Keeping standards high on Bangor school board

In November, the residents of Bangor will have the opportunity to elect two people to the Bangor School Committee. The school committee is made up of seven residents. It is interesting to note that since 1986, when I was first elected to the school committee, every year the majority of the Bangor School Committee has consisted of members in their first or second consecutive term, except for November 2006 to June 2007 when three members were in their first or second term, one was in her third term, and the other two members had served four or more consecutive terms.

In spite of the significant turnover in the school committee through the years, the votes are nearly always unanimous. They are unanimous because the school committee has adopted academic excellence as its top priority and we all, in our individual ways, struggle to do what is best with the resources we have to provide the framework in which every child can reach his or her fullest potential.

The benefits of having people run for re-election are that they can be judged by what they have done; they bring experience to the committee; and they have institutional memory.

Rather than cite the numerous ways in which I have contributed to public education, I urge you to visit my Web site at www.phyllisshubert.com. It is enough to say that Bangor has one of the best school systems in the state today. That is not a statement that could have been made in 1986. I have contributed in a number of ways to this success, the most important being my unwavering focus on the achievement of all children. The Iowa Lighthouse Study has proven a direct correlation between student success and a school board’s expectation that all children can learn and a school board’s knowledge of what is happening in the schools.

Nationally, at least 50 percent of educators are reaching retirement age. It is no different in Bangor. We can expect a number of our administrators, department heads and teachers to be retiring in the near future. As Bangor faces changes from the consolidation legislation, it is also facing changes in its staff. Superintendent Robert Ervin is leaving at the end of the year. Dr. Lee Worcester is retiring in November. As they leave, it is important that they not take with them the culture of high aspirations, high expectations and continued excellence in all areas. The school committee must remain vigilant in its efforts to maintain the focus on academic achievement.

As great an impact as consolidation will have on Maine’s schools, it pales in comparison to the changes the Department of Education is proposing. It intends to institute a state diploma for graduation. It intends to eliminate all credit requirements. It intends to require state approval for all high school programs of studies. Students will be required to meet performance standards in the eight subjects of the Maine Learning Results measured by their performance on state exams and by the production of portfolios. Performance standards and portfolios may sound familiar to those of you who experienced or remember the “model schools” of the late 1960s and early ’70s. It will take committed, knowledgeable and experienced people to pull the good ideas from the proposed rules and prevent us from returning to the failed experiment of model schools. If re-elected, I can be one of these people.

The National School Boards Association published “The Key Works of School Boards” in 2000. It identifies vision, standards, assessment, accountability, resource alignment, climate and continuous improvement as the eight areas where a school board should focus its attention. It is a model we unknowingly followed when we adopted the “Plan For The Year 2000” in 1991 and the plan “Beyond 2000.” Continuous improvement is achieved by seeking better, more effective and more efficient ways of doing things. It is a concept I embrace. If re-elected to the Bangor School Committee, I will continue to seek academic excellence for all students using the “Key Works” as a guide.

Phyllis Shubert is a member of the Bangor School Committee.