Superintendent’s Chat

Richard McClements, Shonto Preparatory School

About a year and a half ago, I was asked to develop a silhouette of where I saw Shonto Preparatory School in ten years. This is what I saw in my “crystal ball:”

1. We will have a student enrollment approaching 2000 students.

2. We will need a new high school that will house 350 students and a new middle school that will house 400 students.

3. The Chugach model based upon academic levels and mastery of learning standards will be fully implemented.

4. Our technology will be “state of the art.”

5. Our dorms will be filled to capacity. The current high school will be reclaimed for this purpose

6. 1/3 of middle and high school students will stay after school and take a late bus.

7. We will have to triple our bus fleet and build a garage to service it.

8. Shonto will be the “cultural center” of the Navajo Nation.

9. The population of the greater Shonto area will grow bringing new services and shopping to the area.

10. The dream of having Shonto students involved in web development for business will be increasing annually.

11. Parents will be actively involved in their schools and in their children’s educational programs.

12. Student average daily attendance will be 98%.

13. We will have constant visitations from other districts across the country.

14. We will have our pick of the very best in all personnel areas.

15. Our schools will provide a quality adult education program.

16. We will have in place a program beginning at age 2 to prepare all children to enter kindergarten with skills in literacy, math, and social skills.

17. We will have to have twice the number of housing units.

18. We will need one more cafeteria.

19. Shonto will pay premium salaries.

20. Shonto will be a gentle place with happy students and contented staff.

21. There will be no need for any additional administrators.

22. We will run a daily helicopter shuttle to Flagstaff as part of our student career program.

23. Cultural enrichments will be a source of considerable pride as our students put on programs in the arts - i.e.- symphony orchestra.

24. We will have earned the Malcolmb Baldrige award and bring an additional $2million a year into the district.

25. 75% of our graduates will complete college.

26. Every student will have a laptop computer.

27. Every Shonto high school junior will spend a semester in a foreign nation being fully immersed in the language and culture that he or she is studying.

28. We will have a covered swimming pool on campus.

29. We will admit 50 students per year from foreign nations and charge a tuition of $20,000 a year.

30. All of the 30 elements of a world-class school district will be in place.

31. Our students will exhibit healthy life styles and they will abandon destructive behaviors.

32. We will have an aggressive program in place to advance all employees at least one academic level.

33. The Navajo Nation will be proud of the accomplishments of the Shonto schools.

34. Maintenance staff will work with students on a daily basis.

35. Every student will contribute to improving the quality of life on campus, in his chapter, and on the Navajo Nation.

36. The student, not the teacher, will be responsible for his own learning.

37. We will offer all students the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree while still in high school.

38. We will have a radio/broadcasting station on campus to tape learnings, professional development, board meetings, and student exhibitions.

39. Our high school graduates will enter any university or college as a sophomore and will have their choice to attend any college.

40. We will have substantially upgraded the housing units for all employees.

41. The Navajo Nation will mandate that all schools on the Reservation model the academic program used by our district.

42. The President of the United States will have visited Shonto Prep.

43. Every lesson for every standard will be video-taped and available to any student or parent as a learning/refresher tool.

44. Students from Chinle, Window Rock, Ganado, and other distant locations on the Reservation will stay in our dorms and attend our schools.

45. People everywhere will know that Navajo students can compete academically with students anywhere in the world.

46. Kaibeto and Tonalea will give up their independent status and merge with the Shonto schools.

47. We will run a Saturday bus shuttle for staff and students who wish to go shopping in Flagstaff.

48. Each graduating senior will receive a $20,000 college scholarship.

49. There will be few disciplinary because far more students will find success in school.

50. The name, “Shonto Preparatory Schools” will be synonymous with excellence.

Yes, these are lofty goals, but it is my dream that almost all be realized.