SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE
Candidate’s Name: Julie Keegan
Contact Address:
Contact Telephone Number: 614/846-8825
Contact Email Address:
Please answer all questions and send a completed questionnaire by January
16 via email to:
1.
Please state
your professional or volunteer activities with K-12 education, either in the
Worthington School District, another school district or in a private school.
Worthington Schools:
Board member, Worthington Educational Foundation
Member, Evening Street PTA
Evening Street Science Celebration Co-Chair (2006
& 2007)
Classroom volunteer (Grades K,1,3,5,6)
Room Parent (Grade 6)
Literature Circle volunteer (Grade 7)
Volunteer distributing bond levy literature
(2006)
Dublin Schools:
Arts Alive Classroom Coordinator
Classroom volunteer (Grades 1,2,3)
Room Parent (Grade 2)
The
Classroom volunteer (Grade K)
Lunch Bunch volunteer
Classroom volunteer (Grade K)
Classroom volunteer (Grade K)
2. What personal traits, skills, or experiences
would you bring to the position that you feel would make you an effective board
member?
I am a quick learner, a hard worker and a very resourceful
person. I am willing to invest
considerable time researching significant issues.
In addition, I believe my first-hand experience with multiple
public school systems and private schools provides me with important
perspective when analyzing decisions to be made by the board. I’ve seen the outcome of good decisions made
by a school district and poorly thought out decisions that led to frustration
and inefficiency.
Finally, I think my experience with Court Appointed Special
Advocates (CASA) has helped me develop good oral communication skills which are
critical to being an effective board member.
As a volunteer Guardian ad Litem with CASA, I conducted home visits with
abused and neglected children and interviewed parents, foster parents, teachers
and other adults in the lives of these children. I then synthesized large amounts of
information to provide a concise yet thorough report to the magistrate or judge
which framed a recommendation for the child in each case.
3. What do you think is the most pressing issue
in the Worthington Schools?
The long-term financial health of the district is currently the
most pressing issue. Related to this
issue is the need to change the attitudes of some members of the community regarding
the levy requests. There is a difficult
balance to maintain between the desire for high quality public education -- which
truly benefits the entire community -- and the tax burden which also has a
district-wide impact. I believe an
important part of changing the community’s attitude is educating the public
(particularly those with no school-aged children) about the specific needs of
their neighborhood schools. I think the
literature distributed for the November bond levy did an excellent job of
providing very specific information about the proposed spending in the relevant
school pyramid of the home receiving the flyer. Although that was a capital-improvement levy,
I think operating levy literature could also offer very specific data regarding
teachers’ salaries and other costs while emphasizing the importance of
attracting and retaining high-quality teachers and staff.
The other side of this issue is something our district cannot
manage alone -- fixing the state school funding system in
4. If it were necessary to make substantial cuts
in the expenditures of the district, what areas would you cut first, and what areas
would you seek to preserve?
In an ideal world, the board would avoid cutting anything except waste
and inefficiency. As the board has done
in the past, I believe it is critical to have community stakeholders weigh in
when cuts are necessary. Once an area
has been selected for reduction or elimination, I also believe the board should
examine the area to see if it must be cut in its entirety or whether some sort
of pay-to-participate plan might be implemented. Because of the many state mandates on course
instruction, I do not believe the board has wide flexibility in determining which
types of programs can be cut; therefore, the board must require the
administration to be creative and innovative in offering excellent education in
the most cost-effective manner possible.
This will allow the district to stretch its dollars to include as many
programs as possible.
5.
If it were possible to add new programs to the district, what programs would you
seek to add?
Again, the board and the district would want to look to the community
for input regarding areas it values. One
priority I would put forth for the district’s and the board’s consideration is introducing
foreign language as early as possible, definitely at the elementary level. I would also give very serious consideration
to the International Baccalaureate program.
Both early foreign language introduction and the IB program would help
us emphasize to our students that they are part of an increasingly “flat”
global community.
Finally, I would also explore expanding the K+ program. Because the K+ program is now offered on a
lottery basis, we know demand exceeds current capacity. The full day program better allows the K+
teachers to differentiate the curriculum.
These teachers have additional time to reinforce concepts with
struggling learners and to explore learning extensions for high achievers.
6. What do you see as the impact of “No
Child Left Behind” on the Worthington Schools? What about the
No Child
Left Behind:
This piece of legislation, now five years old, sought to narrow
the achievement gap between groups of students and introduced a new system of
accountability for teachers in public schools. While great strides have been
made in these areas both nationally and within Worthington Schools, these
strides have not been without cost. Holding
our teachers accountable is highly desirable but has, in some cases, decreased
flexibility in the manner and content of the subjects taught. I also believe NCLB has also increased the
administrative burden for our district.
As you know, Worthington Schools has met all state standards for six
consecutive years and is the largest district in
Examining the provisions of this new law, the previous state
requirements for high school diplomas and the current curriculum offerings at
both
The most notable change is that
Finally, the Ohio Core law requires formation of a Foreign
Language Advisory Council which must propose a statewide foreign language
education implementation plan to the General Assembly by the end of 2007. Because the Council is just being formed, its
results and recommendations will not be known until at least 2008. The foreign language plan adopted by the
state may have an impact on our district.
The board should confirm that the administration is keeping abreast of
developments in this area to ensure that we are well-positioned to meet the
forthcoming foreign language requirements.
7. If selected, what do you see as your role in
influencing state education laws and policies that affect the Worthington
Schools?
I think the board has a duty to educate the members of the Ohio
General Assembly who are elected representatives of our district about how
proposed and current legislation affects our schools and our residents. I would enjoy participating in this area to
as large an extent as the board deemed appropriate. To that end, I could attend legislative
sessions or education committee meetings and assist in contacting legislators in
a manner agreed upon by the board.
I know Mr. Schare has already mentioned scheduling regular
meetings between members of the board and State Representative Kevin
Bacon. This is an excellent way to
ensure information about important educational issues flows both ways.
8. What do you see as the roles and
responsibilities of a school board member?
As I’m sure you are aware, the district has provided a list of
responsibilities in the job description of a board member. Related to these duties, I think a school
board member should be visible in the community both at school-related and
other events. Being accessible to
residents of the district in person as well as by telephone and e-mail is among
the most important responsibilities a board member undertakes.
The Ohio School Boards Association website provides some pertinent
comments from school board members across the nation on what they felt was the
most difficult part of being a board member.
Two comments in particular caught my attention. I feel both of these ideas, while they may be
difficult, are important responsibilities of a board member: 1) learning how to respond appropriately to
the complaints and concerns of citizens, school administrators and other staff
including teachers; and 2) learning that boardmanship means being able to hold
the minority viewpoint when voting on an issue, then openly supporting the majority
vote.
9. What evidence do you believe shows the
Worthington Schools are adequately, or inadequately, preparing students for
their lives after graduation?
I think the most basic measure of our success is the extremely
large percentage (> 90%) of students that go on to college or further
educational training following graduation.
The
The Advanced Placement (AP) and post-secondary programs in the
district offer additional evidence that our students are prepared. According to district literature, currently
16 different AP classes are offered in
Finally, the district offers a career center course of study to
better prepare those students that may not be college bound.