Excellent Teaching

By Beth Hunkapiller

Children need skilled teachers.

Teaching expertise comes in both new and experienced teachers. Many experienced teachers in the district enjoy working with and learning from newly or differently trained teachers. Our children deserve expert teaching. They will be most likely to have it through a board of education which understands that skilled and effective teaching in the new and experienced develops through support of teacher leaders and staff agreements regarding staff training, curriculum priorities, the use of data, and the right balance between standardized tests and authentic assessments.

District funds are to the greatest degree possible at this time in the hands of each school's teaching staff and parent community. Through site based management, governance councils have greater opportunity for decision making and support of school priorities. Teaching staffs and involved parents may make decisions about curriculum materials and textbook selections and align spending with curriculum priorities.