Overview: Accomplishments So Far and a Look Ahead
By Frédéric M. Martin, Editor-in-Chief
THIS LAST YEAR has been both fruitful and rewarding, but there is a lot more work ahead, including some very targeted investments into the school district, beyond all the work that has already been accomplished, as documented in last May’s inaugural issue of this newspaper. We are delighted that the community responded with overwhelming support for the We Believe News publication and the school district is very much going to leverage this new vehicle to get the in¬formation you want, in a transparent manner, so you can see what we are, and have been up to, as well as our plans for the future.
Our test scores are improving. We are not where we want to be, but we are headed in the right direction and further investment, in talent, dedication, and treasure, will combine to deliver the results we all expect from your school district.
We also want to make it clear to the community that the upcoming bond is not going to pay for current projects: the bond is designed to build two new schools and a new Career Technical Education middle school, currently named, Concurrent Enrollment Middle School. There is a real need for new schools to absorb our growing population; we certainly do not wish to keep adding portable units, or even consider going back to the year-round school model, that further stretches resources and is not conducive to the academic performance we expect from MUSD.
Our new schools, along with the upgrades we already have implemented through¬out the school district, are needed to ensure the right environment for academic excellence. The east side of town has benefited from many new structures and the next schools will likely be built on the west side of town, as Lincoln Elementary is reaching capacity.
One of the biggest wins, for the school district, that we can unequivocally point to, in the last year, was naming native son Todd Lile as permanent Superintendent. His capacity, knowledge, experience, ambition, and drive to make MUSD the very best it can be, is a gift for Madera. His mindset and goals of making things good for the kids, the parents, and the community by infusing a new energy towards a workable path that will, in time, bring results we can clearly foresee. Those investments will translate into wins we can all enjoy and of which we can be proud.
As we near election season we trust our community to carefully elect trustees able to invest their own time within the district by visiting schools, classrooms, celebrations, parent meetings. By gathering live feedback from real situations and being exposed to the many facets of the school district trustees’ real world experience helps guide decisions rooted in validated needs and, inversely, enable the district’s leaders to verify the efficiency of our decisions.
Board trustees have a demanding task, often conflicting with their professional lives, but any time they manage to spend at any site throughout the school district is invaluable, and very much appreciated by the community.
