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Make a difference for our schools
“Make a Difference Day” coming up this weekend is a great opportunity to make a positive impact in our community. Another great way to make a difference in the success of our community and its members is to join your local school board.
On your Nov. 3 ballot is a proposal from the Quincy School District that is intended to make it easier for more people to do just that. The ballot measure proposes a change from our current five Director Districts to three Director Districts and two At-Large positions. This would allow more than one person residing in the same neighborhood or district to serve on the board, while still maintaining regional representation through the three districts. We hope this will encourage community members to get involved in the quality of the education of our next generation of citizens, regardless of where they live.
Can you really make a difference in our schools? I will admit that I wasn’t sure at first whether being on the board could actually make an impact, since boards are sometimes more for show than for action. I’ve seen, however, that five people elected by the community to represent its interests can have a meaningful impact on the education of the more than 2,500 students in the Quincy schools.
In the past four years, our schools have seen many positive changes. The most important task of any school board is to hire a competent, effective superintendent. Dr. Burton Dickerson was hired by the board in 2007 and has proven to be an outstanding leader in the district. Parents, school staff and community members have shared with me that they appreciate his thoughtful willingness to listen and take action, to work through problems constructively, and to advocate for students and staff members alike. By hiring a superintendent with experience, wisdom and integrity, a school board can impact the entire school district.
Another recent success in our schools is the commitment to provide a more challenging curriculum for students who need it.
Our district receives a significant amount of federal and state funding that allows schools to give extra help to students who need it in reading, writing or math.
Students working at or above grade level, however, have not always been provided with the challenges they need to keep them engaged and better prepared for college or other post-school challenges. Many parents and teachers voiced this need when working on our most recent levy. The school board worked with parents, teachers, administrators and committees to put greater emphasis on providing a rigorous education to all students this year. Our school district’s 2009-2010 budget funded an enrichment teacher at every elementary school. Students in fourth through eighth grades now have the opportunity to join “The Academy,” a program focusing on advanced learning for students in the areas of literature and language arts. The positive feedback from this program has led to plans to expand The Academy with a mathematics focus in the future. This emphasis on more challenging academics at these grade levels better prepares students to take advantage of the Advanced Placement (AP) classes offered at the high school.
With these successes in mind, and always other challenges ahead, I encourage you to support the ballot measure allowing more flexibility in school board composition. I also encourage you to think about what a difference you could make in the lives of children by serving on the board, volunteering in ours schools, or encouraging the students you know to make the most of the education they are offered.
Tricia Lubach is the president of the Quincy School District Board of Directors.
