My Vision for the Columbus City Schools
by Dominic Paretti on 10/22/13I am running for Columbus City Schools Board of education because I believe that our schools are a direct indicator of the health and vitality of our community as a whole. Our school system has faced unprecedented distractions over the last two years, and the data scrubbing scandal has shaken the community's faith in our school district. I am running because I believe that we need all of our board members to be more engaged, competent, and transparent.
Our schools deserve an engaged board of education. Education does not begin or end in our classrooms, and it definitely does not end at the limits of our jurisdictions as a board. Education exists in our homes, our neighborhoods, our places of worship, our non-profits and our business community. We need our board to focus on partnerships that leverage these peripheral organizations and institutions' resources to aid in student development and academic progress. There is no silver bullet for education; there is only persistence and patience with the implementation of academic policies that have individualized results on all our children. Excellent education should be offered to all of our children no matter whom they are or where they come from.
We first need to restore transparency and swing the doors open at the board of education. No more private meetings closed off to the public. We also need to expand the number of public board work sessions and standing board committees.
My philosophy is to get our children on the way in and on the way out, while implementing policies and services in the middle that help fill the gap. That is why I believe in establishing early childhood education to all students and dramatically increasing the number of students participating in post secondary enrollment options.
Early Childhood Education: We all know that early childhood education has the greatest ability to increase a child's success academically. For too long we have accepted the notion that it is okay that some families can afford this opportunity, while others cannot.
PSEO-Post Secondary Enrollment Options: Education for today's workforce demands more than a high-school diploma or GED, it demands skills that cannot be mastered in a traditional K-12 setting. We need our students to understand the demands of the real world while offering some options through the availability of dual high school/college credit hours. Our students can be receiving college credit towards traditional 4 year schools, two year schools, and technical degrees. All of our students should graduate and transition to college, a career in the military or starting their own business.
Parental Involvement: Parental involvement is the number one factor that increases student success. I believe that we always need to encourage parental involvement programs and policies, and we need to continually experiment and implement different programs and policies that reflect our diverse community and neighborhoods. I believe that our technology upgrades will allow weekly parent emails summarizing a child's week at school. I believe that we should have parent rooms in schools where parent-volunteer resources are pooled and coordinated for greatest impact. I believe in continuing the hard work of Member Ramona Reyes' Parent Ambassadors and Parent Consultants programs.
Nutritional Programs: Columbus City Schools students are 85% eligible for federal free and reduced lunch programs. We need to continue CCS' excellent food service delivery but consider applying for the Federal Department of Agriculture's Community Eligibility Option which would cover 90% of the cost of covering nutritious meals to 100% students.
School Nurses: While I understand the direct fiscal costs associated with nursing units in each school, I worry about the tragic consequences of not having them as seen recently in Philadelphia. This incident involved a young student having an asthma attack and the school not having the adequate medical staff to avert this tragic loss. School nurses and smart education and health policies can help provide the needed primary care a child demands during growth and development.
Summer Bridge Programs: Education shouldn't end at the beginning of summer. We need all our students participating in summer reading programs and activities. The best schools in the world are year round. Now that we have the ability to calculate a years worth of work in hours instead of days, we need to adjust our curriculum to enable continued summer academic enrichment. Our schools are anchor institutions in our community, and they should be open and utilized year round.
While this barely scratches at the myriad of subjects involved in education policy, I believe it helps establish a foundation of strong academic achievement. Please feel free to contact me anytime at 614-735-5200.
