Happy Birthday Dr. Suess

In schools throughout America, today is Read Across America Day:  a nationwide reading celebration that takes place annually on March 2nd - Dr. Suess's birthday.  "In honor of my years on the school board" (I am not running for reelection after almost 13 years - my term ends in April), I was invited to be the guest reader at one of our elementary schools this morning.  So, thank you Valley View School for such a fun visit today.  I loved reading to you and having you rhyme with me in your colorful pajamas! 

Keep reading!

err... um, I mean... your school board president... for another five weeks

School Board Elections

Well, yesterday was the spring election here in Menomonee Falls and five candidates were vying for three school board seats.  There were no huge races this year and election day was during spring break, so the turnout was small.  The results are as follows.

So, Faith will continue on as the high quality board member that she is and we'll welcome Lori and Scott who will make excellent additions to our group.

Lori Blodorn has a ton of common sense and is an attorney by profession.  I was amazed at her initiative to contact and meet with every Menomonee Falls group or leader she could get a hold of.  That's confidence.  That's chutzpah.  That's energy.  That's doing your homework.  All good traits for a school board member.

Scott Ternes has a strong track record with his involvement in the school district.  He's been around this block a few times and knows the school district - warts and all.  He's smart.  He's got great business sense and a head for PR and he's not afraid of the financial mountains we have to climb as school board members.

I can't end this blog post without mentioning the two candidates who did not get elected.  Ouch, that must sting to be Robert Schneider - THREE votes short.  Wow.  I'll bet he's got a friend or two feeling rather sheepish about not getting out to vote.  Bob would have been a fine board member.  He seemed open minded and without agenda or bias.  

I got an email last night from a friend that said, "What do people have against Mike Dillhyon?"  She voted for him.  I honestly don't know why he didn't get more votes.  I've always thought he'd make an excellent school board member and he's got a good head for finances.  Maybe his defeat has something to do with his wife's early and vocal criticisms of the school district shortly after they moved here.  Mike was a bit of a critic in the early days, too.  However, I have always found him a person who makes an effort to be fair and tries to get his facts straight. 

Well, it's done again for this time around.  This election marks a full turnover of the school board in the last three years except for me.  There's me with 11 years and Faith is next with 3.  I don't know how that makes me feel.  Most school board members will say the learning curve is about three years.  We don't have a lot of experience, but we do have a lot of intelligence, people skills, and common sense - which all goes a long way.  Now it's my job to bring new people up to speed, reorganize committee assignments and foster good working relationships.  Here we go again.  : )

Teacher Inservice Day

Today is our school district's annual mid-year inservice day.  Traditionally, I share a message with the teachers and I did that early this morning.  I usually stay up late the night before working on my message.  I speak to the teachers three times a year and always worry that the teachers won't "get" the spirit of my message.  Even though I get positive feedback, I worry about the most cynical teachers.  I worry that my message won't be inspirational.  I worry that I will sound preachy and annoying.  After all, I'm not a teacher and I really haven't got the blood and guts picture of what they face on a daily basis.  I know it's harder than I can imagine, miss-pie-in-the-sky-clueless-school-board-president.  Oh well.  I'd at least like an "A" for effort -- wait, that's right -- they don't give effort grades anymore.

We are officially half way through the school year and the school board has been working on some big issues.  Either I'm getting older and wimpier or the issues are getting tougher and more intense.  Probably both.  Education is changing and needs to change even more rapidly.  Our Director of Learning shared a short video this morning.  It illustrates how quickly the world is changing and how those who want to ride the wave need to stay on top of the information explosion.  Warning!  If you are of a "certain age" or if you have not had coffee this morning, you will want to prepare to read fast and keep one finger on the pause button because this video moves quickly - only reinforcing the point it makes: our kids are learning in a whole new world.

Content by XPLANE, The Economist, Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and Laura Bestler. 
Music by DoKashiteru, "Home Tonight."