There is always a feeling of great anticipation and expectation at the start of a new school year. As members of the Board of Education, as parents, and as part of the community, we watch the faces of those entering our various buildings. These faces, both old and new, young and old run the gamut from trepidation to excitement, and even relief that we all returned to the most important job that each of us face, that of teaching and learning.
This summer, your Board of Education undertook the arduous task of developing three primary goals for the East Hampton School District. Over several days in the month of August, the Board met with Superintendent Jan Furman, Assistant Superintendent Tony Correale, and Mr. Bill Whitehill from Syracuse University School Study Council, who assisted us with the process of establishing these goals. After hours of discussion and examination of priorities, the Board had set as its goals the following:
1. Improve Academic Performance for all students and narrow the achievements gaps.
2. Improve communication among the school community and community at large, resulting in improved perception of East Hampton Schools and the quality of services it provides to the community.
3. Fiscal Stability
Our first goal, improving academic performance for all students is and must remain the number one priority. What the Board wants to see is all curriculum, activities and programs geared to this goal. When establishing program, the question of how this program will help improve performance, and how will we know that it does, must be asked. The reason that the Board wanted to have these goals established and distributed at the beginning of the school year is so that everyone, teachers, parents, students, administration and the community would be very clear on what our expectations for this school year are. The perception is that there are academic performance gaps along ethnic and gender lines. What is now needed is the assessment data to help guide the intervention strategies necessary to narrow these gaps.
The second goal, improving communication, was selected in order to assure that all stakeholders of the educational process (EVERYONE!) is informed, aware, and knowledgeable about what we are trying to achieve at East Hampton Schools. We must prepare our young people for the extraordinary and complex world that they face now and, particularly, in the future. The intensity of competition for continued education, jobs, housing, and sheer survival has never been greater, nor is it likely to do anything but increase in the future. They must be able to call upon all the skills and knowledge they have learned and experienced to succeed. In order to assist them, the community in which these students live must be able to support and guide their progress so that they all achieve their maximum potential. This will only be realized with a framework of full and open communication between all segments of the community.
Fiscal Stability, our third goal, is probably the one area that the Board examines, scrutinizes, and questions, and has the most direct input with. The job of creating and maintaining fiscal stability in an era of educational budget cuts is truly a challenge. We are all greatly blessed that, historically, this community has supported and collaborated in matters of the fiscal needs of the school district. We, on the Board, realize that the trusteeship the voters have entrusted to us is a serious and crucial responsibility. To that end, we encourage the public to attend regular board meetings and the budget meetings that are held in the Spring. Our regular monthly meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays of each month.
The Board is greatly motivated and inspired by the direction and leadership that Dr. Jan Furman has brought to East Hampton School District. Her focus, knowledge and straightforwardness certainly helps the Board maintain its true purpose, and stay focused on the issues and how they relate to the goals that are now established.