It’s time for me to leave Hudson and move to Missouri to join my husband, but it’s really not about me. The School Board is a team and as we all know there is no “I” in team. As I reflect on my term of service from being elected in the Fall of 2011 until today, I am just amazed at the positive changes in the community that I have come to call my home for the past 19 years. Not all of the changes were easy and some were downright difficult but with collaboration and thoughtful discussion we found common ground.
Great schools don’t just happen, they are the product of an engaged community that shares responsibility for a positive culture along with financial (property tax) support. Although our financial outlook is stable now, it wasn’t always that way. In fact, that is just what brought me to the school board meetings of 2010 -2011. Hudson Schools were facing a financial crisis that had decimated our rainy day funds and neither property taxes or state funding were going to fix it. I ran for school board because I knew that the local school was not only important to our community’s sustainability but also to the youth and families that rely on a solid education for their future. We as a community owe it to our kids and their future to get engaged and stay engaged so that we are aware of the utilization of our taxes and can support our teachers and staff to provide positive educational outcomes for all of our youth.
We start each meeting with “We create effective learning environments that result in success for all students”. These are very powerful words as a school board we act together to create effective policies and practices that allow the staff to fulfill their mission to educate all of our children. I have been proud to be part of the many positive changes that have taken years of planning like paving the High School parking, paving the Middle school parking, providing handicap access to the competition gym are some of the major visual changes. In addition in the past seven years we added Pirate term, PLC & TLC along with weekly Wednesday early outs for professional development. I have had the great honor and privilege to hand out diplomas to my own children, swelling with pride at their accomplishments due in major part to the commitment and dedication of our wonderful teachers.
Message for Community:
Get engaged, find out what’s going on in your school and community. Stay engaged by attending meetings and events, read the board minutes in the Hudson Herald, run for School Board, but most importantly - Share your voice. You are as important a part of the school as the children, teachers and staff. Bring your ideas, collaborate, look forward to what will be expected from graduates in future jobs. Volunteer your time, before school, during or after school, at events and activities. Remember Great Schools don’t just happen!! They need a community of engaged citizens collaborating together. I am proud to have been part of the #piratepride family.
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