World Café

Summary Report
Warsaw Community Schools

Prepared:
April  2011
by
Transformation  Systems,  Ltd.
49-­‐C  Creekside  View  Drive,  Ashville,  NC  28804
Phone:  (315)  672-­‐3305
Warsaw Community Schools World Café Summary Report

Question 1:
What qualities and skills would you like our graduates to thank us for as they leave our school?
✤ Verbatim examples of responses

Feeling cared for and supported (7%)

✤ With the feeling that every student has
value and treat all students as individuals
✤ Being encouraged and mentored
✤ Inspiring me
✤ Caring about our future

Being respectful and caring of other (9%) Miscellaneous Responses (2%)

✤ Helping be accepting/welcoming of diversity of all kinds
✤ For learning to think of others needs before myself Life skills essential to succeed in the 21st century (40%)
✤
✤
Being involved in community
Respect - for self, others, cultures, religions
2% ✤ Independent learners and problem solvers

9% 7%
✤ Open-minded/more global in thinking ✤ Ability to think creatively and know how to
apply what they know
✤ Adaptability - changing world, technology, info
40% ✤ Taking initiative
Text
Ability to communicate and collaborate effectively (12%) 12% ✤ Develop new skills – synthesizing, old info add
new info to create a new idea
✤ Establish relationships ✤ Critical thinking in all facets of life
✤ Ability to voice your own opinion ✤ Being motivated to learn, keep learning your
✤ Strong communicators - function as part of a team 30% whole life
✤ Active listener and be able to dialogue in order to ✤ Self-directed to understand they are capable
communicate thoughts and ideas and can achieve their goals
✤ Confidence - having the confidence to be able to
communicate verbally to groups/team

Being prepared for college and careers (30%)

✤ Having opportunities for different job skills and have an
understanding of a variety of employment
✤ Preparing me for college - expectations, priorities, how to study
✤ Good writing, technical, & math skills
✤ Helping me embrace technology and be prepared for the next 40%
level of education or life skills 30%
✤ Organizational skills 12%
9%
7%
2%

© Transformation Systems, Ltd.

Warsaw Community Schools World Café Summary Report

Question 2:
What changes in practice would our district need to make in order to help students become the graduates you describe?
✤ Verbatim examples of responses

Enhanced curriculum (38%)

✤ Integrate subject areas and curriculum into more connected lesson topics
Structure of school calendar and schedules(4%) ✤ More project based instruction - students become more teacher based
✤ Block scheduling to allow more depth of learning ✤ Inquiry base learning – labs
✤ Consider changes/modifications in school calendar and the ✤ Encourage speech and debate skills to develop communication skills
school day ✤ Better, more diverse classes (keyboarding, science, technology,
engineering, mathematics) throughout
✤ Test less and teaching time more so we can be deep thinkers
Miscellaneous instead of superficial learners
Broader extra-curricular program (5%) ✤ Foreign language at a younger age

✤ Music programs in elem early - unique music programs – Responses (3%) ✤ Nutrition education integrated into other subjects
✤ Students and teachers get into the field more! (beyond the
specialization
classroom)
✤ Develop strong WCHS intramural team – still get
competitions, still get team feeling 3%
38%
5% 4%
Keeping up with technology(7%)
✤ Every building in WCS must be wireless to keep up with other 7% Valuable real life learning (23%)
systems ✤ More “life and careers” type learning K-12
✤ 1 to 1 computers for students ✤ Peer mentoring/learning communities to
7%
✤ Online opportunities for core classes to allow for more course
flexibility during academic year 13% 23% build connections to each other
✤ Qualities - Self sufficient (skills); Productive
member of society.
✤ Get kids involved in creating their own
opportunities
Greater community involvement(7%) ✤ Giving choices to teach accountability
✤ Encourage more parent involvement -help train and
educate parents on what they can do to help their
students at home - this causes consistency between Effective faculty and staff (13%)
home and school
✤ Provide a wide range of opportunities (flexible times, ✤ Having passionate motivated teachers in the areas they work
flexible skills) initiated by the school to the parents/ ✤ Professional development (meaningful) to help with technology and other needs 38%

community (critical thinking) 23%

✤ Sense of community - develop service learning projects ✤ Teacher professional - not teaching to the test 13%
✤ More transparent in how we hold our employees accountable 7%
which are related to the subject 7%
✤ Educators need more time to collaborate and work together for more
5%
uniformity within the school - elem to middle to high - school-wide uniformity 4%
3%

© Transformation Systems, Ltd.

Warsaw Community Schools World Café Summary Report

Question 3:
What do you really value about our school that you would not want to see change as we plan our future?
✤ Verbatim examples of responses

Variety in enrichment, extra-curricular, and real -life learning opportunities (23%)

✤ Opportunities (co-op, internships) going out experiencing jobs, helping for future, real world
experiencing
✤ Strong extra-curricular activities – band, color guard, swim, cross country, small group within big school
✤ Value of culture – plays, art shows
✤ Field trips: exploring life & seeing how things work in the real world. (applied learning – experiencing
education out of the book)

Strong sense of community where members care and are involved (24%) Dedicated faculty and staff (17%)
✤ Feeling involved ✤ School staff are truly invested in students by teaching
✤ Sense of community - pride in our schools, people in life lessons and making a one-on-one connection
Warsaw know each other, small-town feel 23% ✤ Administration - teachers who devote their lives to
✤ A culture of caring & helping each other, outreach, giving check and care about students
back ✤ Teachers passionate about their jobs
✤ Our community members seem to be very supportive of
our schools, grants, academics and overall education. 24% 17% ✤ The quality of people, teachers, administrators,
custodians, secretaries, everyone
✤ Keep: community involvement – opportunity to discuss and
collaborate

2% 16%
Challenging academic program (16%)
Miscellaneous Responses (2%)
4% 6% ✤ Strong foundations in reading/math
8% ✤ Great diversity in courses to develop strengths
✤ The Honors program
Keeping up with technology(4%) ✤ Interventions/enrichment opportunity for kids
✤ Cutting edge technology - always current and looking to the future
✤ Technology – truly the important part of learning “classroom of
today”
Physical environment - facilities, class size, other resources(8%)
Commitment to excellence (6%) ✤ Quality of school buildings = excellent
✤ Although large school district, class sizes have remained 24%
✤ Transparency in our change – involve 23%
community and all stakeholders smaller, more personal
17%
✤ Willingness to innovate and change ✤ Transportation maintained- no charge, Extra curricular 16%
✤ Always striving for commitment to 8%
excellence for our students 6%
4%
2%

© Transformation Systems, Ltd.

Warsaw Community Schools World Café Summary Report

Question 4a:
What do you believe will be our greatest challenges, as a community, in the coming 3-5 years?
✤ Verbatim examples of responses

Diversifying instructional strategies and approaches(14%)

Community Composition(15%)
✤ Growth in community
✤ Diversity - ethnic, socioeconomic
✤ Fighting student flight - our best and brightest need to want to
choose to return to Warsaw rather than leave
✤ Challenges: jobs, economics, creating an environment conducive to
attract the then professionals to come back and live in our
community, keeping orthopedic companies in our community
✤ The growing needs of our students- teachers and staff are having to take on more
responsibility for teaching students life skills in addition to academics, even though
academic standards will be raised, too.
✤ Working with a generation of learners who are so different in philosophy, culture, and
approach to life from their older teachers.
✤ The importance of preparing a generation for the future
Rapid pace of technological advances(13%)
✤ How do we keep up with technology - training, equipment
✤ Challenge kids in technology, but don’t let lower students lose

15% 14% basic learning skills - bridge the gap

✤ Online opportunities both pro and con
Social factors (20%)
✤ Drugs in the community 13%
✤ Teenage pregnancy/abortion 20% External mandates - state and local(7%)
✤ Growing % of working teens lead to school dropouts and
concentration at school 7% ✤ Standardized tests - mandated improvements
✤ Family involvement/support - lack of parental supervision, ✤ State law changes
involvement - community involvement - “it takes a village” 5% ✤ Do the goals of our community match expectations
✤ Cyber bullying - how do we get ahead of this potential 25%
problem and make students aware of how hurtful and 1%
harmful this can be
Retention and recruitment of effective administrators
Economic factors(25%) Miscellaneous and teachers(5%)
✤ Financial restrictions/school funding Responses (1%) ✤ Impact of changing leadership
✤ Taxes that are increased ✤ Challenge -Recruiting talented staff
✤ Continuing high rate of unemployment ✤ Finding ways to support and encourage teachers,
✤ Gas prices, economy - food, field trips, sports, projects so that we can keep the good ones! 25%
✤ Loss of finances - local, state, federal money - could lead to 20%
specials being cut/teachers 15%
✤ Financial/money that will be necessary to attract the highly 14%
13%
effective educators to stay in education
7%
5%
1%

© Transformation Systems, Ltd.

Warsaw Community Schools World Café Summary Report

Question 4b:
How might we overcome those challenges?
✤ Verbatim examples of responses

Explore options to address financial concerns(7%)

✤ Alternatives to using gas – riding a bike, walking, carpool
✤ Unemployment – decrease the amount of $ in paycheck instead of un-employing
Maintain focus and commitment to change(8%) ✤ Need to collaborate more with the “big” companies
✤ Need to be open to change to be successful
✤ Change view of complacency - everyone involved Increase support and training of staff(6%)
✤ Forward-thinking leaders
✤ Overcome by having reading workshops for teachers,
keeping teachers updated/workshop training
Keep up with technology (9%) ✤ Professional learning communities are needed
✤ Open computer labs to meet needs of these students who
don’t have computer access
✤ Give teachers more training in technology - more than an hour
8% 7% 6% Miscellaneous Responses (1%)
here and there
✤ Technology and keeping up: wireless town, technology classes,
advance technology, keeping some of the original things, one-
9% 1% Provide greater opportunities for experiential, real life learning(23%)
to-one initiative ✤ Team projects
9% ✤ Have students teach students
23% ✤ Guest speakers and experts in subjects
Expand programs that address and support social issues (9%) ✤ Clubs for different skills
✤ Support ideas that are “outside the box”
✤ The drug deals - better, longer drug awareness programs 18% ✤ Instilling in kids a desire for excellence and attention to
✤ Teen Pregnancy – need stronger DARE/sex ed awareness
during MS / HS 18% detail and pride in the work you do
✤ Partnering with local churches, colleges could also provide the
manpower necessary to engage these students and help them
learn.
Strengthen relationships and values within the community (18%)
✤ Embrace diversity and experience other cultures
Continue developing a comprehensive, challenging program (18%) ✤ We have to continue to respect others with different languages and
✤ Foreign languages earlier abilities and disabilities
✤ Teach to all learning types auditory, sensory, kinesthetic ✤ Volunteer community service with goal of creating a bond between 23%
✤ Resources to back up and support initiatives school and community 18%
✤ Meet needs of all students by non-traditional methods ✤ Overcome: promoting awareness, through open forums, marketing ideas 18%
9%
✤ Balanced school day/schedule - need more time in classroom in the community, parent workshops led by parents and educators,
9%
but need to make sure kids/teachers have time away so they through research, appropriate planning, parent/community meetings
8%
can be productive in class (should provide babysitting) 7%
6%
1%

© Transformation Systems, Ltd.