We've delegated more decision-making to the local school level, giving parents, teachers and local administrators a greater voice in their schools. With this foundation in place, we can do even more to realize John Stanford's dream of world-class schools in Seattle. I'm privileged to serve as a member of the School District team that has accomplished these results and is now poised to make Seattle even more of a leader in the field of education. The biggest challenge the district now faces, and my No. 1 priority, is to successfully implement our new academic standards to allow higher academic achievement for all our students. We on the School Board have overseen the development of these standards for the past 15 months.
Standards are uniform learning goals for each year in reading, writing, math and communication.
Assessments that go with them will measure what students actually learn and understand, not just what is taught. Early identification of students needing extra help will allow for early intervention and assistance. As a former high school English teacher and volunteer coordinator at Eckstein Middle School, I know what a valuable tool these objective standards will be for teachers to improve individual student performance. As a co-founder of Kapka, a private primary school, and Coho, a public alternative elementary school, I know what an important resource they will be for parents. And as a parent of two teenagers in Seattle schools, I know what an opportunity they will be for our children to focus their own learning.