Last week the Fairfield Board of Education approved a cost reduction plan that will enable us to reduce our expenses by about $3 million annually. This has been very difficult, but necessary. It means that more than 50 of our colleagues will lose their jobs, and that our employees and students will have to accept some changes in how we go about our daily work.

There has been a great deal of conversation in our community about this and that’s good. That’s how strong communities function. Inevitably, though, sometimes rumors get mixed up with facts. Fact: No high school student will be kept from graduating by a new class schedule, unless that student is failing courses.

There will be changes, but there is a great deal that is not changing. We are still committed to our plan to raise reading and math scores, to reduce discipline incidents and eliminate disparities in discipline incidents between student subgroups, and to see our Limited English Proficient students meet and exceed state standards.

We are not changing our commitment to our racial equity effort. We must eliminate the racial achievement gap that exists in our school district and most others.

I know that our teachers, even as they’re concerned about the changes and as they support their colleagues, will continue to do everything they can to help kids learn. I know our teachers and I have faith in them. They are a wonderful group of professionals.

We will remain committed to student success. In our schools we define that this way: “Fairfield students doing their best, and bringing out the best in others.” It’s a lot more than just test scores, though those are important too. It includes academics, character, diversity, technology, and communication.

We talk a lot about preparing students for the 21st century. Obviously that includes academics, and character has been important in every century. But to be truly prepared for the 21st century students will need to understand and communicate with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, often using the latest in technology. This is the first generation of students to face that challenge. We take seriously the responsibility to help them meet it.

If you wonder what schools are really all about these days, I encourage you to visit one. Give one of our 10 schools a call. Someone will be glad to set up a time to show you around and stop in some classrooms and let you see what’s going on. We all went to school once, but I can guarantee you it’s changed, unless you’re a very recent graduate.

Once people see how hard teachers work, how hard the students work, how well-behaved most kids are most of the time, they become our most valuable supporters of the Fairfield Schools. That support is critical as we move forward.

Published in the Fairfield Echo, March 25, 2010.