Superintendent Tells Oswego Teachers It’s Time to “Transition to World-Class”

Oswego 308 Superintendent Dr. Matthew Wendt has been looking to make the district a “world-class school district” since he came on board last July.

On Friday during a convocation to the district’s over 1,000 teachers, administration and staff, Wendt outlined how the district plans to do just that.

“We cannot improve by asking kids to change,” read one of the slides of the presentation. “We must change. We must improve. We must be willing to ‘do school different.’”

That ‘different’ is what Wendt is calling the “308 Way” which he said will improve leadership, teaching and academic achievement.

Priorities identified in moving forward include developing a professional learning community (PLC) and a technology advisory committee, creating more online learning and blended models as well as dual credit courses, looking at full-day kindergarten across the district, examining special education, gifted/talented education and ELL services and the implementation of common core, among many other priorities.

All of this is to be done, said Wendt, with no additional local tax revenue.

“It will not be easy,” said Wendt in the PowerPoint presentation. “And we will have our challenges. But we most provide resources, include training and adjust instruction to transition to a world-class school district.”