s standards increase in response to federal mandate

Nobody connected with Lawrence public schools is exempt from a new effort to improve student achievement, Supt. Randy Weseman said Thursday.

Weseman tried to drive that point home at the start of a two-day staff development conference for principals and administrators.

Years of stagnant scores by Lawrence students on reading and math assessments is unacceptable, Weseman said.

“That standard is going up,” he said. “This community deserves better. That requires work and change.”

It’s more than a feel-good goal.

In three years, a new federal law will require all U.S. public schools to prove annually that each is making progress on reading and math assessments.

Janice Nicklaus, the district’s executive director of instruction and professional development, told the 50 district staff at the meeting that climbing that academic ladder required renewed commitment by students, teachers, principals, administrators and school board members.

“Learning in this district is not optional for anyone,” she said. “It’s an expectation for all.”

The upgraded mantra was printed on T-shirts to be given the group: Raising The Standards For All.

“It signifies a change I’m expecting to see  frankly, demanding to see,” Weseman said.

He said shirts marking this gathering should serve as reminders that Lawrence families place enormous trust in public schools to educate children. Meeting the diverse needs of 10,000 students isn’t easy, he said.

“They can be ornery,” he said. “They can be a little reluctant to learn.”

But the cost of failure is unacceptably high, said Dan Neuenswander, the district’s school improvement specialist and a former Lawrence superintendent.

He urged conferees to consider what happened to a person who didn’t learn to read and write proficiently.

“It makes you want to cry,” he said. “They will be on welfare, and a high percentage will be incarcerated.”

Neuenswander said the district’s leaders must work together. It’s as if, he said, the district must stop predicting rain and simply build the ark.

“What can we do to ensure we’re all building the same way?” he said.

The conference is designed to help the district create a new blueprint for raising student achievement, Neuenswander said.