Openness - I would like to continue to make strides in our district toward openness in decision-making and being inclusive in the process of formulating policies and procedures. One simple way this has been accomplished was making school board meeting minutes viewable on the district website. Prior to my election four years ago, there were no viewable minutes for the public to conveniently review and I advocated for a change in this regard.

Teachers and Parents Are Our Most Valuable Assets  in Educating Students - Good teachers inspire students to greatness, and help them to understand the beauty of learning.  Great teachers take it to an even higher level and mine the gold out of each and every pupil.  There is gold to be had, most certainly!  This is fostered by individual attention that many times is lost amid all the tasks that teachers must do every day.

As a board member, I hope to encourage the teamwork that is needed between parents and teachers in order to bring success to the future of each student.  By the time a teenager reaches high school, the team concept is waning and students can get lost easily.  My Gradebook was instituted by the district as a method of allowing parents to electronically "check in" on their child's progress.  This effort is applauded as many parents with whom I am in contact report they are pleased with the results and the new accountability it establishes.  Other interventions have been put in place at the schools to prevent students from falling through the cracks.  Some high schools have closed the campus at lunchtime for Freshman.  By not allowing them to leave during lunch, there are less discipline problems and higher resulting grades.  This is a great move and an effective action by the deans and principals.

Additional training and staff development in the area of Special Education is encouraged, as the number of students with Learning Disabilities are on the increase.  The better equipped our teachers are to handle the special needs of all students, the more likely they will be either "job-ready" at graduation or ready for higher learning at a trade school or university.

Accountability - Our district check register should be posted on-line.  By allowing the public to view the finances, the community can be certain that dollars are spent wisely and efficiently.  This serves as another pathway to accountability and financial transparency.  These changes are starting to be made all across our state and by partnering with other governmental bodies doing these same things, we help to be an example and lift our entire state out of the abysmal, corrupt mess we find ourselves in Illinois.