Walled Lake Consolidated Schools

We are and have been transparent within our community for all of my tenure on the board. We actively include parents, students and the community as a whole in district activities. A prime example of this would be when we had to redistrict the entire district years ago. The committee of staff, parents, students and community brought the recommendation for adoption to the board. The board empowered the committee/ community to lead us forward.
Policy is adapted after review and discussion. Audience and district input allows us to involve others in our processes.

School board members work together to set policy for the district. Ideally these policies are rooted in shared core beliefs and commitments and a theory of action for change (i.e. a strategic plan). The core beliefs and theory of action should be agreed to by the board and remain stable over many years, ideally a decade or more. Growing from that stability of vision are policies that support the theory of change.

I commit to extensive listening and partnership with all stakeholders – parents, students, teachers, school staff, business community, residents without children in school, etc. – so that I can help the Board adopt the district’s mission and vision and maintain a policy framework that addresses the priority issues facing the district.

The day-to-day management of the district, including curriculum decisions, is the responsibility of the Superintendent and their management team. They are all employed to ensure that curriculum aligns to state standards, that there are consistent assessments to monitor student progress toward the state standards, and that students grow academically and personally in order to be prepared for their chosen future.

Having an open mind to the concerns, criticisms, and the ideas of others is an important aspect to board service. As such, I will work closely with our Superintendent, his cabinet and staff to gather district data and discuss the community issues and outreach his team handles regularly. Separately, I will eagerly seek out the input of our community through their involvement in PTSA, school meetings, comments at board meetings, school events, and other opportunities to learn from our community about the issues which affect them. These are inputs for me to consider as I make the choices I make with regard to all responsibilities of board service, including budget, curriculum, and policy.

When I think about balance, I will always remain steadfast that every decision I make is for all students and note mine alone or a constituent base or group, and I will strive to work in concert with staff and administration to implement positive and needed policies and procedures is the main role in my mind. We need to engage with all of our community members through work sessions, committees, etc. We need to be transparent in our decision making and focus on best practices and be supportive of the needs of our students while listening to our educators.