First, Dr. Robert (Bob) McDowell, Superintendent

of Hastings Public Schools,

expects to have kids back in

school this fall. At the time of this writing, he was awaiting

Governor Tim Walz’s decision

regarding schools, which was anticipated to be by July 27.

Bob wasn’t sure if all kids

would be physically back in school or if some of them would be learning remotely. Stay tuned.

Despite COVID-19, he

thinks this is a great time to be in education. Although the pandemic has brought challenges, he sees opportunities in doing things differently.

He believes these opportunities will _nd better ways to instruct kids and to help them build better relationships.

In the past, we’ve seen full

pages of honor-roll students. When asked if that was a sign

of grade in_ation or an accurate depiction of how smart Hastings kids were, Bob said

he wouldn’t be able to correlate

grade in_ation with the number

of names on an honor roll. He

said several other factors are

included in that designation.

Of course, he just started July

1, so he isn’t as familiar with the intricacies of Hastings yet, to be fair.

Bob said there’s “always a

balance between comfort and stretch” when teachers deal with students. A student’s age and level of development are

considerations for how to respond in an appropriate way to help students with their critical thinking skills.

For instance, if a student asks a teacher a question and the teacher believes the student

could put more effort in discovering the answer, then not

answering the question right away may be appropriate, depending on the considerations. However, if the teacher never

intended to answer the question, that would be unacceptable and could become an administrative issue.

He said he views education

on a continuum between students needing “an immense amount of support all the way to those students needing an immense amount of challenge.”

The trick is to _nd opportunities that match the age and development level of each

child.

Bob stated, “The public

school system is mandated to

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[email protected] provide free and fair education to all students regardless of any other factors.” He thinks this is what is meant by inclusion.

He said there is a difference between equal and fair. Each student should be able to have an equitable experience.

For example, if one student walks through the door and can perform well in classes and doesn’t need extra support, then that student is served according to where he or she is at.

If another student walks through the door and struggles with math, for instance, he or she should get as much intervention as possible to be able to rise to the level of the one who doesn’t need help.

Bob believes the question is “How do we support students so they have a level playing _eld?”

playing _eld?”

He said he has He said he has seen cases in which struggling students were put into an advanced class where they did very well, but this result doesn’t always occur.

Therefore, “if a direction isn’t working, then change the direction.” He believes it’s important to be proactive as well and not only wait for a situation to present itself.

When asked what his de_nition of diversity is, he replied that diversity has many facets: socioeconomic, English-speaking vs. non-English- speaking, skin color, and heritage, to name a few. He seeks to acknowledge that diversity. diversity. When asked about teaching social issues in a classroom outside of an era in a history class, Bob said the “administrative team needs to know and understand the parameters of what a teacher does in the classroom.” They need to be knowledgeable of applicable statutes, for one.

And a teacher needs to teach within the scope of the subject being taught in the classroom. “A teacher does not have the freedom to bring in bias.”

If this happens, the administration needs to provide instruction on bias and further professional development for that teacher.

Bob always “assumes positive intent and reacts to what needs to be addressed.”

He said everyone needs to be open to conversations, if necessary. Of course, the main goal is to _nd

out “how best to go about what’s needed for the best learning and educational opportunity for the students.”

As Bob said, in the end, we’re all lifelong learners.

learners.