Carmel Schools Experience and Involvement:

By Richard C. Kreitman

We proudly have two boys in District schools, and for them and all our children I am actively involved in educational improvement in our schools.

For the past five years I have attended nearly every public meeting of the Carmel Unified School District Board of Education, observing, taking careful notes, participating in discussions, sometimes as a member of the community and at other times as a representative of a working committee. Back in 2002 and 2003, as an active citizen participant at these meetings, I regularly presented the Board and administration with analyses of how our students were doing academically compared to their peers around the state. Through spreadsheets, commentary, and communications, I brought early attention to the unfortunate reality that the actual academic achievement and performance of our students, particularly in our secondary schools, fell far short of our community perceptions, our exceptional level of resources, our expectations as parents, and, most important, our children's abilities. It did not make me popular at the time.

Fortunately, things have improved significantly since then, due to the hard work of many people in the District, particularly our teachers. And there is still work to do before we can legitimately claim excellence in all our District schools.