The Marysville Globe sent five questions to each of the candidates running for the Marysville School District Board of Directors.
Director District 1
Heather Thweatt and Chris Nation are both first-time candidates running against each other for District 1.
1. Which career fields of the future do schools most need to prepare students for, and how?
Thweatt: I believe we need to prepare students for careers in the sciences and technology. Those are two areas where there will be long term needs. We need to really look at whether we are offering students courses that will make them more competitive not only for college applications, but for jobs in the global market. We need to be sure we are offering enough math and science and not only equipping our classrooms with the latest technology, but making sure we have teachers who are on the leading edge and are able to instruct our students in that technology.
Nation: The most important education that any student can receive is one that will benefit and inspire them for the future. The District must focus on providing every student with the basic instructional requirements that will enable them to continue on to higher education or enter the workforce without having to take remedial instruction courses. By offering Small Learning Communities, students are exposed to various career paths while giving the District the ability to change and modify the curriculum within each SLC at a faster pace, if and when technology and the career fields change.
2. Which board practices or policies of the past do you most support and intend to continue, and why?
Thweatt: I support the current goals, vision and mission. I feel that progress has been made in some areas such as closing the achievement gap for our Native American and low income students, and the work needs to continue in those areas and in closing the achievement gap for our Special Education students. I believe there has been a lot of progress in making the school learning environment more conducive to focusing on learning at the middle school level, and would like to see that work continue also. I could go on and on about the good work being done.
Nation: One of the most controversial decisions that was made recently by the Board of Directors was the decision to change the high schools to Small Learning Communities. I believe that the District is moving in the right direction by making smaller learning environments for the students and staff. This will help to improve students’ educational scores and will provide the staff with the ability to assist students that are having instructional and attendance problems. We must continue to monitor, survey, evaluate and change the SLCs to improve the programs and meet the needs of our students.
3. Which board practices or policies of the past do you differ with and have an interest in possibly changing, and why?
Thweatt: I would like to see more cohesiveness of the board. Sometimes compromise does reflect what is best for the community and I believe board members need to keep that in mind when deliberating tough issues. I would like to see all sides of an issue investigated before a decision is made and to see the filter of “what is best for each student” applied to each decision. I really feel that when that filter is applied, it keeps discussions in perspective.
Nation: I believe that the Board has a responsibility to students, parents and staff of the District. They should become strong positive advocates for education locally, statewide and nationally. As a member of the Board, I will assist my fellow Board members in positively promoting the Marysville School District. I will become an advocate locally and in Olympia to pressure our legislators to provide the District with the funds required for basic education. I also plan to propose one evening a month for the Board to hold a public forum that will allow concerned individuals the opportunity to speak directly to the Board.
4. What should be the primary budgetary priorities of the school district during an economic downturn, and how might those change in an economic recovery?
Thweatt: The primary priority and responsibility is to fund the core academics (math, science, language arts and social studies). Class sizes that are conducive to student achievement should be a very high priority. Without a strong foundation in elementary and middle school, a student is less likely to do well in high school and beyond. If we build a solid foundation we will likely see the rewards of that in high school, and need fewer special resources and realize higher on-time graduation rates. Foreign language and the arts are valuable also and we should protect them and expand when possible.
Nation: The District must remember that the basic education requirements for every student is always priority one. We must continue to provide our students with educational abilities and vocational skills in order to become successful assets to our community. When the District has succeeded on achieving the first priority than we can expand the educational curriculum to add additional courses that will enhance the learning environment. As a Board Member I will review and evaluate all budget adjustments to determine if the recommendation is warranted or if there is a possible alternative that is better.
5. How can the school district and the surrounding community partner up best to serve the interests of the children?
Thweatt: We should pursue additional partnerships with community businesses for student internships for valuable hands-on training to enhance classroom learning. We should embrace current partnerships and programs, such as with Tulalip Tribes and MCEP. We need to engage families to partner with schools for student success. When students know that adults in their lives are united and see a priority placed on their education by all, they thrive. A student’s parent or guardian should take an interest in what their student is doing in school, know what the expectations of the teachers are and be proactive, not reactive, regarding their students’ education.
Nation: With the federal and state governments unable to meet their financial obligations to fund education, the District must continue to provide each child with a valuable and meaningful education. The District must work with the citizens of Marysville and Tulalip to pressure the legislators to take a stand and start fully funding education. If we work together as a group, we will get their attention and progress will be made. The District must continue to survey the business environment to understand what educational requirements are needed for our children to become successful employees of the future.
Director District 4
Michael Kundu is the incumbent who’s running unopposed for District 4.
1. Which career fields of the future do schools most need to prepare students for, and how?
Kundu: The fields labelled as the “STEM” fields — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — are crucial for the future. Technology and science will help address many of the world’s emerging problems, and the best way to effectively teach these fields is with increased hands-on experiments and applied work in the classroom, and with real-time internships and field partnerships with business and industry. Another less discussed area that really needs to be supported in schools are the intellectual development courses, advanced social studies and critical thinking. Our society is in a state in which cultural advancement and global altruistic progress is being impeded by regressive conservative viewpoints which stand in the way of de-escalating world conflicts, improving the lives of economically depressed populations and ensuring a sustainable future for all people. In general, the more educated a society becomes, the more progressive they tend to be, politically, intellectually and morally. These are crucial considerations that academic leaders need to consider. We should not simply “prepare” our students to be competent workers. We should grow them to think forward and value the path of improving the world for all generations to come.
2. Which board practices or policies of the past do you most support and intend to continue, and why?
Kundu: Focussing resources and expenditures in the classroom, updating and improving curriculum, providing professional development for staff and reducing administrative budgets and unnecessary expenditures. In some ways, our focus has shifted from the students and the classroom, and we need to re-prioritize to make sure that the underlying objective of providing the highest-quality “public education” is never forgotten.
3. Which board practices or policies of the past do you differ with and have an interest in possibly changing, and why?
Kundu: I am not in favor of reducing academic expectations, lowering the bar, or reducing graduation requirements. In fact, I feel that we should increase academic expectations and the grades/course weight that students need to graduate. I see a trend among my fellow board members to make things “easier” for students in order to increase graduation rates or reduce drop-out levels. I completely disagree with this premise because it is more detrimental in the long run, particularly for those grads that wish to continue their academic paths to become competitive in higher education, or to compete for better jobs.
4. What should be the primary budgetary priorities of the school district during an economic downturn, and how might those change in an economic recovery?
Kundu: The highest priority should be the funding of core academic programs (math, science, language arts) and an equal focus on liberal development programs (fine arts, music). Budgetary priorities should be focussed directly for those key development programs. Secondary spending on administration should always be a lesser priority than front-line classroom expenditures.
5. How can the school district and the surrounding community partner up best to serve the interests of the children?
Kundu: Candidly, the greatest challenge we face is that not all parents are adequately focused on strongly supporting their students’ education. Parents need to value education as an investment in the future — both the family’s future and society’s future. This means taking a very real, involved interest in their kids’ studies, educating themselves to have cerebral discussions at home each night on the topics their kids are learning about, and putting academic achievement ahead of sports, entertainment or other diversions. This is a paradigm shift that would bring the rigor of education back to historic levels, where it should be. If we could get that message into the minds of all parents, then ALL of our students’ grades would certainly improve.
