Florence Newell Answers Questions

Candidate for
Board Member; Cincinnati City School District

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Hamilton County and asked of all candidates for this office.

Read the answers from all candidates.

Questions & Answers

1. What can Cincinnati Public Schools do to restore the public's confidence in their ability to educate the district students so parents will send and keep their children there?

"Facilitate greater community involvement in school board decisions. Find more ways to inform the public, not just parents, of the progress and needs of schools.

Compile, analyze and report information from exit interviews from parents who leave the district. If appropriate, utilize the information in establishing educational goals and policies.

Implement teacher assessment through which competencies can be demonstrated. Enable teachers to establish individual professional development goals that foster increased students academic achievement."

2. What effect(s) will the community (charter) schools have in the Cincinnati Public Schools?

The Charter School Policy adopted by the Board of Education lays the groundwork for the district to grant contracts to independent charter schools within the district. The policy provides for "new start-up schools" and "conversion schools" which will be granted and renewed on the bases of a negotiated conract for student performance consistent with the School Accountability Plan. The district sponsored schools will conform to the high academic standards of the district. Cincinnati Public Schools will see an immediate effect fo the opening of private community schools through the reduction in enrollment of the students who will attend the state sponsored community (charter) schools. The per-pupil budget for schools will also be impacted by the loss of students. The decreased number of students could seriously impact allocations for small schools and neighborhood schools which could result in additional cuts at the school level.

3. Evaluate the adequacy of support services for special needs students in Cincinnati Public Schools?

Student First calls for developing a comprehensive plan for improving special education. In addition, special education students are included in regular classrooms as much as possible while still meeting their educational needs. With this mainstreaming model, it is essential that classroom teachers receive additional training to ehlp better prepare them to meet the educational needs of students with special needs. It is also important for special education teachers to share their expertise with classroom teachers. The teaching teams need to make sure that each student's progress is monitored and evaluated.