Important Issues
During the next four years, I plan to focus on addressing the negative impacts of the pandemic on student achievement as the top priority but also work toward the following:
Academics
This is the core mission of the school system, and we should put our best efforts to prepare our students to enter the next phase of their life when they graduate.
Providing all students fair and equitable opportunities and programs meeting their needs to help them achieve their potential.
Offering more learning and enrichment opportunities during summer, winter, and other breaks.
Expanding preschool programs and early access to reading.
Ensuring our special needs students—ones with disabilities, in poverty, or learning English as a non-native language-are provided with appropriate services, including inclusion practices.
Reducing achievement and opportunity gaps.
Continuing to help our students develop the skills to succeed in 21st century economy like creative, collaborative, problem solving, analytical, and technological skills they need in the global community.
Expanding our programs for ‘Trades for Tomorrow’ where students are introduced to and learn practical job skills needed in the job market.
Teachers and Support Staff
High-quality teachers and support staff are key to student success. We should be leading statewide and national efforts to elevate and treat our teachers as true professionals.
Recruiting and retaining the best teachers and school employees.
Compensating our teachers and employees fairly and providing them safe and healthy working conditions.
Providing teachers adequate planning time, professional development opportunities, and any support they need.
Ensuring that class sizes and workloads are reasonable, and eliminating unnecessary tasks that take away their focus from the core mission.
Making sure we have implemented a successful collective bargaining mechanism.
Collaborating with local, state and federal governments to make the investments in teacher salary and working conditions a top priority.
Expanding our programs for ‘Teach for Tomorrow’ to encourage our students to explore and consider teaching as their career so that we can grow more of our own teachers.
Working with Families and Community
Families are partners in educating our students, and everyone should treat them as such. They must be provided with adequate information and tools to help their students at home. Our communities are resourceful, and we need to work with them more closely to tap their resources for our students’ education.
Improving our communication with and support of parents so that they can better help their children at home.
Working with communities to optimize resources to support our students.
Building relationships with businesses and organizations to provide real world experience to students.
Ensuring school infrastructure can support and benefit the communities they serve.
Increasing opportunities for parents and community members to provide input in developing policies and budget.
Student Health and Safety
Student mental health has been an issue for many years, but the pandemic has elevated our concerns about this problem. We must make sure that our students are provided with a safe and healthy learning environment free of fear from harm.
Ensuring our students have a safe and healthy learning environment.
Providing schools more resources such as counselors and psychologists to be able to deal with safety and mental health issues.
Implementing and expanding middle school sports.
Strengthening education related to drug use and improving dialogue with families and communities on drug use.
Keeping our school operations environmentally friendly.
Facilities
The conditions of many of our school facilities are not optimal and they need to be improved to ensure we are giving our students the best possible environment to succeed.
Ensuring that facilities are safe and up to date.
Addressing overcrowding issues.
Continuing to reduce trailers used for instruction.
Working with the local and state governments to secure increased funding to renovate and build schools in more timely manner.
Maximizing the efficiency of use of construction fund.
Continuing our efforts with the County government to achieve our sustainability goals.