Everyone in the community benefits when neighborhood public schools are strong and students are successful. Great schools are good business. They attract employers, strengthen the local economy and enhance property values. Great schools ensure our students will be prepared to keep our nation competitive in a global economy. Great schools keep the American Dream alive with opportunity for every child to receive a world-class education. Great schools keep the quality of life in a community high by producing citizens who pay taxes and obey the law. Great schools teach students from all backgrounds how to live and participate in our democracy.
School board members are the elected representatives within the community whose job it is to ensure that great schools are available to all students in the district and that the community’s vision for its young people is brought to life. School board members set expectations for student achievement, support district success through setting goals and the allocation of resources, and, in doing so, work to strengthen the communities they serve. They make decisions that determine how a community’s children will be educated and how tax dollars are spent.
For 18 years, I have had the privilege of serving as a member of the governing board of Mesa Public Schools. In that time, I have had the opportunity to sit at the board table beside individuals with differing backgrounds and experience, knowledge and points of view. What I have come to know in my time on the board is this: Collective vision and unified leadership are what ultimately lead to student success. That’s true at the board table, and it’s true for our communities as well.
Great schools are the result of community effort and, in turn, a reflection of community priorities. Research confirms this. Studies show that, almost without exception, highly successful schools and school districts have a mission that is genuinely lived and widely known – not just on school grounds, but throughout the community.
Numerous opportunities exist for community members in the East Valley to get involved in building strong communities through strong schools. Some run for school board. Others volunteer in classrooms. Businesses contribute financially, as well as through their expertise or in-kind donations.
One first step we can all take is to vote in the upcoming election. Your investment of time to do so will pay dividends for our students. I encourage you to learn about those who are running for your local school board and their vision for student success, carefully consider the school district bond and override measures on your ballot, and look at the statewide propositions on this November’s ballot that will provide resources to all Arizona’s public schools – and to do so with that understanding that great schools are my business – and they’re yours, too.
Michael Hughes is president of the Arizona School Boards Association and a governing board member for Mesa Unified School District.
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Irons1 posted at 5:07 pm on Sat, Oct 13, 2012.
Leon and fruit loops? I thought it was other drugs. In terms of Mesa administration, perhaps if some of them had actually taught for longer than a year or two, they might have a clue. However, most of them haven't. Happy profiling MPS
Engaged Voter posted at 12:25 pm on Fri, Oct 5, 2012.
Not to jump on the bandwagon here, but it does seem quite coincidental (or perhaps ironic) that Mesa Public Schools have been on the decline for the last two decades...and Mr Hughes has been on the governing board for the last 18 years.
Things that make you go HMMM. ;)
JMJ posted at 11:26 pm on Thu, Oct 4, 2012.
Leon...if I haven't told you, yet, this week, nice job upholding your Froot Loop status. [beam]
Leon Ceniceros posted at 7:02 pm on Thu, Oct 4, 2012.
More taxes on Mesa home owners, more taxes when you buy anything, more School Board Budget "over-rides".........more money, more money, more money going down the Mesa Education "Comode"......that's all it is.
NOT ONE RED CENT MORE IN TAXES SHOULD BE WHAT YOU TAKE TO THE POLLS NEXT MONTH...........NO MORE TAXES...PERIOD.
What have all the previous "Tax Increases, Over-Rides and Sale's Taxe" bought us in the way of .......EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE ????
Zilch.......Nada....Nyet....Non........NOTHING.
The only thing that I can see is that School Administrators are retiring at age 60yo with a pension of..........$200,000.00 per year for the rest of their lives. That's on top of the "Caviar & Cruises" Retirement Health, Hospitalization, Dental and Vision Benefits.
Ten, fifteen years ago, Mesa High School Graduates were going on to College and University and having sucess......that's no longer the case.
Mr. Hughes....the condition of the Mesa Education System isn't a "challenge" any more........it's a...........DISASTER.
Cerulean posted at 7:01 am on Thu, Oct 4, 2012.
I will be voting YES on the bond override because I do not want Chucky Cheese advertizements on the playground.
I will be favorably considering statewide propositions on this November’s ballot that will provide resources to all Arizona’s public schools.
mesateacher posted at 9:38 pm on Wed, Oct 3, 2012.
We don't have great public schools in Mesa anymore -- used to. Mesa rests its laurels on an outdated reputation that cannot stand up to scrutiny. Go to Dobson, Skyline, Mesa, Westwood and talk to those math teachers and ask them "how many of your seniors really can pass four years of math?" Not many. Too many, in fact a majority, cannot do basic 8th grade math, much less Algebra 2 for graduation. So they'll get a D, graduate, and Mesa can beat its chest about its graduation rate. Sadly, less than a third of Mesa schools graduates can ever finish a four-year degree. More money isn't the answer, and asking already overworked teachers to do more isn't, either. The problem in Mesa is too many kids who won't do the work. They don't study, don't read, don't pay attention. They're Obama clones: they blame everyone else for their failures. Another problem in Mesa is a sadly incompetent superintendency from the top down to the asst supes and to many building principals. Mesa schools is in bad shape, and Mr Hughes, you're part of the problem. You've been on the school board for a long time, but for you and your cohorts, as long as Mtn View and Red Mtn were doing fine that's all the mattered. To heck with the other schools. You and the entire school board should resign, and let people in who really want to do what's best for EVERY school. Get every school up to high standards, then you can brag about how great your schools are.
Katydid52 posted at 7:58 pm on Wed, Oct 3, 2012.
Students are successful when education is a priority in the home. There are always young people who will rise up out of a dysfunctional home, but they are rare. If parents do not instill a work ethic or discipline or even the enjoyment of accomplishment in their children, they can go to the best schools and fail.
JMJ posted at 1:10 pm on Wed, Oct 3, 2012.
Mike Hughes, you must see what has happened in Mesa over the past two decades. My kids were educated in Mesa and they went very far. But, I have seen a decline in Mesa's "leadership". Do you talk with teachers? Do you take with parents? Things are way different than they were. Change is inevitable, but Mesa schools have not changed for the better, sad to say. Reality check--can you say Mesa is just as great as it was? It WAS great.
chatmandu002 posted at 11:26 am on Wed, Oct 3, 2012.
Mr Hughes,
Good letter but you and the school boards are also responsible for the cost of schooling and to give the taxpayer a good return for their money. You are not supposed to be a constant conduit for more and more money to inflate the budgets of school district to placate and satiate all those that live off of the school budget. We have for years seen that the increased infusion of funds have returned little reward. It's time for the school boards to stand up and say we demand more and better from our school employees or they will be let go. It's time the schools taught to the core; reading, writing and arithmetic.