Public schools are the only educational entity in the US required by law to meet the educational needs of every child, regardless of income, social standing, race, gender. Properly executed, public schools are essential to the future of this country.
We believe in the Boyertown School District’s vision statement to “Cultivate an exceptional, innovative, learning community that enables ALL students to succeed in a CHANGING world”.
Families are the most important people in a child’s life. Parents should advocate with their children’s educational needs in accordance with their family’s values. Families collaborating with their children’s teachers results in the best outcomes for students. Policies exist in our school district to support and encourage that. But one group of parents making decisions for all families is NOT the same as parental rights.
A child’s emotions, behavior and academic progress are deeply connected. A child must be ready to learn before they are able to learn. Beyond the everyday stress of growing up in today’s world, 1/4 of Boyertown students have special educational needs and 1/4 of Boyertown students come from low income families. Every child comes to school with unique challenges and educators need the tools to identify and address these needs in order to effectively teach our children. Children are not widgets. Focusing just on academics leaves most of our children behind.
Fiscal responsibility means informed and long-term planning. Board members must be willing and able to strategically plan for the long-term needs of the school district. Lack of long-term planning has resulted in small cuts over time, resulting in less educational opportunities for our students and has put our district’s future in peril.
The School Board governs the district… they do not operate it. The latter is called micro-managing. Distrust is not an effective leadership approach. Effective governing involves hiring an effective leader, setting and enforcing policy, long-term financial planning, advocating for public education at the state level, and a commitment to continuously learning.
Behavior matters. The School Board’s behavior sets the tone for the entire district and community. Effective School Board members commit to the highest level of ethical and respectful behavior.
Diverse ideas and perspectives result in effective teams. The make up of a School Board should reflect a wide variety of perspectives. School Boards are no place for political agendas.
Strong Schools make Strong Communities. A school district’s reputation for excellence attracts businesses, helps property values, encourages students/talent to stay local, and increases the School District’s ability to attract and retain talent, thereby assuring its quality moving forward.
Boyertown Forward 