Watervliet Public Schools is joining 537 local and 56 intermediate school districts across Michigan to celebrate January as School Board Recognition Month.
“In another year full of challenges for public education, our school board members persevered through the adversity of 2023 to provide the best possible education for our students,” said Superintendent Ric Seager “Celebrating School Board Recognition Month is one of the very small ways to express appreciation for all they do.”
School board members represent the views and priorities of their community in the complex system of maintaining and running a district’s public schools, Seager said. They also reinforce the principle of local control over public education, which is an important, highly valued aspect of education in Michigan.
“Too often, the efforts of school board members go unrecognized,” Seager said.
“The school board’s main goal is to support student achievement”, Seager 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.
Setting 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.
Creating 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.
“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,” Seager said. “No matter what challenges lie ahead for our district in 2024, our school board members will continue to govern to improve student achievement and provide exceptional education for all our community’s children.”
The individuals serving Watervliet Public Schools and their years of service are:
Bill Spaulding – 22nd year
Eric Laws - 6th year
John Oliphant - 6th year
Amanda Morlock-Fisher – 5th year
Kim Adams – 4th year
Brian Gruszczyk –4th year
Wendy Hart – 4th year