The Best for Novato Schools

By Lee Hamovitz

The Board Needs to Accept Responsibility for Our Schools

We get only one chance to educate our children. They grow up and then they're gone. We need a school board with a day-by-day sense of urgency about the education our children receive.

We need a school board that pays attention to the details, focuses on the classroom experience, believes in community outreach, gives teachers the respect they deserve, and brings transparency to the decisions that affect our children.

Together we can ignite the spark of education in all our students, so that every child, when they wake up, looks forward to going to school.

In terms of education, opportunity, and equity, we're not allowed to say, "we'll get to it tomorrow." In all the ways a child grows, intellectually, emotionally, and socially, there are no 'do overs.'

School is about more than acquiring knowledge. It's also the starting point for the path we take in life. A child's experiences in school help to place them as an adult in society. Our task is to prepare our students in a way which allows them the freedom and readiness to chose whatever role they want as an adult. We do not want our students boxed in by expectations, either personal or societal.

Perhaps that sounds like a lot of hooey, But there are practical ways of approaching that goal.

We need to be stay focused every single day, building daily on the best education we can possibly offer our children. Because the world really is changing right before our eyes. And, to the absolute best of our abilities, our students need to be prepared for that constant change.

The Trustees are publicly elected as the oversight board for the district. We need a school board that welcomes that oversight ability, and sets policy and direction for the district. We need a board that does what's best for the children, a board that doesn't just rubber-stamp whatever district staff says.

We need a board that pushes ahead with new solutions for the problems and issues we face in education. We need a school board that examines programs and policy decisions in depth, a board willing to listen to the concerns of parents and teachers. And we need a board that discusses these decisions in public, not privately behind closed doors.

We need board members that are not just 'ribbon-cutters,' who announce a terrific program and then walk away from it. Three months, six months, a year later, it's not infrequently the case that programs and policies announced to great fanfare are either withering away or collapsing under the weight of their success.

I'd like a district that sees itself as a welcoming community of learners, both children and adults, that encourages children to achieve their best self. We want a place of sharing, caring, and safety, where each student is recognized as an individual, and supported by our sense of opportunity for them, not out of obligation to them.

And we need to do a better job of supporting our teachers. We want teachers that enjoy their jobs, who grow in both professional and personal satisfaction.

Across the district, teachers are engaging students in marvelous ways.But too often the news of these success stories never makes it past the local playground. We need to make sure that better lines of communication are opened throughout the district and community, so that the best ideas can be shared everywhere.

And we should unleash the power of parents and other volunteers. We are fortunate to live in a community, beyond the walls of the district office, with a long tradition of involvement. We need to invite that larger community, especially parents, to contribute to our goal.

Below is an excerpt from Carol Ann Tomlinson's 1997 article, "What it Means to Teach Gifted Learners Well." In the original she's writing about gifted students. But it holds true for all students. Please read it - I've edited out the references to gifted students - and I think you'll agree it's the way we should be approaching each student.

"What it takes to teach (...) learners well is actually a little common sense. It begins with the premise that each child should come to school to stretch and grow daily. It includes the expectation that the measure of progress and growth is competition with oneself rather than competition against others. It resides in the notion that educators understand key concepts, principles and skills of subject domains, and present those in ways that cause (...) students to wonder and grasp, and extend their reach. And it envisions schooling as an escalator on which students continually progress, rather than a series of stairs, with landings on which (...) learners consistently wait.

"It's not so hard to articulate. It's fiendishly difficult to achieve in schools where standardization is the norm, and where teachers are supported in being recipe followers, rather than flexible and reflective artisans. In schools where responsive instruction is a carefully supported indicator of professional growth, the capacity to extend (...) a mind is a benchmark of success."

We need an NUSD board that, everyday, and with a sense of urgency and duty, makes sure that "common sense" type of learning takes place in our schools.

thanks for reading - Lee.