Welcome to the Oakwood High School parent mailing list. Please bookmark our new district website from which you can access the high school site: http://www.oakwood.k12.oh.us
Remember: Parent/Teacher Conferences are Tuesday & Wednesday, Oct. 28 and 29, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Please contact your teenagers’ teachers in order to schedule these fifteen-minute conferences. Also, Friday, Oct. 31, is a No School Day!
Our first quarter has ended. We hope to mail report cards by Election Day.
Joseph Boyle
OHS Principal
By Jim Uphoff, Ed. D.
One week from today, the election for our next President will be concluded, I hope! None of the debates dealt much at all with the views and priorities of the two main candidates on our nation’s education system. I read a good summary of them in the 9-22-08 issue of the Christian Science Monitor and then others in several journals. Below is a combo summary of what was being reported.
Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy summarized his perceptions as follows: “The key difference is that Obama puts the emphasis on improving the public schools, working through the schools themselves, and McCain believes in outside pressures through the free market.” Obama advocates full funding of major federal laws to help local schools cope with the costly, but unfunded mandates of the government. McClain says he would put a freeze on all federal spending and then cut the budget for many programs.
Views on Education by Presidential Candidates:
| Topic |
McCain |
Obama |
| Vouchers/ Charter schools |
*more vouchers & on-line learning*fund “passports” for low income kids
*favors competition among schools just as businesses compete
|
*add more accountability
but double-fund for quality charter schools
*opposes vouchers, too little
accountability
*public schools remain as the foundation of democracy |
| NCLB law |
*Renew but freeze ALL fed. spending initially
*Provide faster tutoring for those in failing public schools
*Let private business give tutoring paid for by the feds not local schools |
*revise, renew AND FULLY fund the law as intended and cut local tax burdens
*better tests for students from
non-English homes to help them succeed |
| Teachers |
*Encourage alternative certification programs by states
*Bonuses for teachers who succeed in needy schools
*take $500 million from current educ funds to use for new virtual schools |
*merit-pay experiments should be tried and supported
*expand mentoring for beginning teachers to help them
*Stipends for teachers who succeed in needy schools
|
| Early Education |
*create Head Start centers of excellence one per state to serve as a model for the entire state |
*expand tax-credits for low-income families for child-care expenses
*grants for ‘zero to 5” state efforts to have voluntary universal pre-school
*increase Head Start funding and make Early Start program 4 times as large and improve the quality
of BOTH programs
|
| Other |
*simplify higher education tax benefits and financial aid so that more families can understand their eligibility |
*double funding for after school programs
*$200 million in grants for longer school days and/or years for
students in need
*$4000 per year tax credit for low and moderate means families of college students
*Reward community colleges with good records of transfers to
4-year colleges
|
While Obama does seem to want to work within the system of public education for its own improvement, he does favor quality charter schools. McClain seems to be much more comfortable with the “free market” philosophy as the way to accomplish improvements.
I hope that my readers have found this summary of positions to be of interest and informative. My challenge is to find a way for me to balance my life-long registration as a Republican with my 50 years as an educator and what I believe about my chosen career field and the importance of public schools to the success of a true democracy.
The Oakwood School District is restructuring its Facilities Advisory Committee to broaden its scope and include new members. Previously the Facilities Committee met on an “as-needed” basis. The Oakwood High School auditorium stage renovation was the first project receiving the committee’s input, followed by the school additions and renovations in 2001. The group met as recently as last spring to assist in the selection of architects and the design for the roof upgrade and stadium bleacher projects.
“We’re hoping to work with twelve to fifteen Oakwood residents who have expertise in building management, maintenance and preservation of historic buildings,” said Superintendent Dr. Mary Jo Scalzo.
The committee will meet on a regular bi-monthly schedule to provide ongoing input concerning issues related to facility maintenance, planning and usage. Previous members of the committee will be asked to continue their participation along with new members. Volunteers will be asked for multi-year commitments.
Interested community members should contact Treasurer Kevin Philo at the Board of Education Office at 20 Rubicon Road, Dayton, Ohio 45409, by phone at 297-5332, or email at philo.kevin@oakwood.k12.oh.us by October 31. Please include background information, resume, and/or other information that would be helpful in the membership selection process.
