The schools superintendent and school board were not assigned extra homework for misbehaving in class or for unexcused absences. They took on the extra work to help determine if the schools are offering the right classes and the right approach to teaching the community’s students.

The superintendent, who handed out his Current State of Learning and Operations Report to the school board on Jan. 19, was clear in his message: This is about thinking and planning for the future, not criticizing the past.

Enrollment is down, finances are tighter than they have ever been, yet reaching and teaching students has never been more important.

Superintendent Joshua Garrett makes the point in his report: “The central question before the board is not whether change is necessary, but whether change will be shaped intentionally or allowed to occur by default.”

In other words, the district can make its own decisions or sit back, wait and react as changes occur anyway.

It’s all geared to figure out what students need, what will engage their attention and how to better prepare them for their future, whether college, vocational work or just managing in a changing society.

“Student engagement and relevance decline as students progress through grade levels. … Engagement rises when learning is hands-on, applied, experiential or connected to real-world contexts, and declines when instruction feels repetitive or abstract,” the report said.

“Secondary students, in particular, report lower excitement about learning and weaker connections between coursework and future pathways. … Where students do feel prepared, it is most often linked to applied learning experiences such as shop programs and on-the-job training.”

Garrett told the board last week that the disconnect is not the result of poor management, but rather the result of operating the schools for a different time that has passed.

The district has options to consider, the report said. These include online and hybrid learning that mixes online and in-person, adopting new strategies to bring back or otherwise help homeschooled students, and “thoughtful reexamination of time-in-seat requirements.”

Questions to consider include: “What kind of district does Wrangell want to be. … Which risks are acceptable in order to remain viable and relevant?”

School Board President John DeRuyter said he wants the board to hold a work session soon to discuss the report, and no doubt there will be a lot of meetings, discussions, additions and subtractions to the report. Even before all that math, it’s a good start.