Linda Perrone for Clopton School

Last year patrons of Clopton School District made their voices heard by electing Christy Kuntz and write in candidate Greg Talbert. I am asking for your vote on June 2 to continue to add members who think, question and educate themselves in important issues like school finance.

Describe the role of the Superintendent The Superintendent is the CEO of the school district. He/she is the face of the school. It can be difficult mainly because he/she is responsible for successes, but also failures of the district. It takes a uniquely qualified person with diverse skills to provide effective school management. Superintendents must work directly with all other people involved in the educational setting. To be effective, he/she must have leadership qualitie...s. By building trusting relationships within the school and strong rapport with the constituents, he/she can make the job a little easier. The primary role of the superintendent is to develop and maintain a healthy school budget. If he/she is not good with money, he/she will likely fail as a school superintendent. The funding of schools largely depends on the state legislature and the economy. Being able to predict expenses and income is essential. In deficit years the cuts that might have to be made should be in areas that have the least impact. The board of education hires a superintendent. He/she than becomes a liaison between the board and the workings of the school. The superintendent keeps the board updated on the daily operations of the district. The board of education looks for recommendations from the superintendent to achieve the best educational outcomes. The board is directly responsible for evaluating the superintendent to determine his/her effectiveness. See more

Today I will address questions about online learning and class size. At the high school level, there can be a good reason for online learning. Just look at the closing of schools due to the pandemic. But, my response deals with what we think is normal education with face to face learning. I believe the best educational model is in a typical classroom setting. The only way I would support school sponsored online learning would be for specialty courses where there may be on...ly a very small number of students interested in advanced classes. An example, a course of advanced math needed for a requirement to enter post high school education. Although online courses have improved a great deal recently, there is no substitute, in my opinion, for a classroom experience for most students. Classroom interactions, ease of communication for clarification, reteaching and social peer relationships are extremely effective ways to promote learning. Group projects and applying what has been taught provides students with real life experiences. Application is what learning is all about. I have taught grades one, two, six, seven, and eighth. Research has shown that grades 1 through 3 are critical for a child's educational development and achievement throughout 12 years of traditional education. These are years where basic reading and math competencies need to be met to lay a foundation for the future grades. Those classrooms should have no more than 24 students. However, 20 or less is even better. Above grade 3 through middle school can be a bit larger. The older the student the more able to be self directed and the ability to focus for longer periods improves. Therefore, the class sizes can be larger. Again, 25 students is a goal I would set for those age groups. There could be slightly more if a group seems to be able work well individually and more maturity. Since Clopton is such a small school, the teachers should have input on this subject. Middle school schedules can include either block hours or hourly class changes similar to high school. Again, I'd still like to see the 25 or less goal. High school can be more flexible. Students can be successful in classes that can be 25 plus. However, again, I dislike putting numbers on high school classes. Scheduling and class selections by students play such a big role. If larger classroom numbers become an issue and financial issues arise, then classroom para-professionals working with teachers can be utilized. They can support a teacher in many ways from grading to reteaching small groups as well as classroom control. But, these paras must be assigned and scheduled to be in the crowded classroom everyday. This could help with financial shortfalls. Not at all ideal but an option.

Explain the qualities you would bring to the Clopton Board of Education. I first decided to run for the Board in 2018 after I witnessed the reaction of that Board to patron's questions about the four day school week and the financial problems that our district was facing. Those of us that spoke did not get one response from anyone that night in March. As that year progressed and into the following year not much improved. As a tax payer, I felt ignored. My teaching experie...nce of 30 years in the Wentzville School District brought me in contact with our School Board in Wentzville. Those in charge always listened and then at least made a comment to those in attendance that the matter would be taken under advisement. I believe my experiences working with that Board as well as other teachers and parents during those years have given me an insight into the many facets of education. I have also served as a Board Member of Heritage House, a teacher retirement center located in St. Louis. I have run many meetings, having been president of both my teacher association and Cornerstone Farms where my husband and I reside. A competent board needs to be made up of members that can research issues, study financial statements, make decisions on what is best for our students and staff without outside influences, question, and think independently.

I have been asked by a few patrons concerned with bullying at school. The first person to speak to is the person in charge of the children when it happened and also address it with the counselor. Those involved should then follow the school guidelines. Depending on how severe the actions were, consequences should occur. If the parent does not feel the problem has been dealt with then the next step would be taking the problem to the principal, if not involved. Next would be the Superintendent and then if necessary the school board. A chain of command is important so all the facts from both sides can be assessed. Personally, I have zero tolerance for any type of bullying. Our guidelines should follow this standard. I shall take a look at the policy to see more about how our school is handling these types of situations.