It is an
immense privilege for the School Committee to sit before you this evening as we
commit ourselves to serving you and the children of the Melrose Public Schools
in 2018 and beyond. We are incredibly grateful to prior School Committee
members, Aldermen, department heads, staff members, citizen volunteers, and particularly Mayor Robert Dolan, who
have paved the way for the beautiful city and outstanding school district we share,
and we welcome those who now join together to keep the momentum going and build
on the excellent work that has gone before.
We are
living in a time of unprecedented change, and the pace of that change is both
exciting and daunting. A stark reality for educational communities is evolving
teaching and learning to prepare students for a world about which we may now
know little. As Supt. Taymore noted in her opening remarks to Parent University
this past November, if you went to school in the ‘70-‘80’s, information doubled
every 10 years. In the ‘80’s through the‘90’s, it was every 8 years. For our
children, information doubles every 12 months and soon, every 12 hours. She
asked: “what do you teach? What is important for students to know? How much can
a person remember?”
This past
year, the Committee, with community input, agreed on a new Vision for our
district: Every student will be an engaged, challenged, enriched, and
self-directed learner. To that end, and with the highest standards in mind, we
are committed to employing the unique skills and abilities the seven of us
bring to the table, and working tirelessly together as decisions are not made
alone. We are committed to listening and learning, from parents, community
members, staff, students, and experts in education; and then employing input
from all to make those decisions, some of which will be popular and some not,
but hopefully all with the confidence that we are well-informed. We are
committed to staying true to our core values and beliefs, embedded in our new
Mission Statement: The Melrose Public Schools will provide and sustain a
thriving and dynamic teaching and learning environment, preparing every student
to excel in their authentic life and global citizenship, as supported by an
engaged community.
You have
elected us to represent your community, families and your most precious
charges, your children. We take that responsibility as seriously as we take
raising our own families, because in truth, your children are our children too.
So we ask you to join the School Committee and our administration to build on
the many achievements of our school district, and we ask for your support and
like-mindedness in being purposeful in our actions, honest in our
communications, and compassionate in our thoughts and in our deeds. When we do
this, and we will, together, every single Melrose Public School student will
shine. Thank you.
