March, 2006

I focused on the roots of public education in my first column this year. Just as public education is the cornerstone of our country, it is likewise the foundation for our community.

I remember the day that I received the job offer to join the Madison Metropolitan School District. I was excited and honored to join one of the best school districts in the country. The obvious pride that both the staff and community had in their school system shone through every interview and discussion that I had during the hiring process.

Since that day in 1994, I have experienced first hand the reasons for that pride. First of all, we have great kids and great families! They are supported by a great staff. Many of our staff not only spend their entire careers here but continue to volunteer in our schools and in our community after retirement. Everyone I come in contact with in the district is committed to our children and to making the district and community better.

Just as importantly, the commitment to the schools goes beyond the staff. There are over a thousand people of all ages who volunteer through the Schools of Hope project and individually at each of our schools. Civic and business leaders annually volunteer to serve as "Principal for a Day" in our schools. A recent example is the boundary change task forces. Community members devoted countless hours to tackle a difficult and controversial issue so that our children can be better served.

All of these volunteers add value to the lives of children and continue to generate the sense of pride that has characterized the relationship between the district and the cities, towns and villages that are our stakeholders.

The support of everyone has enabled the district to increase the performance of all of our students on almost every measure, despite declining financial resources and a rapidly changing population. I just received our dropout data for this past year. It shows dramatic improvement over the past 10 years for all of our students. Our African American students dropped out of school at a rate of 55% in 1995. In 2005 that had decreased to 23%. That type of decrease is mirrored by all of our ethnic groups.

The dropout rate is only an example of the positive changes for students that have happened in almost all of the measures of performance that we use. Although we have made wonderful progress, the work is not finished. Much remains to be done to ensure that every child becomes a successful adult.

The health of cities, towns and villages is interdependent with their school districts. Great cities have great school districts. For 167 years the residents of the Madison Metropolitan School District have enjoyed that reality. I am honored and proud to work here. All of our citizens have every reason to feel that pride in what they have created and supported - a great place for kids to grow and learn.

Other Articles by Superintendent Rainwater

Related MMSD Links

• Great cities have great school districts