The Hermiston School District will join the other 196 school districts throughout Oregon to celebrate January as School Board Recognition Month, Interim Superintendent Tricia Mooney.
“Our school board members spend countless hours of unpaid time working to support the best possible educational opportunities for our students,” said Mooney. “They also serve as the corporate board of directors to the fourth largest employer in the community. Celebrating School Board Recognition Month is one way to say thanks for all they do.”
“School board members represent their fellow citizens’ views and priorities in the complex enterprise of maintaining and running the community’s public schools,” Mooney said. “They also reinforce the principle of local control over public education, which is an important, highly valued aspect of education in Oregon.”
“Too often the efforts of school board members go unrecognized,” Mooney said.
The school board’s main goal is to support student achievement, Mooney added. To achieve that goal, the board focuses on the following needs:
- Creating a vision for what parents and citizens want their school district to become and how to make student achievement the top priority
- Approving standards for what students must learn and be able to do
- Assessing whether schools achieve their goals and whether students are learning
- Accounting for the outcomes of decisions and by tracking progress and reporting results
- Aligning the use of the district’s human and financial resources
- Supporting a safe and orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach
- Collaborating to solve common problems and to support common successes
- Focusing on continuous improvement by questioning, examining, revising, refining and revisiting issues related to student achievement.
During the month of January, each board member is recognized by a school within the district. Members of the board may be recognized at a student body assembly, may join students for lunch, bulletin boards or door decorations may be done in their honor. The district will acknowledge the board at tonight’s meeting, where Mooney will proclaim January School Board Recognition Month and hold a social to honor the members.
“Even though we are making a special effort during January to show appreciation for our school board members, we recognize their contributions reflect a year-round effort on their part,” Mooney said. “They are dedicated individuals who are committed to improving student achievement and to fighting for the best for all of our students.
