What Makes a Good School a Great School?
by Loren Feldkamp
January 17, 2006
What Makes a Good School a Great School?
It doesn't matter which school official you talk to in the surrounding school districts, every school in the area has its strengths and weaknesses. For some athletics is the leading force, for others it is academics and the arts that students and parents take extreme pride in. What makes Udall a special school? Is it the community, the staff, the student's? For an individual whom has lived here since mid June the answer is obvious. It's the people of Udall itself that make our school a great school.
The Staff: Every day I go to work with the knowledge I have a staff of professionals ready to meet the challenge of educating today's young people. Every day our teachers meet the requirements of QPA/School Improvement, No Child Left Behind Legislation, Assessments, and the daily paperwork of education in the 21st Century. I've observed our certified and classified staff not only meet the basic expectations, but to individually put forth the effort to make our schools the best they can be for our students. Five standards of Excellence in the Kansas State Assessment Tests in 2005 are a testament to our districts professional educational attributes.
The Students: One of the most rewarding segments of my job as superintendent is to watch our students reach success and goals on a daily basis. Whether it's a kindergartner learning to read or a senior finding success in an advanced curriculum courses; success in the classroom is a daily function at Udall Unified Schools. I'm proud of our students as they work in the classroom, find success in athletics or display their talents in band, choir, cheerleading, dance, or in school plays. More importantly I'm proud of our students at Udall that display good character and am making the right choices as young children and young adults.
The Community: Early on I realized I was part of a school district that the community was proud of. The Udall Board of Education is committed to our student's best education; our community supports our students on a consistent, daily basis. The fund raising for the new band uniforms is an outstanding example of how a community has taken on a task, embraced it, and found success through a fund raising effort like I've never witnessed in my career in education.
So what makes a good school a great school? It is the people of a school district. It is the staff, students, and community that consistently make the effort to make our school district a little better each day. I'm proud to play a small part of that process. I challenge each of you to take a closer look at our school district; you'll see the things I see that make Udall Unified School a great school to send your children receive their education.
