Penfield PACE, Parents Advocating for Challenge in Education
In 2021, there are nine candidates for three open seats on the Penfield Central School District Board of Education (BOE). Thank you to all candidates for declaring their candidacy. Go to https://www.penfield.edu/schoolnews.cfm?subpage=2011978 for information about the nine candidates.
With nine candidates, it was challenging to cover many topics at the Meet the Candidates forum on 4/27/21. Penfield PACE extended an invitation to all nine candidates to express their views about challenge in Penfield Schools by completing the questionnaire below.
The BOE Election and Budget Vote will take place at Penfield High School on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Go to https://www.penfield.edu/schoolnews.cfm?subpage=2011976 for information.
Board of Education candidate's name: Mark Elledge
1. What is your viewpoint about effective and equitable ways to both help all students to discover and nurture their strengths, talents and interests, and also address the atypical needs of advanced learners and thinkers?
To be successful, there needs to be well designed evaluative tools and individual engagement. This can help identify and provide opportunities that engage each student. Opportunities can include topical growth projects and encouragement in extracurricular activities. It can also identify advanced learners that will need a more comprehensive and structure program. It is also important that advanced learners be allowed to socialize and grow with their cohorts to promote the growth of the whole student.
2. Closing equity gaps in all aspects of public education takes expertise, time, work, and often, money. What is your viewpoint about closing equity gaps and supporting diversity and inclusion in Penfield Schools, including its Enrichment programs?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a broad subject that impacts all aspects of education. I am going to limit my comment specifically to as it relates to PACE’s advocacy. We don’t know, what we don’t know. Student identification for enrichment has primarily been based evaluation and observation. Taken at face value, this would make sense. But as our understanding of bias matures, we have to ask ourselves if there is a bias built into the process. I have asked the district how they know there is no bias in their evaluation process. The enrichment staff is in the early stages of analyzing the demographic data for participation to see if there are unmet needs. This is to make sure there is no implicit bias in student identification. This analysis is still underway and will be used to identify solutions to ensure equity and inclusion. I’ve expressed that I would like to see a special report on the Enrichment Program along with the results and recommendation from the demographic study.
3. What is your viewpoint about ways to offer supported challenge at the high school level that both effectively and equitably prepares each student for their post-secondary goals, and builds skills and strategies for resilience and wellness?
Advanced learners at the high school level have a wider array of options that can be tailored to their specific strengths. This should be coordinated with the student, parents, and counselors. Students have access to higher grade level coursework, dual credit, and college classes. There are also extracurricular opportunities like the Science Olympiad. High school students are better able to self- advocate and can have more defined ideas about their career path. They, along with their parents, can work with counselors to develop a course plan to help them meet their goals. The district has placed increasing emphasis on resilience and wellness for all students. They are in the midst of incorporating social and emotional learning into the curricula.
4. How familiar are you with the Schoolwide Enrichment Model used in Penfield Schools?
The schoolwide model is based on collaboration between the student, their teacher, enrichment teachers, and parents. Students are evaluated in 2nd and 3rd grade to identify advanced learners. They are enrolled in the enrichment program and can participate through middle school. In addition, there are opportunities for other students to participate in activities more target towards their aptitude, typically ELA and Math. In middle school, elementary enrichment students are automatically enrolled in the enrichment program. The middle school also offers a variety of opportunities and topics that are available to all students. The high school program was discussed earlier.
5. Feel free to add additional comments.
My youngest daughter was enrolled in the enrichment program at Scribner and Bay Trail. We were fortunate that she had that opportunity. But it also showed me that an enrichment program must be developed and delivered carefully. I learned that the intellectual capability of a student to understand advanced concepts is not the same as their emotional capacity to take on additional work. I also look forward to seeing the program incorporate student diversity and equity needs into the curricula. Thank you to PACE for representing the interests of advanced learners in our district.
Thank you to the BOE candidates for completing this questionnaire, and thank you, readers, for taking the time to get to know all candidates for the Penfield Board of Education. Don't forget to vote on May 18th!