Shepherd discussed the listening and learning tour as part of his 100-day plan during a fireside chat with Pflugerville Education Foundation members and others July 16.
Get involved
As part of the tour, community members can take part in the online thought exchange here, answering the questions, "What do you feel is working well in the district?" and, "What do you think the district needs to improve on?"
The thought exchange is anonymous and unlimited submissions are allowed. It also includes the ability for participants to rate submissions from others to help "crowdsource thoughts."
Something to note
Shepherd said some of the key issues facing school districts across the state that he would like to advocate for in PfISD include the lack state funding for public schools, including unfunded mandates.
Additionally, while the district has lost thousands of students to area charter schools, Shepherd said this should not be the driving force behind the district's strategic plan.
"There's these big issues and although they need to be addressed, we need to do this other part first," Shepherd said. "I think some folks are going to get really confused by that, because they're going to see this as not urgent [and] not necessary, when in fact it's more urgent and more necessary. ... Those five to seven thousand kids that are going to charter schools—if our only goal is to bring them back into the system, then we're going to act in ways that are not beholden to our values."
Shepherd also said some people can get "too hung up" on the report card grades for schools, which has worsened as changes to state assessments have been made over the last few years.
"Make no mistake, those are important. ... [But] they are not the only way we should be measuring schools, and they are not the only way we should be measuring kids," Shepherd said. "I have seen communities take that to the extreme, and that actually is detrimental to the system. ... If teachers start to feel that level of pressure, they no longer think creatively and they're no longer innovative in the classroom."
What's next
Shepherd said over 2,000 people, so far, have shared about 3,000 thoughts on the thought exchange site. Later this fall, information from the exchange will be compiled and presented to the community, which Shepherd said will be the "kickoff for [PfISD's] strategic plan."
