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Superintendent's Page
Dear Friends,
As I write this, we find ourselves at the end of a uniquely difficult school year in which academic achievements continued, but were often overshadowed by the severe economic recession and the resulting political squabbles. Indeed, it seemed this year that whenever the local media ran stories on public education, the one subject they failed to mention was, in fact, the core of our mission – education itself. In some ways it’s understandable that the economic recession and budget drama that played out in both Washington and Columbia this year tended to steal the spotlight from every other education issue. Indeed, with $5.6 million in state budget cuts, employee furloughs and some painful job cuts, this has been the most difficult year I have seen in nearly 40 years as a teacher and administrator.
It’s important to note that, even with the enormous budget cuts we and all other school districts faced this year, we tried, and largely succeeded, in insulating the classroom from these cuts. However, this year reminded us that the classroom doesn’t exist in a world by itself. The troubles of the outside world inevitably inject themselves into our schools and the lives of our students.
We need to remind our politicians and, unfortunately, some of our fellow citizens that teaching is hands-on work. Students can’t taught by machines; they’re taught by highly trained, caring professionals who became teachers become they love what they do. When a manufacturing plant lays off workers, it produces less product. When we lose teachers, the number of students who need to be educated continues to go up.
Of course, criticism comes easier than craftsmanship, so it is inevitable that our critics will continue to find fault. But while the critics of public education have used the recession as an opportunity to cut funding and programs, we have kept our focus on the craft of teaching and the importance of learning. The academic achievements we saw this year are the fruits of this effort. Here are some of the achievements you may not have read about in the media:
At the end of the 2008-2009 school year, several important decisions pointed the way to even more progress next year. First, our Board of Trustees granted Academy of Communications and Technology and Nevitt Forest Elementary School magnet school status. Both schools will accept students from throughout the district as space allows.
In addition, the board approved a name change for Nevitt Forest. It will now be known as “Nevitt Forest Community School of Innovation.”
Also, Midway Elementary School was granted theme school status by the board as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) school. Midway’s new name will be “Midway Elementary School of Science and Engineering.”
Expanding public school choice has been a priority in District Five and throughout the state for several years. We began in 2005 with the district’s first magnet school, Calhoun Academy of the Arts, which continues to thrive. The addition of these choice schools to Calhoun makes us one of the Upstate leaders in providing diverse choices for our parents.
Of course, the other important sign of progress in our district is the continuation of our $140 million building program, which was approved by more than 60 percent of district voters in our April 2007 referendum.
Work is nearing completion on improvements at our two high schools. Work is beginning on a new auditorium for Calhoun Academy of the Arts. Also, bids are about to be taken on the construction of our two new middle schools - Glenview Middle School on Old Williamston Road, and Robert Anderson Middle School on Dobbins Bridge Road. Robert Anderson Middle honors the Revolutionary War hero for whom the city and county are also named. The new middle schools are scheduled for completion by the start of the 2011-2012 school year.
The $140 million bond issuance will also fund a number of other projects including one new elementary school, conversion of Southwood Middle School into a 6-12 grade arts magnet school, and $30 million of renovations for the district’s eight oldest elementary schools.
Finally, as I reflect back on the 2008-2009 school year, one of the happiest memories is of our regular meetings with our Student Advisory Council. These young people meet to discuss problems and concerns at their schools, and their comments are almost always encouraging; not because they tell us our schools are perfect, but because they focus on the important things. They generally don’t come with questions about the prom or the soft drink machine. Instead, they tell us ways in which a particular course could better prepare them for college or an Advanced Placement test; how a schedule change or a longer class period might make the teaching of some subjects more effective. In short, they are focused on learning, not on the extraneous things that are of little importance in the long run.
Sincerely, Betty T. Bagley Betty T. Bagley |
