The League of Young Voters 2009 Portland School Committee Questionnaire: 

 Sarah Jordan Thompson- School Committee At Large

1.  How many years have you lived in Maine?  I am a lifelong Portlander, born here and I attended school K through College right here in Portland in the public system.  No reason to leave.

2.  What experiences, motivations, and leadership styles will make you an effective member of the School Committee?  I am a parent of two children in the PPS and attended the schools myself as did my husband.  I have been a very involved parent by serving as a former PTO President as well as other PTO positions, former board member of the Portland Education Partnership as well as serving on numerous other committees at the children’s schools.  I have been a Portland SC member for the past 3 years and have worked through some very tumultuous times within the school system.  I did not have time to sit back and take in what my role was to be when I was sworn in as a SC member in January of 2006.  After being on the SC for only 2 months I was faced with a 2 million deficit.  I had to be a take charge member and get to the bottom of what happened and why and how we could make sure this never happened again.  We needed SC members that were going to ask the questions that needed to be asked while reviewing the data and not just taking ones word but seeing for ourselves what the data was and then making informed decisions.  I have been and will continue to be one who listens to community member’s ideas for change as well as help them work through challenges they may face.  I have been one that has been available to the community to listen and provide guidance on next steps toward possible solutions.  Success for our schools is about open honest communication and I will continue to provide channels for this communication to happen.

3.  If elected, what will your top three priorities be?  How do they impact young people in Portland?

Top priorities for me are (1) to be a leader who acts and does not sit still.  But, when I do act I act in the best interest of all.  It is very important that we stay on a healthy path financially so that the students reap the benefits of a healthy and prosperous district.  (2) To work with all constituent groups in Portland to create a new vision and strategic plan for the PPS.  These tasks needs to be done ASAP as we currently do not have the “buy in” from all Portlanders on what the vision should be for the PPS for now and in the future .  We also lack a strategic plan for where we all want to go in the near future and beyond to ensure success of all students for their educational path K-College or the work force ahead.  We need to ensure success as well by providing a rigorous and relevant education.  After coming off years where the community has not trusted the school dept this is a must to be done for all to regain the confidence and pride in their school district.  (3)  To be accessible to all and to listen to their ideas and thoughts on the PPS.  It is very important that all feel they have been heard and listened to and are given an opportunity to share what they feel are the best ideas/ways to make Portland even better.  It is also great to hear from parents, students and staff the success stories of their children and students.  It makes everything we do so worth it when you hear these stories.   How do these priorities impact young people?  First, everything we do as a SC member impacts young people in our schools but…  My first priority impacts them from the stand point that they need a person working hard for them so that they may have the best education we can deliver to them.  They deserve it!   It is important for us to listen to the students on what is working well, what’s not and how we can help them to be successful.  Things do not get done by sitting around watching the work get done.  You need to be a part of the work and gather input on what needs to be done while working as a team to accomplish the task(s) at hand.  On my second priority it is important that we talk to all young people whether they are in the PPS or not.  Their voices need to be heard and acted upon.  It is also important that we reach out to those that do not have students or know of a child in the system.  All community members play a role in our education system.  There are so many ways to involve young people and others in the development and building of a vision and strategic plan because after all these actions impact how they, the students, will receive an education.  It also impacts the other constituent groups from the stand point that if we have a healthy school system more businesses and families will move here because they want to be a Portlander and be a part of a wonderful city and school system that we already know is here.

4.  Please share one positive change you have seen in our schools and in the School Committee over the last year?  There are numerous positive changes that have been had in the past year in our schools and within the SC.  First and foremost is our financial stability.  We do though have a hard road ahead of us still to sustain the hard work that has already happened and to face what is coming our way from the state.  We are in a better position than we have been in a long time.  I also would say equally another positive change is the new leadership in Portland with a new Superintendent.  It is truly refreshing to have someone with new ideas coming from outside of Portland to see what we have been doing that is working well but to also address what has not been working so well.  One who can help and direct us to be more effective and efficient on all levels in our system.  “Fresh Eyes” is what we needed and I am excited at the possibility of continuing the great work with the new Superintendent that has been already started.

5.  Please share one frustrating change you have seen in our schools and in the School Committee over the last year?  One frustration for me is the many needs that the schools have but that we are so limited in funds.  Education is vital on so many levels.  It is very challenging to continue to “fight” to educate our students to compete in a global economy.  The needs outweigh the funds by a long way.  Our school infrastructure is in poor shape and needs attention now but there are so many items competing for the limited funds.  I have to say I am not frustrated with the SC as I feel we have overcome a lot in the last year and have worked hard together to get to a good place.  We need to continue to build upon our successes and add even more.  We have recently completed a facilities report which will allow us to start to prioritize the needs of all of our buildings and how we plan for the future based on these needs.  In conjunction with this we can also evaluate our programming and how it all fits together.  It is very important for students and staff to have a healthy and innovative school to prosper in.

6.  What competing responsibilities do you have, both professionally and personally, and how will you juggle those responsibilities?

I have a lot of responsibilities to (1) my family-husband, 2 kids, dog and 2 cats, (2) my occupation an educational marketer for a local biotech company (3) I have a responsibility to the residents of Portland and the State of Maine currently serving as a Portland SC member.  It is very challenging keeping the balance but I am fortunate to have a family that supports my work as an elected official and one that realizes how important this work is to me.  It is not easy for them to have me gone numerous nights a week but they see how important the work is.  It is important to me as well as a lifelong Portlander to give back to my hometown.  I feel that it is also my responsibility as a parent to instill in my children how important public service is whether it be serving as a SC member or volunteering with a local group.  We all need to do our part.  I am setting an example for them and for their future growth as a person.

7.  How will you make Portland schools more effective and cost efficient?

I think it is very important for the SC to continue to receive regular updates on the budget and to ask the important questions on an ongoing basis.  We need to continue to look for ways to be more cost effective by looking at alternative ways of heating our buildings, lighting our schools and exploring other means to achieve energy efficiency.  We need to continue and expand our partnering with our city departments and others where services are duplicative or where efficiencies can be had.  We are currently working with the So. Portland School Dept. having them service our buses. This has proven to be a cost savings so far with much more dollars to be saved in the coming years.  We have invested most recently in new CNG buses which will be cost effective and healthier for our students and the environment in the long run.  We are currently working with the city on a “sustainability plan” on how we can build upon our sharing of more services and see where we can join together where we have the same services already.  One example of our joint efforts is that the city is doing all of the HVAC maintenance for the PPS.  While this has not yet saved money for the school system we are encouraged by preliminary numbers that in the long run it will be more cost effective as well as cut down on services the school dept is doing that can be done by the same group of trained professionals working for the city.

8.  What is your position on school consolidation? How will you deal with either outcome of the upcoming ballot question concerning school consolidation?

I believe that we can always look for ways to save money but consolidation has not made sense for all school districts across Maine.  For Portland even though we did not need to consolidate we still looked for ways to find savings; some of which were mandated by the state regardless of consolidation but some were where we felt it made sense for us to do to save money for the taxpayers and still keep up a great level of service.  School Consolidation should not be a penalty to those agreeing to partner with a neighboring district.  It should result in a savings for all if they are being mandated by the state to partner.  The end result should be that all the districts are able to save funds while still delivering the best education possible to all of the students regardless of what district they came from.  I believe there is still work to be done with this mandate.

9.  What do you think the role of School Committee should be in determining the school budget?  What ways will you improve the process of school budgeting?

I believe the school budget should remain with the SC.  The SC has made HUGE strides over the last 2 years to get our house back in order.  We have been able to overcome the deficit and build a solid plan currently in place for the deficit to be repaid by the end of next year if not sooner.  The deficit was a very unfortunate situation that happened but not one that the SC was well informed of along the way until it was too late.  This I can say will not happen again.  The new Superintendent has recently put more processes in place to ensure clear communication both in the central office and with the School Committee

School finances and city finances are vastly different.  It is important for both committees to work together to make sure we are using the scarce dollars the best way we can.  We currently share numerous services so we communicate on a regular basis already and know what each others competing demands are.  We work together to fully understand the one city budget and how it all fits together.  With that said, the school dept is the largest cost center in the city budget so the need for teamwork is imperative of all.  The demands of students and teachers are very different than other city cost centers.  I say this because the school district and SC are responsible for educating “our future leaders” and making sure they get the much needed dollars and that those dollars are allocated appropriately based on the student population and needs of all.  The SC is currently working on a multi year budgeting plan which has never been done before.  I believe this will continue to keep us on a healthy path but also puts in place a plan for where the dollars will be going long term while allowing the allocation of the dollars to be based on long term planning and vision agreed to by the community.  In the past it has always been one item pitted against the other when it came to cuts.  It should not be this way.  If we know the dollars we have to work with now and the dollar projections for the future we can do our best to plan accordingly.   But, we know as well we can at anytime face additional curtailments or reductions from the state. By planning ahead it helps us to prepare as much as possible for such a detrimental item coming our way and for all to come along in the process and understand as well.

10.  With the current reality of the state and city’s school budgets, more cuts seem likely.  What will you cut and why?

I believe with a strong vision and strategic plan in place that has been agreed upon with the community we will know the priorities of the district and be able to plan accordingly.  When cuts come we will need to weigh competing priorities and how best to address them.  We need to be able to look back at our vision and strategic plan and see where it all fits into the big picture.  For example we can not say one sport is more important than the other.  This is short term thinking.  We need to keep in the forefront that our main goal is to educate students and to make sure they have the best education we can deliver with the resources we have.  It will be tough the next few years with what is being talked about for cuts coming our way from the state.  We are though planning for the possible reductions as we speak and hoping they will not be as drastic as they are predicting.  We will need the community to stand with us and to advocate for the dollars to educate Portland students.

12.  How do we increase the number of graduates that go on to pursue post-secondary education?  What benchmarks would inform Portland schools towards reaching these goals?

This is one of the major goals of our new Superintendent.  One area we need to work on to increase graduates going on to pursue post secondary education is our “drop outs”.  Portland has not been able to give drop out prevention the attention it needs.  We have some great programs currently in place but we need to do more.  We need to not only work with the HS students but the middle as well.  Students are losing interest in school for multiple reasons but some are losing it way before HS.  The attention needs to start in the middle school years when students start to realize that their lives are changing and they are becoming young adults.  This can be a very tough time for students.  A quote from President Obama hit it on the head “education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success-it’s a prerequisite for success”.  We need to provide all students with support and personalized services so they know there are people that care and want them to succeed.  A caring adult for students goes a long way to helping them stay in school and continue on with their studies beyond high school.  Encouragement and praise as well as attention will build students self esteem and courage them to see that their possibilities are endless.  The PPS need to continue to work on adopting common standards across all schools and improve our quality of education.  By doing this it will encourage and prepare students for success in college, to graduate college and for careers. The benchmarks are our drop out rates decreasing as well as the number of students graduating increasing and applying to college.  Whether they choose to attend college or not, all students should apply and be able to weigh their options after High School.  In all of our HS as well we currently have a process called “coaching” in place where a student is matched with the same homeroom teacher throughout their HS years.  This teacher/staff member gets to know the students on an individual basis and can help them to achieve their goals and address needs as they arise.  They will know the students so well that they can also work with the students on what the students hope to accomplish now and beyond.  This person will get to know the students so well that they will see the students’ strengths and help them to know them as well.  Once one knows their strengths they can start to envision where their lives may lead to and the education they need to achieve the goal.

13.   How will you improve the quality of education for students who speak English as a second language?

We will improve the quality of education for all students by starting with the new “vision” we are working on with the community.  This vision though needs to reflect values transcending ethnical and racial backgrounds.  It is important that we continue to build more support for our multi lingual program.  Year after year funds have been lost in this area but our ELL population continues to grow.  We need to make sure that all students receive the attention they need.   Our Director of Multilingual works very hard to stretch the dollars she has to work with but the demands are growing.  It is important that we also partner with community groups to help the PPS with not only our ELL students but all students.  There are resources in the community that help improve the quality of education along with us. An example of a strong resource is “Learning Works”.  By us working with Learning Works and others we can continue to educate and offer vast services to our very diverse student body while keeping all engaged.  We can not do it alone; it is a partnership.   We also need to work as a community with our local Legislators and State Senators to advocate for more dollars for Portland.  This is a challenging task but one we need to continue to do so Portland remains the culturally enriched community we have become.  We need to be seen as an asset to Maine.  The PPS need to continue to seek, invite and hire qualified ethnically diverse staff, teachers and administrators.  When we increase our ethnicity in staffing it is beneficial to all; the district, students and community.  It will also possibly bring us closer to closing the achievement gap in our diverse district.

14.  Do you think student transportation needs any changes?  Why or why not?

I believe that we need to encourage students to bike or walk as much as possible when it is safe for the students to do so.  We need to provide transportation though to students that would not be able to get to school safely if we did not provide busing.  When we do bus students we need to be providing transportation that is safe and environmentally friendly as much as possible.  We have heard over the years from school leadership that when some students receive transportation their attendance in school increases.   If they did not have this transportation then there are large challenges to them getting to and staying in school.   We need to ensure the success of all students and provide them the means to succeed.   We need to continually recognize as well that we have a great city bus system that students; especially HS students can take advantage of at a reduced rate while getting some of the students the needed transportation to get to and from school.  While we may always need to transport some students via school buses we need to make sure we have a fleet of buses that are also safe for the students and environment.  We are currently replacing a large number of our buses this year with CNG buses which are cleaner to run and healthier for all in our community.   This is a great accomplishment and one we will continue to build upon as we can afford to replace our aging fleet.  As we receive funds for new schools or have funds to repair current schools; we need to continually evaluate our transportation needs and how we may address those needs by alternative methods such as paths/routes for safe walking and biking to school.  This should always be a priority.

15.  Do you have children and where did/do they attend school?

I have 2 children.  One attends Hall Elementary School and will be in the 5^th grade and the other is going to be a sophomore at PHS this fall.  They both have had fantastic educational experiences in the Portland Schools.

16.  Data shows enrollment is declining in some Portland schools.  Why do you think this is?  What, if anything, should be done about it?

There are multiple reasons enrollment is declining.  It is not only happening in Portland but across the state as a whole.  We are actually seeing numbers beginning to steady here in Portland.  We have recently been on the receiving end of students returning to Portland schools from Private or Home Schooling.  I believe that in these hard economic times people are realizing that pubic schools as a whole are where their children can get a great education and have a wonderful experience and they need not spend thousands to obtain it.  We have it all right here in the Portland Public Schools.  We need to celebrate and market that more.  In saying this, we do need to retain the students we have and attract more of the students back and into Portland by marketing all of the wonderful things happening in our schools.  There are so many great happenings and I have high hopes that the media will continue to build on reporting items that are of a positive nature and highlight the great happenings so all can see.