News and information for staff members and the Madison community
Vol. III No. 5 - May 2, 2008
It has been an honor to serve on the Madison School Board. I had the chance to meet so many interesting and wonderful people — staff, parents, students and community members.
I enjoyed the opportunities to visit classrooms and talk with the staff in the schools; it gave me great insight into what was happening — and I saw so many creative approaches to learning. I also treasure the alternative programs' graduations that I attended; the difficulties the students faced in getting to the point of graduation made the ceremony itself ever so meaningful.
Looking back on my 18 years on the Board, I am impressed with the progress the district has made.
In 1990, the district was just at the start of its focus on the achievement gap. Since that time we have learned a great deal about how to increase achievement for all students. While the district's student body has changed tremendously — twice as many students of color, more than twice as many in poverty and about four times as many who don't speak English as their first language— we have made great strides in student performance in literacy and math — particularly in the primary grades.
Not only have we begun to reduce the achievement gap — we have improved the performance of ALL students — even those who were doing well already. We have also increased attendance and graduation rates for all students. We have reorganized the district under the Educational Framework — and I regularly hear staff talk about the importance of relationships, engagement and learning.
The last 15 years have not been easy or encouraging for people like me who feel that the most important duty of society is to invest in its children. The district has faced major challenges due to the state-imposed revenue caps. The budget cuts along with the changing student demographics have created major challenges for district staff. What continues to amaze me is the level of effort that staff put forth every day to serve children.
There are some accomplishments that I take personal pride in; to name a few:
I am very proud of all that the district has achieved and am grateful for the opportunity to serve during a time of such momentous changes.
Last Updated: Thu May 22 15:05:51 2008
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