School Board seeks volunteers for improvement plan

COLUMBIA — With a goal to include the community in its five-year improvement effort, the Columbia School Board is seeking volunteers to apply for committees that will contribute to the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan.

Applications must be received by Thursday at the District Administration Building, 1818 W. Worley St.

The previous deadline for the committee was Aug. 28. More than 40 volunteers have been placed on committees, but Michelle Baumstark, the school-community programs coordinator for the district, said the district is looking for closer to 100 volunteers.

Five subcommittees will branch from a core steering committee to analyze data and take community interest into account for each goal area, according to the application, which is available on the district's Web site. From these goals, the committee will outline objectives for the next five years.

“Typically, we always want to include the community in the plans for the district, and we want to encourage people to volunteer,” Baumstark said.

The subcommittees cover the following: student performance; governance; highly qualified staff; parent and community involvement; and facilities, instructional resources and support.

After the board makes its final selection from the applicants, committees will meet multiple times a month from September through December.