Opinion
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January 4 – 17, 2014
45
Community Commentary
Board focuses on 10-year plan BY ANNETTE AUXIER
As we ring in the New Year, it provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the previous 12 months and to look forward to what’s ahead for 2014. The year Annette Auxier. 2013 provided Submitted photo many challenges and many success stories. We are very proud to say that Chandler Unified once again earned an “A” rating by the Arizona Department of Education. CUSD is one of only 10 districts to earn the state’s top grade for each of the first three years of the Arizona LEARNS accountability system and the only district with multiple high schools all qualify for an “A” grade. In November, our community voted to support our Maintenance and Operations override election. The authorization will help us recruit and retain great teachers, prevent us from increasing class sizes and provide additional security for our schools. For 2014, the Governing Board, administration and staff are focused on our 10-year plan called Journey 2020, which is our effort to try to become the top school district in the nation by the year 2020. We have created paths to excellence for Academic Excellence, Outstanding Staff, Culture of Success and Effective Resource Management. Within Academic Excellence, the paths include personalized education and student-centered learning environments. Outstanding Staff focuses on Effective Staff and Effective Leaders. Our Culture of Success shines light on our attempts to communicate effectively and earn organizational recognition. Effective Resource Management works to ensure that we are maximizing our human and
financial resources and continuing to develop alliances and partnerships. Each summer we develop new metrics that we measure our success and learn how we can improve. I would encourage you to become familiar with Journey 2020 by visiting the district website, cusd80.com. Our schools truly belong to the community. Strong public neighborhood schools are important to our sense of community, our property values and, indeed, economic development. There are many ways that residents can help their neighborhood schools. One method of support is through financial contributions such as the public education tax credit or donations to schools. Just as important as financial support is volunteerism. There are many ways to assist at the school level, including teaching Junior Achievement, which provides important business and economic lessons. Another is our popular Art Masterpiece program run entirely by parents and community members. Schools are grateful for support in other areas as well, including providing clerical help for teachers, helping our youngest students learn how to read, tutoring or involvement in a STEM activity. Sports fans can attend a local athletic event and show support by rooting on their local team. At the district level, we have opportunities as well, including our 10-week citizens budget committee or helping to review textbooks considered for adoption. To conclude, it is our privilege to serve our community, which continues to show its support to our staff, students and schools. Thank you for helping us in our effort to become a top national school district. Annette Auxier is governing board president for the Chandler Unified School District.
Green your goals for 2014 New Year’s is a time for reflection and resolution. As you create a brand new list of goals for 2014, it is not too late to include mother Earth. Waste Management has compiled easy tips for making your New Year a green one.
with food scraps. For more information, visit howtocompost.org/. Put Your Green Thumb to Use: Start a garden in your backyard or neighborhood. When deciding your options, consider growing native plants. Not only do they reduce the usage of fertilizers, pesticides and water, but they also reduce air pollution and provide shelter for wildlife. To discover the types of plants abundant in your community, visit wildflower.org/plants.
Recycling Often and Recycling Right: Eliminate contamination and purchase a separate container just for recyclables to keep in a convenient location at home such as the kitchen, laundry room or backyard. Don’t have recycle options in your community? Visit wm.com/thinkgreen/ where-can-i-recycle.jsp to locate dropoff facilities near you. A complete list of acceptable recyclable materials can be found at wm.com/thinkgreen/what-can-irecycle.jsp.
A Breath of Fresh Air: Instead of driving in a car, walk, ride a bike, carpool or take public transportation whenever possible to help reduce air pollution and save on fuel costs. Save Money, Buy Local: Purchase your fruits and vegetables from local farmers markets and reduce emissions used to transport them. Not only will you receive a fresher selection, you will save money in the process.
H20 Conscious: A full bathtub requires about 70 gallons of water while taking a 5-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons of water. Create Compost at Home: Composting, a natural decomposition process, happens when organic materials, such as food scraps (excluding manure, meat and dairy products) breakdown with help from oxygen, water and nitrogen. Compost makes a great soil additive that will nourish plants and replace fertilizer. To create a compost bin, find a large plastic container. Combine grass clippings, wood chips, bark, leaves and twigs
Clean Out Your Closet: Donate old or unworn clothing items to your local thrift stores and/or shelters. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Going green is a lifestyle decision essential to the survival of our planet. At Waste Management, we want to help our communities every step of the way. With a little effort, you can make a big impact!
Letters to the editor
What an American Christmas is to China Enough about budget complaints blaming our national debt on elected officials. “We the people” stand in line to buy from China! This New Year we can make a decision to plan and watch for U.S.A. products on sale or visit antique shops for bargains. This Christmas I decided not to purchase
a five-cup coffeemaker for reasons expressed when I couldn’t find a coffee maker “Made in USA.” Can we learn from a Christmas where China makes our products and Santa gets the credit? Cherokee Mangus
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