This is a public letter from a member of the community running for school board. This blog will accept all letters and comments from all running candidates who wish to publicly write something. Please write to oysterrivercommunity@gmail.com:
Hello,
My name is Jocelyn O’Quinn and I am running for the open Durham school board position in the upcoming election on March 10. As some of you know, I’m not a politician. I’m a mother of two pre-school age children, a community volunteer, a Durham landlord and a business development professional.
My husband and I moved here six years ago because of the Oyster River Cooperative School District. We believe strongly in the public school system and we know that schools succeed only with the support of an engaged community. After attending school board meetings over the last year, I believe that I have the analytical, planning and consensus building skills necessary to improve the quality of education in our district.
If elected, I plan to work to improve our schools through adopting a strategic, academic roadmap that focuses on preparing our students to meet the growing challenges of a global economy. Only through the use of a strategic plan will we be able to adopt academic initiatives that result in positive outcomes for our students and the most return on investment for the community.
Academic excellence has long been a hallmark of the Oyster River Cooperative School District. Our schools are filled with dedicated teachers and supported by an active community. The time has come to leverage that support and if elected, I’ll work to enlist UNH, local businesses and citizens to enhance our curriculum in innovative ways.
And finally, if elected, I’ll work to provide you with the communication, transparency and accountability that you need to support our school district.
Please vote for me on March 10 and join me in ensuring that we provide our students and teachers with the support they need to be successful in the 21st century.
Sincerely,
Jocelyn O’Quinn
Durham, NH
"If elected, I plan to work to improve our schools through adopting a strategic, academic roadmap that focuses on preparing our students to meet the growing challenges of a global economy."
ReplyDeleteCould you elaborate, please? More languages? IB? More AP/Honors courses? Tracking? What specifically do you intend to do.
Hi Brett, I’d like to respond to the question regarding how I would improve our schools with IB, AP, expanding our foreign languages, etc. This is a great question and I just want to stress that when a school begins the academic roadmap process outcomes or solutions are not pre-determined. An academic roadmap is based on data analysis with input from teachers, students and parents, as well as information collected from college admissions personnel, employers and other available research. I envision being one of many who would review this data and based on our findings determine which academic initiatives would improve our student outcomes and best address their needs. Many schools approach this process with a committee including citizens, teachers and board members and I would recommend choosing this type of approach. I hope that answers your question. Jocelyn
ReplyDelete"The most return on investment for the community."
ReplyDeleteThis line worries me. Is school a business? Is it an investment? I am afraid that once school becomes treated like a business, people will start to 'cut the fluff'. All that is expensive, or deemed unnecessary. Art, for example, is a very expensive department, and in economic terms, for "meeting the challenges of the global economy" has little or no value. Does this make it, in your mind, value-less? This is just one example. I am afraid that once school becomes run like a business people will forget about education and start caring only about money.
Yes, education is an investment. It is the most important investment we make in our children and our future. The arts are fundamental to a broad education. I believe that all children should study and learn art in many different forms (e.g. fine arts, music, dance,etc.). Embracing the creativity and discipline one gains from studying the arts goes hand in hand with meeting the challenges of a global economy. The next generation can be best prepared for the competitive global economy if they are equipped with the skills that result from a study in a core academics including the arts.
ReplyDeleteHello- Thanks for bringing up these questions. If you don’t know me personally, I understand it would be difficult to know how I stand on many issues based on one letter.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the question regarding my line about the most return on investment for the community. While our public schools are not a business, we still have to deal with the reality of limited funds (in that a budget must be prepared and voted on). Therefore, we need to make sure that the money is spent in areas with the greatest need or that have the most impact on our students’ success and well-being. Without a long-term academic plan, it is difficult to know whether our resources are allocated to areas where our students need them the most. And this is the reason why many school boards are adopting a data-driven approach to decision making, which is advocated by the National School Board Association. This is also why many schools currently engage in long-term academic planning.
Second, thanks for bringing up the question about art. I did not mention it in my letter like many other important subjects and activities. I believe that the Arts should be maintained as one of the core foundations of education in our schools. Personally, for the reasons outlined below, I would seek to enhance our current offerings in art and music.
Regarding your comment about art in economic terms having little or no value, that’s simply not true. Art teaches children and adults skills such as creativity, critical thinking, teamwork and many more. And interestingly, accordingly to some research that’s been conducted regarding what skills are most important for employers (and currently lacking), critical thinking is one that comes up again and again.
One could say the same skills are also taught through sports and other extracurricular activities. And as a former collegiate athlete, I can attest that some of my most important life lessons were learned through athletics. So please be assured, although I am concerned about preparing our students for a changing, global environment, I believe that it is crucial to our students’ well-being to offer them a well-rounded experience.
Finally, I would argue that without an academic plan and thoughtful, public debate of issues such as the ones you’ve brought up, the future of art in our schools and other subjects/activities would be up to the whims of a particular board or administration. The academic planning process would allow teachers, parents and community members to be involved in determining our district’s priorities.
Thanks, Jocelyn