eNews from Peekskill Schools

It has been an honor to serve the students, families, and community of Peekskill for the past ten years.

Supt. Johnson with some past and present Board members: Lisbeth Bock, Fran Feuerman, Joseph Smith, Douglas Glickert, Maria Velez-Green, John Hallinan, Tuesday McDonald, Connie Lobur, and Michael Simpkins.

Shortly after my arrival, the Board of Education and the community engaged in strategic planning to give direction and purpose to our work. I do not think that back then we had a full sense of the magnitude of the task that would come to define our vision of schooling for Peekskill's children.

We made two important decisions. First, we adopted five goals to frame our work. Our priority goal was to improve the academic performance of all students while simultaneously raising the level of rigor and narrowing the achievement gap. The remaining four goals address teacher quality, parent involvement, fiscal accountability and safe, secure facilities. Those goals and the mission statement still direct our work, and reflect our belief that catalyzing change required new ideas, evidence of what works, data analysis, and yes, fiscal support. Public education requires fiscal support.

The second decision was to adopt a guiding theme. The choice, proposed by a parent and then endorsed by the Board and the community, was "Journey to the Peak of Excellence." It was based on a metaphorical view of the Hudson, our city's western boundary, and the river that encourages thoughts of the endless possibilities for life's journey. Our historical setting offers both wisdom and promise.

Each year, the strategic plan goals were analyzed and refined to ensure they remained meaningful, contemporary and focused. Each year, administrators reported to the board and the public on the results of their efforts. We created new management systems, redesigned curriculum and, most importantly, launched data collection systems to ensure that our work remained aligned to the original goals. Our efforts produced successes, and new arenas for learning such as an extended school day and school year. The new systems that have emerged reflect knowledge, energy, and research and support the moral purpose for our work. While the most visible evidence are the new playgrounds, science labs, technology tools and the new middle school, we also created new curricula programs, and expanded the use of technology as an instructional tool. However, our work also produced something less visible but more important to our culture--the emergence of talented building level leadership teams comprised of administrators and teachers, and an activist community willing to support programs that offered learning opportunities beyond that of preparing for state assessments.

Despite the fiscal crisis facing all government agencies, voters approved our school budgets. Fine and performing arts programs, the college credit bearing courses, all survived the fiscal challenges. We have learned so much along the way but challenges remain. We have not yet fully overcome the barriers that emerge when social and economic dysfunctions affect families. But we must--poverty cannot become a reason for failure.

The nation now seems focused on reducing fiscal support for public education. This is not a smart place to reduce expenditures. Educated students are our best national resource. We know the dollars to support schools are limited. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has launched a national discussion around the concept of the "New Normal," asserting that for the next several years, public educators at all levels will face the challenge of doing more with less. However, he suggests that we view this scenario as an opportunity to abandon educational traditions that are incompatible with twenty-first century needs. An improved educational system lies ahead, he opines, if we are smart, innovative, and courageous in rethinking the status quo. I agree. Further changes are needed if we are to meet the needs of all our students. I encourage you to continue to work together to find alternatives to traditions that no longer work for our students. Challenging the status quo will take courage, commitment, and collaboration.

Supt. Johnson and student singers at her retirement dinner. The dinner raised over $3,000 for the Peekskill Educational Foundation.

I know you will all find ways to take on this new call to action. Americans have never retreated from a national challenge, so I know that ultimately we will accomplish a transformation of our public schools that keeps the promise of ensuring that every child will have the opportunity to become an educated and productive citizen.After all, that is why I chose this profession. Astronaut and teacher Christa McAuliffe characterized it for us when she reminded the nation that "when we teach, we touch the future."

Good Luck.