| Improving student achievement performance levels must be our first priority in District 227 In our efforts at improving student achievement levels and district turn-around, to help our children grow academically to be better prepared for college and careers, we need less obstructionism, more collaboration, less continuous school improvement shut-downs, and more accountability, commitment, and investment in continuous school improvement. These are the only initiatives that will improve student performance levels. If we are not going to invest in the quality of our schools, our children's education, and the future of our community, then what? The quality of our community lives, the value of our homes, are determined by the quality of its schools, and how we spend our education funds deserves better. Our children's education and the future of our community deserve better. Past school boards have wasted millions in lack of accountability, in not using data to drive decisions, holding the community hostage to under achievement to maintain the status quo, preaching disempowerment and issuing gag rules in "What Could Not Be Done," and in failure to follow a regular process with the superintendent to review student achievement data, and then agree on board-superintendent recommendations to ensure continuous improvement. We can no longer afford to waste millions fighting what is in the best interest of our community and maintaining the status quo. Today, we are fighting for change, continuous school improvement progress to save our children's future from further ruin, and in "What Can be Done to Save Our Schools." Today, we must be a voice of collaboration, reason, listening, and substance, in improving student achievement levels. Improving student achievement levels must be how we determine our priorities as a school board. The question then becomes, are we going to give more funds to nonsense as was the case in the past or wage another fight against improving student achievement levels that will help thousands of our youth be ready for college and careers? Are we going to, again, "wait to improve student achievement levels" while most of our children continue to fall through the cracks? It will be up to us whether we will allow anyone else to play games over the school budget in funding to improve student achievement performance, which must be our first and top priority. How we spend our school district budget must be our framework in how we determine our priorities. Unless we make time and investments in improving student achievement performance levels over giving board perks, funding programs to further mediocrity rather than accountability in continuous school improvement and using data to drive decisions, we'll never do more than move from one academic and fiscal crisis to another. Our parents, tax payers, and community's future deserve better. David E. Morgan, Ph.D., Educational Leadership School Board Member & Chair of Continuous Improvement Planning Committee Rich Township High School District 227 Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461 | 
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