»

There you have them, the top ideas from

each table. You now have five minutes to
discuss these ideas at your table before
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we take our first poll of the evening. This
is your opportunity find out more, to
influence the others at your table, or to
have others convince you of their
position.

«After 5 minutes, end discussion»

«Conduct poll #2»

How Input Will be Used

This evening, you’ve had opportunity to

share your best ideas, to express your
point of view, and to register your
preferences regarding District issues and
priorities. The outcome of this evening’s
discussion will be of great value to the
Board as it moves into its annual
planning retreat later this month. As I
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stated earlier, all of the ideas written on
the coloured record sheets will be read
and consideration will be given to each
one of them. Group leaders, please be
sure that the record sheets have been
placed in the envelope at your table.

How can you find out the complete

results of tonight’s discussion? Well, as
soon as we have completed the official
tabulations, we’ll post them on our
District website for anyone who wishes
to access them. If you don’t have access
to the Internet, you’re more than
welcome to drop by our central office
and ask for a copy of the results; we’ll be
happy to provide you with one. I expect
it may take a few days for us to have the
final results, so you may want to wait just
a bit before looking for a copy.
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Before Bill Stuebing comes to share
some final thoughts, we have one more
poll we’d like to take.

«Satisfaction poll»

«Thanks to Eunice Muzsik, Bruce

Buruma, Piet Langstraat, Ron Eberts,
group leaders»

Thanks & Closing Comments

Here now for some words of thanks and

final comments is our Board chair, Dr.
Bill Stuebing.

«Bill Stuebing speaks»

Adjournment
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