On Wednesday evening, Aug. 17, the five members of the Richfield
Springs Board of Education, along with Superintendent Robert Barraco,
participated in a goal setting workshop conducted by Ray O’Connell of
SUNY Albany.
O’Connell is a consultant for the Capital Area School Develop Association and assists boards of education throughout the state.
“Prior to the beginning of the school year, it is our board’s
intention to define our roles and set realistic goals for the school
year,” Barraco said. “Ray presents the characteristics of high
performing teams and school boards and assists our team of five board
members in recognizing their strengths and weaknesses as individuals
and a group and helps us as school leaders set a specific profile for
the coming year. Well functioning boards of education are united and
well defined in their operating procedures.”
For Board of Education Vice President Dr. Mary Margaret Snyder, the
time spent with O’Connell was very beneficial. “It was an extremely
helpful session,” Snyder said. “We learned how we could work more
effectively as a board and how we can involve the community more in our
discussions and decisions that we make as a board.”
On Thursday, O’Connell will return and meet with the RSCS
administrative team along with related staff persons in charge of
specific departments within the school. He will discuss the concept of
team building and how to create a team atmosphere within departments.
“Our underlying purpose for these two sessions with O’Connell is to
create a unified and improved working relationship within the various
leadership teams in the school,” said Barraco. “We are a school system
on the move and consultants like Ray O’Connell help us keep that
momentum going.”
Bruce Watson is a teacher at RSCS.
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