The City of Osceola announced, in a press release from Mayor Joe Harris, Jr. Tuesday morning, the creation of the Osceola Educational Improvement Task Force (OEITF). The task force will be led by Mayor Harris, members of his staff and in partnership with local stakeholders from industry, education and community development.
The focus of the task force is to see what can be done to improve educational outcomes for Osceola students and parents, while ultimately improving the quality of life in the city.
The release references the success the city has had over the last decade in attracting industry to this area. “While the city has attracted industry from companies and customers from around the world, that growth has not been shared across this community. The release states the most common opinion why the community is not growing is the need to fix educational opportunities.”
The task force will focus on five key areas:
Exploring all available options of school choice (Charter, private, etc.); Focusing on STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics); Providing educational paths for all students (College or trade); Preschool Options and Day Care capacity.
The release states Osceola only has a limited amount of time to make “our town a Community of Choice.” A ‘Community of Choice’ is the term often used to describe a place where people want to locate, even when they have other options. The release also states that while industries are growing, there is a window of opportunity for attracting new people and new families to the area. If that window closes Osceola will be know as “that small town with those big industries.”