Ford Elementary student receives special visit from Superintendent Williams

When Taylor Butler a fifth grader from Ford Elementary School emailed Dr. Creg Williams she never thought that he would read it. But on Wednesday, May 3rd, Taylor received the shock of her life when the Superintendent of Schools visited Taylor during her 3rd period gym class. “I’m looking for Taylor Butler,” said Superintendent Williams as he walked into Taylor’s class. “She emailed me about her concerns and I want to hear all of them.” Taylor emailed Dr. Williams on March 28, concerning Open Court and the amount of writing she’s doing on a weekly basis. “I just think it’s too much writing, said Taylor.” “We have to read books and then we have to remember what we read and then summarize them. I think we should cut back on this Open Court and get back to the basics.”

During the 30 minute meeting with Taylor and her classmates, Dr. Williams realized that Taylor was actually talking about teachers using a stem/template to prepare students for the Communication Arts Missouri Assessment Program. Each week, students read a number of stories and answer questions in the MAP like format, which helps them with the constructed response section of the test. “I am excited that you are reading stories,” said the Superintendent. “I can’t ask you to stop reading the stories, but what I can do is compromise with you. How about if I evaluate how many stories you are reading at school, and maybe we can ask you to read some of them at home.”

The students agreed with Dr. Williams’ suggestion and he promised to make a return visit next school year to see how they were doing.

As for Taylor, she says that she will never forget when the Superintendent of Schools visited her classroom.