I know we all are aware that our school district, our state and our nation are in the midst of uncharted waters. The current situation we are now in requires all of us to extend grace, flexibility and patience. We must be creative in how we help students and staff members. At the same time, we must look forward to where we want to be after Covid-19 loses its grip on our way of life.
I have seen how parents are struggling to help their children. I have also seen the conditions that many of students are faced with that prevent their consist participation in online learning.
With this certainty, here are my major concerns and
The A B C Ds of Lyn’s Campaign ---
A – Academic Achievement and Accountability
– In recent years our school system has lost our focus on Academic Achievement. Our test scores, which at one time were in the top 20% of the State, in 2019 were in the bottom 20%. We must continue to implement strategies and offer support to our teachers in a manner that has a positive impact on student learning. And we must be creative in how to keep this goal in the forefront even in the midst of a pandemic.
B – Budget
- We must adhere to the procedures and policies that deal with the expenditure of public funds for education. Our budget must address the operating needs in our system, but also the continued growth in our county. The first priority of expenditures must be for those services that directly impact students. Checks and balances must be put into place to assure that we do not find ourselves back in a situation where we have very few funds in the Fund Balance.
C – College and Careers
– Our focus must continue to be to meet the needs of all students. We need to continue to encourage students to pursue post-graduate studies. We also need to encourage and assist more first generation college students. We must also continue to provide and support programs that allow our students the opportunity to acquire skills that lead to immediate employment following graduation. Recent research has shown the 1:2:7 ratio. For every occupation that requires a master’s degree or more, two professional jobs require a university degree, and there are over a half a dozen jobs requiring a one-year certification or two-year degree. Each of these receiving a certification are in very high-skilled areas that are in great demand.
The education we provide should equip them with credentials and certifications that allow them to pursue professional jobs that can lead to successful careers. We currently have several programs in place, but we need to continue to enhance these programs so as to reach more students.
D – Diversity
– We must understand and plan for the growth and diversity in our district. Currently, in our district we have 68 different home languages spoken. We have families who represent every facet of income and educational levels. This diversity is a blessing for our district, but also requires that we address equity within the district. Those schools that cannot pay for additional items and needs should not go without simply because outside resources are not available.
In the past few years, our district has experienced significant growth. If this continues we must plan for this within our budget and with our conversations with the County Commissioners. In 2014 we had 33,000 + students. At the current time, we have over 36,000 students. This type of growth is difficult to manage unless a plan is implemented and followed.