By Katherine Ayers | March 11, 2024
Why am I running for re-election as a school board member?
I care about Milton as my home community and am concerned about the empty commercial buildings and others in our town center that are up for sale and/ or recently or likely scheduled to be torn down. What has happened to our vitality of yesteryear and why are we not growing in population like our neighbors? A good part of the answer lies in the state of our schools which is of prime importance when young families consider the best place to move. In the past few decades, we have been most attractive to retirees and summer vacationers because they don’t care if our schools have been performing in the lowest 5% academically within the state. I ran for school board last year to help find a way to provide a finer academic offering to our children as well as to bring value and commercial viability back to our town. This is not an easy nor simple task, but progress can be seen.
There has been some improvement in our test scores in 2022-23 with, hopefully, more to come in the 2023-24 academic year which ends in June, but we are still way below the state average in language arts, math and science throughout the district.
What other improvements have been made you ask?
NEW GOALS
I am pleased to have been part of the formulation of new Milton school board goals for this year and next which are focused on 3 critical arenas:
1) Substantial and measurable academic improvement
2) Teacher retention and quality enhancement
3) Building sustainable grant funding to support these 2 goals.
The school board has been focused on these 3 goals which are printed on the back of every school board meeting agenda sheet.
NEW TEACHER PAY
Two of the things that have hurt Milton’s school standing is our teacher turnover and their experience level mostly due to lower-than-average pay. As a step in the right direction, we have put a proposed increased teacher compensation plan before the voters in next week’s election with the sincere hope that you will support it.
NEW CURRICULA
We are also continuing to study, add and evaluate innovative educational curricula in order to drive our academic standing to a higher plain.
DEVELOPMENT of 5 C’s
But academic success is only one measure of preparing our youth to be ready for the challenges of adulthood. Our ever-changing world will require big doses of what I call the 5 Cs of education: critical thinking, character, communication, collaboration, and creativity. These attributes cannot be measured by an annual standard test but should be considered when developing curriculum, individual projects and group assignments throughout the year.
Every child deserves to feel ready to meet the world upon high school graduation. Milton cares about their children and wants them all to succeed in their chosen pathways.
Milton needs a concerned and committed school board, administration, teachers and support staff working together to provide great schooling for our youth, a good value for the town taxpayers, and a great future for our town! The work continues and I would very much like to continue as part of it. A vote for Katherine Ayers for School Board will be a vote for a brighter future. Hope to see you all at the polls.
Katherine Ayers
Milton Observer 