New year, new goals for schools
Molly Shore
New Year’s resolutions often fall by the wayside before the end of
January, but school board members and district officials hope their
goals for 2003 remain intact throughout the year.
On board President Richard Raad’s list are bettering communication
between the district and the community and finishing modernization
work throughout the district.
“We’re trying to bring to a swift completion all of the work that
has been going very well and is ahead of schedule,” Raad said.
Raad also wants to continue strong academic performances by
students and maintain safety in the schools.
“The uncomfortable part that we all have to deal with is asking
what is transpiring with the state budget and how it will affect
Burbank, and how it will least affect the delivery of the educational
services,” Raad said.
Financial stability is also on the mind of board member Trish
Burnett.
“I hope that the state is more generous toward schools than it
looks like [Gov. Gray] Davis intends to be,” Burnett said.
Strides have been made in the district’s curriculum in recent
years, and Burnett and fellow board member Elena Hubbell expect it to
continue.
“My number one goal is to ensure that students continue the
progress that they have made academically,” Hubbell said.
Also on her wish list is to bring teachers’ salaries up to more
competitive levels.
Sustaining the growth in student performance is a continuing goal
for the school district in 2003, Supt. Gregory Bowman said.
“It’s not just about test scores,” he said. “It’s about learning.”
Preparing young people to be successful as they go through school
and beyond is the commitment and goal of the district’s educators,
Bowman said.
“Students have to be very well prepared, not just in technology,
but in math, science and reading, which sparks the imagination,”
Bowman said.
The superintendent is discouraged though, because fewer
universities are vying for students since enrollment at such
institutions is at an all-time high, he said.