Candidate for
Board Member; Moreland School District

Public education is undergoing a period of reform and experimentation in this country. We all pursue education to improve our lives and communities. Everyone has an equal right to pursue that endeavor, and a moral obligation to help the less fortunate in the same pursuit. I will ensure that neighborhood schools are not harmed in this period of reform. All children in this district have the right to attend the schools and programs we provide. We need to maximize the time we spend educating our children and minimize the time we spend assessing them. Assessments are important only to the extent they point to where to focus the teacher's energy.

As a parent, if I could only choose one thing for my child's education, it wouldn't be a school board member. It wouldn't be a building. It wouldn't be a playground. It would be a teacher. I have watched 60 children sit down with their slates under a thatched roof with no walls and one teacher and learn. Granted I want the other things too but teachers are the foundation of the child's education at school. They are second only in importance to the role of the parent. If I could choose a second item for my child's education it would be access to knowledge. Ten years ago I would have said books. Today I have to include the internet. We need libraries with books and computers and trained librarians and staff to facilitate learning in the library. Bless the library volunteers who have aided us this last year but that is no way to run a school district.

Parents are the most important influence and the number one predictor for academic success in a child's life. We should expect them to volunteer and educate them on how to help their children. I think the policy of expecting them to volunteer only at one school in the district and providing parent education classes at only one school in the district is both illogical and inequitable. If parent volunteering is good and expected at an alternative school, then it is good and should be expected at all the neighborhood schools. We do a disservice to the students at the neighborhood schools when we don't have high expectations of their parents.

If I am elected, my priorities will be fiscal stability, teacher relations, libraries and high performing neighborhood schools. I admire and respect the amazing job our teachers, employees, staff and parent volunteers do and will not only listen to the community but also reply. I will not be taking any money from any special interest groups as part of this campaign. Go to http://www.doctorbarr.com to join my campaign to create a new vision for this district. Thank you.