Olson wants more creativity in Canfield schools for all students

By SHAIYLA HAKEEM

shakeem@vindy.com

Craig Olson may be new to the Canfield Board of Education, but the idea of being a part of the board goes back decades.

“I’ve wanted to be on the school board for 25 years,” said Olson, “I said this is it, it’s time to do it.”

He believes that Canfield has an excellent school system. In maintaining this excellence, he wants to make sure that each student is granted equal opportunities.

Much focus is placed on honor students and special needs students, but what happens to those who are in between? Olson says that those who fall into the “C” range are sometimes overlooked.

“I want to make sure that the average child is having the same opportunities as the advanced child and those with special needs,” said Olson.

In Canfield, 40 hours of volunteer work is a requirement for members of the National Honors Society. Olson believes it should be extended beyond that realm.

He feels that all high school students should be encouraged to participate in 40 hours of community service between.

An option he proposed was for peer mentorship and tutoring inside and outside of Canfield Township.

“Let’s open up those avenues of opportunity for all of our kids to see what the other kids’ shoes are like to walk in on a daily basis,” says Olson.

Equal opportunities for students isn’t the only area Olson is concerned with. A potential issue that may need addressed is the matter of funding.

Olson says that by Canfield being perceived as a “wealthy” school district, school funding is affected. Without proper funding, it is difficult to purchase necessities such as school buses and computers.

A trial program at Canfield Middle School allows teachers the flexibility to be creative in the classroom.

According to Olson, some teachers are granting their students the leisure of reading a book of their choosing rather than mandated reading material. The program is reaping positive results and he would like to see more creativity like this implemented into the school system.

“I want to expand the idea of creativity,” says Olson.

Having kids in the Canfield school system allows Olson to really stay in touch with the internal workings of the system.

“I want to jump in there and get going. If people have problems, I want to hear them,” said Olson.

Olson was sworn in Wednesday, followed by a re-organizational meeting and the first regular board meeting of the new year.