The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-Superintendent Guy Strot has begun the implementation of a plan to improve the Dayton School District. The district has recently lost far too many students to surrounding school districts, particularly in the secondary school. He hopes to stem or even reverse this exodus from the Dayton District.

The first step is to determine why students are leaving. This process has begun and continues through exit interviews with students and teachers who have already left. The Center for Excellence in Education has been recruited to conduct the interviews

While the district is collecting data on why students are leaving, Superintendent Strot is tackling some of the issues that seem to impel students to transfer. Issues include:

Parents want their children to graduate from Dayton High School fully prepared to attend the college, or other continuing education, of their choice.

Families and students want a greater range of electives to grab the students' interest, and better prepare them for life and careers after high school.

Students want to feel safe at school. To thrive, children cannot have a learning environment where they fear their safety or harassment from bullies.

Students, particularly as they approach adulthood, want a school that listens to their grievances and helps them with their problems.

Children, to learn effectively, need an environment that encourages learning and is conducive towards it, not only at school but also at home.

There is a public perception that Dayton School District is a poor choice for various reasons, whether it be drug use, bullying, etc.

Strot has already rolled out professional development for teachers. Staff have already completed three professional development days. Professional development for the administrative staff will soon follow.

The district has partnered with the Innovia Foundation to conduct a community data walk and a two-year project to increase student success after graduation. Also, Strot is investigating finding a way to offer Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) to Dayton students. The district is smaller than most schools where JROTC is typically offered, but JROTC might be made possible by partnering with another school district or two.

Strot is introducing The Teacher Clarity Playbook into the staff professional development, which espouses methods of teaching which have proven to be extraordinarily effective in other districts which had been doing poorly.

Strot is looking at a number of creative solutions to increase electives, including a class with Jeannie Walter, who currently runs a robotics club, to increase the number of electives offered. He hopes to find a suitable artist in the community to get an emergency teaching certificate and teach an art class to interested students. A course in theater might be offered the same way.

Sonny Mundell, the current business teacher, might teach a class in digital graphic design and commercial art. Microsoft provides aid for schools teaching computer programming, and Strot hopes to find a teacher who might spearhead that effort.

Science curriculum might offer outdoor classes using our woodlands and rivers, utilizing the many opportunities for students interested in project-based, hands-on science. Ag classes could offer Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and develop CAD skills to control 3-D printers, t-shirt printers, computer-controlled welders, and designing projects in woodworking class. Strot envisions students being able to build on skills in their elective to an extent which they are not offered now, such as by having middle school students start in woodshop by designing and building simple projects like birdhouses and moving up to building projects like tool sheds by the time they are in high school.

Strot hopes to have a new slate of possible classes ready to go by March or April and offer class sign-ups to students through Skyward at that time. By having students sign up for fall classes well in advance, the interest in various electives can be determined in time to offer or drop specific electives.

Strot plans to use COVID relief funds and grants to fund improvements to the electrical and HVAC systems, improving safety at the school. He hopes to use some of these funds to purchase the CAD workstations and associated hardware.

A key component of Strot's plan is that students have a teacher or other staff member whom they feel safe approaching with any problem or issue. Conversely, the teacher, or staff member, needs to recognize when a student is showing frustration or stress and can preemptively address these problems with the student. Such relationships of trust would likely reverse the trend of students transferring to other districts.

All three Dayton schools have already implemented new discipline procedures, which should not only standardize discipline but provide for better documentation and better keep families informed of discipline problems at school.

Strot plans more opportunities to meet with staff, students, parents, and the community to listen. Recently, the District published a parent newsletter, and on November 5, a quarterly community newsletter was published. On November 9, a data walk and presentation were held at the Columbia County Fairgrounds moderated by the Innovia Foundation. Another parent newsletter will be published on November 26, followed by a community forum on November 30. If anyone in the community has questions or concerns about the one-year plan, the community forum would be an excellent time to address them.

In recent years, the district has suffered attacks on its reputation, and the effort to reach out to the community and offer opportunities for feedback should go a long way to prevent the malicious meddling of marplots on social media who have intentionally or not besmirched the reputation of Dayton's schools.

The proposed plan by Strot rejects the idea of doing things as they have always been done, allowing the district to continue towards failure with many students transferring out and low graduation rates. Instead, Strot has proposed a plan to address the problems in the district aggressively. Although it may be challenging to implement, if successful, it promises greater success for the youth of Dayton and an immense boost to our community. As Thomas Jefferson felt, an educated citizenry is vital for our survival as a free people.