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BY JONATHAN CANNON

HERALD DEMOCRAT

WHITESBORO -- In 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress, announcing a dramatic vision he had for the United States -- putting a man on the moon before the Soviet Union. Eight years later, Astronaut Neil Armstrong took his firs steps on the lunar surface.

"America is currently in a situation that is very similar to the one we found ourselves in after Russia jumped ahead of us in the space race," said Whitesboro Superintendent Steve Kolb on his blog in December. "The difference today is that we are not competing against Russia or other nations in a race to space; we are competing against other nations in a race for jobs."

Kolb said it is this race for jobs that launched the Whitesboro Independent School District into its visioning process at the end of last year.

"It is very important for schools and communities to realize that we are not preparing our students to compete for jobs in our local or regional economies, we are preparing our students to compete for jobs in the global economy and the global job market," he said. "For our students to compete for these jobs, our students will need 21st century skills for these 21st century jobs."

The district led the process with a visioning committee of teachers, parents, community members and students who presented a plan to the school board Thursday night.

"The district assembled a Visioning Committee ... to develop statements about what the district believes about learning and statements about how to accomplish those beliefs," the document presented to the board states. "These statements will drive the design of the learning environment."

Beyond basics, such as maintaining a low student-to-teacher ratio and encouraging interactive, hands-on learning, the committee's findings and directions focus heavily on technology. The directions call on the district to expose students to technology early on while equipping them with the knowledge to use it safely. They implore teachers to use podcasts to make lesson reviews available to students at any time. And they direct the district to create a satellite computer lab and learning center so that student will have access to resources outside the community.

"The technology is not an end, it's a means," committee member Philip Burch told the board.

He said students need to learn the technology so, not only can they do the jobs of the future, which require it, but they can use technology to continually educate themselves.

Beyond technology, the visioning document calls on the district to work to retain highly qualified staff by offering competitive pay, a collaborative work environment and continual professional development.

The committee also focused on security of the campuses, calling on the board to enclose all the campuses.

Finally, the committee called on the district to move beyond just making students college-ready and encouraged district officials to provide career training courses to students. Bunch said the resources required for this may make the prospect more challenging, but that it could be overcome by partnering with other area districts and local colleges.

After two months of visioning and almost an hour of presentation, the board approved the committee's findings and directions. Board members also moved forward with the formation of a bond advisory committee.

Cambridge Strategic Services consultant Roz Keck said it is essential that this committee be primarily community members.

"That's when you truly need to hear from the community, what they believe is the capacity of this community, and the will of the community for the schools," she said.

Kolb said the committee would explore the possibility of holding a bond election in May and would make recommendations to the board on the amount. They will present its findings to the board during a meeting on Feb. 18.

For a complete list of the visioning committee's findings and directions visit the Herald Democrat Web site.