What's Your Wish List for Avon Public Schools?

Parents and Avon Public Schools administrators, teachers, parents and Board of Education members named intramurals, preparing students for getting jobs, fostering positive school culture Wednesday as some of the ideas and hopes for future district strategic planning.

Richard Sugarman, founding president of The Connecticut Forum, a non-profit that helps organize panel discussions and does community outreach in the state, facilitated the discussion.

There will be two more public input sessions, one on Jan. 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Avon High School auditorium and the last on Jan. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Selectmen's Chambers in Town Hall, Building One.

The meetings will be structured the same as Wednesday's public input session, so Sugarman and administrators are hoping for new faces in the crowd. Mala said he encourages parents to come.

Parents are also invited to answer a Survey Monkey questionaire on the school district website that touches on similar themes.

Mala said he hopes that the school board will vote on a strategic plan by May, but the process is only conceptual at this point.

Here's what some in attendance had to say at the meeting:

• Avon parent Karen Cianci said she had concerns that school culture was becoming to0 competitive.
  
  "Competition can have a child in the fight or flight response," Cianci said.

• Avon parent Laura Young said she feels Avon as a town is polarized between groups, whether it be political parties, the Avon Taypayers Association and the parents, et cetera.
  
  "I wish we could all come together," Young said.

• "We want to foster leaders," said Avon parent Gwen Hahn, who is involved in Avon Dollars for Scholars.  “It doesn’t mean you’re going to be a CEO of the company, but you’re going to be a leader in what you define as important."

• Avon parent Don Gunn talked about teaching students to understand why they are going to school and finding the best way to apply "limited resources."

• "I think schools should favor human interaction over technology," Avon parent Susan Reitano Davey, who is involved in Concerned Citizens for Avon, said. 

• "Intramurals, intramurals, intramurals after school," Avon Board of Education member Katharine Zirolli (R) said.

• Avon parent Linda Merlin requested uniformity among similar classes and more fairness in the grading systems.

• A few parents also suggested that the schools work more closely with area businesses to set up local internships for students. There was also a desire for more preparation for the working world.