Leaders and educators from the Rochester City School District met earlier this month to present the results of their 100-day “Listening and Learning Project,” which solicitied concerns, suggestions, and input from more than 2,000 community members connected to the schools.

Listening tours are a popular initiative whenever a new superintendent begins work. Ideally, it’s a way for the superintendent to get to know the community and build trust with educators and parents.

Based on the results of the project, Rochester City School District Superintendent Barbara Deane-Williams and her team announced that they will concentrate improvement efforts for the coming year in five different areas: central office services, communications and engagement, district finances, instructional data, and school climate.

“What we’re going to try to do is deepen our commitment deepen our resolve and put more explicit plans in place to track progress on a more routine basis,” said Deane-Williams.

The next step for the district will be to examine the annual budget and allocate funds as needed. Deane-Williams said that every line of the budget would be under examination.

“One line, one school, one department at a time and then seek to find a more transparent way to ensure all of our services get the services and the support that they deserve,” she said.

Among those surveyed for the Listening and Learning initiative were parents of children in the RCSD, former educators, and advocates for educational progress. They often expressed concerns about the city’s high dropout rates and low assessment scores.

“I need to be assured that my children don’t have to go to a private school to get an education. That’s not fair. I have to pay for college,” said community member Tosha Mitchell.

Currently, 5.4 million students attend one of the 33,619 private schools in the country for Pre-K through grade 12. Many city students may opt for public charter schools, but there simply aren’t enough seats to accommodate the entire population.

The presentation also encompassed a broad range of larger issues, such as serving children and teens with special needs or learning disabilities. Most parents (96%) still believe that learning disabilities can be made up for with proper teaching, but many worry that RCSD lacks the funds or resources to deal with such circumstances, despite the obvious demand.

“We talked about transportation; we talked about, how do we serve our children with disabilities?” said Jerome Underwood, director of family initiatives at RCSD. “How do you serve our children who are English language learners? The quality of instruction. The quality of leadership.”

Wrapping up the 100 days project, the city’s educational leaders focused on what could be done in the next 100 days moving forward. Their plans include providing more support to teachers and community services, both inside and outside of the school walls. One way to improve school culture, for instance, is through teacher teambuilding events.

“If we can educate kids then they have a better possibility at life that’s what this is about,” said Rochester City School Board Vice President Cynthia Elliott.