Issues and Expectations

By Gary Freshley

Growth in the Community will result in a change to Neighborhood Schools. By supporting the teaching staff with adequate resources and materials, the students of Windsor will achieve academic success.

It is the expectation of the parents and the community that the students in the District will be educated to meet the challenges of their futures. The State of California has set the standards by which that level of education is measured. The STAR or SAT 9 annual testing program is the instrument of reporting the success in achieving that goal. The State may set the standards but ultimately we, as parents, hold the District and it's staff accountable for educating our students to meet them. For that to be an equitable relationship, resources must be made available to accomplish the task. Therefore, it is of the highest priority that books and materials are provided for each and every student so that they have the chance to be successful in meeting this challenge.

Parents need the feedback from the Teaching staff to determine their children's progress. The District needs to communicate with the parents and Community as to what efforts are being made to meet the needs of the student's education given the Standards of measurement the State is putting forth.

The District needs to inform the parents of the decisions that are being made. And parents need to be more involved in the process of decision making by the District. Board Agendas need to be more descriptive and distributed to the parents before the meetings.

Being involved as a School Board Trustee becomes a question of priorities. For me the first priority is our students. Their needs must come first. The quality of their education depends on it and their future success will be the result of it. The resources and materials necessary to achieve this success is of paramount importance.

The second priority must be the teaching staff. It's their task to deliver the skills to the students so that their education is meaningful and valuable. Resources and training in new techniques and methods must be made available to achieve the first priority.

The District will benefit from these priorities and as result will have to plan for the future growth in the Community. This should be the final priority, planning for the future. Developing additional school sites, additional programs, and managing existing resources will be rewarded with improved test scores and academic excellence.

I would appreciated you vote for the Windsor School Board on November 7, 2000. Thanks!