What makes a school district successful? Students, parents, teachers, administrators, support staff, the Board of School Trustees and the community working together toward a common vision. It’s our strategic plan for our children’s future! Gary Community School Corp. has an awesome group of students. During my tenure, we’ve celebrated a Bill Gates Millennium Scholar and a salutatorian who started out in special education but graduated at the top of his class speaking five languages. The school district’s list of alumni is full of shining stars in higher education and in the work force sprinkled all over the world. But if you visit one of our schools you will find a child who comes to school hungry, just moved to Gary, doesn’t have proper winter apparel, or lost a loved one through neighborhood violence. More than half of our students live at or below the poverty level. Some are homeless. Some have special needs. Some would love clean clothes but do not have laundry facilities, so we wash them. Some even worry where their next meal will come from after we’ve served breakfast and lunch. This is the reality of many students we serve. In the meantime, meetings continue about how the district should be run. However, we cannot overlook the administrators, teachers, and staff in the trenches every day meeting the personal needs of our students and families. These dedicated educators work diligently to increase academic achievement, and for that I am thankful. We’ve moved the finish line for students, and we have raised the bar for our staff. Why? Because we want them college and career ready. The district has implemented a new teacher evaluation tool. As a result, principals are observing classroom instruction even more, and they will use the new rubric to appraise teacher progress. We have selected a district-wide curriculum writing team to update our curriculum ensuring that it’s aligned with new state standards. Even in these fiscally challenging times, we remain focused on the academic achievement of our students. There is no “magic potion” to fix the challenges that have permeated our school district over the years. A low tax collection rate of only 42 percent and the 2 percent property tax cap has left an enormous hole in our district’s budget. Over the past three years, the district has lost more than $46 million in uncollected taxes alone. Soon you will see a social media fund-raising campaign that will extend an invitation to everyone to touch the life of a Gary child. No donation is too great or small. The public has been plagued by discussions that distract us from addressing the real issues at hand -- teaching and learning, and finding new money to do it. However, inside our schools, learning has been taking place. Against all odds, we will continue to take care of more than 7,000 students who call GCSC home. If you care about the future of this community, please stay focused. We need your voice, your volunteerism and your support to help us help our students realize their dreams. Cheryl Pruitt is superintendent of Gary Community School Corp. nwitimes/news/opinion/columnists/guest-commentary/editorial-advisory-board-if-you-care-about-kids-get-involved/article_bf03e46e-c129-5f04-b382-9a15780ede7e.html
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 09:24:17 +0000
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