Schools
Strategic Redesign Advisory Committee Members Announced for District 197
The SRAC is charged with finding ways to provide education more efficiently in the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan School District.
Editor's Note: The full list of committee members is part of the District 197 document attached to this article.
The District 197 School Board released the names Monday night of 39 individuals that will form the core of a (SRAC).
The committee is being established to research and recommend what, in many cases, would be major long-term changes to classroom structure and curriculum, all in the name of reducing the cost of education while creating a better learning experience for students.
Find out what's happening in Mendota Heightsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Assisting the committee will be an education redesign consultant from Education Evolving, and nonprofit financial and budget consultant Rudy Brynolfson.
The community members were chosen to represent a diversity of backgrounds and geography within the district, said board member Mark Spurr.
Find out what's happening in Mendota Heightsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
They will also serve to communicate the committee's work back to the communities within the district that they represent, operating as a "pivot point," according to board chair Robin Rainford.
The school board received 75 applications for the committee in one week.
"That was very good news," said Spurr. "The bad news was we couldn’t have all 75 be a part of the formed committee."
The list includes Mendota Elementary Principal Steve Goldade and Somerset Elementary Principal Mary Bowman.
Spurr said there may have been some confusion about whether administrators should apply, and they will be looking to place a few more from within the district.
Meetings of the group are scheduled to begin Aug. 2, and recommendations are due to the board Dec. 19.
Focus group studies of current high school students and alumni are planned to supplement the committee's research early in the process.
Spurr emphasized that anyone from the community is welcome to attend the SRAC meetings and follow the process. The location of the meetings is room A241 of Henry Sibley High School.*
See the attached pdf for the initial schedule and more information.
*This information has been updated to reflect information made available after publication.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.