World Café
Summary Report

Warsaw Community Schools

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                                                                                                                       
 
Prepared:  
April  2011  
by  
 

Transformation  Systems,  Ltd.  

49-­‐C  Creekside  View  Drive,  Ashville,  NC  28804  
Phone:  (315)  672-­‐3305  
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction  and  Background  
 
The  Warsaw  Community  Schools  (WCS)  has  embarked  upon  a  Strategic  Planning  Initiative  to  
plan  for  the  long-­‐term  future  and  success  of  the  district.    As  part  of  the  process,  the  district  held  
a  series  of  World  Cafés  on  April  20,  2011.    The  purpose  of  the  World  Café  was  to  engage  
students,  staff,  and  parents  in  conversations,  providing  them  an  opportunity  to  share  their  
thoughts  on  what  WCS  should  strive  to  achieve,  what  adjustments  may  be  needed,  what  the  
community  really  values,    and  what  challenges  may  lie  in  the  future.  
 
Approximately  218  individuals  (staff,  parents,  and  community  members)  attended  the  World  
Cafés  and  they  discussed  four  questions:  
 
 What  qualities  and  skills  would  you  like  our  graduates  to  thank  us  for  as  they  leave  
our  school  district?  
 What  changes  in  practice  would  our  district  need  to  make  in  order  to  help  students  
become  the  graduates  you  just  described?  
 What  do  you  really  value  about  our  schools  that  you  would  not  want  to  see  change  
as  we  plan  our  future?  
 What  do  you  believe  will  be  our  greatest  challenges,  as  a  community,  in  the  coming  
3-­‐5  years?  How  might  we  overcome  those  challenges?  
 
It  is  important  to  recognize  that  although  218  individuals  attended,  each  person  had  the  
opportunity  to  give  multiple  responses  to  each  question.    Notes  recorded  on  tabletop  and  chart  
paper  were  also  included  in  the  analysis  of  the  responses.    
 
In  addition  to  the  World  Café,  community  members  were  given  an  opportunity  to  provide  
feedback  through  an  online  survey.    A  total  of  16  respondents  generated  56  comments.  These  
were  incorporated  with  the  café  data.  
 
Major  themes  emerged  in  the  responses  to  each  question,  and  they,  along  with  miscellaneous  
responses  are  reported  in  the  summary  of  findings.  Themes  are  presented  in  order  of  
magnitude.    Rounding  is  used  in  the  display  of  percentages,  so  totals  may  fall  within  +/-­‐  one  (1)  
percent  of  100.  
 
Summary  of  Findings  
 
Question  one  asked  participants  what  qualities  and  skills  they  thought  the  students  should  
thank  WCS  for  as  they  graduate.    Five  (5)  themes  emerged  from  a  total  of  794  responses.  Two  
(2)  percent  of  the  total  number  of  responses  was  not  categorized  into  a  theme.  
 
Life  skills  essential  to  succeed  in  the  21st  century     40%    
Being  prepared  for  college  and  careers     30%  
Ability  to  communicate  and  collaborate  effectively   12%  
Being  respectful  and  caring  of  others      9%  
Feeling  cared  for  and  supported      7%  
 
Miscellaneous  Responses      2%  

    2  
  
Some  verbatim  examples  of  the  responses  to  each  question  follow.  
 
Life  skills  essential  to  succeed  in  the  21st  century  (40%)  
 Independent  learners  and  problem  solvers  
 Ability  to  think  creatively  and  know  how  to  apply  what  they  know    
 Adaptability  -­‐  changing  world,  technology,  info  
 Taking  initiative    
 Develop  new  skills  –  synthesizing,  old  info  add  new  info  to  create  a  new  idea    
 Critical  thinking  in  all  facets  of  life  
 Being  motivated  to  learn,  keep  learning  your  whole  life  
 Self-­‐directed  to  understand  they  are  capable  and  can  achieve  their  goals  
 
Being  prepared  for  college  and  careers  (30%)  
 Having  opportunities  for  different  job  skills  and  have  an  understanding  of  a  variety  of  
employment  
 Preparing  me  for  college  -­‐  expectations,  priorities,  how  to  study  
 Good  writing,  technical,  &  math  skills  
 Helping  me  embrace  technology  and  be  prepared  for  the  next  level  of  education  or  life  
skills  
 Organizational  skills  
 
Ability  to  communicate  and  collaborate  effectively  (12%)  
 Establish  relationships  
 Ability  to  voice  your  own  opinion  
 Strong  communicators  -­‐  function  as  part  of  a  team  
 Active  listener  and  be  able  to  dialogue  in  order  to  communicate  thoughts  and  ideas  
 Confidence  -­‐  having  the  confidence  to  be  able  to  communicate  verbally  to  groups/team  
 
Being  respectful  and  caring  of  others  (9%)  
 Helping  be  accepting/welcoming  of  diversity  of  all  kinds  
 For  learning  to  think  of  others  needs  before  myself  
 Being  involved  in  community  
 Respect  -­‐  for  self,  others,  cultures,  religions  
 Open-­‐minded/more  global  in  thinking  
 
Feeling  cared  for  and  supported  (7%)  
 With  the  feeling  that  every  student  has  value  and  treat  all  students  as  individuals  
 Being  encouraged  and  mentored    
 Inspiring  me  
 Caring  about  our  future  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

    3  
Question  two  asked  participants  what  changes  in  practice  would  need  to  be  brought  about  in  
order  to  achieve  those  things  discussed  in  question  one.      There  were  a  total  of  652  responses  
recorded  for  this  question.    Seven  (7)  themes  emerged  and  three  (3)  percent  of  the  total  
responses  were  not  categorized  into  a  theme.    
 
Enhanced  curriculum    38%    
Valuable  real  life  learning    23%  
Effective  faculty  and  staff    13%  
Greater  community  involvement        7%  
Keeping  up  with  technology                                    7%  
Broader  extra-­‐curricular  program        5%  
Structure  of  school  calendar  and  schedules        4%  
 
Miscellaneous  Responses        3%  
 
Some  verbatim  examples  of  the  responses  to  each  question  follow.  
 
Enhanced  curriculum  (38%)  
 Integrate  subject  areas  and  curriculum  into  more  connected  lesson  topics  
 More  project  based  instruction  -­‐  students  become  more  teacher  based  
 Inquiry  base  learning  –  labs  
 Encourage  speech  and  debate  skills  to  develop  communication  skills  
 Better,  more  diverse  classes  (keyboarding,  science,  technology,  engineering,  
mathematics)  throughout  
 Test  less  and  teaching  time  more  so  we  can  be  deep  thinkers  instead  of  superficial  
learners  
 Foreign  language  at  a  younger  age  
 Nutrition  education  integrated  into  other  subjects  
 Students  and  teachers  get  into  the  field  more!  (beyond  the  classroom)  
 
Valuable  real  life  learning  (23%)  
 More  “life  and  careers”  type  learning  K-­‐12  
 Peer  mentoring/learning  communities  to  build  connections  to  each  other  
 Qualities  -­‐  Self  sufficient  (skills);  Productive  member  of  society.    
 Get  kids  involved  in  creating  their  own  opportunities  
 Giving  choices  to  teach  accountability  
 
Effective  faculty  and  staff  (13%)  
 Having  passionate  motivated  teachers  in  the  areas  they  work  
 Professional  development  (meaningful)  to  help  with  technology  and  other  needs  (critical  
thinking)  
 Teacher  professional  -­‐  not  teaching  to  the  test  
 More  transparent  in  how  we  hold  our  employees  accountable  
 Educators  need  more  time  to  collaborate  and  work  together  for  more  uniformity  within  
the  school  -­‐  elem  to    middle  to  high  -­‐  school-­‐wide  uniformity  
 
 
 

    4  
Greater  community  involvement  (7%)  
 Encourage  more  parent  involvement  -­‐help  train  and  educate  parents  on  what  they  can  
do  to  help  their  students  at  home  -­‐  this  causes  consistency  between  home  and  school  
 Provide  a  wide  range  of  opportunities  (flexible  times,  flexible  skills)  initiated  by  the  
school  to  the  parents/community  
 Sense  of  community  -­‐  develop  service  learning  projects  which  are  related  to  the  subject  
 
Keeping  up  with  technology  (7%)  
 Every  building  in  WCS  must  be  wireless  to  keep  up  with  other  systems  
 1  to  1  computers  for  students  
 Online  opportunities  for  core  classes  to  allow  for  more  course  flexibility  during  academic  
year  
 
Broader  extra-­‐curricular  program  (5%)  
 Music  programs  in  elem  early  -­‐  unique  music  programs  –  specialization  
 Develop  strong  WCHS  intramural  team  –  still  get  competitions,  still  get  team  feeling  
 
Structure  of  school  calendar  and  schedules  (4%)  
 Block  scheduling  to  allow  more  depth  of  learning  
 Consider  changes/modifications  in  school  calendar  and  the  school  day  
 

    5  
  
Question  three  asked  participants  what  they  really  value  about  WCS  that  they  would  not  want  
to  see  changed  as  plans  for  the  future  are  made.  Seven  (7)  themes  emerged  from  a  total  of  684  
responses.  Two  (2)  percent  of  all  the  responses  were  not  categorized  into  a  theme.  
 
Strong  sense  of  community  where  members  care  and  are  involved      24%    
Variety  in  enrichment,  extra-­‐curricular,  and  real-­‐life  learning  opportunities    23%  
Dedicated  faculty  and  staff    17%  
Challenging  academic  program    16%  
Physical  environment  –  facilities,  class  size,  other  resources        8%  
Commitment  to  excellence        6%  
Keeping  up  with  technology        4%  
 
Miscellaneous  Responses        2%  
 
Some  verbatim  examples  of  the  responses  to  each  question  follow.  
 
Strong  sense  of  community  where  members  care  and  are  involved  (24%)  
 Feeling  involved    
 Sense  of  community  -­‐  pride  in  our  schools,  people  in  Warsaw  know  each  other,  small-­‐
town  feel    
 A  culture  of  caring  &  helping  each  other,  outreach,  giving  back    
 Our  community  members  seem  to  be  very  supportive  of  our  schools,  grants,  academics  
and  overall  education.    
 Keep:  community  involvement  –  opportunity  to  discuss  and  collaborate  
 
Variety  in  enrichment,  extra-­‐curricular,  and  real-­‐life  learning  opportunities  (23%)    
 Opportunities  (co-­‐op,  internships)  going  out  experiencing  jobs,  helping  for  future,  real  
world  experiencing  
 Strong  extra-­‐curricular  activities  –  band,  color  guard,  swim,  cross  country,  small  group  
within  big  school  
 Value  of  culture  –  plays,  art  shows  
 Field  trips:  exploring  life  &  seeing  how  things  work  in  the  real  world.    (applied  learning  –  
experiencing  education  out  of  the  book)      
 
Dedicated  and  qualified  faculty  and  staff  (17%)    
 School  staff  are  truly  invested  in  students  by  teaching  life  lessons  and  making  a  one-­‐on-­‐
one  connection  
 Administration  -­‐  teachers  who  devote  their  lives  to  check  and  care  about  students  
 Teachers  passionate  about  their  jobs  
 The  quality  of  people,  teachers,  administrators,  custodians,  secretaries,  everyone  
 
Challenging  academic  program  (16%)    
 Strong  foundations  in  reading/math  
 Great  diversity  in  courses  to  develop  strengths  
 The  Honors  program  
 Interventions/enrichment  opportunity  for  kids  
 

    6  
  
Physical  environment  –  facilities,  class  size,  other  resources  (8%)    
 Quality  of  school  buildings  =  excellent  
 Although  large  school  district,  class  sizes  have  remained  smaller,  more  personal  
 Transportation  maintained-­‐  no  charge,  Extra  curricular  
 
Commitment  to  excellence  (6%)    
 Transparency  in  our  change  –  involve  community  and  all  stakeholders  
 Willingness  to  innovate  and  change  
 Always  striving  for  commitment  to  excellence  for  our  students  
 
Keeping  up  with  technology  (4%)    
 Cutting  edge  technology  -­‐  always  current  and  looking  to  the  future  
 Technology  –  truly  the  important  part  of  learning    “classroom  of  today”  
 

    7  
  
Question  four  asked  participants  what  they  viewed  as  the  greatest  challenges,  as  a  community,  
in  the  coming  three  to  five  years,  and  how  those  challenges  could  be  overcome  as  plans  for  the  
future  are  made.      
 
Of  the  712  responses  recorded  for  this  question,  449  were  categorized  as  challenges  from  which  
seven  (7)  themes  emerged.  One  (1)  percent  of  all  the  responses  were  not  categorized  into  a  
theme.  An  analysis  of  responses  regarding  how  to  overcome  these  challenges  follows.  
 
Economic  factors        25%    
Social  factors    20%  
Community  composition    15%  
Diversifying  instructional  strategies  and  approaches    14%  
Rapid  pace  of  technological  advances    13%  
External  mandates  –  state  and  local        7%  
Retention  and  recruitment  of  effective  administrators  and  teachers        5%    
 
Miscellaneous  Responses        1%  
 
Some  verbatim  examples  of  the  responses  to  each  question  follow.  
 
Economic  factors  (25%)    
 Financial  restrictions/school  funding  
 Taxes  that  are  increased    
 Continuing  high  rate  of  unemployment  
 Gas  prices,  economy  -­‐  food,  field  trips,  sports,  projects    
 Loss  of  finances  -­‐  local,  state,  federal  money  -­‐  could  lead  to  specials  being  cut/teachers    
 Financial/money  that  will  be  necessary  to  attract  the  highly  effective  educators  to  stay  in  
education  
 
Social  factors  (20%)    
 Drugs  in  the  community  
 Teenage  pregnancy/abortion  
 Growing  %  of  working  teens  lead  to  school  dropouts  and  concentration  at  school  
 Family  involvement/support  -­‐  lack  of  parental  supervision,  involvement  -­‐  community  
involvement  -­‐  “it  takes  a  village”  
 Cyber  bullying  -­‐  how  do  we  get  ahead  of  this  potential  problem  and  make  students  
aware  of  how  hurtful  and  harmful  this  can  be  
 
Community  composition  (15%)    
 Growth  in  community    
 Diversity  -­‐  ethnic,  socioeconomic  
 Fighting  student  flight  -­‐  our  best  and  brightest  need  to  want  to  choose  to  return  to  
Warsaw  rather  than  leave    
 Challenges:  jobs,  economics,  creating  an  environment  conducive  to  attract  the  then  
professionals  to  come  back  and  live  in  our  community,  keeping  orthopedic  companies  in  
our  community  
 

    8  
  
 
Diversifying  instructional  strategies  and  approaches  (14%)    
 The  growing  needs  of  our  students-­‐  teachers  and  staff  are  having  to  take  on  more  
responsibility  for  teaching  students  life  skills  in  addition  to  academics,  even  though  
academic  standards  will  be  raised,  too.  
 Working  with  a  generation  of  learners  who  are  so  different  in  philosophy,  culture,  and  
approach  to  life  from  their  older  teachers.  
 The  importance  of  preparing  a  generation  for  the  future  
 
Rapid  pace  of  technological  advances  (13%)    
 How  do  we  keep  up  with  technology  -­‐  training,  equipment  
 Challenge  kids  in  technology,  but  don’t  let  lower  students  lose  basic  learning  skills  -­‐  
bridge  the  gap  
 Online  opportunities  both  pro  and  con  
 
External  mandates  –  state  and  local  (7%)    
 Standardized  tests  -­‐  mandated  improvements    
 State  law  changes  
 Do  the  goals  of  our  community  match  expectations  from  Indiana  and  US  Dept  of  Ed?    
 
Retention  and  recruitment  of  effective  administrators  and  teachers  (5%)    
 Impact  of  changing  leadership  
 Challenge  -­‐Recruiting  talented  staff  
 Finding  ways  to  support  and  encourage  teachers,  so  that  we  can  keep  the  good  ones!  
 

    9  
  
Of  the  712  total  responses  for  question  four,  263  of  the  comments  were  categorized  as  ways  to  
overcome  the  challenges  identified.    Eight  (8)  themes  emerged  and  one  (1)  percent  of  all  the  
responses  were  not  categorized  into  a  theme.  
 
Provide  greater  opportunities  for  experiential,  real  life  learning    23%  
Strengthen  relationships  and  values  within  the  community        18%    
Continue  developing  a  comprehensive,  challenging  program            18%    
Expand  programs  that  address  and  support  social  issues            9%    
Keep  up  with  technology            9%    
Maintain  focus  and  commitment  to  change              8%    
Explore  options  to  address  financial  concerns          7%  
Increase  support  and  training  of  staff              6%    
 
Miscellaneous  Responses        1%  
 
Some  verbatim  examples  of  the  responses  to  each  question  follow.  
 
Provide  greater  opportunities  for  experiential,  real  life  learning  (23%)    
 Team  projects  
 Have  students  teach  students  
 Guest  speakers  and  experts  in  subjects  
 Clubs  for  different  skills  
 Support  ideas  that  are  “outside  the  box”    
 Instilling  in  kids  a  desire  for  excellence  and  attention  to  detail  and  pride  in  the  work  you  
do  
 
Strengthen  relationships  and  values  within  the  community  (18%)    
 Embrace  diversity  and  experience  other  cultures    
 We  have  to  continue  to  respect  others  with  different  languages  and  abilities  and  
disabilities  
 Volunteer  community  service  with  goal  of  creating  a  bond  between  school  and  
community  
 Overcome:  promoting  awareness,  through  open  forums,  marketing  ideas  in  the  
community,  parent  workshops  led  by  parents  and  educators,  through  research,  
appropriate  planning,  parent/community  meetings  (should  provide  babysitting)  
 
Continue  developing  a  comprehensive,  challenging  program  (18%)    
 Foreign  languages  earlier    
 Teach  to  all  learning  types  auditory,  sensory,  kinesthetic  
 Resources  to  back  up  and  support  initiatives    
 Meet  needs  of  all  students  by  non-­‐traditional  methods  
 Balanced  school  day/schedule  -­‐  need  more  time  in  classroom  but  need  to  make  sure  
kids/teachers  have  time  away  so  they  can  be  productive  in  class  
 
 
 
 

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Expand  programs  that  address  and  support  social  issues  (9%)    
 The  drug  deals  -­‐  better,  longer  drug  awareness  programs  
 Teen  Pregnancy  –  need  stronger  DARE/sex  ed  awareness  during  MS  /  HS  
 Partnering  with  local  churches,  colleges  could  also  provide  the  manpower  necessary  to  
engage  these  students  and  help  them  learn.  
 
Keep  up  with  technology  (9%)    
 Open  computer  labs  to  meet  needs  of  these  students  who  don’t  have  computer  access  
 Give  teachers  more  training  in  technology  -­‐  more  than  an  hour  here  and  there  
 Technology  and  keeping  up:  wireless  town,  technology  classes,  advance  technology,  
keeping  some  of  the  original  things,  one-­‐to-­‐one  initiative  
 
Maintain  focus  and  commitment  to  change  (8%)  
 Need  to  be  open  to  change  to  be  successful    
 Change  view  of  complacency  -­‐  everyone  involved  
 Forward-­‐thinking  leaders  
 
Explore  options  to  address  financial  concerns  (7%)  
 Alternatives  to  using  gas  –  riding  a  bike,  walking,  carpool  
 Unemployment  –  decrease  the  amount  of  $  in  paycheck  instead  of  un-­‐employing  
 Need  to  collaborate  more  with  the  “big”  companies  
 
Increase  support  and  training  of  staff  (6%)    
 Overcome  by  having  reading  workshops  for  teachers,  keeping  teachers  
updated/workshop  training  
 Professional  learning  communities  are  needed  
 
 

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