A special Burbank School Board meeting was held recently at City Hall and over the course of more than three hours, Dr. Matt Hill spoke about the Study Session on the BUSD District-Wide Goals for 2022 through 2023.
Members of the school board asked Hill many questions about the goals, which are four.
The first goal is that students who want to attend college are ready and that also includes special education.
Every board member was in accord on this point and said there needs to be an equitable education for every and all students.
One individual addressed the school board and spoke about how music and playing an instrument can add to a person’s life.
It was suggested that even something like playing the ukulele can be helpful.
It was also noted that since the SAT is not being used by every college and university, the essay portion is even more critical in getting accepted to a four-year school.
For those who are not going to attend a four-year college or university, a junior college is also an option.
One board member said that Los Angeles Valley College has seen a drop of 20 percent in enrollment which of course is a bad trend.
The second goal is that students be physically, emotionally and intellectually healthy for the school year.
With COVID-19 having been around since March 2020, many students have missed significant time in the classroom.
As a result, their social skills have also taken a hit and not being able to sit in a classroom and interact with friends and the teacher has had a deleterious effect for some.
The third goal Hill brought up is the need to recruit and retain highly qualified employees.
In the best-case scenario, these additions would hopefully add diversity in the classroom and would create better connections with the students.
Hill’s fourth and final point is to maintain an effective and efficient operation.
An agenda item to renew Hill’s contract was taken off the agenda and will be added again in July.
