[MUSIC PLAYING]
The education of our students is the responsibility
of everybody.
We must send our children out well-equipped to handle
the challenges ahead.
I want to see them successful in life.
To help our students really be competitive in today's
global economy.
I want them to be a winner.
And we have all we need and who we
need to do the job right here in this district
I've been part of the community, moved here 27 years ago.
And there's a lot of things here.
There's chemical industry, which I'm part of.
There's historical regions around here.
There's several communities within the community.
I came down here in this area in '76.
At that time, Port Arthur was a leader.
A lot of demographics have changed, a lot of challenges
have appeared.
Over the past couple of years, we
have not had a clear vision of where we were going.
From the first call from Region 13,
when they introduced the five-year strategic plan
for us, I never would have thought
that 70 individuals would be able to come
together and communicate.
Disagree, but still have the same goal--
the students and the community.
We're getting ready to present our plans.
Take a few minutes and make sure you have your story.
What you're feeling there is a cooperation.
All the ideas are being poured out,
and you see how this one great idea combined
with another great idea will really
result to an astounding idea, and that idea
will become an action.
This experience has been outstanding,
and the leadership of this process
has been very outstanding.
There were parents who were teachers, who were students.
The students, they were the voice we needed to hear.
Because so many times we really miss what's really
happening in the classroom.
Although I'm a student and all surrounded
by people that are older than me, they treated me
as an adult. We had to come up with certain plans,
we had to come up with goals in a certain amount of time.
Hearing the people from the community
really allowed me to get a new perspective about what
I can do as a student.
Strategic planning gave me an opportunity
to voice my opinions as well as my peers' opinions.
We're actually in school and we know what's going on.
We are working diligently to make certain
that all of the steps along the way meet the goals that we set.
For us to have quality education in the district,
we have to get quality teachers.
We have to attain them, retain them, and then cultivate them.
Port Arthur is a community of people
that care about their children.
That is why we have embarked on two bonds.
That's why we're renovating and building new schools.
When a parent gets involved with the student process at school,
the student has a better attitude and you can help them.
Kids stay in school longer.
There's less dropouts when their parents are involved.
The thing about strategic planning and the way
it's been done, everybody had a voice.
Everybody is comfortable to come to the table
and be a part of decision making.
This is our plans to build a very effective layout
for our district.
DISD will attain, retain, and cultivate qualified teachers.
Reading and writing at appropriate levels are a must.
We want to see the students be motivated to come to school.
We want to see them be inspired to learn.
It takes a village to raise a child,
and guess what the strategic planning is.
This is the model that we've been searching
for for quite some time.
Being involved in this, I see what the obstacles have been
and realize that they need my support more
than they need my complaints.
Sometimes we're strong on telling and not asking.
Talking and not listening.
This is the first time that I can say in 25 years
that I've been involved in such a process like this.
What I want for Port Arthur is for people to be proud.
Things are growing and changing.
We're pursuing excellence in our school system.
When people hear Port Arthur, they
need to know that that school and that district
supports and loves the children, and they are
going in a positive direction.
It is about what we want for our community.
It was and is a community effort.
Now we're ready to add that new component
of the educational opportunities for our teachers
and for our students.
We all cannot wait to see what PAISD will be.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét