May-June 2011 - Meade School District

ELECTION: Three to be elected Continued from Page 6
Mack, a stay-at-home mom,
was a paraprofessional in Meade
School District from 2004-2008.
She, too, has never run for public
office but said that she has always
tried to be an active parent in her
children's education, and running
for the school board is an extension
of that.
According to the 35-year-old,
there are many great programs
being offered at the schools such as
Capable Kids at Piedmont
Stagebarn, an after-school program
and Freshmen Small Learning
Community at the high school,
DARE program at all elementary
schools, Reading Challenge at
Sturgis Elementary and a wide
range of extracurricular activities.
"I also think the technology
being used by our teachers is
something of which we should be
proud, as is the fact that 100 percent
of teachers are considered to
be highly qualified," she said.
Mack is concerned that the
middle school continues to be on
school improvement and that the
budget cuts and resulting changes
will negatively affect students.
One change she would support
is to offer all-day kindergarten.
"I have always felt that three
hours is not enough time to teach
a well-rounded kindergartner,"
she said. "Because standards
continue to rise, I feel this would
be the time to start an all-day program."
"Our schools are safe, we have
wonderful students with supportive
and active parents, and there is a
lot of school spirit and community
pride," she said. "I would be proud
to be a school board member in
this school district."
Peterson, the incumbent, is a
homemaker. She is running for reelection
because she wants to
continue with the accomplishments
achieved during the last few
years. "Serving on the Meade
School Board also allows me to
give back to my district," she said.
The six-year school board
member is proud of the board's
effort in trying to improve the
appearance of the schools. She is
also proud of the fact that during
her tenure two new elementary
schools have been built.
"We have hired great teachers
and have good teacher retention,"
Peterson said. "We offer professional
development for our teachers
and also give a pay increase to
those who increase their level of
education."
The 51-year-old said the rigor
and relevance of the course offerings
at the high school is something
of which we all can be proud.
"With the classes we currently offer,
our students are well prepared for
college or a career after they graduate,"
Peterson said.
Given adequate funding,
Peterson would like to see
improved teacher compensation
and full-day kindergarten. "We
would love to increase our teacher
salaries to match the teachers in
states whose schools receive
more funding," she said.
"Without adequate funding
from the state, though, it is going
to be tough for all our public
schools for the next seven to eight
years," she said. "It will be difficult
to keep our qualified teachers and
to give our students all the opportunities
that we would like to."
Peterson believes states and
school districts should have the
flexibility in how they spend federal
dollars as long as the focus is
on improving student outcome. "I
would like to see an increased
focus on a well-rounded education,"
she said. "Improved public
education gives all students fair
opportunity to learn."
The other two incumbents,
Carl Wahl and Sharon Williams,
are not running for re-election.
Locations of the polls and
other election information can be
found on the school district website:
www.meade.k12.sd.us/
offices/businessoffice.htm
School year coming to a close
The calendar for the remainder of the 2010-11 school year in Meade School District is as follows:
Sunday, May 22: SBHS graduation, 2 p.m., west gym, high school
Monday, May 23: Last day of school*
(*This could change if there are additional snow days to make up, causing the last day to be pushed ahead.)
14 In Touch May-June 2011