by Wayne Lee Reporter/Photographer
The Eagle Point School District Board of Directors held a special study session July 23 to work with Mike Scott, a certified specialist who travels throughout the state working with various school districts to help them set goals and improve their performance. Present for the work session were Jim Helmer, the new district superintendent, all six board members and Jen Durham, the Director of Human Resources.
Together they spent four and a half hours covering such topics as The Power of the Board/Superintendent Team, Roles and Responsibilities of the Board/Superintendent, Team Goals for 26-27, Superintend Evaluation, Working Agreements and Board Agenda Planning for 2026-27.
Scott began by asking the board, “What would you describe as your pride points for the 25-26 school year?” The consensus was that the board works well together. “We’re all board members who are equal,” said Josh Graves. “The chair and vice-chair titles rotate, but we do it as a team.” Cheri Stritenberg added, “When it comes to a crisis, this board knows how to pull together.” Emily McIntyre pointed to making great hires. “Through reputation and recruitment, we’re getting quality people. This team is action oriented.”
Another topic was roles and responsibilities with Scott pointing out, “The board is the what and the superintendent is the how.” In other words, the board is elected not to manage but to provide direction through vision and goals. “We are a conduit to the community,” said Graves. “Parents feel more comfortable talking to us rather than the school itself,” adding, “sometimes they just want to know they’re being heard.”
The group then broke up into groups of three to work on four shared goals which were to “cultivate a high-performance district culture of trust, accountability and service.” The second goal was to “accelerate student achievement through instructional excellence,” while “inspire and deepen family and student engagement,” was the third goal. The final goal was to, “optimize operations, fiscal health and community trust.”
Each three-person team rotated around the room with each writing their thoughts on the four topics as it pertains to the superintendent and the board itself. Part of the discussion included a question from Graves who asked, “How do we fit in teaching life skills such as using a tape measure, etc., that’s not part of state testing?”
Using Graves’ example, Scott replied, “Use something as simple as a tape measure to establish what is one and one eighth inches which is step one. Then ask them to add that to two and three quarter inches, which is step two. Then ask for the final total which is step three. If students master these skills, the state test will take care of itself.”
Scott closed by stating how well this board communicated and worked together, which he said was a rare commodity among all the school boards he has worked with, adding, “This board/superintendent relationship is poised to accomplish great things.”
The board will hold its own work session on Aug. 7 in preparation for the coming school year.
