John MacDonald announces his bid for the M-W BOE

I’m John MacDonald and I’m a candidate for the Monroe-Woodbury School Board. Here are some of my concerns: • As a Monroe-Woodbury graduate, I want to see our district rated as highly for its academic program as it is, justifiably, for its sports and music activities. Why don’t we seem to be making progress in building a better program? • As someone with a doctorate in education, I am alarmed by the very limited planning that seems to go into developing and evaluating curriculum and instruction. There is no assistant superintendent to lead in these areas and the 21st Century Learning Committee hasn’t met for over a year. • As a senior citizen, I am concerned that friends and family are finding it difficult to live in the Monroe-Woodbury area because of high property taxes. • As a thoughtful citizen, I am annoyed that so many of our educational discussions focus on finding ways to blame critics who identify problems, rather than finding solutions to the problems raised. Here are some goals I support: • Whether we like it or not, the radical cuts that are being made in our district’s budgets are changing the nature of education at Monroe-Woodbury. We need to continue to cut costs, but, in my opinion, we need to work even harder to insure that the nearly $150 million we spend is used as effectively as possible. • Monroe-Woodbury needs to focus on improving teaching and learning in this climate of rapid change. There is too much emphasis on teaching to tests and not on developing skills that help students in college and work. These include skills in researching, in improved written expression, in comprehending complex reading material, and in developing good work and study habits. (On the school Web site, I have noticed that the primary academic goal for our students this year is to: “Enhance student achievement on State Assessments for all students.”) • We need more transparency in our district. To keep the public informed, we should have realistic reports about our programs, including assessments of weaknesses and failures. We need openness in the hiring process to make sure we are getting the best staff possible. • Our schools and our community should be more connected. We should have more opportunity for our citizens to express their views in public discussions and to enrich the educational process through participation in school committees. Please give your support. We can do better. John MacDonald, Monroe Candidate for the Monroe-Woodbury School Board