Vision For Stillwater Area Schools
Everything we do is built on a foundation of trust, respect and kindness
Great communities aspire to have and maintain great schools. When things aren’t going quite right, devoted community members figure out how to fix what is broken and take action. It takes courage to stand up and demand change. It is clear that our community is interested in transparency and truth. We want outstanding schools that exceed expectations for every child who lives here. Yet we also want efficient and effective fiscal management of taxpayer dollars.
Great leaders respond to questions and listen for ideas for how to improve without becoming defensive or deflecting, and who tell the truth even when it isn’t pretty. We want leaders who demonstrate authentic respectfulness toward every single person in the system, and understand that great ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. We all want to be inspired and encouraged to be our best everyday, and to not be afraid to speak up, take risks, or try something new.
Inspired Educational Experiences that Engage the Joy of Learning and Growing Together
I believe in the power of healthy relationships to create a supportive environment for children to grow their own social and emotional skills, as well as strong academic and life skills. In order to achieve this, it is imperative that we invest in smaller class sizes. We must also cultivate strong supportive connections with parents.
We are being given an opportunity to leverage technology like never before, and we should continue to explore all the ways that we can enhance learning experiences in our schools. I would like to see an expansion of the outstanding music and arts offerings in our district, so that more students have access to these. We should also work to grow GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) into a state of the art, top notch program that will serve our students better, and draw in families from outside of our district. We should consider expanding foreign language offerings, and connect our students to the world. Pathways is being developed to create opportunities for students with the local business community to forge authentic and meaningful experiences to help students find their own path toward their future. We should invest time, attention and some additional funding in the Alternative Learning Program, and Transitions program as well.
It is very difficult to find joy in learning if students are not able to read, write and communicate effectively. At the core of everything we do is literacy. This must be our primary area of focus.
Putting Students First: High Quality Learning Environments for ALL students
Coming up very soon, no later than November 2021, the Stillwater Area school District will be asking taxpayers to support an operating levy renewal, and possibly a bond for facilities as well. It is widely understood that Lake Elmo Elementary needs to be replaced with a modern new building, and there are other space needs throughout the district, especially in the Southern end of the district, where there has been higher growth rates. Additionally, we have unused buildings in our district that deserve our attention. We will need to understand the demographic data in detail, and have a clear picture of what the community is able and likely to support.