Schools, Kids, and Community

People still regularly ask me if I miss serving on the School Board.

I miss some of it. I miss being involved. I miss thinking about schools and talking about schools and working to make schools better. It truly was a privilege to serve here in Fayette County. Fayette County is special. No matter when you moved here (for me it was 1996), you probably moved here because of our school system.

Fayette County is special because we know that a public school system is the bedrock of what makes a community strong and sustainable. We know that how we treat our children is the truest indicator of our moral character. We know that we are stronger together as a community than we are when we are lonely and isolated.

So yeah, I miss that part.

“Kids these days.” “When I went to school, the kids listened to teachers.” “No one learns to read these days.”

Sound familiar? We all know the litany of complaints about our public education system. And it’s easy to politicize them. I understand the politics part – my old role was as the groundbreaking all-in partisan head cheerleader and chief spokesman. I don’t miss that part.

So I’m lucky that I have the opportunity to use this space for the former and not the latter. I want to spread the word about the importance of schools and how we treat our children. I want to help our community understand how our local school system works. Why does our school system do what it does? Who are the people who make these decisions? What are the pros and cons of different approaches? And how do you implement change in a large system with competing priorities?

I have some ideas about columns. I could do one on why the Fayette County School System was designed to be more expensive and complicated to run than comparable systems. Or one on how to advocate for a system policy change. How about one on who decides how we teach reading?

But, as I continue to learn on a regular basis, others do not always find interest in what I do. To make this column successful I need to hear from you. What school issue have you always been curious about? Are you running into a conflict at your school? Do you have an opinion about why people mistrust public schools and teachers in general but love their local school? How do you think we can support our schools and make them better?

As those questions pour in (as I know they will), we’ll start from the beginning. Building Brains from the Beginning is a new community effort to help educate Fayette County on the importance of infant brain development and to provide parents and caregivers the resources they need to help nurture children. Next time we will dive into this effort and explore some of the resources available to families.

I’m so looking forward to learning about our schools together. Send your comments, questions, and ideas about schools and kids to me at [email protected].