JEFF SIMON

Door Knocking Interrupted

Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to get out door knocking this weekend or into the beginning of next week as we are fairly confident that one of my sons (and maybe the other) has the flu.  As our whole family received the seasonal flu mist a few weeks ago, if this is the flu it probably is H1N1.  Although I really want to get out and continue hearing from all of you, I don’t want to be the one to spread this flu even more than it is now.  I intend to be back out during the last few weeks of the campaign.

North Metro TV Forum

I participated in another candidate forum, this time at North Metro TV station.  It will be distributed to the local cable stations in our area.  If you are able to watch and have any comments, please let me know your thoughts.  There were two very distinct styles of presentation from the candidates.  We received all of the questions a week before the taping, and I spent a lot of time preparing as you will be able to see when viewing.  Another style from one candidate, was answering the questions in more of a “off the cuff” way.  I don’t know what viewers will prefer, but as I’m new at this I felt that it was important to prepare so that I could effectively communicate my positions.  Hopefully you will take away that the time I spent preparing for this forum is an example of how I will approach my service on the School Board if elected.  If you are not able to watch the forum, I’ve included the questions and my answers below.  I would really like to hear your feedback, so please send an e-mail if you have a chance.  

North Metro TV Forum Questions:

In the short term, the current board has addressed some of the most serious issues facing our district, that have a direct impact on the budget shortfalls by making the decision to close schools next year. It was a difficult decision and continues to be a difficult time for our students and families.  We need to ensure that their voices are heard during the transition to new schools. 

Enrollment is anticipated to decline far into the future, and obviously, educational funding is based on the number of students enrolled. Although expenses do decrease with fewer students, expenditures do not decrease at the same rate as many are fixed costs. With this reality, the district needs to continue long-term planning for the future and not lose sight that we need to reach out to our community and listen to their feedback. 

We also need to be an advocate for our schools, the community, and the things important to our residents—including the best education we can provide to our students, so that we can continue to invite families to move to our district and minimize the trend of declining enrollment.

Another issue which continues to follow the Anoka-Hennepin School District year after year is lower per-student State funding than other districts, even in the Twin Cities surrounding area.

We need to review the past attempts to make our position heard, evaluate the current strategy, and immediately put into place a long-term, comprehensive plan to have the State address this situation.  This is a matter of fairness for our students, and it needs to be one of our main priorities.

Beyond this, we can minimize budget issues by continuing to be fiscally prudent.  This is the expectation of every tax payer, and we must build upon the successes our district has achieved in this area.

#2 - What will you do to have open lines of communication between yourself and parents, students, and staff?

As I have mentioned many times tonight, Community Outreach is one of my guiding principles.  This outreach includes parents, students, staff, but also all residents, even those that do not have student aged children.

My plan to accomplish this will include:

Creating an Advisory Group with the hope that all who participate will engage family, friends, neighbors and co-workers who also live in our district.

And I will also establish School Board conferences modeled after Parent/Teacher conferences so that residents in my district will have direct access.

Outreach for me also means being visible in our schools, and listening closely to our administrators, teachers, and school staff.  We know, and heard from the community many times during the recent Open Hearings, that we are blessed with outstanding teachers and school staff. 

These experts have so much experience and knowledge for the board to tap and it’s up to us, not them, to seek out their help.

Just as important, I believe we need to learn from where we have been and make changes for improvement.  A specific example is a review of the process used to make the school closing decisions. 

Although there were many good aspects, this process could have been improved to allow for additional public feedback. Building into the process an opportunity for community comments multiple times throughout the process, and early enough for ideas to be thoroughly evaluated, is very important. 

One of the great things about running for a local position is that it is “local,” and all of us have a greater opportunity to hear, and actually listen to, many of the residents in our community. 

#3 - Outside of budget concerns what do you believe is the most important issue facing the district today?

Currently, the most important issue for our district is the transition that our students, families, and staff are facing with the recently announced school closings.  Healing our community and successfully going forward will be greatly influenced by the community outreach process that is put in place for this transition. 

I am hearing from the community that parents did not feel that they were adequately represented or given the opportunity to present feedback with enough time for the Board to properly investigate those ideas.

Let’s learn from that process and put into place a comprehensive program with multiple opportunities for community feedback, as well as detailed explanations of all the options available.  The decision has been made; now let’s give the community more influence in how the transition will proceed, and information so that they feel comfortable in knowing the board is truly listening.

Many of them have already lost their children’s schools; it’s paramount that we give them an opportunity to be involved. Schools, for many, are like family, and simply “assigning” them new families is not something to be taken lightly.

The greatest concern long term, is that declining enrollment (reduction of 300 – 500 students per year) appears to be the norm far into the future. 

We need to make sure that the long-term planning is in place now for these significant changes, make sure that there is flexibility build into this planning, and again, involve the community as much as possible as our district goes forward. 

#4 - How can our schools incorporate technology into more aspects of the classroom experience?

Our students, like many of us, live in the digital world, and I believe that we must strive to engage them within the classroom through the same media in which they live. In their personal lives, students today play video games, while listening to an iPod, while texting their friends, all while watching a TV show.

Although this level of multitasking is not recommended, it shows that students are not only comfortable with technology, they demand it, and studies are pointing to the fact that success can be greatly benefited by using these tools in the classroom to enhance learning and engage differentiated learners, not to replace teaching.  

A recent article in NEA Today titled, “Turning the Page: Students live in a digital world; are schools ready to join them?” focused on this subject.  It was stated that technology benefited students by facilitating the ability to learn from and collaborate with others, by making the learning more self-directed and self-motivated, and, one of the greatest strengths, the ability to move beyond the classroom.

I brought a quote which speaks to this:  “Real time learning, in which students can remotely control microscopes at laboratories thousands of miles away or speak to experts in almost any field, for example, means that students are more engaged to learn.” 

Beyond classroom tools such as computers and Smart Boards, we need to encourage all teachers to embed technology into their entire curriculum.  Some examples include, student-created portfolios, technology-infused electives, blogging, virtual field trips

The NEA article also discussed the potential for teachers to resist as they may not be comfortable with technology.  I do know that many teachers have already embraced this effort, but for others the district must make sure that adequate training is in place so that they feel comfortable incorporating technology.   

#5 - What can you bring to this position that no one else can?

I believe that my combination of experience in both the private sector and in the educational system in our schools provides a unique perspective for service on our School Board.

My business background includes extensive budgeting, planning, and negotiations work, and these are very important skills for a board member whose decisions affect taxpayer dollars, especially in the current economic climate.

My time spent in education as a guidance counselor allows me to truly understand the joys and challenges that our students, teachers and school staff face.

Also, my current life stage is unique among the candidates, having young children in our schools – one son just began Kindergarten this year and my youngest is attending Early Childhood Family Education.  I have a very personal vested interest in our district’s success.

I also think that it’s important that my background more closely matches with the backgrounds of the majority of our community members.  I will bring a relevant perspective which is needed on our School Board.

Finally, in my opinion, it’s very important for a candidate to not only have a set of guiding principles for their service, but also openly communicate those to the community and voters. 

In every decision, I will consider my Guiding Principles of Transparency, Accountability and Community Outreach.

I possess a strong desire and motivation to expand information for our residents, truly understand your views, and will always consider this feedback while serving.