What should our message be?

I had a teacher recently ask, "What should our message to the board be?" I think part of my answer to him might be worth sharing more broadly. The school board, at its best, is a fellow-soldier in the war against lowered expectations and ignorance. I think an appeal to this is our best direction: 

 "I'm watching you. I know when the elections are. I expect you to make the best choices for the quality of education in this district...  

 "One vital ingredient for good education is excellent teaching staff. If you want the freedom to non-renew ineffective teachers in the first two years, EMUHSD must have a competitive salary structure that will have excellent teachers LINING UP to work here. 

"EMUHSD must have a professional environment that encourages smart, thinking teachers to stay here: teachers must be consulted about curriculum and instruction, must be given common goals and freed to achieve them in uncommon ways—using their own professional judgment.   

"Teachers must have good common assessments to use that are aligned to common standards and well-designed to be recursive so that an honest appraisal of a teacher's--or a program's--success can be made.

"I expect you to think while you are here serving on the EMUHSD School Board—not about your next career move but about your city, your district, your kids."

 If there are fifty personalized variations of that message every month, if we avoid personal attacks or insults and address them as colleagues of whom we expect the best—I think that would make negotiations better...lol...I don't think this needs to be a secret strategy. I don't play tricky games very well...I have a terrible memory for that kind of thing...lol...