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Board candidates stress academics and accountability
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
The need to improve academics and accountability are key issues in the race among three incumbents and three challengers to fill four seats on the city school board.
Michael Murphy, 56, and Richard “Dickie” Atkinson, 69, are running for a second term on the board. June Drennen, 69, who was appointed in 2009 to fill a vacancy, is seeking her first full term.
They are facing newcomers Jackie Adair, 66; Marcia Haire-Ellis, 60; and Brenda Kimble, 59. Anthony Catale did not seek re-election.
All of the candidates talked of the need to improve academic performance while keeping control of spending,
Murphy says he’s proud of how the district has so far trimmed costs without sacrificing academics.
The state superintendent last month warned that the district needs to progress faster in improving academic achievement.
Murphy said that it’s up to the board to ensure that Superintendent Connie Hathorn is accountable for making those changes. To do that, Hathorn must hold other administrators accountable, he said.
Murphy says that the changes that Hathorn has instituted since becoming superintendent last January have put the district “on the right path” and that he believes the district will improve.
Adair, who has worked as a substitute teacher in city, charter and suburban schools, said it’s up to the board to put policies in place and then ensure that employees are following those policies consistently.
She also cited academics as an area upon which the district must focus, adding that the curriculum is lacking.
Adair also sees a lack of parental involvement in the district.
“I’m not going to wait for parents to come to meetings” to ask them to get involved, she said.
She says she’ll go to neighborhood-watch meetings and other gatherings to seek their input.
Haire-Ellis, who retired after 35 years as a teacher and counselor at the city schools, also hopes to bolster parental involvement.
She said the district should seek input from parents, community stakeholders and other members of the public.
“We need more collaboration with the community,” Haire-Ellis said.
A parent’s first encounter with the school shouldn’t be negative, she said.
Haire-Ellis believes accountability is important in improving academics.
“We have to make sure there’s learning going on in every building at every level,” she said.
The superintendent should ensure that’s happening and report to the board, Haire-Ellis said.
Atkinson, a retired corridor administrator with the Ohio Department of Transportation, said changes made thus far in the district have put it on the right track toward improvement and that he expects academics and test scores to continue to get better.
“When I go to school buildings, I see a different atmosphere,” he said. “Teachers and administrators are excited.”
Hathorn must hold his staff accountable, and the board will hold Hathorn accountable, Atkinson said.
Drennen, retired principal of Warren JFK High School who also worked as a teacher, also has confidence in Hathorn and the changes he’s made in the district since he became superintendent last January.
She said teacher improvement must be developed through evaluation and training and principals must become instructional leaders.
Drennen believes the new teacher-evaluation model, being piloted in the district this year, is an improvement from what has been used in the distriwct.
Hathorn has put the right people in the right positions in the schools to see achievement improve, Drennen said.
Schools are now testing students more frequently to determine where more instruction is needed, she said.
Kimble, who is self-employed at Add-A-Touch Limousine Service, also supports the changes made in the district with creation of a visual and performing arts and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math school at Chaney.
Like the other candidates, Kimble, who has grandchildren in the school system, sees a need for more parental involvement in the city schools.
One way that can be achieved is through better communication, she said. Kimble said she’s experienced firsthand the need for that improvement while in the schools as a parent volunteer.
“My highest qualification is experience through being present in the district as a devoted parent and volunteer for over 30 years,” she said.