Spring ISD has released the results of community forums held late last year designed to elicit feedback on district matters in the wake of hiring new superintendent Rodney Watson. More than 200 staff and community members attended the forums over a two-month period.

The forums were conducted by K12 Insight, a Virginia-based consulting firm under contract with the district to conduct focus groups, surveys and research to gather information throughout the school year.

"These meetings provided valuable insights and feedback on a range of issues that will be used as we move forward in developing our strategic five-year plan," Watson said. "We appreciate our stakeholders for sharing their time and candid viewpoints."

Community members were asked to give input on three areas: student achievement, safety and security and communications. Some feedback was positive, but most faculty and staff used the forum to voice concerns.

At a Nov. 20 forum held at Creeks Middle School, a majority of the roughly 50 district faculty and staff in attendance said student achievement was being hampered by differentiated instruction and inconsistencies across district schools.

Some argued the negative effect on test scores makes students less competitive when pursuing post-secondary opportunities. Wunsche Academy Principal Bob Thompson addressed this concern at a special meeting of the district board of trustees on Jan. 8. He said resources for the school's specialized career pathways will be spread throughout the district beginning in the 2015-16 school year.

Other district employees voiced concerns over plummeting literacy rates. Faculty and staff said the ISD suffered from a lack of accountability at the administrative level and expressed concerns over students at lower grade levels sharing classes with honors students. They also said they were concerned over discrepancies in grading methods.

In terms of security, some attendees at the forum called district security "incompetent" and were worried that administration and personnel were often not on the same page. Other employees expressed unhappiness over the district's inability to provide adequate transportation for students. The administration was characterized as "top heavy" by several employees.

Some attendees were also critical of the district's communications efforts, saying administration members were afraid of parents and too many were not listening to the community or to the concerns of faculty.

The consultants concluded that many topics discussed in the sessions warrant additional investigation and evaluation before new policies or decisions were made by the ISD.