With two high schools we have provided more opportunities for student engagement in sports and activities, Juneau-Douglas High School is less crowded, we have smaller learning communities and our students have more choices for learning. Our greatest challenge now seems to be our own impatience with wanting the school to be fully formed and mature in just its second year. We need to support Thunder Mountain as if it is one of the young people we are trying to serve in this community and we must focus on giving Thunder Mountain the positive reinforcement which will help it succeed.

Equity. By the time children enter kindergarten much will already have occurred that will spell success or failure for them in school. Not every child receives the benefits of pre-school learning.  We should look to our existing preschool and child care models and find ways to expand access to the effective programs that already exist. We should also hold a community discussion around the possibility of a district-supported preschool programming to see if this is something Juneau wants and needs, and is interested in supporting.

When we look at AYP, we sometimes get the wrong impression — not that all students aren’t achieving but that most are. No single number adequately represents all the good things our schools and students are doing. Success comes in as many forms as failure; we need to view mastery of skills and motivation to learn as important as test scores. While we need to focus on improving test scores of all students, we must also acknowledge the partnership between the educator, the student and the family. Each of these partners plays an important role in the students’ success.

These problems have been with us so long that it may seem like there’s no way we can ever root out and eliminate them from our schools. Schools must be one place where norms of respect and acceptance can take hold in our student’s lives. Much good study and evaluation of programs has been done nationally and in our own community to lessen the impact of racism, harassment and bullying, and we can use these research-based, evidence-based practices to make our schools fair and safe places for all.

I have zero tolerance for drug abuse in our schools. Once we have ensured appropriate policies are implemented and are providing appropriate discipline, we must then ensure the Juneau community is ready to support the fallout of students that test positive. We are fortunate to have some resources in our community — but are the resources we have enough? It would be a grave tragedy if we identify drug problems in students only to leave them without the support and services they need to move toward healthier lifestyles. The whole community must come together to address this issue.