jackiedoherty.org

Self-described as an upbeat column, yesterday’s “Chat” took a side trip from its usual tone to swipe at the Lowell School Committee: “The best idea I have been given over the years calls for an abolishment of the school board and the addition of three to five members to the Lowell City Council — five of whom would sit as a subcommittee on education…” notes Kendall Wallace, chair of the newspaper and longtime critic of the school board. As a five-year board member who has worked for more than a decade to improve our public schools, my initial response was: How does eliminating the school board and making it a subset of the Council improve its focus or efficacy? Secondly, if there were some justification for that and it happened, count on me to run for Lowell City Council. (I don’t imagine I would be alone in that pursuit.)

The problem with this column is its attempt to paint the entire board with one brush regarding recent student vacation trips on school time. All votes permitting such trips, specifically to Quebec and Spain/Portugal, have been approved by the vast majority of the board, and one member’s comments against them clearly does not represent the entire committee. Student attendance matters, yet my primary concern has always been improving the quality of the school day. We only have our students for 180 days, making it imperative that they attend school, yes, but also that each moment in school offers students engaged, meaningful learning experiences. That means our focus, from the board to the classroom teacher, must be on high-quality instruction and effective curriculum that challenges our students to their potential. I recognize that learning happens outside the classroom, which is why the board unanimously supported the policy update regarding student travel. (More on the district’s travel policy in a separate post.) In the meantime, read the “Chat” with a hefty grain of salt, as with most education editorials in this paper—there’s more to the issue than printed here.